if so have you sdone anything tricky to the suspension and if so, what? Toying with getting gas coilovers but don’t know if worth it.

This is not a forum for hairdressers.

MX-5s already have coilovers as standard.

What do you want to achieve?

Lowering too much ruins the MX-5s famed near perfect suspension geometry.

If you want great handling for road use (and perhaps the odd track day) then having spent a long time looking into this (you won’t believe the amount of girls you meet being a hairdresser) I highly recommend you go with Flyin’ Miata Stage I or II suspension kit from the US. It lowers the car a little too.

P.S. Change your bushes first (for standard ones, upgrade rubber ones, or poly bushes) and have a full alignment done by someone that knows MX-5s…makes a WORLD of difference.

Don’t change the suspension, unless it’s broken or you have a clear idea of what you want. It really is dialled as stock.

TuckerUK has perfect advice (esp. the bushes) should you want to fiddle though. It’s what I did to correct my Eunos when I realised that it had been lowered by cutting a bit off the springs 🙄 .. it was sooooo much better after and I thought it pretty good to start with.

Or have a chat with mx5parts.co.uk – they were helpful chaps, might even stock Flyin’ Miata (my 5 went about 10 years ago :-(, but I bought a hood and radiator and numerous other bits off them)

TuckerUK: No they don’t.

To quite Wikipedia: “A coilover is not to be confused with the shock absorber and spring setup (strut); coilovers are totally independent and do not require extra parts e.g. bumpstops, ball Joints, spring cushions etc”

MX5’s have traditional gas struts with steel springs.

The OP is talking about adjustable coilver systems that allow the user to adjust the spring rate of the system.

Personally, I’d not fiddle – I love my Mk1 MX5 as standard. Much slideyness.

Anyone in the market for an 07 roadster?

Mines a bit saggy on one side and the springs do need replacement. Wheels in Motion who have a great reputation pooh poohed my request for standard spring replacement and then a geometry set up and instead suggested a set of eibach springs (20mm lower than stock) and a full set up(lowest cost) or a set of coilovers for a few hundred more. I don’t really want to mess with it as it drives well but it does need doing as there is a significant difference in ride height on one side.

TuckerUK: No they don’t.

To quite Wikipedia: “A coilover is not to be confused with the shock absorber and spring setup (strut); coilovers are totally independent and do not require extra parts e.g. bumpstops, ball Joints, spring cushions etc”

Yes they do.

Wikipedia? You serious?

Suspension off an MX-5

FYI, I’m talking about M1/2/2.5 here (NA, NB, NBFL) I have no experience with M3 (NC)

I’ll give you £50.

Wheels in Motion who have a great reputation…

If they try to persuade you to go for the Gaz Golds, and you use your car on the roads, do plenty of research first, or don’t, but don’t say you weren’t warned!

With all the speed bumps and pot holes about lowering a car is just pointless.

I have a 2000 MX5 mk 2.5, I might consider upgrading the suspension but not lowering.

Why not do some research decide what you want then buy it cheap on ebay 😉

Which Mk MX5 are you talking about? The Mk 1 & 2 are sorted as they are, the Mk3 in the UK has altered highered suspension which actually upsets the balance of the car. Eibach standard springs bring it back to the correct ride height.

A lot of people seam to rate the Zeta-S coilovers for road use because they are not stupidly hard like most coilover kits and reasonably priced.

http://www.meisterr.com/Site/Zeta-S.html

Think BC Racing coilovers are even gentler than the Meisterr ones. Softer springs at any rate.
http://www.bc-racing.co.uk/coilovers/

kaesae – I think Mk2.5 with the SVT engine came out in summer 2001. Ours was September and was one of the first the dealer had seen.

I sold my 53 plate 1.6 as the sills were going, I got it through someone in the trade at a low price (as a bit of a wreck) had some fun in it and sold it for £660 profit 🙂 currently looking for a mint replacement now I can garage it. Wallop I think your 07 will be over budget.

WHY do you want gas coilovers? Simply fit OEMs as arefresh ffs!!! The oems are a great balance between roll and poise!

Think BC Racing coilovers are even gentler than the Meisterr ones.

They are also crap.

There is an awful lot of bilge on the market (exhausts polished on the outside anyone?), but when it comes to suspension this guy knows his stuff Fat Cat Motorsports.

If you want to make effective suspension mods, read through his site, use the calculator, understand roll couple and bounce frequency. You can have hard springs (say up to 375lbs front 250lbs rear for a road MX) with matched dampers that ride better than far softer springs with unmatched dampers.

Tucker – the Bilsteins are only standard on some v-spec Eunos’s… not across the board. I’d assume the OP has a UK mx5 as he hasn’t stated otherwise in which case, it’s the exact same as my uk mk1 and has standard shocks and springs, not coilovers.

I had lowering springs fitted for aesthetic and cost reasons… it’s dropped 40mm, looks perfect and the handling is better when lower (ignore the “mazda mechanics know what they’re doing, it’s fine” thing… why do companies successfully sell thousands of high end coilover sets to mx5 owners?). Lowering springs and standard shocks however, do ride really harshly… I’m young and stupid so can live with it but it’s not comfy.

Friends mx5’s with MeisterR’s and Gaz adjustable coilovers simply drive incredibly… Faster round corners, incredibly smooth and you could leave it at standard height if that’s your bag (sensible lows just looks far better though IMO).

