jammyb
5 posts
Joined: 14/09/2004 12:57:56
Location: Aberdeen United Kingdom (Excluding channel Islands)
HiLo's and geometry
I’m in the final stages of my mini rebuild and fitted several new parts to the suspension and steering, including: HiLo’s, 1.5 fixed negative camber, sports cones, adjustable front steady. At the moment you can see the car is not square and needs adjusting but what’s the best way to set the HiLo’s and front suspension steady setup for road use? Is there a guide or procedure I can follow? Thanks
Posted: Nov 21, 2004 12:39 PM
I visited Keith Calvers website and its quite good at explain the technicals to a non mechanic. Thanks for your input.
Posted: Dec 02, 2004 12:33 PM
Crashnburn1981
158 posts
Joined: 04/12/2004 16:50:02
Location: glastonbury United Kingdom (Excluding channel Islands)
hilo's
Cheers for that will give it ago tommorow me thinks. Nick P
Posted: Apr 02, 2005 08:04 PM
no66
2 posts
Joined: 24/11/2019 17:04:16
Location: Sætre Norway
Ripseed Hilo on Red Spots
I have a set of original Ripspeed Hilos that I about to mod ffor Red Sport Rally rubber cone. As per the discription on the redspods If using these on 10" wheels with Hilos you may have to cut 3/4" off the end of the centre threaded bolt of the old type Hilo with a circlip as it will bottom out on the cone spring face and the car will sit high, for extremely lowered cars the hilo face will also need machining a few mm. What is a few mm? 5 ? 10? Also should I ditch the circlip or get a new groove made?
Posted: Jan 29, 2020 12:29 PM
goody2be
1 posts
Joined: 28/09/2008 23:15:44
Location: SCUNTHORPE United Kingdom (Excluding channel Islands)
wanted
hilo's wanted please?
Posted: Sep 28, 2008 11:32 PM
simond
28 posts
Joined: 15/02/2005 08:21:17
Location: Leeds United Kingdom (Excluding channel Islands)
Front of Car looks low
cheers, it looks like hilo`s are the way to go then. Does any one know if there is a standard body height????
Posted: Feb 15, 2006 06:48 PM
Harryredchow
Joined: 11/01/2005 17:44:30
Location: United Kingdom (Excluding channel Islands)
Suspension
I havent posted on here for ages. In fact I am finding it hard to work this new site. Anyway, in my humble opinion there are only 2 options. They are the RAC homolenated Minispares HiLo and the Minisport Adjustaride. All the ally cheapies you see at shows are designed for just that...show. They may be 40 notes cheaper than the others, but the quality is just not up to the job. Personally I would get the Minispares HiLo. The quality is great and they have a grease nipple to keep the threads well lubricated. H.
Posted: Mar 12, 2005 05:32 PM
Vince
68 posts
Joined: 31/01/2005 17:24:31
Location: Seneca United States
more "normal"
The other option is to buy a set of HiLos and springs to suit your driving needs (blue for soft, red for firm, green for race - Ive heard the blue springs are way too soft), and lowered or standard dampers depending on how low you want the car to ride. You can get a harder spring for normal driving if you choose adjustable dampers. I have the green race springs on HiLos and use lowered Gaz adjustable dampers. I love that combination. Coilovers are great if you have intentions to use your car in competition. They are great, too, if you want a really sporty, adjustable suspension and want or need to eliminate the trumpet/cone or HiLo setup. It is a more expensive way to go and you may have to modify the rear tire well to mount the coilover setup. There are a couple of newer kits that overcome this, however. If you just want to drive your car, Id go with a HiLo/spring/adjustable damper set. If you lower your car more than 3/4 in (2cm), get lowered dampers. You can buy these items at any mini supplier. Vince One other note, after you install the new suspension components, get the front end aligned immediately. Plan on another alignment in a month or so as the springs will sag a little dropping the ride height, which will throw out your camber adjustments, which will also alter your toe angle. Every component adjustment affects every other setting in the front end...
Posted: Sep 11, 2005 05:34 PM
Justin
13 posts
Joined: 08/09/2004 19:25:53
Location: potters bar France
Can anyone help with adjusting my suspension?
Does the tool look like the following link:http://www.minispares.com/Product.aspx?pid=34134If so its for adjusting the hilo suspension, which will alter the ride height of your car. You can also turn a nut on the trumpet and this will do the same thing.
