Wesley here, greetings from Fort Worth!
 

Hello all, my name is Wesley. I am a Marine stationed in Ft Worth, TX and I recently purchased a mariner blue 1991 Miata with a hardtop with only 99,800 miles! Im excited about digging into this awesome car. My last daily and build was an 05 Audi S4 so this is a big change though ive already fallen in love with the nimble handling. Would like to meet some local enthusiasts so hit me up! So far I've stopped the interior and will be doing basic maintenance this weekend. Thanks and will be frequenting this compendium of knowledge.

Wesley

Welcome to the forum. We have a very large Texas contingent here.

What are your long range plans?

Long range honestly im on the fence between turboing my 1.6 (I mean it just broke 100,000 so...) and doing a rebuilt hi compression 1.8 with some bolt ons. First things first though are a GV lip and a hard top roof spoiler I picked up in a trade for my dilapidated soft top, then suspension (I'm leaning toward Megan Street or Tein Basis but may try (flame suit on) Ricelands. They're just so cheap! And I wont be tracking the car lol. Dash will be out soon hopefully. And I need to lose the daisies. Im feeling some old school. Enkei compe maybe? Idk. Definitely the 1.8 torsen will need to happen along with any power mods. But for now my broke ass is stuck with lightweighting / removing anything I dont need for street legality ;-)

Welcome, lance_col!

Look into doing some Hard S or MSM Bilsteins and a do it yourself coil over set up with the spring rates of your choice.

Yeah the main turn off of the Racelands and Rokkors for me is the ratio f/r of the spring rates is less than ideal

Thanks Brain! Hey are you still building MS?

Springs are around $37 apiece at Summit Racing in whatever rate you need.

Sweet. How do I get an affordable shock that I know will be valves accordingly? I imagine ordering custom would be pricey and all the adjustable I see are a bit high too. Any recommendations?

You can look for used Mazdaspeed Miata (MSM) Bilsteins or 99-up "Hard S" valved Bilsteins. They come up for sale here or locally as people upgrade to baller suspensions. They will do nicely on the street at 400/275 spring rates or 450/300 or 450/325 if you want even tighter. Mine are on 550/350 for slick tires and track driving and it is a bit too much spring for them to be comfy. You want 7 inch by 2.5 inch springs from Summit. A good source for the coilover adjusters is the ebay coilover adjuster and spring kits for ~$60. Sometimes the springs will be a decent rate combination but most of the time you can just resell them and keep the adjusters.

soon-to-be Suspension, suggestions? - Page 2 - Miata Forumz - Mazda Miata Chat Forums
Or you can buy the shocks new for a little more.
I didn't search for the cheapest price but these are the correct part number for the shocks with the correct valving. It is more controlled than regular or "Sport" valving. They will require upgrading to NB tophats.

Front:
DAMPER, FRONT. FRONT SUSPENSION MECHANISMS. Mazda Miata (1998 - 2000) # NC1234700D

Rear:
DAMPER, REAR (RR). REAR SUSPENSION MECHANISMS. 2000 Mazda Miata # NC1228700D

If you wanted to keep your NA tophats I guess you could get the Spec Miata valved Bilsteins and they should hopefully handle the spring rates fine.

http://www.ajusa.com/Bilstein-24-014...FRAV7AodtgsAGA

The main benefit of the NB tophats is the increased suspension travel correct? Is this something I should add to my list of definite upgrades?

They raise the upper spring perch by 3/4 inch thereby lowering the car by that amount or allowing that much more upward travel. NB tophats are less weight.
*Note that some aftermarket coilover systems come with their own tophats.
**Also note that NA and NB shocks have different rod end diameters and must be used with the corresponding tophat system.

So I note that a link ecu was posted in the classifieds for cheap. I know its outdated but is it a viable option with room to go fi later?

Leave it where it sits.