Cones it is then. I have one you can have.

Is that your car in your avatar? looks like a nice car. can we hear a bit more about it? when/who built it? looks like a space frame car............

At the top of one of the front cones, where the metal meets up with the rubber (where the Hi-lo goes) there is a large gap around the metal (the others have gaps but they are all small, maybe 1/16th) this one is slightly larger than the rest, maybe 1/8th of an inch. I was worried about it being worn and thought that maybe that was why it was like that. Kermit seems confident and I trust his experience, I'll post a picture of the worn bit tomorrow and if you guys think it's good to go then that's what I'll use!

If your going to leave those cones, not worry about the rust on them. Makes no differences. What do you mean about the crack on the cone though?

I thought the cones sagged after time though? Is that not true? Even on the mini mania site it says that the race cones will only last one season, is that just so people that don't know keep coming back so they make more money? If the cones I have are good enough does that mean I just have to scrub off the rust and I'm good to go?

Listen to Kermit Wold, he and his brother have been racing Minis for years!

NO, not new rubbers, OLD rubbers.  Somebody on this board will probably give them to you.  Hell, I might give them to you.  You don't need springs.  They suck unless you have like 12 sets in various rates, you know to sort them, and have a couple of decades of competition driving in whatever.  SAVE your money for reliability!  Hell, if you are asking these questions you probably have a mini driving learning curve so long that it doesn't matter what you put in there.  Maybe even the cracked one would be the best one in this or that corner.

Everybody knows my rant on the board.  If you are going to start racing a mini you don't need anything that was made before 1970 to be up there except a dog box.  Stop spending money crap that doesn't matter. 

Thank you for all the replies, the car already has both a front and a rear sway bar, I have the racing cones that came on the car but before I bought it the car had been sitting for at least 10 years out in the Texas sun. The old cones are pretty rusty and one of the front cones rubber is cracked that's why I'm looking to replace them. Looking at all the threads the response seems to be very mixed. They both seem to have negatives and positives for track only use but it's hard to tell which would be better. The spring option is likely the way I'll end up going simply because I would rather spend 380 dollars for a set of springs rather than 680 for a set of four cones.

Find a set of 30 year old rubbers and let 'er buck.  Throw on a good set of stiff bump stops on the rear and get rid of the front ones.  Sway bars front and rear.  Don't over think the whole deal.  The front sway bar is optional.  Many drivers cannot readily adapt to how loose you have to drive to take advantage of it in which case you will be slower than no bar at all.  If money is burning a hole in your pocket spend it on reliability not cool factor crap.  

Talk to Graham Reid and also reach out to Scott Crawford and Bart Smith, who both race VARA here in So Cal. 

From what I've gathered from listening, the spring setup (if permitted in your racing class) is preferred over cones. The springs, once set, are consistent from day 1 to year 10. Rubber changes and settles. The cones will be supple over small bumps when they are first installed and they will feel fantastic in the beginning, but the subtleties go away. The springs can provide that ever-important souplesse and also the consistent ride requirements fur many years to come. That initial light compliance is what helps keep tires in contact with the ground, which provides the adhesion for cornering.

I understand, however, the springs most certainly require a minimum of a rear sway bar and likely a front sway bar as well. Rubber cones are frequently and most commonly set up with a rear sway bar. 

One problem I have with my rubber cone setups on track cars is strapping them down on the trailer by anything but their wheels helps to compress the cones and the car comes off the trailer lower than it goes on to the trailer. I want to try a spring setup, but it is not yet in my budget. Some day I'd like to convert one of the track minis to coil springs and see if I can appreciate a difference.

My intuition tells me springs would be better for racing because they provide a constant spring rate. Progressiveness of cones might only be advantageous on the occasions when you have a car full of passengers and luggage. One of our members had S-racer blue springs crack a few years ago so hopefully springs are better made now. 

Look up "pixieracing" on here. He has written books on mini handling and also racing. He has not been on here in a while so you may need to email him.

Do a search there was a detailed thread comparing the two types (for road use) a while back. I think the conclusion was that the cones were more progressive.

Hello everyone, I've been scouring forums for past couple of days trying to find out what the best suspension would be for a Mini Cooper that will only ever been on the track. It's down the the 'Yellow Dot' Race Cones versus the Green Competition Springs. This being a race car comfort and ride are second to handling and being able to carry speed through corners. My main question after reading over many forum posts about this or similar subjects is, buying a full set of cones is almost double what it would cost for the springs so are the cones really that much better than the springs?