10 replies to this topic

[GermanMoreno]

Hello! I have been told by couple of people that my mini seems to crab. We drive LHD cars here, and I was told they see more of the left side of the car when diving behind me. From research I know that minis are narrower in the back so it would make sense that a driver behind driving a LHD car would see more of the left side of the mini. The car doesn’t pull to any side, drives straight if I let go the steering wheel.

I will ask someone to drive my car and I’ll be following to check, if there is something, I will head to alignment, but if this doesn’t work, where can I start looking? What are the logical steps to follow?

Since all minis were hand built I guess it wouldn’t be surprising, looking for experiences fixing this type of thing. Thanks!

[yeti21586]

do any of your tyres wear more than others? and have you had the toe set?

[GraemeC]

Almost certainly nothing wrong.  If the people following get their passenger to look on their side, they'd think it was crabbing the other way.

Just drive it and enjoy it!

 

A very basic check is simply to put a piece of 3x2 timber and then a straight edge across the rear wheels pointing to the front of the car.  If the far end of the straight edge is roughly the same distance from the sill on both sides then all is good.

[Johnmar]

The problem is that if one's centre of view when driving is not exact in line with the centre of your mini, they look to be crabbing towards the side they are located.

The best way to "Rule" out crabbing is with... a ruler.

 

I would drive up to a decent tire fitter and request for an wheel alignment (measurment). that will tell you not only toe in/out but also if front to back has shifted side ways.

 

But you can also start yourself:

 

Measure up using this link

 

 

Measure Distance A-D Left Front - Richt Rear  and compair wiht A-D Right Front - Left Rear.  (one could also use AC on both sides, but tha longer the distance, the better) If these are  the same than the subframes should be aligned perfectly.

 

J.

[Ethel]

IF it really is crabbing a bent tie rod or shot bushes would be a more probable possibility or a binding rear brake. It would be more reliable for the latter to show in the steering wheel position and both would be altered by braking.

[GermanMoreno]

I know that after the last alignment 1-1/2 ago, I had to correct the position of my steering wheel because it pointed to the right after I picked up the car from the shop. Unsure if related

[sonikk4]

Check your radius arms for wear, this will cause all sorts of issues

[Spider]

Crabbing only comes from the Rear End Wheel Alignment being out, more usually here, the Toe Setting. A bent trailing arm is a common cause or may just be an accumulation of normal errors. Check that there's nothing worn in the subframe or trailing arm pivots, you will need to get a lever in behind the front of the trailing arm to see if it has wear / movement.

 

The check Graeme suggests is a simple check you can do at home. I'd suggest checking it 3 times, each time, rolling the car forward 1/3 of a turn of the (road) wheel. Ideally, get some Shims (say 6) ;-
 

http://www.minispare...px|Back to shop

 

and head off to see a Wheel Alignment specialist.

[GermanMoreno]

I have the rear adjustable brackets installed, MS73EVO. Do I need shims even with those brackets installed?

Crabbing only comes from the Rear End Wheel Alignment being out, more usually here, the Toe Setting. A bent trailing arm is a common cause or may just be an accumulation of normal errors. Check that there's nothing worn in the subframe or trailing arm pivots, you will need to get a lever in behind the front of the trailing arm to see if it has wear / movement.
 
The check Graeme suggests is a simple check you can do at home. I'd suggest checking it 3 times, each time, rolling the car forward 1/3 of a turn of the (road) wheel. Ideally, get some Shims (say 6) ;-
 
http://www.minispare...px|Back to shop
 
and head off to see a Wheel Alignment specialist.

[Spider]

I have the rear adjustable brackets installed, MS73EVO. Do I need shims even with those brackets installed?

 

Ah, well,,, that changes things a fair bit. I'd say these haven't been set up properly from the outset.

 

Some coff coff, wheel aligner guys bang the contraptions on the wheels and with things like Toe Settings, just set them 'wheel to wheel' while this does give correct figures, it's not at all referenced to the car.

 

I can't speak for the many firms out there who do alignments, but I always set the Toe Angles front and back, referenced to the car's centre line, then as a final check, wheel to wheel.

 

Perhaps find a Wheel Alignment firm who has staff that know what they are doing and have the right gear that fits the wheels you have. Let them know that you are sure the car is crabbing, they should know what to do from there. I must confess here too, the shops that have the latest wizz bang machines, running 'Wheel Aligner version 54' on a MicroSoft Windows 12 PC Platform, I steer away from (pun intended    ), as I wonder if these guys really know what they are doing and what's going on or blindly following what the computer says to do (slaps face). It might be a mission, but find an old school firm that has basic optical gauges, you have a better chance of getting it right.

 

You can do it yourself if you have a nice flat garage / workshop floor to work from. There's some gauges etc you can buy for not a lot of money, though, with some basic hand tools, and some simple materials from the local hardware, you can make your own that can give highly accurate results.

 

[IronmanG]

Oz at OAP just did mine front to back. 1 side required 5 shims the other none on the radius arms. Massive difference visually