My 1993 Cooper has 60,000 k on the clock with all the service history with it (that I had translated from Japanese to English) so I know it’s genuine. That said, the shocks are the original factory ones and creak a bit and the handling is not what it could be.

The car is fitted with Hi-lows. I went up to Bob Jane and a few other mainstream fitters and all were pushing Monrow shocks. I had Konis fitted to my MPI Cooper and they were great. That OR Spax. Also, they quoted 2 hours labor to fit then @ $90 PH. Sounded right to me.

Any advice would be great guys. Thanks

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Its not the size that matters.........
Rover Mini Cooper 1993 spi - current
Rover Mini Cooper 1998 ( Tahti Blue/white)
Rover Mini Cooper 1992 ( Brg),1987 Mayfair

Not sure about shocks on Minis specifically but it seems the general consensus on shocks is:-

Bilstein - the most expensive and the best
Konis - expensive and almost as good as Bilsteins, bit harder ride
Spax & Monroe - not nearly as good but do work OK and are cheap

You get what you pay for. Comes down to your budget.

Pete

Great feebback thanks very much - I do like a hard ride and no body roll so hopefully this will sort the handeling out

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Its not the size that matters.........
Rover Mini Cooper 1993 spi - current
Rover Mini Cooper 1998 ( Tahti Blue/white)
Rover Mini Cooper 1992 ( Brg),1987 Mayfair

I have bilsteins and they're great, but non adjustable - but you don't need to as they are great out of the box.

Koni's are a good choice and slightly cheaper.

Spax and Gaz are OK but of lesser quality from all the people i've spoken too.

KYB are supposed to be a really good choice and are nice and cheap.

2hours fitment is about right including the removal of the tanks (single or twin?) but i wouldn't trust mr. Bob Jane to remove tanks and fit everything correctly. Why not fit them yourself? It's only a couple of nuts and bolts on the front two and a nut on the top of the rear and bolt down the bottom. Only issue is removal of the tank which is not that hard.

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KYB "Gas-Adjust" are the choice for me for road use,,, they`re a great shock & very reasonably priced,,, they work very very well,,, but just remember if you order them to ask specifically for "Gas-Adjust" as there are KYB std shocks avaliable also,,, they`re 2 totaly different kettles of fish...

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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.

Great ! Ok, i am learning to Koni`s as i had them already and actually liked the easy ajustable function.

Is it best to order them O.S from MS or locally ?

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Its not the size that matters.........
Rover Mini Cooper 1993 spi - current
Rover Mini Cooper 1998 ( Tahti Blue/white)
Rover Mini Cooper 1992 ( Brg),1987 Mayfair

pretty sure the price from MS now will be more expensive than locally with the exchange rate.

I'd get a quote from the Oz supplier and from MS and go with the cheapest

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Ill have to dig up my receipts but im sure i paid about $8-900 for 4 Spax Adjustable Gas Shocks back in 2002.

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http://www.youtube.com/user/Hanras

I have adjustable Spax on both my cars - not cheap but as quick as other brands around the track - with a better driver....

However, I keep 3 wheeling around corners and have been told by those in the know that newer type (not sure what brands) keep all 4 wheels on the ground - better travel or something.

I look at it this way.... 3 wheels on the ground have less rolling resistance than 4 wheels - therefore I have to be going faster!

Kuzzy

I was unimpressed with my Koni's & Spax shocks, i now have Bilsteins in my Cooper S, but have recently got a set of GAZ adjustables in from the UK, im super impressed with them, easy to adjust & are cheap to get in direct from the UK.

Doogie

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I won Hay once, here's the pic to prove it..


Hay, it's not about the car, it's not about the venue, it's about the people that come here. Peter Dwyer, Mayor of Hay NSW.

I am unimpressed with the Konis I put on Barney, they cost me $150 ea and were so soft I have them adjusted nearly right up tight. Still bouncy over speed humps...
Bilsteins on Josh's car feel good.. but ride is a bit harder.

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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.

When I got my Monroes there were 2 types, Aus made crap ones and Belgium made good ones. That was 10 years ago so I have no idea what they are like now.

M

I found the receipts for my Spax, I got them through Fulcrum back in Dec 2001 they were $760 plus $40 freight ($800 all up) for a set of 4 15 point adjustable Gas shocks to suit a lowered car. Not sure how the prices compare these days?

What are Bilsteins and Koni's worth?

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http://www.youtube.com/user/Hanras

Got a pair (2) of GAZ adjustables for 280 recently...

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SooperDooperMiniCooperExpertEngineering

All garage work involves equal measures of enthusiasm, ingenuity and a fair degree of irresponsibility.

I Paid $748 for a set of bilsteins from Heasmans.

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