Racing Beat "black" end links on NB front sway bar
 

I stumbled across a great deal on a set of slightly used (installed 1 week) NC Racing Beat "black" end links (ie, with the ball joints) -- $100 for both front and rear link sets, shipped -- and grabbed them. Once they get here, I will use these with the Flyin' Miata anti-sway bars on my '04 NB.

However, I have run into a snag.

Racing Beat does not list these endlinks for the NB, but only for the NC.

Good-Win Racing has the NB front bar using the NC front (longer; 4.2"-4.6" length) endlink and the NB rear bar using the NC rear (shorter; 3.4"-3.8") link. See: (front) http://www.good-win-racing.com/Mazda...rt/54202a.html and (rear) http://www.good-win-racing.com/mazda.../61-1077b.html. :)

BUT

Flyin' Miata has the NB front and rear bars both using the NC rear (shorter; 3.4"-3.8" length) endlink. See: Flyin' Miata 1 800 FLY MX5s Description: "ball joint, fits 99-05 front & rear and 06+ rear" :hs:

Track Dog Racing has the same application as Flyin' Miata. See: http://trackdogracing.com/heim-joint...90-05-1-1.aspx Description: "99-05 Front or Rear" :hs:

All the other parts houses I checked just listed the "red" RB end links for the NB (as does Racing Beat).

So three reputable Miata parts suppliers, but two different answers. According to Good-Win's website, I am good to go. According to Flyin' Miata and TrackDog, the front links are too long. :confused:

Will the longer NC endlinks work with the NB front bar? If not, can I just cut down the longer shafts on the front NC links to match the shorter NC rear links, or do I need to source a couple of shorter studs*? :dunno:

(*applications not being accepted at this time; watch this site for further information)

Bill

As a shorter stud I would say the answer to your question is entirely dependent on ride height.

Depending on your ride height, the front endlinks may foul the upper control arm. The lower you are, the more likely this is to happen.

Good point about the height -- I should have included it. :vash:

The car has the FM Stage 2 suspension (FM springs, Tokico Illuminas), so about 1" lower than stock. Per FM, (approximate) front ride height: 12.5" & rear ride height: 13". I haven't measured it myself, since the Tokicos are not height adjustable; had height been important to me, I would have gotten the VMaxx coilovers.

As far as I can tell the only difference between the front and rear links is the length of the stud. What especially concerns me is that there is no overlap between the shortest length for the fronts and the longest length for the rears. Maybe I should just plan to disassemble them once they get here, measure the front studs against the shorter rear studs and trim the ends to match, or at least split the difference (and figure that all three vendors are correct, but FM and HD are more correct).

The cheapest solution is sometimes the best.

Bill