15 replies to this topic

[Lucas1988]

Hi guys and girls

 

Looking at fitting coilovers to the front of my daily.

Just wondered if that will improve the comfort being a daily.

Whats best to go for with 13's being run on it?

What lbs, do I go for?

 

Thanks in advance

 

Lucas

 

[Tamworthbay]

They work very differently to cones so I am not sure how good it would be to only do the fronts. I would think you would need a full set or it could be horrible (even dangerous perhaps?) to drive. I have used Protechs all round with 12s and they are very good but I wouldn't use them on a road car.

[Lucas1988]

Why are they not good for a road car??

[Cooperman]

If you want comfort you don't buy a classic Mini .

Coil springs work on the track where a high initial spring rate reduces body roll, but for the road you really can't beat the original rubber cone springs which enabled the real revelation in road-holding when the Mini was introduced. They are true 'rising rate springs' with an increasing rate as the spring is deflected.

You can get rubber cone springs, called 'Smootha-Ride', with a lower initial rate which will be better than a coil spring.

[Lucas1988]

They work very differently to cones so I am not sure how good it would be to only do the fronts. I would think you would need a full set or it could be horrible (even dangerous perhaps?) to drive. I have used Protechs all round with 12s and they are very good but I wouldn't use them on a road car.

Why are they not good for a road car??

[Tamworthbay]

Too harsh or too soft - the rubber is rising rate so it gets stiffer as you compress it more. With the Coilovers you can set them soft so the ride is ok, but then it wallows in the corners and bottoms on bumps, or you get the handling nice and it's knocking your fillings out on anything other than a perfect road. Just my experience, others may find then different but I definately wouldn't mix the two.

[Cooperman]

Because they are intended for giving a higher initial spring rate for track use where the lower initial rate of the rubber cone spring will allow more body roll as the car corners.

But, to get a softer ride a lower initial rate is required and, of course, a coil spring can do this. But then the coil spring will need a higher rising rate.

There really is no advantage of running coil springs on a road car and coil-binding can also be an issue on bumpy roads which is dangerous.

It is, however, a way for Mini parts suppliers to 'cash-in' by selling unnecessary modifications to an already superb design with no improvement in end result.

Edited by Cooperman, 16 January 2014 - 08:41 PM.

[Bungle]

why don't you try the smooth ride kit from minisport

 

it's a softer rubber cone similar to the stock set up

[Cooperman]

That's what I recommended above. They are good if you want a softer ride at lower speed.

[Carlos W]

The other issue is, they're not a bolt on part!

 

There's no way the 4 bolts used to hold the damper can support the whole weight of the front end

[Cooperman]

Quite right. The top damper mounting must be modified to take full static & dynamic loads and the bottom mounting pin has been known to fail unless up-rated.

Then again, there are the different springs available which have different rising rates and different initial rates, as in for track or for road comfort. remember, you get nowt for nowt. If the low-speed comfort is improved by making it a softer ride, the road-holding & handling may well suffer as a result. The Mini is so fantastic because of, not in spite of, the rubber cone spring suspension.

On a racing car it is different, and ride quality is not considered - it's lap times which count. If I was building a track car I would fit coil springs, but never on a road car.

[Carlos W]

 

 

Take the bracket off and make sure it doesn't look like this underneath

[Cooperman]

As so many do. I've just completed a repair on a shell with that problem. A lot of welding & fitting!

[Carlos W]

As so many do. I've just completed a repair on a shell with that problem. A lot of welding & fitting!

 

This is my car

[Lucas1988]

i know that the front has no rust behind the brackets as i have already put brand new brackets on as i wasn't happy with the rusty looking ones on there