When the old version of a piece works better than the new

Anyone remember back in the ‘80s when Lego switched the mold of the “1x1 with light attachment” from a thin ring (pictured below) to a thicker ring (pictured above)? It made sense at the time to make it thicker for durability. Well, here we are about 40 years later and I had a goofy occasion pop up in a recent small vehicle build, where I had a specific idea for a low-profile bumper in mind, and the newer/thicker piece wouldn’t work - the wheels rubbed on the cones! On a hunch I did some...