Best suspension setup.
 

Hm, now finally with money in hand i'm looking to upgrade from this shitty ass suspension i have.

Now, i'm having a hard time deciding which will give me the best performance for the money, and honestly i'm leaning towards the Tien basic setup, for around 800 shipped it seems to be the least pricey of the coilover setups..

I would just like to know a bit more first hand experience with these coilovers and other suspension setups for <$1000.

thanks,

you may not use the terms best and least expensive when talking about one thing, lol
first of all, many people will have a diferent opinion of whats best, my input is go with a koni/GC set up with custum spring rates
second, koni sports with GC are probably in the sub 1000 margin if you shop around.
From experience, if you can find a set of blown koni sports for pretty cheap and have the revalved to race spec, you will be best off...
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/KONI-...spagenameZWDVW
$525 shipped=not bad
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Groun...spagenameZWD1V
$375 shipped=pretty good
$900 total shipped
your driving style/demands will determine what the best spring rates for you are
i would highly recomed you get the RB hollow bar as well, it makes a world of a difference in body roll
good luck in your decision making...
-Dan

Konis and custom GCs will suit your needs nicely. I would recommend 450/300 for rates to start out. Once you get a bit more serious, move the 450s to the rear, revalve the front Konis, and upgrade the front springs to 700#. You should be able to get new upper shock mounts and an alignment for the thousand.

+1 for Koni sports


whaamx5 those coilovers say they don't work with konis AND they're made for rx7s.:confused:

Cheapest place to buy koni sports?

Excellent, thats just the input i needed. As for spring rates, most the agressive driving i will be doing is canyon runs, so im figuring the 450/300 rates should fair nicely for that, as the roads arent perfect.

Now, to keep my eyes peeled..

Thanks again

tokico illuminas are cheaper and better
thats what i went with

Are you smoking crack? If you have ever talked to anyone who has raced a Miata, you would know better.

Koni is about the best you can get at a reasonable price if you want adjustment.

I will back Whaaamx5 on this one. Off the shelf (OTS) Koni sports (yellow body) and GC is a great set up and what I am running on my track car, kinda :D. The only thing this set up is lacking is a threaded shock body (i.e. tien flex, koni 28, etc). I really wish I could adjust my ride height without playing with spring preload.

If this is just for a daily driver and adjustment is not a necessity, you have more options. The tien coilovers are nice quality. I don't think they perform as well as Koni/GC, but the are well made. You can retain adjustability with a little less performance by going with a set of Tokico Illuminas or KYB AGXs. They are good shocks, just not up to Koni standards.

You can also look at the options from Fatcat Motorsports. Shaihk really knows his shit when it comes to Miata suspension. His rebuilt bilstiens are top notch. I haven't heard much about his coilovers, but I would assume they are as good if not better than GC, but it appears that you would have to order your springs seperate. I'm sure they could source them for you also.

Whatever you go with, make sure you budget in some money for a set of rear upper shock mounts if you plan on lowering the car significantly. At 12.0-12.5in ride height, you run out of shock travel quick with NA upper mounts. Look into either Flyin Miata mounts, modified NB mounts, or Fatcat mounts.

Find somebody with a tirerack account and order through them. That's the best price I have found.

I think he is smoking crack! Koni is the way to go IMHO. I have some results to back it up if you disagree.

I run Koni 28's on the R package with Fat Cat's bump stops and OTS Koni's and Ground Controls on the turbo car with Fat Cat's NB mounts.

Yep, Tire Rack is as cheap as anyone.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/GROUN...sid=p1638.m118
i didnt read the whole add, just the title, the guy obviously made a mistake, basically the best thing to do is call them up and order from them directly, thats what i did
this way you can also consult with those guys what spring rate may be best for you
i run 650/450 of the shelf koni sports, but i do plan at a later date to go with 750-800 with a revlave

fourwhls and sbrian2-what exactly is the $$ from tirerack, i got mine through ebay from the seller i have linked in post #2, so around $520 shipped
what are they through a connection? thanks-dan

I was really impressed with the Koni/GC set up in whaaam's car. One day, I'll own some too.

i was really impressed with the boost in bens car, one day ill have some! lol
needles to say, i chose suspension first, but i am itching badly to finish my turbo build

not to drift of subject, but there is a lot more to suspension than just a good set of shocks and coil overs, i think that a hefty front sway bar makes just as big of a difference...also, the top hats, get some, at least for the rear, it can really prolong the life of your expensive shocks
if you take a little more than your planned $1000 and make it more like $1300, you can have a complete reliable set up that you can just forget about
so a koni/GC set up with your choice spring rate
big front sway bar (you do not need a rear one)
rear top hats (maybe fronts too)
and a good alignments
and you are done!!!
you can do more if you choose to, but this will get you a long way
my next step if fatcat tops on all four corners, short end links (McMaster), corner weight the car, followed by a new allignment
good luck in your decisioning

You would save about 8% with a hook up. $520 is a good price.

I bought my first set several years ago and paid around $465 IIRC, then sent them strait to Predator Motorsports for a $600 custom revalve. Looks like they are up to $540 now, so $520 is a good price. I no longer have those on the race car after buying the 28's, I guess I really should consider selling them. :dunno:

haha, yes you should...damn they went up a lot, i cant believe it, i guess the demand went up...sux for us

I'd go softer if Canyon runs are the most aggressive you get. I have 450/375 GC with bilsteins and love them on the track. I'm at the upper limit of what the front can dampen, and might be over it in the rear. My setup is great on the track, but a real beating on the street. I kinda wish I had gone with Koni from the start, but oh well. Corner weighting is worth every penny.

