13 replies to this topic

[Jwatts93]

Hello

My current shocks feel as if there on there last legs and I'm looking to buy a new set all round and I've been looking at the spax shocks and there are the standard and the lowered type, I was looking at getting the lowered type just for better handling and the way I think It looks better.
This may be a silly question but do I have to do anything else to the car setup before fitting a set of lowered shocks does anything else need 'lowering or changing.
Thankyou

[icklemini]

Lowered shocks wont lower your car... you need to shorten the suspension trumpets to get the car lower...
... then it is suggested to fit 'lowered shocks'...

The lowered shocks basically stop your suspension falling apart when you jack the car up...
- the 'extended' length of the shocks are shorter to hold it all together....

[PaddyShepherd]

This guy has some for sale, I'm after the front set but he'll only split if he has a buyer for the rears, worth a try lol

http://www.theminifo...64#entry2559464

[Jwatts93]

Lowered shocks wont lower your car... you need to shorten the suspension trumpets to get the car lower...
... then it is suggested to fit 'lowered shocks'...

The lowered shocks basically stop your suspension falling apart when you jack the car up...
- the 'extended' length of the shocks are shorter to hold it all together....

So basically for now I might aswell get the standard shocks , how do you shorten the trumpets or do you buy shortened ones ? Thankyou for the reply

[Cooperman]

Lowering the car won't improve the handling and will only improve the road holding on ultra-smooth roads such as race tracks.

[PaddyShepherd]

Sorry, forgot to say they're standard height i think lol

[tiger99]

If you don't know what you are doing, don't try to lower it. As Cooperman says, it will not improve anything in normal road use, and will actually make the handling worse, because the static angles of the suspension wishbones will be wrong, roll centre at the wrong height, etc. The Mini was designed with a specific ride height for very good reasons.

Also, if you go too far, you risk balljoint fracture, which can write off the car and kill people.

There is a lot of absolute guff posted on this and other forums about lowering Minis, but very few of those who have done it have actually made proper measurements to show if it actually made any improvement.

[Jwatts93]

If you don't know what you are doing, don't try to lower it. As Cooperman says, it will not improve anything in normal road use, and will actually make the handling worse, because the static angles of the suspension wishbones will be wrong, roll centre at the wrong height, etc. The Mini was designed with a specific ride height for very good reasons.

Also, if you go too far, you risk balljoint fracture, which can write off the car and kill people.

There is a lot of absolute guff posted on this and other forums about lowering Minis, but very few of those who have done it have actually made proper measurements to show if it actually made any improvement.

Thankyou that's great I didn't know there was that many things to take into account, thankyou for all the information I think I'll stick with standard height :L
Thanks for the help

[Cooperman]

My friend Chris who has a Mini-based business asked for my help with a Mini he had coming in for work to be done. The owner had lowered it and set his SPAX dampers very hard because he felt its road-holding was poor and the handling unpredictable. I drove it and it was horrible. It kept on going onto the bump stops and was a simply very uncomfortable ride too.
First we measured everything, then raised it back to standard ride height (it had Hi-Lo's). The front was tracked to 1 mm toe out and offset negative camber lower arm bushes fitted. These give about 0.75 degrees more negative camber.
Then we set the rear to 0.5 degrees negative camber and re-set the rear toe-in, it was in fact toeing-out very slightly, to 2 mm toe-in.
Then the dampers were set much softer, the tyre pressures set to 30 psi all round.
Chris & I then drove it and then suggested that the owner took it out and tried it. He came back to say that it had never felt so friendly, safe and quick to drive around corners. The best 4 hours labour he had ever spent on the car.

[Jwatts93]

That's great to hear I guess sometimes keeping it simple and normal is the best way

[Chance]

Is that your recommendation for improvement of a road mini??
The tracking figures I mean

I have HiLos at standard height, but can I fit the offset bushes to my standard lower arms? And get the tracking set to your figures without fitting anything else??
Cheers

[Cooperman]

Yes you can. Mini Spares do offset lower arm bushes which will give a little bit more negative. They are not specifically intended for this, but they work well.
Many believe that the front suspension settings are less important than the rear so long as the front bushes and tie-bar rubbers are in top condition. The toe-out on the front should be about 1 mm to 1.5 mm.
The rear, however, is where the bad road-holding seems to come from. This is especially true with non-genuine sub-frames.
The rear suspension needs to be in line with the front, bearing-in-mind that the rear track is 2" narrower than the front.
Then the rear wheels MUST toe-in by 1 mm to 2 mm and not have positive camber. Ideally about 0.25 degrees negative is ideal, but in practice zero to -0.5 degrees is fine.
Then make sure the dampers are not set too hard to allow the suspension to n'work' in taking out the normal road bumps.

[Chance]

I need to replace my front lower arm bushes and tie ride rubbers soon so may do this :)

Thanks for the insight

[tiger99]

The funny thing is that it is very much cheaper to do it correctly as Cooperman has described than to waste money on dodgy lowering gizmos, fancy adjustable lower arms, shorter shockers, and my pet hate, coil-overs. Issigonis was basically a suspension designer, unlike some of those who produce aftermarket modifications, and it would ve very surprising if the best balance of roadholding and handling on a road car needed anything very non-standard.