I am not Java enabled so cant access the chat area. Can someone please tell me the pro and cons of the different suspension types on clubmans (fluid etc) and how to readily tell them apart from visual inspection.
Thanks

1. Don't bother with the chat area, it's about as busy as a lone star restaurant.
2. Can't be of and help with pros and cons, having never been in a hydro car.
3. On hydros, there will be a hose coming out of te top of the front suspension tower on each side that goes under the car towards the back.

I am new to minis but I can tell you that my hydro mini K handles very well and the ride quality is most impressive for a small car. My dry clubbie handles well but the ride is nowhere near as good.

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Mini K, 1310, Jet Red/Crystal White Roof, Rover Interior

75 Clubman

Cheers,
Now if somebody could extoll the virtues of each.....
I remember,but only just, a mate of mine when we left school bought a clubman(my god it must have been almost brand new) and I believe it had fluid. I remember it use to like.....stand up I guess, when you gave it some.

AFAIK the reason the hydro handle better is they only allow suspension travel from front to back, and the car can't roll in corners. I guess the pros for the dry suspension is it is easier to work on, sice ulling apart to servive means you don't have to deflate the whole system.

When it comes to ride Hydro absorbs the small bumps / ruts in road better than the dry, with dry you can tell whether the coin you just ran over what a fifty or a twenty.

I have a dry car, however I would have prefered hydro.

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One should never skimp on the zip ties.

I've got both.
If you have a hydro pump I reckon the hydro front suspension is easier to work on than the dry. no cone puller needed, just let the fluid out...

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DrMini- 1970 wasaMatic 1360, Mk1S crank, 86.6HP (ATW) =~125 @ crank, 45 Dellorto (38 chokes), RE282 sprint cam, 1.5 rockers, 11.0:1 C/R.

I've had both and while they are both good , I prefer dry as it's easier to raise or lower yourself and less likely to fail and strand you somewhere . wet is a little more comfortable (unless you are lucky to find a Mk4 mini (softer rubber cones) with half a tonne of soundproofing that just cruises through the bumps , shouldn't have sold that one ......) but if you have a pipe or bag failure you end up driving home very very slowly looking like a drunk who needs to lean on the wall to stay upright . Wet was a good system in it's time but good bags are getting harder to find .

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Both are able to be tailored to suit your need. the Dry is lighter then the Wet and you can adjust each corner more independantly to the others.

Wet in std form is softer ride when new. New hehehe

OK on wet cars for a performance feel you can raise the std pressure by 20% (ill check the racing book on the number) and machine down the rod to attain a firm low ride. Put shockers on the front and a sway bar on the rear and things should handle well

Dry well the usual hieght adjust on the length of the cones and sway bar at the rear.

On both, neg camber on the front

There are heaps of books on suspension setups but either dry or hydro will still give you legendary mini handling

excellent, that was what I kinda remembered from years ago and it was good to get all that clarified. Dry I think is the direction which I will go.
thanks again

Fluid is FANTASTIC

Blue

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Keep shiny side up

Dry is better. It wasn't cost that made them go back to dry.

smithy

Having both in my opinion dry is better for hard and fast driving as you know were you are with wet you have less connection with the road. Hydrolastic was removed from BMC/BMLC when Issigonis retired.

steve

That's not the accepted story as told by BMC/Leyland historians..
Cooper S production in UK stayed wet for years after the rest went dry, so they could continue to win rallies etc...
Let's face it- when a dry Mini `gets air' all its suspension linkage is just hanging loose... waiting for the crash landing!!

I got both, but love the wet one!

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DrMini- 1970 wasaMatic 1360, Mk1S crank, 86.6HP (ATW) =~125 @ crank, 45 Dellorto (38 chokes), RE282 sprint cam, 1.5 rockers, 11.0:1 C/R.

A dry suspension car is like riding in a billycart with steel wheels, very harsh.
You can improve a hydro equipped car by converting it to fully independend
hydro & adding shockies to each corner.
The last of the MGs had this system (correct me if I'm wrong)

Blue

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Keep shiny side up