Posted: Nov 28, 2006 09:52 PM
pickme
672 posts
Joined: 08/09/2004 23:10:14
Location: Chippenham United Kingdom (Excluding channel Islands)
Expencive?
Add in import duty ( 8%ish) and VAT and youre looking at the best part of £360. Suddenly the Minispares ones look good value even with a set of HiLo copies (as with the other set) its still only £285.
Posted: Mar 09, 2005 07:52 PM
Roger
17 posts
Joined: 07/02/2006 13:05:05
Location: March United Kingdom (Excluding channel Islands)
Metro 1275 to Mini Dilemma
Thanks for the info, never gave an A+ mini speedo a thought, actually had my original recalibrated. The cones are not that old and do seem to have sagged under the extra weight but yes, just jacking it up with Hilo's is by far the cheaper option. As for the wheels, I might have to stay with the 145/70/12's.
Posted: Dec 27, 2007 01:01 PM
Tim
1849 posts
Joined: 18/10/2004 09:40:59
Location: Bournemouth United Kingdom (Excluding channel Islands)
Hi -low setting up
It sounds like your dampers may be allowing the suspension to drop too much, but if I were you I would leave the hilo's set as they are, with 20mm reduced height, and drive it for a bit. it may well settle a bit further (especially if the rubber cones are new).
Posted: Feb 14, 2013 06:40 AM
John
163 posts
Joined: 09/09/2004 09:32:06
Location: DK-2000 Frederiksberg Denmark
re
Depending upon the age of your suspension, simply adding HiLos may not be enough. Sure, youll be able to increase your ground clearance, but if your rubber cones are old and collapsed, youve just gone through a lot of effort for very little return. Heres what I would do - and believe me, my budget is tight. Should you decide that HiLos are what youd like to go with, youll need to remove the current suspension cones and knuckle joints. It happens that older knuckle joints wear through the nylon cups which sit in the arm sockets, reducing ride height, so, as a matter of course and for not too much money, new knuckle joints should be installed. While this is all apart and your hands are dirty, youll be able to remove and inspect your suspension cones. If they dont look like the ones pictured in the catalogue (http://www.minispares.com/Auth/Downloads2.aspx?con=cma&if=../Html/classiccat/page32.html ), then you should install new ones. Youll still have the oppotunity to inspect the dampers, since theyll be the first items you remove. So, my 2 cents: Do it right, do it once! You might also consider a sumpguard of some sort!
Posted: Feb 09, 2005 11:44 AM
jag_clarke
1948 posts
Joined: 28/05/2006 16:49:46
Location: cambridge United Kingdom (Excluding channel Islands)
yes two front two rear, and the knuckle joints go on the end of the orriginal die cast aluminum trumpits and on hilow sets go on then of steel rod. these sit in suspension arms and act as a flexable joint they do often wear. the suspension kits often come with spare nylon cups but the origianal knuckles are often seazed in aluminum (cast iron on first few minis) trumpits. if u have truble getting them out it as things dont always go as planned as things seaze or rubber donut thread can strip then it can be easyier to hacksaw alloy trumpit out. if u lower your mini by about an 1 inch using hilo's ur mini suspension geometry will improve from positive to negative camber. ideally u want about 1.5-2 degrees negative on front (this can be set with ajjustable arm), rear needs a bracket to ajjust camber from positive to negative. toe in and out shouldnt be affected and the other geometry will depend on what wheels are fitted so you cant ajjust.
Posted: Feb 01, 2009 12:38 PM
handling problems nooo!
iv driven a mini with failing knuckle joints it stears isnt very direct and the handling is terible, there not easyiest things to change ul need a cone compressor. to replace them. if there is a definate drop of an inch or more at the frount this would be the number 1 suspect. can also be the rubber donuts have perished and got sqwashed with age and this is more aparent at the frount due to the differnt compression ratios of the donut frount to rear. it might also be good to fit some hilo s to get it level after. all depends really how much ur wanting to spend. if ur skint just the knuckles, if u want to improve handling new ruber donuts will help and if u want to be sure it will sit level after fit hilos.
