well what is the difference?

The shape & diameter & radius of the suspension trumpet (or hi-lo) directly effects the spring rate of the rubber donut

so ,,, yes the trumpet or hi-lo "CAN" make your car stiffer or softer depending on the shape/radius/diameter of the trumpet/hi-lo

the soft-road coil springs are probably the softest ride you will get tho... but you will sacrifice the handling/cornering because of it

if your back is as bad as mine (or worse) then get good quality seats & soft road coil springs ,,,

or otherwise you can use small diameter, sharp radii hi-los---> (similar result)

ok Andy,,, if you`re serious about makjing it like you say then the way i would go is,,, find some decent 2nd hand donuts,,, not squished,,, not sagged,,, not sunken & rock hard,,,, But not New either... something nice condision,,, alreradys easoned but without being 45 years old & stuffed, but not brand new "springy to the moon" either

then fit those donuts with some of my own special "Soft-Foot" hi-los & a full set of KYB "Gas-adjust shocks,,, set up the ride height & "STD" spec,,, not too low,,, not to high & Bob`s your Aunty mate

you will have a lovely ride with just 2 people or 4,,, smooth & comfortable with both different loads,,, it will still handle nice because you are actually "Using" your correct amount of suspension travel, but without being almost "SOLID" like some minis are

for some reason people like rock hard, stiff suspension "Claiming" it to be "Better-Handling",,, well stutter bumping across the opposit side of the road whilst attemting to corner just isn`t my kettle of fish, nor is it my favourit way to corner a mini

minis have some 4" of suspension travel & if correctly fitted out & adjusted correctly, it will serve you well with "loaded" & "Un-loaded" conditions

the trick is in "Blend" of both the donut & the hi-lo condition/designs

Hee hee,,, "some" people on here will "Know" what i`m talking about,,, but sadly other won`t

ok,,, end of dribble,,, move along,,, nothing to see here,,, it was a private conversation & doesn`t concern you lot

This is a copy of the e-mail (PM) that i have sent to a few people already, may as well just type it here to save re-typing to everyone via individual PMs

I`ve worked on minis for a very long time & i feel i`ve sorted the hi-lo system out pretty well,,, depending on what sort of ride you like & what type of rubber donut you have to use, we can tailor the hi-los to suit your needs,,, & they`re easy to fit & adjust

My hi-Los are made from hi quality Billet Machine grade alloy, made just the right length to fit easy, with M20 thread all the way to the head of the bolt , so they can be adjusted very low to fit in without having to remove the top arm or the need for a cone compressor

I make 3 different designs, a small diameter "soft" sharp radius one for lovely smooth soft ride on the road (or to help with the use of old hard donuts),,,, i make a std radius which i call a Medium (same radius & diam as the std alloy struts)... & i make a wide diam large radius which creates a firmer/ harder ride for race cars

so mine are basically far better than the average set which are all made very large diameter (too firm) & wayyyyy tooo long (wont fit very easy)

Mine also have the drain hole to let the water out & come with the threads all pre-"copper-coated" so there`s no problem with them binding up

But,,, in saying that, i personally like to remove the top arm to effect the over-haul of the pivot bearings , check thrusts & the seat for the nylon cup etc

They`re $60 each plus postage

cheers
Matt