10 replies to this topic

[TimmyG]

Hi There,

I was wondering if anyone has any experience with these dampers on a mini, they're widely regarded as one of the very best you can buy for other cars yet nobody seems to use them or write anything about them on mini's! Is it just the price that puts people off or is there another reason?
Personally I've used AVO which were excellent, Spax which I thought were terrible, replaced these with KYB gas-a-just which I thought were better than either. So thought to myself mono-tube is the way to go, try bilstein.

Any thoughts or experience nice peoples?

Tim

[Cooperman]

Bilstein are the 'Dogs Dangly bits' for most applications, although they may not do adjustable ones for the Mini.
I used to like SPAX, but found the quality to b e suspect from a few years ago. Never liked Koni as they were always too soft on bump and you could only stiffen the rebound which might be OK for racing, but not for much else. Not tried GAZ on a Mini, but on my Rover 200-series rally car they are fantastic.
I drove a Vauxhall rally car with Bilsteins on and they seemed great, but they do tend to 'knock' a bit at low speed which is no problem when you get used to it.
Possibly GAZ are the best value at present for the Mini.

[TimmyG]

I've never tried koni but I found spax similar to what you say about them, way too much rebound compared to bump stiffness, very bad ride and terrible traction out of corners because of this. And if you back them off to correct it it just gets soggy on turn-in. As you say, probably ok on smooth tracks but no good on the road! Thanks for the reply.

[mini-man-dan]

I raced on bilsteins and my car was one of the best when it came to handling. Most road minis use adjustables, and don't take my word for it but I don't think you can get bilstein adjustables for a mini.

[jmetal88]

Hi There,

I was wondering if anyone has any experience with these dampers on a mini, they're widely regarded as one of the very best you can buy for other cars yet nobody seems to use them or write anything about them on mini's! Is it just the price that puts people off or is there another reason?
Personally I've used AVO which were excellent, Spax which I thought were terrible, replaced these with KYB gas-a-just which I thought were better than either. So thought to myself mono-tube is the way to go, try bilstein.

Any thoughts or experience nice peoples?

Tim

It's nice to hear that about the KYBs, I was thinking about buying a set but I hadn't got around to asking anyone else what they thought about them yet.

[dklawson]

I have not used Bilsteins on a Mini but I have used them on other cars. I have also used SPAX, Koni, Boge, and KYB shocks. I currently have KYB on the Mini and one of my Triumphs.

Bilsteins are great IF you have a car you're going to throw around and if you don't mind a "harsher" ride. If the car is going to be a daily driver on city streets, any of the other shocks are likely to suit you better. Again, nothing wrong with Bilsteins, they are just not going to be as smooth as less expensive dampers for a street car.

Of the bunch, I am most pleased with the KYBs.

[Cooperman]

I have not used Bilsteins on a Mini but I have used them on other cars. I have also used SPAX, Koni, Boge, and KYB shocks. I currently have KYB on the Mini and one of my Triumphs.

Bilsteins are great IF you have a car you're going to throw around and if you don't mind a "harsher" ride. If the car is going to be a daily driver on city streets, any of the other shocks are likely to suit you better. Again, nothing wrong with Bilsteins, they are just not going to be as smooth as less expensive dampers for a street car.

Of the bunch, I am most pleased with the KYBs.

Yes, agree entirely. Bilsteins are really a motorsport specific damper. We always used them on the Mk 1 & 2 Escorts and they were great ans just so strong for rallying.
KYB are an excellent road damper, although I've not tried them on a Mini. They are a bit up-rated from the OE dampers and are reliable and last a long time. sensible price too.
Spax used to be really good about 10 years ago but lately I've not heard good things about them and I stopped using them after some unreliability issues when I put a set on my Rover 214 rally car and they lasted 2 hours!

[jaydee]

It's nice to hear that about the KYBs, I was thinking about buying a set but I hadn't got around to asking anyone else what they thought about them yet.

I have a set of KYB gas a just (silver self adjusting), they very stiff, give a great handling and are enough progressive to be used in both road/sport application. Nothing to compare to GAZ/SPAX adjustables, but for what they cost, they're fantastic.
Road wise, the KYB gas dampers (black ones) can be better, considering the 'gas a just' are stiff like track dampers.

[TimmyG]

It's nice to hear that about the KYBs, I was thinking about buying a set but I hadn't got around to asking anyone else what they thought about them yet.

I have a set of KYB gas a just (silver self adjusting), they very stiff, give a great handling and are enough progressive to be used in both road/sport application. Nothing to compare to GAZ/SPAX adjustables, but for what they cost, they're fantastic.
Road wise, the KYB gas dampers (black ones) can be better, considering the 'gas a just' are stiff like track dampers.

When I replaced standard dampers on my first mini with the gas a just, i did the front only first of all and noticed absolutely no increase in ride stiffness at all but with much better control, only when i fitted the rears did i notice quite a difference in ride stiffness, probably because the rear suspension has no leverage over the damper (the front has) and much less weight, while the damper feels equally as stiff when off the car.
At the mo I'm running g-max on the rears which are much softer and this is excellent if you want retain good ride quality so is prob a good ride/handling compromise. The black KYB gas ones softer too so would achieve similar.

[minidaves]

had a mini on bilsteins a few yrs ago, and it was fantastic to be honest, good ride and handling without being harsh

dave

[TimmyG]

had a mini on bilsteins a few yrs ago, and it was fantastic to be honest, good ride and handling without being harsh

dave

Sounds good to me! Thats what I was thinking they should be like, according to bilstein they are sport-comfort setting, for the road, and designed to work with standard springs so shouldn't be harsh. I also drive a vw transporter t4 and the H&R suspension kit that I'm going to fit comes in two guises, comfort - with bilstein sports, and cup - with koni's. Most people fit the bilsteins and rave about them! exactly as you say, great handling without being harsh. Isn't this what everyone tries to achieve with adjustables anyway?! there's a shop selling bilsteins on ebay for 65 quid a corner whic is the cheapest ive seen them, not bad value when you get a lifetime garantee!