ISC tophats VS. NB tophats
 

I just installed my Bilstien/ebay coilover sleeve/ QA1 spring coilover combo today. The car rides much better than stock, however I'm too high for my liking. F 12.75 R 13.25ish. That's wound all the way down.

The ISC top hats apparently drop you an additional 3/4''. Do the NB tops to the same thing? NB's are significantly cheaper and OEM Mazda, which I like.

I know the springs will settle a little bit, but not enough to bring me to the height I want. I want to be ABLE to go to 12'' if I need, but I'm planning to run F12.25/R12.5.

What spring rates did you go with?

What spring lengths did you use?

Did you use NA or NB Bilsteins?

NB drop 1/2" from what I recollect.

NA Bilstiens. 550F 350R

Spring length?

I want the same ride height from NA Bilsteins and Shaikh told me 6"F/7"R springs.

6'' front 7'' rear.

From what I'm reading it's a lot trickier to make the NB tops work with Bilsteins over Konis...

So I my go with ISC.

Did you see the FCM installation instructions? Unless I'm missing something, it doesn't look difficult.

http://www.fatcatmotorsports.com/FCM...U_bushings.pdf

It's not the install... it's finding the right shank nut or something?

It may be that FCM includes the hard to find parts, but I didn't see anything related to difficult in the NB tophat install.

http://www.toughnutz.com/refills.mgi

10x1.25

TNZ17?

There are a few... M10x1.25

Tnz17

Is there a how to on MT here? There was a DIY on miata.net with all of the part number and it had photos but they are all dead now.

Apparently there is an energy suspension bushing kit you can use?

http://www.amazon.com/Energy-Suspens.../dp/B000CN5GEA

Cut them down to size. You need upper and lower bushing and upper and lower washer from NB. Go to Rosenthal Mazda for them.

I'm having a hard time deciding on polyurethane or MCU.

just go to http://www.finishlineperformance.com. you need the tophats, upper and lower bushings, and upper and lower washers.

With my konis, since the threaded is so short, I could only use the lower bushing.

I would do ICS rear hats and nb fronts for max travel.

Hey... so with the upper and lower washers/bushings all I need then is the shank nut listed in a post above?

Then assembly like the FCM kit?

What about a shock isolator for the top? Is it nessicary?

not sure with the bilsteins to be honest, but I'd assume so. Since the konis are adjustable if I used that nut I'd have no way to adjust the suspension (not like I do alot) with some custom knob to reach down...

I like the isc stuff better since you actually get more travel. I just sold off my nb tophat setup and replaced them with isc. Once you buy the tophats and the associated bushings, washers, etc. It's not that much cheaper.

What are you planning on running for bumpstops?

I can have a set of 4 NB tophats for $80 CAD. So it is a fair bit cheaper than ISC.

Not sure on bumps yet... I'm just running cut stock ones right now until I either order some ES or FCM bumps.

I've driven the car a fair bit over the last two days and it's settled a bit. Right now I'm at about 12.5 in the front and a hair over 13 in the rear. The NB will bring me down to my ideal 12.75 and 12.5... perhaps a bit lower.

In regards to the shock insulator on the top... it is needed for the NB tops? How will that effect the overall lowering the NB tops give you?

Anyone know where I could get some allen bolt style locking collars for a threaded sleeve? Right now I'm running two that are "butted up" against each other. Going to one with a locking bolt (like FCM uses) would give me an extra 1/2'' of adjustability.