I was just looking at my mini and wondered if it was sitting too high at the back. When I was at the Morgan Park track day the back of the mini felt pretty lively tipping into the corner and it has got me wondering.

It has Matt Read Hi Lo's front and back, adjustable tie rods and arms and is on 12" wheels.



The top of the rear tyre sits 9cm from the lip on the body and the front sits 5.2cm





I hardly drive on the roads but am booked for another track day in October and am wondering if I drop the height if I will find the handling is more predictable and I can go a little bit faster into and out of the corners.

Any feedback would be helpful. I am taking the car to get the supsension checked and set up before the day so any extra info would be helpful.

Thanks

_________________
"Beware the lollipop of mediocrity: lick it once and you'll suck forever" Brian Wilson

The rear could come down a little.
Generally the rear is 10-20mm higher than the front but making it level is fine.

_________________
Respect mine and I'll respect yours.

I remember Bob Holden saying years ago that he always jacked the rear of his Minis up - to reduce understeer... Maybe that's what you were feeling..

Cheers, Ian

Thanks for the replies. I will drop the rears around 2cm and see if it helps.

_________________
"Beware the lollipop of mediocrity: lick it once and you'll suck forever" Brian Wilson

good timing for this thread for me, so might hijack slightly...

The other day when my car was at the mechanics getting some stuff done (to get ready to be finally rego'd), I was told the front is sitting too low, so when I got it home I attempted to adjust the Hi Lo's.

I assumed i just needed to undo the two nuts by getting a shifter on each and turning opposite directions, but not a chance they would budge, I soaked in wd40 overnight but still too tight, then I could feel it move but it was of the nuts slightly starting round so I stopped.

I threw in the towel and put wheels back on and then googled "min clearance in NSW" and it said 100mm, so got the tape measure and its pretty much bang on 105mm at the sump.

I have had the mini for roughly 10 years now, but never rego'd so not sure if this is practical, any advice? (advice if too low or how to loosen nuts?)

As always, thanks heaps for your help,

Mark

My car is only 70mm off the ground (measured to the centre muffler, lowest point on car).
Ride height is about 30mm between tyres and guards, or 10-15mm upper arm to bumpstop.

I'd like to have the car lower for looks but it just grinds and scrapes everything if I do that.

Ok cool sounds like should be ok then, cheers Mark

1071 s,

It wasn't under steering, but more tail happy/ over steering if I was pushing on.

Kurros, don't worry about the thread hijack I had the same problem. Maybe there is some trick to it?

_________________
"Beware the lollipop of mediocrity: lick it once and you'll suck forever" Brian Wilson

I have minisport hi-lows in my mini and I've lowered it a fair bit!
I think standard you should be able to get 4 fingers between the top of the wheel and the bottom of the rear arch and 3 fingers at the front!
I'm currently running mine with 1 finger at the front and 2 at the rear!
The sump is about 6cm off the ground and the exhaust is 7.5cm at its lowest point!
I have a few clearance issues at shopping centre speed bumps but I try to go round them!
On the brakes her so its slightly lifted at the rear but you get the idea!


Cheers, Rhys

_________________
2000 Holden Rodeo TD - The Daily
1998 JDM Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution V -The Weekender
1977 Leyland Mini 998cc, 1293cc in the works - The project
1977 Leyland Mini Van - Sold
1966 Morris Mini Deluxe - Sold
2004 MINI Cooper S Chilli - Sold

I might add another hijack to this thread... can anyone confirm if there is any change of strength in hi los the more you wind them up??

So to clarify... if I wind them all the way down to lower the car is that stronger or the same as if I wind them up to 'raise' the car?? Is there a point that you shouldnt exceed??

I should imagine that the spring rate will remain the same regardless of the HiLo length. I think there may be some change in leverage applied by the suspension arms but I'm not convinced it would make much difference.

A side note: I remember about thirty years ago, I was having my hydrolastics pumped up to level the car. The apprentice was trying to measure by sticking fingers between the tyres and body but the boss told him it would be easier and more accurate to just measure from the floor to the top of the arch. Kind of makes sense, yeah?

_________________
Behold! The mighty 850!

Rhys,

Running your car that low, do you have any clearance issues with the steering?

_________________
"Beware the lollipop of mediocrity: lick it once and you'll suck forever" Brian Wilson

i generally try to set the hi-los to the correct ride-height for the particular model/car

But they often drop/sag/settle so you need to try to keep them adjusted (as they settle) so the wheel alignment stays where it`s supposed to

so,,, just remember that if you change the ride height,,, then you have also changed the wheel alignment

The reason that some hi-los bind-up,,, get stuck,,, etc... is that people don`t coat the threads with copper-cote
they seize/corrode together because alloy & steel have a bit of a chemical reaction when sat together without lube in-between them (i like copper in this case/circumstance)

However,,, going back to my first statement above--> basically Setting ride heights to suit the application is the go,,, now Clive if you`re mostly doing track work now & very little road work ???... then yep,,, drop it down some,,, but not too low,,, & of course please remember to have it re-aligned after that ok?

_________________
No offence intended here but--> anyone writing a book about minis 30 years ago may not have experienced such worn or stuffed-with components as we are finding these days.

You should put your heart & soul into everything you do.

I guess that is the question, what is the proper ride height?

Depends if it is 4x4 or not

_________________
1964 998cc Cooper
1971 Mini K x 2
1972 Clubman GT