atotalpro

After reading through the Better Bilstein Ebay Coilover thread, I am pretty intrigued. I bought a less expensive set of coilovers a while back that ride a bit too harsh for my (and my wife's) taste and was wondering what the ride quality is like with the Bilstein DIY recipe?

concealer404

iTrader: (3)

Anywhere from awesome, to terrible. Depends on your decisions. That thread is a guide, critical thinking and decision-making is still required. The user input determines the output.

Would you like more cryptic answers?

My 850/500 spring rate Bilsteins have awesome ride quality.

atotalpro

Please write me a spy novel lol.

I might be asking the wrong or a too indirect question.

Is the valving on the Bilsteins conducive for decent ride quality? (sounds like it is, based on your answer)

What spring rates work the best for the NB Bilsteins? (850/500 sounds like it worked well for you, are these ebay springs or something nicer?)

What ride heights work well for standard top hats vs extended top hats? Im assuming this makes a difference for ride quality. I know very little about suspension technology and geometry.

concealer404

iTrader: (3)

You need to spend a lot more time in that thread. Your question is far too vague. You need to make some decisions yourself first. Do not run 850/500 on unaltered Bilsteins. It will go badly. The thread has all your answers. Literally all of them. Read like... the first 2-3 pages. Then skip to the end and work backwards.

Could also try this thread if you're down for a laugh.
https://www.miataturbo.net/suspensio...-thread-97725/

atotalpro

Fair enough. I shall go back and do some more reading.

Thanks for your help.

Your Drunkle

I think my MSM shocks with 550/400 spring combos are fine if a little rough on pot-holed end of winter WNC roads. My girlfriend strongly disagrees. It's tough to tell what what "harsh" means to someone else, especially if you don't know what they have now or what road conditions are relevant.

atotalpro

Thats a good point regarding the definition of harsh. I guess im looking to get as close to stock ride comfort as possible. My big issue at the moment is hitting big dips on highways. My primary commute route is filled with huge 65mph dips. My setup right (Powertrix Sport Streets) now literally tosses me out of the seat. I suspect this is a dampening or travel issue, but I don't know how to be sure.

Aerodyne

I had the same issue with my DIY Bilstein set up (500/325 on Hard-S) as well as my FCMs after, due to lack of rebound damping.
Installed Gen 2 Xidas and have not been tossed out of my seat since.

Savington

iTrader: (31)

I tried 600/350s on MSM Bilsteins and it was too much rate. The secret sauce to a nice street setup with those is rates in the 400/250 neighborhood, lots of ride height (5.25" minimum), and stock sways.

concealer404

iTrader: (3)

This is where the owner's personal *** sensitivity meter matters more than anything. I find 550/350 on NB billies to be plush even at 949 dual duty/race ride heights. Trick is you need extended hats on all four corners and your bump stop lengths need to be good.

And maybe your *** needs to be used to a good hammering like mine. Or something. I originally ran 600/400 on MSM bilsteins and it was fine, but nothing i'd call "plush." I don't think for comfort, the MSM bilsteins are the right choice, out of the box. There's nothing they do better for a street car than the yellow ones do, and there's a lot they do worse.

x_25

My friend's car on spec miata take off bilstiens and 450/350 with no sways (it has been a long, strange road for that car) rides like a caddie. He has dasies with soft all seasons though.

My 700/400 Xida race setup at 5" pinchweld height rides amazing, if stiff. You can definetly feel it over big bumps, but out on a relativly smooth highway it is amazing. Better than the stock setup on my NB.

Sweet spot would probably be Xida GS at stock ride height. Those are what, 500/350? Something like that. Maybe go custom softer spring rates if you can. Ultimate would probably be a Xida Ace setup.

HowPrayGame

I'm at 450/300, lowered almost all the way on allstar collars (6-7 threads left) with Speedethane bumpstops cut to 31mm. Feels pretty comfy to me, rides much better than the same NB Bilsteins with 16 year old rubber/no rear bumpstop. Running Maruha tophats as well.

sixshooter

iTrader: (12)

^This for a street comfort ride.

atotalpro

So it seems like the Bilsteins with softer spring rates and higher ride height will provide for a relatively comfortable ride. How exactly is ride height measured (dumb question, but might as well have my bases covered)?

HowPrayGame

Pinch welds (folded metal on the 4 corners of the car) to the ground, i'm at around 5" front 5.25" rear or so. You can't reliably measure ride height from center of wheel hub to the fender due to people rolling fenders & other discrepancies.

andym

Ride height can be measured from the center of hub to the fender lip but that can get somewhat inaccurate between na and nb especially if your fenders have been mangled. Some people measure floor to pinch weld which can also be inaccurate if your pinch welds have been mangled.

imperialgolem

I agree with Savington. I have revalved bilies with 400/325. To avoid bouncing in long dips I had to put at least 20% more rebound to the rear. Currently car is good controlled and flat. In terms of harshness MSM bilies are worse, they have tighter bleeds to make them sporty apparently, later they lack still a lot.
In my opinion even 400/325 or 325/275 rates requires revalving.

emilio700

iTrader: (3)

I like even softer rates for a Bilstein setup. Tein or FM springs are in the 270~300 lb range and PnP. FM are a bit taller and my preference between the two. If doing sleeves, with ride quality as top priority, I'd do 300/200 with stock sways and aim for about 5.75" pinch welds.
Right in the sweet spot for the damping forces of the Bilstein. That's still almost 1" lower than OEM and double the spring rate. IOW, still quite sporty but definitely on the Grand Touring side of things.

x_25

Easy button just popped up in the classifieds.

https://www.miataturbo.net/miata-par...k-miles-99809/

emilio700

iTrader: (3)

Yup, that's a nice street / casual track-autox setup