I'll buy the bilsteins again though because they are affordable with good performance, and last a really long time. Actually, I'll probably have them valved up by FCM.

if youre going for the koni/GC combo you may as well save yourself a few bucks and just order the Koni Yellows, along with the Koni adjustable sleeves and spring perches. then order yourself a set of QA-1 or ground control springs. that way you can get everything totally customized to your sepcs. then add in an RB or FM front sway bar and youll be rockin. you can get that done within your 1000 range, but takes a bit more work on your part..

spring perches...
http://www.kingmotorsports.com/category.aspx?cat=39

QA1
http://www.carrerashocks.com/motorsports.html


dont forget new upper mounts and bump stops...

You can get QA1s from summitracing.com, they're like $38 a piece. You need to do research on spring lengths though or you could end up dealing with coil bind depending on your ride heights.

Thats not cost effective...

$1.80 for seat
$20.00 for perch
$24.00 for sleeve
---------------
$45.80 x 4 =$183.20

~$75 for each eibach spring = ~$300

$483 total.

Just call GC direct and order whatever spring rates you want.

I've never heard of QA1s. $38 a piece is a great price. I paid more than that for used eibachs.

Know of any reviews of these springs?

no....and thats why i stay away...I stick with eibach because i know, i mean i KNOW their quality and reputation, and so does everyone else thats on this forum...

Lots of people on m.net are using QA1s, FCM recommends them. They're heavily used by people that race circle track. Pretty sure Shaikh uses them in his kits. Anyway, it's pretty hard to mess up a spring.

I would get konis, FCM bumps, and some r-package springs

Spring sag, rates that don't stay consistent, I could go on. It's not easy, but it's doable.

GC had no problems including 700/450 springs in my kit for no added cost.

edit: Doesn't mean QA1s aren't bad springs. Lots of people using them with good results. Just saying that you CAN make a bad spring, i.e. the springs that come with eBay coilovers.

yep, QA1 has been around for a while and i personally havent seen or heard of any poor reviews.

plus QA1 arent the only spring you can choose from. search summit racing and there are several springs that would work just fine.

just because theyre eibach doesnt mean theyre the hottest thing since sliced cheese. over priced if you ask me..

SSS is another good spring company.

i wasnt saying that they are the best thing ever...what i like about eibach springs is that i can get some whenever in whatever spring rate, i think GC sells them for $69 shipped each...they are readily available and a 2.5" diameter which is very common
i like them the best for those reasons

All those reasons can be fulfilled by QA1 or SSS 2.5" springs in any length or rate you want. Think they go in 25 lb increments.

How would you guys like GCs for more like $353 shipped?
http://performance.yoparts.com/groun.../i-150667.aspx

Go there and sign up for a trial membership. They come out to be like ~$320 plus shipping.
I have no affiliation, just saw a smokin deal and thought i'd throw it up.

what about bilstein shock? all i know is that the came off a spec miata...i picked it up at the miata recycling for 100bucks... all four with ractive springs and coilovers....any of you guys use bilstein?

Lots of people use bilstein.
That's all Paul uses on his cars. Hustler uses them on his car as well. I'm sure a few more do as well.

tons of people on Bilstein, thats what comes stock on some miatas, like the R's M's LE's etc.
a lot of people have them revalved to their spec and throw coilovers on them, only thing is they are not adjustable, but last forever

I have a 99 sport. the PO gave me the factory Bilstiens with my car, since he had agx ont here. I plan on getting them revalved.

check out factcat for some good revalving options.

Are you sure you want/need adjustable coilovers?

I went through this whole process a few months ago, and settled on Koni's, FM springs, FCM bumpstops.

With the koni's on the highest perch, I'm at 12"F 12.5"R.

I'll throw 2 more cents into the ring. I've been running Tein SS's for about 9 months now and I have no qualms with them. Ran about 1100 for the whole setup (kit, nb hats and fm sway) and I have to say that there really isn't a bad thing with the car. I think that the valving on the shocks could be alittle better for smooth out the tiny bumps but overall the car was smoother then the old factory (non-bilstien) shocks.

I've recently been driving the DIY shopcar (95 M) and it's got me thinking about what I would do if I were to do it again. I'm almost thinking that I'd get some used bilstiens, have then revalved to work optimally with factory springs and sways and just run it like that. Factory settings just seems a little more fun then what I have. Maybe it's the body roll that makes it feel like I'm going faster.

what do you guys think about the flyin miata setup (Springs, KYB AGX, and fm sways) for street use.

This is what i have on my 2000 miata, and i am still working on the settings to smooth out the bad patches of Pennsylvania road.

I have the same set-up with OEM sways.

Though I got the (Old) FM Springs for half price, I think I should have gone straight to something "better".

Now I'm trying to figure out what "better" is for me. Shaikh was nice enough to run some scenarios for me and for a set of ultimate, never change again suspension custom made for me, would be about as much as a set of Tein Flexes!!! Yikes!

I'm re-evaluating my needs for now.

if i were to start over i would go with bilsteins and get the FatCat revalve when i had the $ a set of GC coil overs around 600/425 and a big sway bar up front stock or no bar in back. then as $ allowed do things like r-pkg tie rod ends for bump steer and get some nice bushings and braces. basically the set up i'm running now.

i had konis with GC coil overs 500/350 RB hollow NA bar stock rear bar and loved it for street auto-x track, i changed the set up to get the car more track oriented.

FWIW, Shaikh recommended Bilsteins.

In re-reading my e-mails with Shaikh, it looks like the price would be a little over $1000 with new Bilstein HDs, adjustable FCM perches and springs but without revalving which he said I could always do later.

This may sound like the way I may go now that I've re-read it all.

actually, shaikh from fcm recommended tokicos over konis