coil springs to replace doughnuts

[littler]

has anyone tryed those springs you can get to replace the rubber doughnuts?

ive been looking at the minispares kit

http://www.minispares.com/Product.aspx? ... 254&title=

[guru_1071]

adam

ive got the minitastic fast road ones fitted, they are good, but not progressive like a rubber doughnut.

you have do a fair bit of messing and extra spending to get them to behave as well as good rubber ones, but once the car is right they are great.

i found i had to fit helpers in the rear to stop them falling out when the car was jacked up, and front and rear anti roll bars, this then allowed me to run the shockers very soft.

with arb's and soft shockers the car handles great, on good roads its smooth as silk, you have to be careful on potholes etc as it will bottom out. my car is the best handeling road goin mini ive ever had - sure i dont drive it too fast or hard, but for normal day to day its excellent

[THE REVEREND]

ive converted my mini to springs DO IT you wont regret it bloody fantastic

[littler]

sounding promising, my car is a hillclimber and i just want to see improvement.

my car is pogoing unless youre super smooth, im changeing the dampers and as im on old standard doughnuts i thought i would look at those too.

i was thinking of going to the uprated rubber doughnuts but the competition springs caught my eye

[aquamini]

Hi i have a mini fitted with the minitastic fast road coil springs aswell they are very good for road use,but for a hill climber i would personally fit the red dot rubber springs they are superb the only thing that stopped the torque steer on mine.Sorry to throw a spanner in the works.

[Pete]

Might be worth checking eligibilty too mate as anything in 'modified roadgoing' aren't allowed springs anyway.

[999 ORX]

I have the comp ones on my mini, I have driven another one with coils which was a jap mini and in my opinion it was a bit guff (perhaps it wasn't set up very well) but the ones on mine are different make and it does make for a very nice positive ride. I did have to do a lot of faffing though to get them right.. I also had to make some helpers (perhaps this is more commom for 10" wheels????) for the backs to prevent the springs coming loose when jacking up or if you took off a bit as its not a pleasent thought having one jump out! Also interestingly its a mot failure if they are loose when jacket up! I also was able to run with my shocks softer which made the ride better.. Best of both worlds in my opinion, as they don't wear! Unless they snapped but I've never heard of that happening!

[guru_1071]

ive had a pm asking about the method of fitting helper springs to the rears to stop them falling out.

this is how i did it



the modification ive done to the hilos is to cut about 1/2" from the locating rod that slides into the hilo, then cut a oil pressure spring (from a cooper s) in half - then check (before fitting) that the hilo rod can still bottom out against the hilo when weight is put on it (if needs be shorten the hilo rod more)

this little spring will then 'pre-load' (by about 1/2") the rear parts when the car is jacked up and prevents the minitastic spring from falling out - once the weight of the car is back on the ground the little sping compresses and doesnt do anything.

hope this helps

[Tim Harber]

Coil spring conversions are really good, because we get to supply rubber cones to people who get fed up with them disintigrating after a year

Same tends to apply to cheap quickshifts

[cheleker]

Well spoken, Tim!

Never made any sense to me to install coil springs, then spend lots of time and money adding anti-sway bars and setting up the suspension to get back to where one would have been with proper cones anyway!

They are a little easier to install, so I like them from that aspect when people insist that's what they want me to install for them.

Don't even get me started on "quickshifts" - any quick shift.

[guru_1071]

Well spoken, Tim!

Never made any sense to me to install coil springs, then spend lots of time and money adding anti-sway bars and setting up the suspension to get back to where one would have been with proper cones anyway!

i must say that i feel mine rides better on normal smooth roads than my mayfair did with all new rubber cones, and they are something im certainly going to fit to my GTM when it gets to that point. it certainly is the smoothest most comfy mini ive ever driven long distances and it breaks just about every 'you shouldnt do that rule' that people say about minis - wide wheels, spacers, far to low, horrific driveshaft angles etc etc - you wouldnt notice any of this when driving it though - its so well behaved

i do feel that for hard, fast, comp use a progressive rubber cone is a better starting point, but the coils, with the associated work are an alternative if your prepared to put the work in.

i think the biggest mistake is that many people fit the coils, then attempt to dial out the lack of progression by turning the shockers up too hard - this spoils the handling completely

its horses for courses though, different strokes for different folks!

[littler]

ive gone for the original cone type,

red dot minispares on the front and new standard on the rear, WHAT A CHANGE !! it feels like a different car!! its so much more positive its untrue.

just one thing, having never fitted new cones before due to the worry of them shaging up, do they bed in ? ive probubly in total lost about 2 inchs ,

i set the front high with about 2" from tyre to arch lip, went out for a quick rag up the road, came back and had 3/4" tyre to arch. i road tested it a few times after resetting the ride height and it sank less and less.

is this normal or have i got a duff set?

[guru_1071]

ive gone for the original cone type,

red dot minispares on the front and new standard on the rear, WHAT A CHANGE !! it feels like a different car!! its so much more positive its untrue.

just one thing, having never fitted new cones before due to the worry of them shaging up, do they bed in ? ive probubly in total lost about 2 inchs ,

i set the front high with about 2" from tyre to arch lip, went out for a quick rag up the road, came back and had 3/4" tyre to arch. i road tested it a few times after resetting the ride height and it sank less and less.

is this normal or have i got a duff set?

adam

the cones will settle a lot in the first week or so (depending on use) to their 'correct' position - its normal for the car to drop an inch or so - once they have bedded in they will remain at a constant height.

[littler]

minter, great piece of mind, thanks Rich.