MK1 MX5 suspension

[MiataMark]

After doing my first track day (see general board) I need to sort out the suspension! Currently it's running I assume shorter springs, the shock absorbers are unknown and probably shot (the boots are broken up) and the bushes are probably the originals.

I could just put a new set of shock absorbers on as an interim step and then coil-overs, new bushes (polybush/powerflex) later or a cheaper set of coil-overs now and bushes later, or a good set of coil-overs now and bushes later. Paying out for shock absorbers is pretty much the same as a set of cheaper coil-overs. Using mx5parts as a price comparison;

Bilstien shock absorbers £95/each
Vmaxx coilovers £315 or £413
or
Gaz Gold Professional - £580 (£520 for the Classic) this is the route I'm most tempted and then fit polybush do geometry etc later, and they're on special offer this Easter.

This isn't for a daily car a more track-day approach.

Comments, advice welcome.

Mark

[stealthstylz]

I replaced all the suspension bits that can be on a mates for brand new standard kit and it handled superbly. I reckon most people are like you and go from worn out stock to stiffer shocks and springs so it feels like the handling as been fixed because its stiffer.

[goldnrust]

I've had Gaz Gold Pro on my rx7, and mix of cheap coil overs and spring and damper combos on my mx5s over the years.

I'm not that up on the Vmaxx coil overs but certainly the fixed damping ones I've a feeling aren't rated to be much better than the cheap eBay coil overs?

The Gas Golds were leaps and bounds ahead of the cheap coil overs. The car cornered flatter and suspension seemed much stiffer, but when it came to dealing with a deep pothole or something it was actually less jarring than the cheap coil overs. If you want to make it a track focused car I would be saying do it right, do it once.

The bilstiens on mx5parts, I believe, are the same as those fitted to some special edition mx5s in japan. I've not been in a car wit them but most people want to remove them from their special editions, admittedly because they are too firm and crash for road use but still it doesn't fill me with confidence

Another thing I'd consider is that a few years ago before coil overs were so easily and cheaply available that the Koni Sport dampers were the favourite of fast road/track day mx5 drivers. They are damping adjustable and have 3 spring height positions, so offer a lot of the adjustability of coil overs.

Meister R seem to be the darling of the mx5 forums currently but at £700 it's another step up in price and I believe the general wisdom is that the Meister R are great because of their flexibility in adjustment from comfy road car to full on track car, whereas the Gaz Golds are generally more a track focused damping rate.

[jonk]

I had this dilemma when my original Mazdaspeed shocks gave up the ghost. After getting horrendous quotes for shocks and bushes, I went for new coilovers. There are pages and pages of discussion of this on Mx5nutz, but from memory the Gaz have a reputation for slightly flakey build quality. Almost universal favourite there are the Meister R shocks, I went for the BC Racing which I was told are pretty much the same with different colours and branding.  They have something like 20 clicks on the rebound settings - I have it set at something like 15 for the bumpy roads around here but wind them down to a lower number for smooth roads and the car is like glue. I am looking forward to trying them on track and taking the rebound right down to test them out.

Wheels in Motion in Chesham fitted them and did the geometry at the same time and Tony there is brilliant - really understands customer service.

All this is just my opinion but I went for them based from feedback on the Mx5 forums - worth a look.

[goldnrust]

I just thought I kinda missed the point of the question a bit there…

From a fast road perspective, fitting my mx5 with polybushes, instead of a tired old set of standard bushes made the car feel a lot tighter and more together. It deals with bumps better, the car reacts to my inputs more effectively and it makes the car even more intuitive to drive. BUT it didn't change the nature of the handling as such, it was all i the feedback and feel of the steering. That in itself inspires more confidence in the car, which means I drove it faster.

If you decide to do bushes, and decide to go down the polybush route, then look up some of the threads on the mx5 forums about them. Superpro bushes are the only ones people recommend, with some of the cheaper sets people have had lots of problems with seized bushes which have even resulted in snapped rear wishbones.