Why not check out http://www.mx5nutz.com where there’s a proper dedicated forum with people who really do know their coilovers from their standard shocks.

Good luck!

Have a mark 1 1.8iS – never seen the need to change the suspension. Or anything come to think about it, save a sportier air filter.

V maxx coilies are excellent value for money, set em to a height of 12″ at front 12.5″ at rear. (Wheel Centre to arch)
Wheel alignment of
Front wheels:
Caster: 5.0 degrees
Camber: 1.0 degree negative (about 5 mm out at the bottom, per side)
Toe in: 1.6 mm (0.8 mm per side)

Rear wheels:
Camber: 1.5 degrees negative (about 8 mm out at the bottom, per side)
Toe in: 1.6 mm (0.8 mm per side)

All you need to know here http://www.miata.net/garage/

and if anyone wants at 2006 Mark 3 2.0 sport with only 6500 miles on it… (I jest not)

contact me in the next 24 hours or so… it’s going. I love it but I don’t drive it enough and I have a midlife crisis to pay for…

Mine’s a MK2 98′ I’m thinking a 20mm drop is no biggie but running standard dampers with eibach springs wont be as good as a decent set of coil overs. Replacing with stock items is just as expensive as some decent after market units. Lots to think about. This is just my chuckabout car not the daily driver so comfort isn’t top of the list

They are also crap.

You know, it’s considered good form to provide evidence when making bold statements like that. BC seem to have a decent rep amongst the mk2 MR2 owners.
Nevertheless, I was talking pish anyway as I was comparing spring rates for the wrong car.
FWIW, my wife had a Jap mk1 1.6i with standard suspension but new polybushes all round when we bought it, and it was the 2nd most awesome handling car I’ve ever driven.

Seriously you’d be better off taking the car on a track day(s) or tuition than messing with the ride height. The standard set up is very neutral and suits the car no end IMO. The only thing I’d have changed would be the engine power. Everything else was spot on.

There isn’t half some crap being spouted on here.

MK1s DO NOT have coilovers (when we’re talking coilovers, I mean adjustable ones) as standard. As someone mentioned above, some models came with Bilsteins (S-Special maybe, V-Special maybe and probably the RS) which if not looked after, will be really baggy by now.

I ran coilies on my first 5 and it handled waaaay better than the subsequent 2 I’ve owned. Was lowered (quite a lot – an S-Special but it wasn’t on Bilsteins) but I preferred the drive to either of the others (the 3rd one was another S-Special but on stock suspension).

If it were me, I’d get on Nutz and ask on there as well as maybe contacting Performance5 and asking the guys there.

Can’t wait to get another one… and strap a supercharger to it.

How do you guys even fit into them? I’m only 6 or 6’1 and can’t? Not massively round either 😛

Seat slightly forward, recline back against bulkhead and unscrew the sunvisors 8)

Indeed DaveyBoy, indeed.

By the way chaps. Just to verify my MX5 credentials; I’m sure SOME of you have seen this about on Pistonheads. I still have a V-Spec and that CERTAINLY doesn’t have coilovers.

Yup. That was me.

hora – Member
Seat slightly forward, recline back against bulkhead and unscrew the sunvisors

Yeah that sun visor was basically sitting square in my forehead when I sat in one once.

Not sure about the mk1 (as I’ve never sat or driven one) but a 6footer does not need sun visors in the mk2.5. It also frees up 2inches of windscreen for you. (wierd but true!).

Neil_Bolton

That’s not a demonstration of good handling. 😉

I bet your bum could have turned a piece of coal into a diamond with that speed wobble- well done for not reacting and over-correcting

Mk1Fan + hora: Nope, the shocks were shagged. However, it’s example of how to slide into a corner at about 100mph.

To be honest, I didn’t need new pants as I know that corner well, and I’ve taken all sorts of kit through there at over 100+ and let them slide…

Now this is the proper car to do it in. Gawd I miss her.

Real video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_mfk58IW8uY

the shocks were shagged

We’ll you did say you love your MX-5 😉

To be fair, if I had a £1000000000 GT40 or whatever that thing is, I probably would be disinclined to drive it like that MX5 is being driven 🙂

why do companies successfully sell thousands of high end coilover sets to mx5 owners?

For probably much the same reason bike companies sell 6″ travel bikes to people in Suffolk – people are told they need them 😉

I think most on here are neatly demonstrating why you should know what you want when you ask for it. Unless the OP is banging out trackday after trackday and finding the handling wanting, I’d still stay he’d be better off leaving it stock and getting someone to show him how fast it can go round a corner, and how to do it. Who’s the trackday Jedi then?

Neil_Bolton – Member
Mk1Fan + hora: Nope, the shocks were shagged.

Nope. You were rushing as you’d just received a text from the Salon that one of the girls had phoned in sick..

Wallop – Anyone in the market for an 07 roadster?

Let me have some details as longs as its the 2.0 l with limited slip diff..

Rik – The Sport variety is the only one with limited slip diff…

Read what I have said above though. You need to at minimum get the geometry checked approx £100. When the UK suspension is put on Mk3’s it completely cocks up the alignment making it not the greatest handling car. Spending £100 transforms it. Putting the correct Eibach springs on makes it a much more stable car, although it does make some speed bumps interesting.

Best way to describe it is Mk1 & mk2 Standard suspension look like this

I–I

Mk3

/\
I I

I = wheels…

Correct springs make the Mk3

I–I