I am going to retain the old rear Dunlop cones (in really good shape, not overly hard or crazed and not donut shaped ) and have bought a set of red spot MS cones. Both will be fitted using an MS HiLo-kit.
Now a friend and Mini tinkerer told me I should fit the Dunlops in front and the red spots in the rear - I would have done otherwise.
What would you guys suggest?
Yes I am a nerd: I am researching the Austrian Mini-racing scene of the 60s and 70s
What dampers are you using - I wouldn't mix and match cones if the dampers aren't adjustable as you'll get different bump and rebound rates at either end of the car - could make for some very 'interesting' handling.
However if you must use a mix, I personally would think to use the standard ones on the rear where there is less weight and which would be better suited to the lower spring rate.
Depending on what you are expecting, good ride quality or rock hard ride. About 6 years maybe more ago after 70 to 80 thousand
miles on the OE rubber ( 85 1000 E ) I replaced the fronts with MSC red dot and the rears with new std MSC. As a daily driver and
my only transportation for 18 years I was accustomed to the ride and handling. I found the fronts to be really harsh turning into
driveways or over heavy tar strips. I do a lot of rubber spring replacement and a good quality spring std all around with HI Los to
get correct ride height gives a very nice ride. Most people are surprised having never ridden in a freshly sprung mini. Steve (CTR)
Edit: I also was using and still am KYB Gas Adjust.
In case I fancy a "smooth ride" I take one of my hydropneumatic Citroëns
The Mini is meant for cutting corners, do a couple of historic rallys or ride outs into our alpine pass roads. So road holding clearly surpasses comfort in my check sheet.
Yes I am a nerd: I am researching the Austrian Mini-racing scene of the 60s and 70s
GraemeC wrote: ↑Wed Dec 09, 2020 5:37 pmHowever if you must use a mix, I personally would think to use the standard ones on the rear where there is less weight and which would be better suited to the lower spring rate.
The later Moulton Cones do stand in a static state much higher than stock cones as they have a softer rater, so they compress more in normal use.
Any original Dunlop Cone would be at the very youngest 24 years only now and would be considerably harder than designed. I'm not saying that's a bad thing, just they'll have a higher rate and as they compress, the rate they have isn't linear either, but goes up rather sharply.
I had minisport smooth a ride all round, after about five years the ride felt very hard and choppy and I needed to adjust the ride height at least two or three times during summer use.
I've kept the smooth a ride on the back and changed the front to minispares evolution.
For me the car felt like it did when initially fitted the smooth a ride but a bit more precise.
) and have bought a set of red spot MS cones. Both will be fitted using an MS HiLo-kit.
