3 replies to this topic

[racer-x]

Hi ive been recently fitting some hi lo's to my 1979 mini 1000 fronts no problem and rears even easier but when shortening the rears and thus lowering the car it apears that should the car leave the ground ( over hump backed bridge lets say ) the hi lo could easily jump out of the rubber cone !!!! for this reason I take it that you need to fit short stroke rear dampers?

[danie garry]

Yup, lowered dampers needed, spax, gaz, avo, all do em

[tiger99]

Yes, as you are aware there is a major safety problem if you can get knuckle disengagement on suspension droop!

 

But do you need special, and therefore expensive, dampers? I think not necessarily, although you need to do something. Think about the possibility of fitting droop stops to limit arm movement.There are umpteen different bump or rebound stops made for various different cars, in rubber or poly, and it can't be beyond the wit of man to devise a way of fitting them, possibly even on adjustable brackets so that you can set them, as needed, when you change the ride height. I am thinking maybe of a bracket on the damper lower mount, or brake backplate bolts, that engages with a squidgy stop on the subframe lower flange. Or, a flexible strap running in parallel with the damper, would do the job.

 

Think about it. Maybe do it, or find an even better way. How about an adjustable top mount for the dampers, a sort of extension on the wheel arch top, so you can pull them up when you lower the ride height? There is more than one way to skin a cat....

[Leonrjohnson]

I had the same trouble with my 1977 Clubman, so I got Gaz Shocks in UK to make me a custom set for the rear. 10 inches fully compressed, 14.5 inches fully extended. I worked this out by setting the HiLo's at the ride height that I wanted, then jacked up the rear and let the radius arm droop(floor jack under the hub) to the height that wouldnt let the HiLo jump out of the Donut.Then I measured the length that the shock should be at that point. This stopped my HiLo from disconnecting from the rubber donut when fully extended.This cost me 50 GBP plus freight.

 

Their email is technical

@gazshocks.com