URGENT - Report posted 10 September 2006

FAM3968 Rubber Spring – Foreign manufactured copies.

This is an urgent bulletin that should be seen and passed on to an by all those that have purchased non-genuine standard Rover rubber springs (FAM3968 equivalent) and ip-rated versions (C-STR687 & C-STR688) that are not manufactured by Mini Spares Centre, Potters Bar.

I was presented with a pair of these foreign manufacture springs for testing prior to stock purchase by Mini Spares Centre. I fitted the to my partner's car to carry out the test, fitting them to the front as this is the most arduous installation. The ride height was set and geometry re-set. Within a week (a mere 162 miles) the ride height had dropped by an inch and a quarter. After a further week the ride height had dropped by just over two inches. The spring had collapsed into uselessness, the centre metal piece with the compressor tool thread in it was sitting against the subframe tower top – so the only suspension on the front of the car was the tyres. This situation is extremely dangerous – particularly in the wet. With no suspension, aquaplaning is more of a certainty than a possibility and will undoubtedly lead to dire circumstances – at best severely crumpling your pride and joy, at worst a life-threatening situation with possible fatal injuries.

The reason these springs are failing is that the company/companies that have produced them simply do not understand the complexity and requirement of the base materials used.

It is with this test and the foregoing in mind that I strongly advise all those that have bought and fitted these springs to your cars that you replace them with immediate effect. Either take them back to the vendor you bought them from and get them to replace them with genuine ones or get a refund if they can not do so and purchase genuine ones/MSC up-rated ones elsewhere. Feel free to print this off and show them the results if they are in doubt.

Keith Calver

[Click Thumbnail for bigger View]

	As set when newly fitted
	Ride height after 2 weeks – approx 240 miles. Inner metal insert of spring sitting up against the inside of the tower. No suspension other than the tyre
	With suspension at full droop, the ball joint is disconnected from the Hi-Lo strut, near no recovery of the spring shape visible.
	As removed from the car – complete failure of the material.
	Compared to a standard spring the non-genuine one is some 1-1/2-inch shorter free height