FM V-MAXX coilover quesiton
 

Does anyody have these coilovers from FM?

http://www.flyinmiata.com/index.php?...0%20%201990-97

I am considering getting these with the FM sways that I already have and I was curious to know if anyone has them and their thoughts on the set-up. Worth the money? Perform as well as expected? Anyone have these on a daily driver?

There are some threads on these, however, limited reports from actual users as they've only been out about a year. Therefore, you are forgiven for not searching first.

I'm curious too. Opinions from actual users please.

I have em and the fm bars. I like em. What else u want to know? If u search around u'll find my writeup on them too.

Found it here:

https://www.miataturbo.net/showthrea...axx#post756245

Missed it on previous searches because the thread title didn't mention V-Maxx.

Excellent write-up.

Wonder if anyone has had them on longer than 4 months and what the durability is?

Also wonder whether the lack of being able to change damping has been a big problem for track users?

It seems to me that if bought as a package (coilovers + roll bars from FM), that FM may have already specified a decent damping characteristic for the shock. Especially for a novice driver (like me) that should be working on his driving rather than worrying about myriad suspension combinations.

i have had them for well over 6 months along with my fm sways. car drives alot better than stock of course but its not something i would use if i was tracking the car ritually. you will need to spend money on better c/o if you want to perform.

Indeed they do feel a bit soft for a sports ride however comfortable for dd. I've never pushed them on the track or autocrossing or anything of that sort though.

I have a set, they replaced Bilstein PSS units. The FMs are stiffer and control the car better while not being harder riding.

ahh, thanks for the redirect to that write-up.

From what you are saying though it seems like they are a good cross between performance and comfort, basically what I am looking for.

I know that they offer a special kit for NA's that have NB mounts for the further travel, anybody know if this setup is simply NB tophats with mounting hardware?

As far as i know yes.

Been researching those myself. They include the tophats but there are some other parts u have to purchase to make them work. Miata.net had a huge discussion about them.

Not exactly, if you have an NB you can buy just the kit without top hats and save your self some money. Here is the story, NA top hats take away travel. NB top hats allow more travel. If you want the regular travel on NA then buy the regular NA kit. If you want the more travel on NA, buy the regular kit with included NB top hats/or find your own nb tophats...


From your sig i see you have an NB. For us on the NBs there's 1 option that makes sense. Buy the NB kit without NB top hats since you already have some, if yours are broken for some reason you'll need to contact fm and get charged for top hats also however they are not originally included.


These are complete bolt on. Pull your shocks, swap the hats, install these.

I called up Flyin Miata looking to place an order on these last week (Back ordered for about a month and a half), I talked with them there.

I explained that I had an NA and was looking to get the coils but I already had brand new NB rear mounts. I figured that the "NB setup for an NA" version was just the NA shock body with NB factory tops. Turns out the that it is the NB shock body with the NB mounts all together.

I was also told that NA tops would not work on the NB coils and vice versa. And if I wanted to create my own "NB setup for an NA" that I would need to get the NB coilovers and find a set of NB front mounts with the factory hardware in order for it to work. This is what I was told anyway for what it is worth.

...i guess its not that obvious that if the top mounts are different the shocks are to be different too?

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1317098576

further clarification on what the nb setup for an na was perhaps? Same shock, same springs, etc. figured I'd put in my $.02. stupid i guess.

Okay

NA kit.. Shorter shocks, shorter springs made to be used with the longer NA top mounts.

NB kit.. Longer shocks, longer springs made to be used with the shorter NB top mounts.

NA > NB kit... Longer shocks, longer springs supplied with the shorter NB top mounts. You do not get top mounts with the other 2 kits.

I've had them since April or so, not a dd. They replaced the stock MSM suspension and are far more composed over rough surfaces. Sharp bumps are more abrupt but not jarring, I would assume this is the higher spring rate. Normal uses are back roads, autox and occasionally a track event, they handle everything very well. Much better than the stock POS. With that said, I drive for fun and not competition, Xida or the like would be much better suited for a competitive track driver.

For the price I think they are great. 2-3 years from now I'll probably want something better and with any luck there will be more and better options out there to chose from. There are other setups in the $600 range, most are more street oriented or have even less of a history than VMaxx and not backed by a reputable vendor. I think there is a reason FM has trouble keeping them in stock.

Two cars ran Targa Newfoundland on them last year and again this year. Doesn't mean they will last for 100k miles, but it's better than nothing and you can't exactly get a lot of long term info from a shock that's only been around for <2 years.