14 replies to this topic

[.998TANGO.]

hii

looking to upgrade my suspension soon, which of the two options would you guys say is best from your experiences?

thanks

[Scallywag630]

Neither. Red dot cones and GAZ shocks.

[.998TANGO.]

[Cooperman]

Best all-round option is to fit genuine original rubber cones, decent dampers and Hi-Lo's.
You can'r beat the original rubber cone springs as they are truly variable-rate springs of the correct rate.

[minotaur]

love my minitastic springs!!!!

Edited by minotaur, 03 July 2011 - 09:28 PM.

[evansisgreat]

What are you using your mini for and what do you want from the suspension setup? Fitting coilovers is a much more involved process than minitastic coils.

[aidenrr]

If you're going for a softer ride I definatly wouldn't choose minitastic theyre virtually coil bound when you put them in and you can't compress them with a vice they're pretty solid I'd either go coil overs then they're pretty changeable or hi lo standard rubber and spax adjustable

[Italianjoblofty]

If your going to use coilovers you need to make sure that you strengthen the mounting area as its not strong enough to do the work of a cone and shock all in one area.

[ibrooks]

Coilovers on the front of a Mini are a waste of effort and money. To get a rising rate they need to be inclined inwards toward the pivot of the top arm. You can't do this because there is a subframe and an inner wing in the way. Even pushing the mount on the top arm as far out as you can it's only just possible to get them vertical so you still get a falling rate.

Coil springs in place of the rubber cones will give you a linear rate until they become coilbound and solid or you hit the bumpstops.

The rubber cones are a true rising rate spring.

The choice is yours.

Iain

[Cooperman]

The original rubber-cone suspension was/is a fantastic design because although the available suspension travel is short, it compensates for this wonderfully by having true variable-rate, that is a rate which increases with the compression of the rubber cone spring. So, for short initial suspension displacement the spring rate is low, which gives a soft-ish feel, but over larger bumps the rate is much higher which then better resists the top arm hitting the bump stop. It cannot become 'coil-bound', which is a very undesireable situation causing loss of road-holding and steering.
Fixed high-rate coil springs on a Mini are absolutely great for racing as the tracks are smooth and spring rate can be selected to suit the surface. There are some variable rising-rate coil springs available for the Mini, I believe, but with the short travel they are not ideal for the road.

[GEORGEDUROY]

hi,
I installed adjustable gaz dampers and minitastic spring with hi-lo: the handling is improved but not enought.
I think I should find the right setup due to the adjustable gaz damper have a lot of adjustments (36 positions)
Beside this consideration I was thinking about Zcarz front subframe for Aseries engines, wha's your opinion?
I think this solution improves definetively the handling of my mini.

rob

[Cooperman]

hi,
I installed adjustable gaz dampers and minitastic spring with hi-lo: the handling is improved but not enought.
I think I should find the right setup due to the adjustable gaz damper have a lot of adjustments (36 positions)
Beside this consideration I was thinking about Zcarz front subframe for Aseries engines, wha's your opinion?
I think this solution improves definetively the handling of my mini.

rob

Do you mean the handling or the road-holding as they are very different things?
A lot of people find that there is too much body roll with coil springs as their initial spring rate is much lower than the rubber cone springs and this affects the handling. So they fit a rear anti-roll bar which changes the road-holding by promoting greater oversteer and still does not give the desired handling. A front anti-roll bar can then be added which may solve the problem. Altering the damper setting will also be a major factor.
Ideally you need to find someone with a lot of experience of Mini suspension set-ups to drive it and advise you.

[GEORGEDUROY]

I mean the handling, the behaviour of the car.
I don't complain about comfort but for example I've 6x12 wheels: if the asphalt is not smooth you can't drive high speed due the car follows each harshness.
Really it is danger driving in this condition without proper setting, you feel the car fluctuate and I don't know if I can get this right set-up...
First step was change the rubber suspension cones, 2nd adjustable Gaz dampers, negative camber, then minitastic spring
Due to particular geometry of the Mini suspension I know it is difficult get optimal feeling so this is the reason of my doubt: if a new Zcars tubular subframe, totally different from the original one, would be the final perfect solution.

[Cooperman]

A couple of questions, well 3 actually:
Is the existing sub-frame solidly mounted?
Are the springs true rising rate springs?
Has the tracking, caster and camber been set correctly?

Correctly set a Mini will drive, hold the road and handle well, in a 'old car' sort of way. It is not a modern car and never will be, so don't expect it to drive like, say, a VW or a Ford.
When you change entirely the basic design of the Mini suspension you should expect to have to get the entire suspension re-set. The rubber cone suspension is what the car was designed for and it's easy to make it drive well as the settings are all well known.
You don't need a different sub-frame as the standard one is fine, slightly over-engineered if anything.

[GEORGEDUROY]

You are right but you know, it is so difficult find someone qualified to set properly the suspensions/angle etc...
After all, regarding the main topic, I can say that with the minitastic solution I impeoved both comfort and performance than the original rubber suspension.
Minitastic has three solution: town ride, fast road and racing.
I have the fast road.