But what spring is on the end of the hi-lo? If it is a Mini rubber cone it could be old and tired. I the attached picture, the cone on the left is one of my old front ones and the cone in the middle is a stock new cone. On the left one, you can see the centre is pressed in, eliminating just about all the springiness. It once looked like the middle one. People use Hi-Los to compensate for worn out cone springs.

+1 minis always have had a harsh ride compared to other cars of the era and certainly modern cars, that's why they tried hydroelastic! Tire pressure will make a big difference in ride keep them low for comfort, everybody compares the mini handling to a gokart and it's true if you've ever driven a competition kart the rides about the same!

I hate to break it to you, but the Mini IS old school...

Swapping between A008s and Falkens, it is noticeable how the ride changes.  The Falkens are much more compliant and give a softer ride for motorway cruising, but are basically ditch-finders when you get to a corner and woefully inadequate in the wet.

Alex
Your comment about the tires being part of the suspension is old school, but I feel the same way.

I saw a new high performance car the other day that had 21" wheels and 35 front and 25 rear tires.  That's no side was at all!  These cars must have really soft suspension.  They remind me of the first cars that had hard rubber wheels.

A friend who ran a tire store told me years ago "with the advent of theses low profile tires I've made more money replacing bent wheels than I ever did selling tires"

It has hi lows on it. I mainly drive it around town and on the backroads in a spirited fashion. I just don't really care for bouncing out of my seat on certin bumps.

Derramax: you didn't say what type of springs you have or how old they are. The original rubber cones get harder with age and eventually collapse, giving a tractor-like ride. Handling is good but very harsh. It would amplify/be amplified by low-profile tires.

Derramax, please ignore pretty much everything written by the troll posting under the name of Specialist - he just isn't.

You've hit the nail pretty much square on the head though with your self-assessment of the 13" wheels.

The tyres are so thin they have precious little shock absorbsion built in (tyres are effectively the primary suspension medium) and the fact you have GAZ dampers, which even set to soft are probably harder than a set of standard dampers, won't help.

Before leaping in and changing everything, have a moment of contemplation and consider what you want to use the car for - the suspension requirements for a crosscounty cruiser are very different from a parking lot autocross warrier.

i use the Blue spring and KYB shocks, to tell you frankly, i like the Blue spring but not the KYB, after 3 months my KYB spring seems to be failing and not working properly, the shock absorbing ability has diminished too soon.  But the thing is, i used Blue spring and KYB and yet i feel and think my mini is still under-sprung because everytime i go on a sharp turns , one back wheel lifts up about 2iinches above the ground., that's the reason why i installed a front anti-roll bar ,and i'd say i love how my mini handles now. i'm still in the process of installing rear anti roll bar...shock absorber is not enough.  Good that you decide to go back to 10inch wheel....minis should go with 10inch wheel no matter what because 12,13 inch wheels defeats the purpose of being a mini,,heck!  plus, 13 inch wheel does not look proportional on minis., it looks like  the son wears his dad's rubbershoes...too big!

My 70 has 13" wheels and Gaz adjustable shocks. The car handles great but the ride is really jarring in the rear when I hit a bump. Is this because of the low profile 50 series tires or the Gaz shocks? I adjusted the shocks to the softest setting and lowered the rear PSI to 26-28 psi. Was thinking of trying some KYB shocks and once my tires are worn try a set of 10" mamba wheels. Thoughts?

Thanks!