I have a couple of questions regarding fitting Hi-Los to my car. It sits low at the front and high at the back, and ideally I'd like it a bit more level. At the moment I'd like to do the rear Hi-Los and new knuckle joints and leave the front ones for later until I get a new pair of rubber cones.
1) Do I need to fit them to both ends of the car at the same time?
2) At what point is it recommended to get "lowered" shocks?
3) I've heard the Karcraft Hi-los have the best profile?
4) Is there anything else worth changing while having it apart (bushes etc) ?

It's just a slow old 998, so I'm looking for more of an aesthetic than performance upgrade..

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1) No
2) The GAZ lowered shocks are 15mm shorter than the standard shocks. However, I've never fitted them - the mini is low enough stock
3) I can't comment on what's 'best' as I've only tried one kind - but TheMiniMan on here sells what are often regarded as 'the best' hilos with a choice of profiles. I don't know what kind Karcraft sell.
4) Just give it an inspection and a good clean. Ensure that there isn't any sideways movement on the arms, if there is, then you should look at new bushes. Same goes for the front, the lower arm should be pretty firm, and the top arm should roll up and down freely when the brakes and suspension are removed. Give it all a good grease-up and re-assemble.

You can often get away with 2nd hand cones - a lot of old rear cones are almost good as new, I bought a pair for $20 and they're great. Don't skimp on new cones, be sure to get genuine dunlop cones, as the copies don't last.

You know you don't really need HiLos... They do make initial setting up easier but once you've got them set you probably won't ever touch them again... You can drop the rear by filing off the end of the trumpet. If you don't trust your filing skills then a local machine shop won't charge much to shorten them. And, if you end up too short you just add washers.... The rear is particularly easy because you don't need a device to compress the spring (although the passengers side can be a hassle because the shock hides behind the fuel tank.

Just remember, 5mm off the trumpet = 25mm lower ride height. Same goes for the front except that 5 buys you a 15mm change.

"..1) Do I need to fit them to both ends of the car at the same time? "
No

2) At what point is it recommended to get "lowered" shocks?
I have a bit less than 4cm between the arch and top of the tyre in front and about 6cm at the rear. My standard length Spax have been fine for years. I would suggest that as long as you don't run on your bump stops and as long as these are in reasonable condition then you won't need shortened shocks. Although, if I was buying new ones, I would probably go for the shortened versions.

3) I've heard the Karcraft Hi-los have the best profile?
Noting your comment about "a slow old 998:) " I probably wouldn't be concerned - buy on price.

4) Is there anything else worth changing while having it apart (bushes etc) ?
The only things thats a real hassle (ie for which you need to compress the cones) are the upper arm bearings and the front knuckle joints. Everything else depends on the state of your existing bits and only require the defective bits to be removed....

I would definitely plan on doing the knuckle joints unless you been there recently.

Cheers, Ian

Karcraft's Hi-Los are now CNC machined in Oz from billet alloy. So are TheMiniMan's. Some others sold here are poorly dimensioned and made in India from sand cast alloy.

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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.

Ok so I bought a set of billet hilos from minikingdom.


I thought I'd have a go at putting them in today. I started with the "easy" side which was very straightforward except it ended up taking ages to get out the old nylon cup out of the arm.

So then the left side. All the guides I read said to undo the tank strap and fuel cap and slide the tank over. I couldn't slide over the tank because of the drain plug? on the bottom of it. I tried wiggling it all different directions and I removed the rubber tank filler seal and couldn't get it out.. Is there an easier way to move the tank over, or do I need to drain the tank and remove this plug (and probably the exhaust too grrrr) ? If it's this much effort I may as well put in some new shocks so I never have to do it again

On a side note the cones on the rear are the original ones, and still had glossy paint on the inside!

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I've only ever done it on my mini, but I did manage to slide the tank over. IIRC it was a matter of sliding the bottom of the tank out first to get the filler neck out. No draining or anything needed. I had more problems getting it back in!

I'm guessing yours didn't have the drain tube on the bottom then? Mine isn't as long as an original one, it's been cut down at some stage in the past so hopefully I can get it off with a socket... it's also a bit silly the drain goes straight onto the exhaust pipe!

http://minikingdomonline.com.au/product ... fuel-tank/

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So it sounds like you are just taking the rear trailing arm out so you can swap that over yea? If so you don't need to remove the fuel tank because you can just leave the shock absorber attached to the car. Unbolt it from the trailing arm and you just need to lift it out of the shock absorber. Don't forget when putting the arm back in to slide the stud into the shock absorber, because it can't be done after you bolt the arm up.

No, I'm trying to undo the shock to let the arm swing down far enough to get the trumpet/cone out and replace with the hi-lo. Wouldn't the arm be under too much pressure with the shock done up to get the arm off?

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IIRC you can't get the arm off without removing the shock - unless you undo the arm hinge. That's why standard procedure is to remove the tank.

Nah you just undo the nut off the bottom of the shock, undo the trailing arm bracket and pull the whole trailing arm out far enough it comes out of the shock. You should be able to leave the brakes all attached if you are careful. This also gives you a look at the pin.

I suppose there are 2 ways to do it though, whichever you prefer.

makes sense... but I reckon I'd still swing the tank out of the way

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