New Rubber cones

[volores]

hi all

Need new rubber cones for the front......question is....Genuine ones from Minispares/mini sport et al at circa £40 a piece

Or.....non genuine ones from Mini spares of huddersfield at circa £20 a piece?

Don't mind paying the extra for genuine ones if they are better quality etc as would keep the originality of the car.....but no point paying more if the cheaper ones are just as good.

Cheers

[Cooperman]

Genuine every time. There are so many horror stories about the poor quality of the non-gen ones.

[volores]

Cheers mate - genuine ones on order it is then!

[Cooperman]

You won't regret that. As they say, "quality is remembered long after price is forgotten".

[Cerberus90]

apparently the ones from Minisport aren't proper genuine ones.

I bought them under the impression they were, as they were cheaper than minispares, but did still say they were genuine.

Apparently, the ones from minisport are made from the prototype tooling.


Mine still seem to be alright I think. I got a load of contradicting information when I was doing mine. Still not 100% sure which are the best/where to buy from.

[FWDRacer]

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/2948366.htm

[Roadster25]

I fitted a set of genuine cones from Min-Its to my 25 about 2 and a half years ago. They made such a massive difference, and given the relatively small difference in cost compared to the effort of actually doing the work, I'd go for original every time.

A tip for you - it was much easier to get to the n/s front cone with the radiator removed.

Must admit that mine is sitting a bit low again now, but still rides well (sort of, you know what I mean). It may be the knuckle joints. Wish I'd changed those at the same time...

[DanGT]

The knuckle jouints sit in a cup (plastic of some kind), replacing them is easy as they just puch in.

[Roadster25]

Yes, once the cones have been compressed or removed. My point is to change them at the same time, when it is easy.

[minivanman]

I'd be tempted to fit minitastic springs - you'll never have to deal with collapsing cones again. One of the best things I've done to my cars.

[guru_1071]

minivanman said:

I'd be tempted to fit minitastic springs - you'll never have to deal with collapsing cones again. One of the best things I've done to my cars.

the minitastic springs i fitted to my car are great - they took a bit of messing to get them to handle as well as cones, but with decent shockes and antiroll bars i feel that its about the best handleing road mini ive ever had.

it runs very soft, but doesnt bang and crash like a lowered car with cones.

[Sam the Mut]

guru_1071 said:

minivanman said:

I'd be tempted to fit minitastic springs - you'll never have to deal with collapsing cones again. One of the best things I've done to my cars.

the minitastic springs i fitted to my car are great - they took a bit of messing to get them to handle as well as cones, but with decent shockes and antiroll bars i feel that its about the best handleing road mini ive ever had.

it runs very soft, but doesnt bang and crash like a lowered car with cones.

could you tell me a bit more about your setup? looking at going down the springs root

[guru_1071]

Sam the Mut said:

could you tell me a bit more about your setup?

sam

my car runs the 'fast road' springs modded at the rear so there are no problems with them rattling or falling out, it had adjutable shocks running on about 2-3 'clicks' (i.e mega soft)

i can get away running them so soft because the car runs front and rear anti roll bars which help control both the lack of progessive roll from the springs, and because of the 'doubling' affect of arb's makes it possible to get away running the shockers so soft.

before the arb's went on, it was terrible, the shockers had to be run 'full hard' to stop the tyres rubbing on the arches on roundabouts and the like.

ive spent a lot of time on the suspension, and its all adjustable (bar the rear, which is on my 'too-do' list) and ive got it set so that it rides really really nice. its very very low, but due to the way the springs work its doesnt run super stiff like a mini lowered on rubber springs.

its the most comfortable mini ive ever had, and ive had a few.....

im not knocking the ride of a mini on new/quality springs, my mayfair (which ran new springs/new shocks) was a smooth quite ride, but the car with the springs is just a differnt kettle of fish, its geared to sit at 70mph, 4000 rpm, 80 deg c and it can do it all day long with no achey back, headaches, tired arms etc etc.

ive also got it doing nearly 50mpg - im determined to do it!

[lgomgf]

guru_1071 said:

sam

my car runs the 'fast road' springs modded at the rear so there are no problems with them rattling or falling out, it had adjutable shocks running on about 2-3 'clicks' (i.e mega soft)

i can get away running them so soft because the car runs front and rear anti roll bars which help control both the lack of progessive roll from the springs, and because of the 'doubling' affect of arb's makes it possible to get away running the shockers so soft.

before the arb's went on, it was terrible, the shockers had to be run 'full hard' to stop the tyres rubbing on the arches on roundabouts and the like.

ive spent a lot of time on the suspension, and its all adjustable (bar the rear, which is on my 'too-do' list) and ive got it set so that it rides really really nice. its very very low, but due to the way the springs work its doesnt run super stiff like a mini lowered on rubber springs.

its the most comfortable mini ive ever had, and ive had a few.....

im not knocking the ride of a mini on new/quality springs, my mayfair (which ran new springs/new shocks) was a smooth quite ride, but the car with the springs is just a differnt kettle of fish, its geared to sit at 70mph, 4000 rpm, 80 deg c and it can do it all day long with no achey back, headaches, tired arms etc etc.

ive also got it doing nearly 50mpg - im determined to do it!

You have springs at minispares, two question... do they just fit normally with the original trumpets or do we need any new trumpets? Also do I need the any special tool to compress them to get in?

[guru_1071]

its best to fit the hilos with them, so you can get the height of the car right.

you shouldnt need a compressor to fit them, but it will depend on the type of spring you buy

[Cooperman]

I've always been very sceptical about replacing the rubber cone springs with coils. The reason for this is that the rubber cone spring is a really good example of a true 'rising-rate' spring which is why the Mini, despite its short total suspension travel, worked so well even on bumpy roads.
I do have to admit that I've never tried a Mini on coil springs (I'm sure I should) and I assume that the latest type coil springs are 'rising-rate' with an initial rate quite low, increasing rapidly to a high figure to prevent 'coil-binding' at large bump deflections and this should work well to replicate the basic concept of the rubber cone springs but maybe with a slightly higher initial rate.
For racing it might be supposed that a high single-rate coil spring would be fine as tracks are smooth.

Interestingly, today I've been re-setting a 1997 MPI back to original ride height without using Hi-Lo's. I had forgotten what the spacer to height change ratios were and I asked and was told 3:1 front and 5:1 rear. However, I decided to measure and the front is 6:1. This is because from fore & aft centre line of top arm spindle to knuckle joint cup centre is 1.6" and to the outside face of the brake disc is 10". So 10/1.6 = 6 (as near as it needs to be). The rear is 12" to 2.5" which is 5:1 as was suggested. It all worked out correctly when re-assembled with spacers as calculated were fitted, thank goodness.