Posted: May 01, 2007 04:31 PM
Hi everyone, just thought I’d share this little bit of decision making with all you guys out there with loads of mini experience just to see what you think. I have recently fitted a 1275 Metro lump into my Mini 30. A job I’m sure a lot of you have done. The transplant went without too many problems and “Lulu” as she is referred to goes extremely well but there are one or two issues I’d like some opinion on.
Firstly the wheel size. To get the same overall wheel size as the Metric wheels of the Metro I need to fit 155/65/13 tyres and wheels. Getting these is not a problem I’ve already checked, but I’ve read so many horror stories about fitting 13” wheels. Having to do some body surgery etc, and that isn’t going to happen, I’m not too concerned about maybe loosing some road holding characteristics as My wife and I are not bidding to break the land speed record around any bends. If we were then I’d leave it alone. it’s just the top end makes the old girl kind of scream a bit. Noise and the cost of “Jungle Juice” are the main reasons for change.There is a second option to sort this I think. Change the ratio of the Primary Drive gear chain. This means taking her heart out again which is not too difficult, just a pain in the butt.
The second item for debate is the suspension. The unit I’ve installed has an automatic gearbox. OK, I can hear the groans from here. My little lady can only drive “toy” cars so automatic it is and she enjoys the driving experience which was the reason for the mod. But!! The gearbox is much heavier than the manual so the suspension needs to be considered as the clearance between the front wheels and the wheel arch is a bit close.Here again it seems there are two or three options. Just fit Hilo’s and jack it up a bit or replace the cones with springs and Hilo’s. Mini-spares are more than enthusiastic about these but only recommend them for racing. Surely if they are good for the arduous task of supporting the car under race conditions it should be good enough for Joe Public trundling around on our roads? The third option for this query is to fit coil over kits. In all the forums I’ve read through no one mentions either of these modifications to the suspension yet coil over kits are virtually the same idea as Mcpherson struts on every other car on the road except the coil over kits bolt to the side wall of the wheel arch not the top but they must give a better ride. Who out there has experience of these things? Or is it an insurance thing and nobody fits them? I await you opinions
Roger-D
Posted: Dec 26, 2007 01:26 PM
hi
just get some hilo cones and extension rods, these then adjust up and down to raise / lower the height of the car. They are a bit of a pain to fit but would say it can be done by any competant person, I think theyre about 30 / 35 quid fora set off ebay, Nick
Posted: Apr 10, 2006 06:37 PM
Sam Youé
31 posts
Joined: 13/12/2004 09:58:20
Location: Margate United Kingdom (Excluding channel Islands)
springs/suspension
first off - what difference do coil over kits such as rsx519 actually make to the ride? smoother/harsher? also, i want to lower my mini but have no idea what parts to get -i was going to get a set of hilos and maybe a coilover conversion to reduce risk of rubbing and also to get a slightly smoother ride... minispares do a full suspension kit plus geometry items: MSSK3012 this includes hilos but apparently not the knuckle joints which i have heard are important... minispares also do a coil over kit for lowered height which seems to include the trumpets (integral part of the hilo kit) and dampers (part of the full suspension kit above) so am i right in thinking i would need the coil over kit for lowered height and just not use the trumpets, a full hilo set and also a geometry kit such as MSSK3013 if i wanted to lower my car and smooth out the ride? obviously i know i wont get the ride comfort of a Bentley but every little helps... and i would be constantly paranoid about rubbing :D
btw i dont really want to mess about with a pair of scissors and my existing rubber cones... not only because it sits odd at each corner but also because id only get it wrong ;) Many thanks for any input/insight into this, Sam.
PS if it makes a difference id be running on 12x6 deep dish (black 4 spoke revolutions) with yoko A048R 165,55,12 tyres
Posted: Jul 26, 2006 01:11 AM
Setting up front hi lo`s
hi, when i first fitted hilo's, they seemed high, until i went for a spin and everything dropped into place, best bet is to go for a little spin just down the road and back, once the weight is on them, they settle down nicely.
Nick
Posted: Jun 06, 2006 01:37 AM
bern
Joined: 14/10/2006 13:08:27
Location: Weymouth United Kingdom (Excluding channel Islands)
HI LO fitment
ive recently purchased hilo's for my mini but had no instructions on fitting them, but i have done the rear without any problems. but when i went to do the front i was told that i had to compress the front cones to do so.
is this true??? :-\
Posted: Oct 25, 2006 07:45 PM