Thanks again John - todd (at) dunningmarketing.com

E-mail not in your profile, Todd -

Yes please sir!  Hopefully my email is easy to find in my profile.  Thanks again.

John i would like to have that email in profile! thanks in advance

I can E-mail a fantastic  .pdf which one of the more knowledgeable guys sent to me some years ago.  Can't remember who, but this is a great article from Automobile Engineer, May 1961 and I'm still very greatful to have access to it.

I arrived at roughly 0.3" mostly by using Keith Calver's recommendation of ¼" free clearance and then road testing and ended up shaving just a tad more.  Of course, my car is lowered such that the drive shafts sit level/parallel to the ground as measured with a small magnetic bubble-type level.

It's important that the suspension does the 'work' and that the bump stop only prevents the components from bashing themselves to bits on compression.  By adding the re-profiled tops (semi-conical along the uppermost remaining third, leaving around a 1" flat-top for the actual 'bump' platform), it allows the bump stop to have a sort of variable compression.  After several sessions of hard cornering, I've noticed evidence on the sides of the bumpstop where compression occured (stress), but the ride was still predictable and benefitted from slightly reduced body roll.

Another benefit is that you can get replacement rubber blocks individually, so if you mess up, no biggy, 'just' buy a new pair, pop them on and begin again.  A bit of rubber grease assists in fitting the blocks to the brackets.

I had tried the late-model, single bolt poly bump stops (FAM2764MS) earlier and didn't like them very much.  Too hard, in my opinion.

Jegs thanks for taking the time for an excellent post.  

It sounds like I should be cycling the suspension for other clearancing, wish I could do that without a cone compressor but oh well.

So if .3" is the ticket at rest, any idea what that translates to in max suspension compression?  For example, if the bump squashes .7", resulting in one inch of compression at the bump, does that translate to, say, two inches of wheel travel?

I know that's probably impossible to know.  Maybe I could do an experiment with chalk marks or something, go speedbump-bashing.

Remember that the C-AJJ4007 kit is 'taller' than the standard bump stop which is bolted to the subframe and bumps the upper arm.  The hydrolastic kit is mounted to the lower damper pin, and the AHH7074 rubber blocks face upwards and bump the subframe, so you'll also want to upgrade the lower damper pin (C-AJJ3361) and if you haven't already, install the C-AJJ3359 front damper brackets for lowered suspension.

Riding on the bump stops will cause handling problems, so if the new, taller hydrolastic-type rubber blocks are hitting the subframe when at rest and unladen, remove the blocks and shorten them.  I removed somewhere close to ½" from the top of each of mine and re-profiled the newly cut ends, giving them a bevelled taper, smooth top and around 0.3" clearance to the subrame.

Another thing - you may need to file the welds on the brackets under the mounting pins in order that the brackets clear the upper arm and the damper pin may pass through.

Install a cage in the back no one will want to ride there then.......

Alex of course you're right.  I will, just a tad.   I wish there was an absolute measurement somewhere to say "your tires will go no higher than X if you adjust Y to this".   We all know how to set ride height but I tend to see speed bumps at the last minute and want to avoid the consequences - while still keeping the car as low as possible.

Raise the rideheight all round.

Instead of firefighting a problem, get to the root cause - your car is too low.

Lance where you on Saturday man?  There was rumour and speculation you were there.

Norm thank you, that's exactly what Don just said and they sound perfect so I ordered them.

That's helpful to hear I should position them just above the arm, awesome.   I almost cracked off a brand-new set of Grp2 flares on the freeway back from Nevada City Adventure (MM Open house).  So it's either get these bumps or a whole lot of epoxy...

 

 

the hydro minis came with a much larger bump stop, which is progressive (sort of like an auxiliary suspension cone)

I installed a set of those on the front of my (dry) mini, at the suggestion of Kieth Calver in an article about handling. They are almost in contact with the arm at static ride height and they gradually compress from there.

Not sure, but I wonder if a set of those would improve your situation?

Norm

Your squashed cones are probably best for this as the soft cone portion is gone.  Maybe hard springs?

In the front, how do you adjust hi/los and bumps to absolutely ensure front travel stops at a known point?

Those occasional super-hard hits - freeway bumps and potholes when loaded with 4 people - are hitting and cracking the wheel arches.  I would like to stop this without jacking up the height.   Right now the ends are 1/2" away from the platform.  They're new two-bolt, and I'm spacing them with 1/16 washers.

Since we don't have adjustable front bumps, I was thinking of shimming them more so that I can guarantee upper travel will go no farther than "X" measurement below the arch.  Or maybe that's not the right approach for minis.

Related to this, I have two new Moultons on the shelf waiting to go in.  Will they help in this scenario, or do my current dead, squashed cones have the same resistance at the extreme?