26 replies to this topic

[mentalmini89]

hey have u got a picture cause im not sure what ur on about really i know stupid lol
dean

[clambert81]

It's just plain stupid to run with the car so low. It wrecks the handling, stresses all the other parts. Rather you than me driving it. I know you think it looks cool but not when you end up in an accident.

[Darjan1275]

and, which set-up is the best for handling? i also drive a pretty low mini, i have original shortened bump stops from minispares, GAZ shocks for lowered cars, higher upper brackets and i'm not satisfied with driving... car lies down on bump stops... what is the shortest distance between upper arm and bumpstop. i'm thinking about getting car a little bit higher on hi-los, and then a little cutting bumpstops? your opinion about that?
now car is looking like this, i don't want to go higher, thx...

[rosco454]

Before you worry about bump stops I would have a look at your ball joints and see if they are locked or will be locked at full compression as thats something you really don't want.

Cheers Ross.

[Darjan1275]

I understand this, but how much low can I go without fear of ball joint accident? how much is distance between upper bumpstop and upper arm on std height mini, and how much can i leave the distance for lowered car?

[racingbob]

i ran bump stops cut down by about a quarter off them on my race mini for 4 years

and about 1/4" gap

i'm not saying its the correct thing to do tho

[bmcecosse]

Race Mini is a very different thing - for a start it's likely to be lighter, and you don't get hump back bridges or speed bumps or potholes on a race track. You also accept some risks that are not acceptable on the highway. Cut down front bump stops are crazy - fit standard height, and keep at least 3/4" between arm and stop - preferably slightly more, and certainly MUCH more on a Rally car.

[Cooperman]

On a road car there is no technical advantage in lowering, quite the opposite in fact. The idea of lowering comes from racing cars where the car is lowered to lower the centre of gravity and thus lower the roll centre and reduce the rolling moment when cornering. This keeps the tyres flatter on the road and is necessary because racing tyres are of different construction from road tyres. But with a racing car the amount of suspension travel is really unimportant as race tracks are very, very smooth.
The lower a Mini sits the less total suspension travel there is and good suspension travel is necessary for driving on average public roads. If the car runs on or hits the bump stops during driving it simply will not steer and over bumps the wheels won't stay on the ground. So lowering a road-going Mini simply reduces its overall driving capacity and potential performance. You will note that rally cars, which are driven on roads, albeit mainly closed to other traffic, have their suspension raised slightly to increase suspension travel and thus improve road-holding.

[racingbob]

think i will raise the car a touch

how the hell do you take off the bump stops, its got just the one nut

did try a while ago couldnt get spanner in there

[Wil_h]

Agreed a car, CANT/WONT handle without suspension.

Not too sure about this comment. On a perfectly smooth road with no bumps a car with no suspension would be great, look at karts. Colin Chapman once said "All seuspension can be made to work, if you don't let it"

Cooperman has it spot on though. For a road car, you don't want it too low. If you ride close to the bump stops then you end up with a very stiff front end. This causes a large weight transfer when cornering and you get lots of oversteer, which is not a fast way to drive on roads.

If you run 5-10mm from the bumpstop at rest you will only hit them when they are designed to be hit.

[Cooperman]

A guy brought a Mini to me and said that despite having done a lot of suspension work, it was not nice to drive.
It had been lowered and very stiff dampers fitted along with 2.5 deg neg front arms. it was on 12" tyres with 165/60 tyres.
We raised it back up to standard ride height and set the dampers much softer. Then set the rear suspension to 0.5 deg neg with 2 mm toe-in on the rear.
After driving it around on our normal country roads and setting the front dampers slightly harder, the owner drove it and said it was the best road-holding and handling Mini he had ever driven and he felt confident driving it quickly even on twisty and slightly bumpy roads.
It has to be remembered that road cars are not racing cars and the suspension requirements for safe and fast driving are very different.

Edited by Cooperman, 05 December 2011 - 10:35 AM.

[TheOriginalMiniator]

and, which set-up is the best for handling? i also drive a pretty low mini, i have original shortened bump stops from minispares, GAZ shocks for lowered cars, higher upper brackets and i'm not satisfied with driving... car lies down on bump stops... what is the shortest distance between upper arm and bumpstop. i'm thinking about getting car a little bit higher on hi-los, and then a little cutting bumpstops? your opinion about that?
now car is looking like this, i don't want to go higher, thx...

it may not drive well, but my word does it look great! love the wheels and colour!