I'm looking for suspension suggestions.


I've been thinking about 2 diffferent options

I'm tryin to keep the cost about the same..

1. adjustible shocks, sway bars, and springs
or
2. Full coilovers

both will be about the same cost... I don't really care about ride height adjustibility and it seems like I could get more acomplished with option 1 than with 2...

If I'm not thinking of something or if someone has a set up that works for them please let me know...I'd like to have this stuff ready to install when I get home.

thanks guys,

Nick

 

A not so cheap but great choice for option one would be:
Koni Sports Shocks
Ground Control Coilovers
FCM Top Mounts and Bumpstops
Some sway combinations.

Its not cheap but you can find Konis and GC for sale used alot on .net

You can go with springs, but I'm sitting to low for my personal preference for street use with Old FM springs, Konis, and FCM kit.

I'm assuming you have an NA since it doesn't day.

 

yeah man you need to try a few. i would go with option 1. When you get back ill let you spin on mine to see if maybe just some rubber and shocks will do the trick for you. These cars do very well with a good alignment and some added grip and dampening. The sways are nice ive been thinking of that myself though. a quality kit can be peiced together that i am sure you will like.

 

FWIW I'm using a 99 sport front sway I picked up for 11 dollars and racing beat adjustable endlinks.

 

Roger that I! have a NA...

Would the setup you mentioned perform better than say a set of Tein coilovers?

I know that is a vauge question...But I'm looking for something that I can have fun with at autox the last miata I autoxed was all stock and the suspension was way to mushy

 

What I have and love it!

 

Actually, if you can get a used set of koni's and the GC's they work well.... however if you are looking a new.... I would say go for the Tein's. I know several guys with either the SS's or the Flex.... and they are definately a great combination.

I have the Koni's + GC + FM mounts... which I bought slowly over time, however, when I consider the total expendature.... I should have just bought the flex and be done with it..... Not to say I don't like the setup. It works well though...

Dave,

 

screw the rear bar. use FCMs spreadsheet.

 

Do the coilovers that you are considering offer any advantages over the first option?

 

from what I understand when lowering the car they can be adjusted so you don't lose suspension travel....

 

if i were doing a suspension on the cheap, I'd go TEIN basics. the Flex are nice but if you dont care about all the adjustability, the basics are the way to go.

I hate Konis.

 

read y8s sig, exactly

 

haha in response to my comment or everything above it?

also, forget sways. just remove the rear.

 

I care about damper adjustibilty but ride height isn't one of my concerns....I'd like to find a spring that lowers the car .75-1.00 inch and has a higher spring rate compared to stock but not bone jarring. Basics just adjust the ride height so I'm not interested in those. All the competitive auto-xers in our region swear by custom valved konis(big bucks). I'm looking to see if something like say KYB's, FM or RB sways & some springs so 275,220&220=715bucks ...or if I get Konis it'll be like 975...or go for tein flex for 1350 or something like ksport coilover(wideopen tuning seems happy with those) so its all open I'm open for all your suggestions..and really appreciate what you guys have said so far.

So far Miatamania's set up sounds like a plan...but I'm still worried about suspension travel.

 

At first I had no Idea what you where talking about (FCM Spreadsheet) but with some research I found it.......that helps out a bunch! Thank you Braineack

Nick

 

im just givin you ****. but i like the konis

 

I had them on my E30... I dunno what it was, but there was just no range of adjustment that satisfied me for ride comfort and handling. I love the feel of a good monotube I guess.

 

I almost went with tein's but decided on GC 440/350 (for the track) and valved up bilsteins because they will last longer, probably 100k miles.

 

Bilstein is a nice shock very progressive despite the non adjustable nature of it.

 

I have bilstein valved old *** H&R coilovers on my vw, and they have 150k miles / litterally 10 years of service this summer. The valves are still good.

Now that I have some track time under my belt, I wouldn't mind being able to make a one "click" adjustment firmer on the fronts, but its not make or brake for me...if it were worse, I'd get a rear sway bar. Corner weighting was like magic on this car, and I'll be even happier about it in 10 years, when I'm running on the same dampers.

So even though you may not have valving adjustment with the shocks, you can still bad-aid it with tire pressure, sway bar adjustment, alignment, and ride height.


I've driven 5 different cars on a skidpad ironically enough and I'm very happy with my decision. I've lapped with a driver who's known as the best driver in our group in an NB with exhaust, TEIN flex, and azenis and I was within 7/10's of a second of his average lap times. I've also driven his car on the skidpad, and our handling characteristics were almost identical.

Make sure and get FCM bump stops, nb mounts, and possibly fm rear mounts if you can score them used like I did for $75.