Custom Koni Coilover Suspension for Street Use
 

Hi, suspension noob here,

I want to do custom coilovers on my NA6 after doing some reading this is what I've come up with. The car is used primary as a street car on bumpy New England and New York roads.

My questions are:
Will all this work together? lol
Which dampers should I be using? (NA or NB)
Are the 7in spring lengths idea? (not sure no the ride height I'll use, but I'm not slamming the car)
Spring rate too soft/hard for street use?
What do you guys think of this setup? Is there anything I should change?
Any input would be greatly appreciated, thanks!

Front:
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4405/...3b8bc7bd_b.jpg

Rear:
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4363/...344a1e15_b.jpg

Spring rates way too soft, and wrong shocks. ;)

For budget a budget DIY setup you want NB bilstein sports, NB front hats, Hyperco springs, 5X Racing sleeves/perches, Goodwin or Two Six Motorsports extended hats, DIY Integra Speedthane bumpstops to the length you want, and around a 500/350 spring rate. Personally i think 550/375 on an NA with NB bilsteins is awesomesauce.

Or just get Xidas.

Koni's are never the answer.

Will second billes. For potholes/broken pavement etc. I would suggest 350/250 rates though. At these (low) rates a revalve would be nice as well. For such applications (no smooth roads), I have had a lot of positive feedback for FMs Fox setup as well.

lol. bumpy roads--picks worst shock on market.

Thanks for the response! The NB Bilstein Sports are the "B6" or "B8" models? Those spring rates seem kinda harsh for street use, but then again I don't know much about this stuff lol, would the 350/250 that HarryB suggested work well for my application? Also why Hyperco Springs over Swift? Thanks again!

Ops! :giggle:, that's why I asked before I bought em! :rolleyes:

The less you're on bumpstops, the better your ride is.

Hypercos are cheaper than Swifts. And are quality springs.

I'm from NY, and run 850/500 Hyperco springs. 11/10 would drive on NY roads.

1000/500 on Xidas is no shit more comfy (using the term loosely) than 600/350 was on Koni Sports, if that tells you anything. Quality shocks at about 500lbs with proper bump travel should be downright comfy, koni sports are not that shock.

Revised Design
 

Ok, made some changes, how does this look? Should I be using B6 or B8 Bilstiens? I believe the B8 are to be used with lowered cars since they have a shorter stroke?
Thanks a lot for the help!

Front:
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4371/...7350a12a_b.jpg

Rear:
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4430/...6af2233d_b.jpg

That setup looks good. If you're buying new bilsteins you want the B6's. B8's have a shorter shaft resulting in reduced droop travel (and no-one wants a shorter shaft).

But if you're buying all of it new (bilstiens, hypercos, extended hats, bumps etc- ALL the bits), I think you need to add up actual costs of it all including shipping, and make sure it's not close to what a proper coilover is going to cost you. I'm betting it'll be close and you'd be better off stretching to the xidas or saving for a bit to do so.

Edit: don't just cut bumpstops to 36mm. Install without springs, put wheel back on and jack up the wheel to see how much travel you actually have- set compressed bumpstop length based on that.

I'm on MSM billies and running 450/300 which is what savington had recommended when I'd asked. Just throwing that out as a data point. That said, 'regular' yellow billies are valved differently so it's likely that your rates are more apt for that setup.
I really like how my car rides, but I think that stepping up to 500/350 wouldn't have been a bad idea...

Also, why 5x racing sleeves vs advanced auto sports? Are the 5x racing ones pre cut to 4 inches as well?

No, 5X racing sleeves are 5", they are just a little cheaper

Seems like a good plan. Will second what's told about bumpstops; you want them to limit your travel so you don't break things, nothing more, thus they have to be as short as possible but within reason. Will try to post my measurements once I get back home on Monday.

If it we're me, I'd just buy illuminas and FM springs

Adding everything up (buying brand new, including shipping) it comes out to a little over $1100, say $1200 for any additional hardware I may need. Xidas are over $1900 with the duel spring system, is it worth saving up to for that? Are the Xidas that much better on the street?

And thanks for bumpstop advise!

The illuminas and FM springs "stage 1" suspension package is $800, $1000 with the extended rear top hats ("stage 1.5"), is there any limitations/advantages having this vs the custom bilstien coilover? The price difference really isn't that much when you throw in the top hats.

You want this on bumpy roads. Don't use the extended top hats. Enjoy the nice ride.

If you're looking at xidas just for street ride quality, wait for the Xida GS when they come out- https://www.miataturbo.net/suspensio...-xl-ace-93581/ ~$1599.

I think the bilstein diy option really only makes sense if you already have the parts (i.e. bilsteins + at least some of the hardware/tophats). If you are going the budget option starting with nothing there's better options. Two to consider that are gonna ride better than the bilsteins and be cheaper than buying all the parts separately:

Meister R CRD's @ $995 inc delivery: https://forum.miata.net/vb/showthread.php?t=607056
V8R's DSD coilovers @ $950: https://v8roadsters.com/product/dsd-coilover/

LOL @ Meister R riding better than Bilsteins.

Stay safe, OP.

Tell us what you really think.