Tony, Tony, Tony, You were getting so much better but now you've gone back to your old ways. You make it sound like your talking from experience driving on different springs? but your not are you, your just making it up as you go along throwing in a bit of 2nd hand knowledge gleaned from previous posts on the subject. Be a good boy and STOP. go back to your little videos at least they are authentic

Rubber cone Mini springs are 'progressive' - the wall of the cone is thin at one end and thickens as you go up. Lightly loaded, they are relatively soft and compliant. As you increase load (passengers etc,) they become increasingly stiffer. Kind of like having a range of helper spring (or multi-leaf springs like on a truck).
Coil springs for a Mini are not progressive. That explains Alex's comment about his coil-equipped car rubbing its tyres when he had back seat passengers.
Back to rubber cones: when you are driving straight and lightly loaded, you are riding on the soft portion of the spring rate. But when you turn into a corner, it "loads" the outside wheels, and they quickly use a stiffer part of the spring rate. The harder. the turn (you ARE diving it like a Mini, right?) the stiffer the suspension, which is partly why Minis corner so well, without anti-roll (sway) bars. Meanwhile, on the inside wheels, some load has come off, and the springs offer an even lighter spring rate so the tyres get a little better grip despite the loss of weight on them. Coils won't do that either.

Back to rubber cones: Stock ones are fine, provided you get quality ones. Competition would be firmer. Smooth-a-Ride should come as a kit. The front cones are taller than stock, so adjustable trumpets are needed. The extra height in the come is because the profile of the cone wall is different, providing a softer, more compliant ride (less harsh), but when loaded more, they firm up like the stock ones. There is a little more body roll on "agressive" cornering, but still quite stable once the outside wheels get loaded with cornering forces. I'm happy with the results.

Blue spring is softer,than red,green and black., if blue is coupled with a good quality damper,it's fantastic for city driving. Red feels very much like rubber cone, and it doesn't make sense, if it feels the SAME, then i'd rather buy the rubber cone, it's a lot cheaper. Blue is the way to go,imo, becaue the reason why you go spring is to have a softer ride, not a bumpy golf cart ride where you can't even hold your coffee while driving.

I wrote a veritable essay a while back on the comparisons between three cars on three different springing mediums but using the same dampers to ensure a fair test.

Have a search for it.

Blue springs must be a nightmare to live with, I have to be careful on red ones with people in the back of the car causing bottoming and wheel to wheelarch rub and they are much stiffer.  Handling wise they're not much different, touch more bodyroll (more like a hydro car) but the grip and chuckability is pretty much exactly the same.

Do a search. There was a good comparison thread (springs vs stock) written here a while back with good information.

I think i might bite the bullet and get the coil spring and hi/los. I daily drive a wrx with coilover suspension, so im pretty used to driving on stiff suspension.

on blue spring, you need to adjust your hi lo higher or install an oversized rebound rubber, otherwise if you hit a real huge crater, the spring will get dislocated...you need to adjust it several times to suit your driving preference and ride height. but the spring really helps dampen medium to large holes or uneven pavement,but you can still feel a clank if you hit a sudden bump, like for example a stone or rock. My scooter suspension is still softer by far. Plus it makes you drive with your chin held up high because you are using a $800 worth of suspension that is close to modern standards.  One thing for sher,  you'll loose the golf cart effect when you use the spring suspension, but in exchange you'll feel like you are riding Aladin's magic carpet...now, everytime i drive my mini since i had the spring installed, i can't help but sing the song "The whole new world"!


https://youtu.be/-kl4hJ4j48s

I just got my Mini a few months ago and I had asked the owner if he had replaced the suspension or not.  He said it was original.  But when I was doing my brakes and radiator I noticed I had Spax adjustable shocks, this made me curious so I looked more and found I had the blue Hi-Lo springs installed too.  I feel like the Mini drives and handles (under normal driving conditions) similar to my Acura RSX Type-S with the firmer A-Spec suspension, an OEM upgrade that is stiffer than stock.  Bumps on the road give a bit of a jostle, the larger ones will give a good bounce.  But it is nothing like having a car on stiff lowering springs, those just bounce around everywhere.


All in all, I don't mind the Mini's normal handling characteristics with the Spax shocks and Hi-Lo springs.  It is a little on the bouncy side, but not intolerable.  But it also does not waft over the bumps like driving on a cloud.  I haven't had the pleasure of really getting in to it on a twisty back road, but the couple times I've had a little fun the car feels very planted.

I wanted to get new suspension, since my car suspension is pretty worn out. Whats everyones thoughts on replacing the rubber cones and trumpets with the coil spring and hi/los or adjusta ride. ? Ride Quality? perfomance? any info would be greatly appreciated.