To lower or not to lower?
 

I keep reading posts and my miata books and I keep going back and forth. I don't want to change the character of the car, I like the pleasant ride and the forgiving handling. But it definitely needs the illuminas as the power is out of balance with the suspension. I have the springs but I really can't spend money on new rear perches. I also like the stock look and my wife needs to still love the car. BUT, super tight handling would be nice too. The car has and is going to have less than 170 rwhp for clutch and rear end complications. Sorry to ramble, I will try and sumarize..

Is upsetting the stock geometry and losing ride quality worth the lowering springs or should I just install the illuminas and assume the improvement will be enough? Am I being too much of a wuss and I should hold out for perches and install everything then?

what springs do you have? if the rates are higher the ride will somewhat improve (depending on the drop height), especially if you fork out the $75 for new progressive bumpstops.

I have a great all-around setup for street and performance. When I drive other miatas with more suspension work I do get a tad jealous, but I can certainly hold my own.

The springs are Tokico "premium" HPS5053, with a 1 inch drop. I am going to search around for spring rates. $75 for bumpstops? Where? (That I can do, just sold a corbeau seat for $100.)

I'm on 440/350 gc's with valved bilsteins, and its not that low. I have stock sway bars, and after some time with an accelerometer and a skid pad my buddies suggested I pick the car up, were it sits in the pic, and it scored me almost .1 g's. (supposedly with sway bars, it will handle better a bit lower)
first ride height:
http://memimage.cardomain.net/member...801_5_full.jpg
tuned height:
http://i17.tinypic.com/2cy62io.jpg
vs stock height:
http://memimage.cardomain.net/member...801_3_full.jpg

my sister has the tein S springs on her msm on the stock bilsteins...its a bit tighter than stock, and I think its the perfect mix of trackable (about once per month..sister is bad ass) and daily driving. Its never rough or a beating...perfect for daily.

I have the old FM springs on my KYB AGX. My ride height is exactly as FM described to me.

However, as a base model, my car has no OEM air splitter and lucky for me. Otherwise, I would have ripped them off the car by now.

If I had to do things over, I would choose a good set of coil overs (probably Teins) and adjust the ride height.

Which ones do I need? Can these really do the job of the FM rear shock mounts?

You need the 46mm stops and the hats would be good too.

It's too bad there's not a comparison pic on Shaikh's site to illustrate the difference between the NA/NB mounts. The FCM kit is awesome for both travel and ride and is well worth it. FWIW you'll also get .75-1" worth of lowering just by doing the FCM hats.

teh fcm stops are good stuff.

^ I like my FCM stuff, it seems to just FEEL better.

if you dont lower the car low enough, you don't need the rear FM perches....

Don says...don't lower it! Thats not oem..blah blah blah! ;)
So...you know it must be a good thing. :D

FCM bumps are great. I use them on a street application with Koni's and Eibach pro springs. Much improvement over stock bumps.