King Pin Inclination (KPI)

26 February 2001

The angle is described by a line drawn down through the top and bottom ball-joint (swivel pin) centres and vertical viewed from the front. Extended to ground level, the distance from here to the wheel/tyre centre-line at ground level is the ‘King Pin Offset’. Ideally the lines should intersect at ground level. This will give both lightness of steering ‘feel’ and virtually no kick back through the steering wheel when hitting bumps – known as ‘centre-point steering’. One of the Minis biggest downfalls, it’s rarely achieved due to available wheel rim offsets and how the suspension geometry is adjusted. The result contributes to the ‘wandering’ feeling experienced over bumps. The greater the wheel offset outwards, the worse this becomes as it increases ‘King Pin Offset’ (KPO) away from the vehicle centre. For more information on KPO see 'Suspension - KPO; adverse effects of fitting wide wheels'. KPI also has the undesirable effect of adding positive camber on the outer wheel, induced by body roll when cornering.