On the other hand alignment settings do make a difference to how the balance of the car feels, how it turns in, how easily the back steps out etc. I recently had my car re-aligned with a little more rear toe in and the difference is really noticeable, just how much more stable the rear of the car is. For me driving dirty bumpy B roads this is great, maybe fore track use it would be too much. I suppose why I'm dashing is, it's worth working out what you want from an alignment and getting it done by someone who know's what they're doing with mx5s as these cars are very sensitive to alignment settings.

[MiataMark]

Apr 3, 2015 8:59:25 GMT goldnrust said:

I've had Gaz Gold Pro on my rx7, and mix of cheap coil overs and spring and damper combos on my mx5s over the years.

I'm not that up on the Vmaxx coil overs but certainly the fixed damping ones I've a feeling aren't rated to be much better than the cheap eBay coil overs?

The Gas Golds were leaps and bounds ahead of the cheap coil overs. The car cornered flatter and suspension seemed much stiffer, but when it came to dealing with a deep pothole or something it was actually less jarring than the cheap coil overs. If you want to make it a track focused car I would be saying do it right, do it once.

The bilstiens on mx5parts, I believe, are the same as those fitted to some special edition mx5s in japan. I've not been in a car wit them but most people want to remove them from their special editions, admittedly because they are too firm and crash for road use but still it doesn't fill me with confidence

Another thing I'd consider is that a few years ago before coil overs were so easily and cheaply available that the Koni Sport dampers were the favourite of fast road/track day mx5 drivers. They are damping adjustable and have 3 spring height positions, so offer a lot of the adjustability of coil overs.

Meister R seem to be the darling of the mx5 forums currently but at £700 it's another step up in price and I believe the general wisdom is that the Meister R are great because of their flexibility in adjustment from comfy road car to full on track car, whereas the Gaz Golds are generally more a track focused damping rate.

Interesting thanks for the info, I looked at the Koni's at £113/each not much cheaper than the Gaz option. Demon Tweeks are doing a Spax RSX coil-over set for £540 (I bought some adjustable Spax shock absorbers for my Hillman Avenger from them back in the late 70's...) Yep Meister R, and AVO etc are a step too far....

Mark

[MiataMark]

re Alignment etc, at the moment it doesn't seem too bad the tyres wore evenly I'm sure it could be better but it's a case of one thing at a time.

yes it would be great to fit bushes, coil-overs and get alignment done all at the same time but it's not practical (justifiable). If I change the shock absorbers I should be able to do it without disturbing too much and then later do the bushes etc when I'd have to get the alignment done, and that's a whole other ball park.

What I'm looking for is a track-day biased set up without it being totally stupid for the road. As I'm new to track-days something consistent is the aim then as my driving improves (hopefully) I can start to think more seriously about set-up. Interesting to hear about Gaz build quality I thought they were quite highly rated, will have to do a search for BC Racing.

edit - BC Racing out of price range...

Mark

[loudandproud205]

I did a day at Blyton in an MX5 with GAZ coilovers I was impressed, but when it came to coilovers for my MR2 I went for Tein HA's don't know if it was the weight difference between them but I preferred how the Teins responded compared with the GAZ in MR2 SW20's. I have only driven an MX5 on Tein springs so can't say how they compared in the MX5.

If I was buying though I wouldn't be upset with a GAZ set up if I had an MX5.

[MiataMark]

Ordered the Gaz Gold Professional set, will fit them first then sort out bushes, anti-roll bars later. Superpro bushes (from Moss Europe) look like a good option, thanks @goldenrust for mentioning them. Will put some chassis braces in as well, already got a front strut base fitted, the roll cage with harness bar does a good job at the rear, I've ordered a rear strut brace and I've got a couple of bars for the underneath.

This 'cheap' fun car is getting expensive....

[MiataMark]

This duplicates a post in my 'build' thread but is related.

This box came today;



I've also been offered a set of wishbones from a race car that have only done 2 races that are already ploy-bushed for £300. If I change all of that I'll obviously need to get the alignment set as well, but very tempting

Now I need to get the coil-overs fitted, need to buy a C-spanner and not sure my spring compressors will fit...

(edit: found the C spanner in the other box)

Mark