Godless Commie

iTrader: (2)

Yes, I know where the search button is.
And, I have been reading on suspension setups for days on end now.
And, I still have questions.

I need to do something about my suspension, and I am extremely limited with money.
(It’s the economy around here)

Ok, the basics:
The car is a ’99, supercharged, runs at around 12-13 psi max.
215/45/16 Kumho KU36 tires, KYB AGX shocks, Tein-S springs, FatCat bumpstops all around.
Rears have custom made Delrin bushings on the outside, and the lower ones are offset to compensate for camber issues.
Stock swaybars.
Front: Max Caster, -1.75 Camber, 0 Toe
Rear: -1.25 Camber, 1.00 mm toe in total.

DD, very spirited driving at times – meaning, I nail it whenever I find an opening in traffic.
Occasional track use - a 1.5 Km track, and a 5.38 Km F1 track. (F1 track has amazing grip)
City surfaces not predictable, grippy to very slick asphalt.
I live in a 620 year old neighborhood (established in 1393), very narrow streets, and uneven surface for about a mile coming/going home.

The car is OK in long, sweeping turns, but it gets very twitchy under power. Leading to occasional fishtailing even.
Hard turns go from understeer to sudden oversteer, and there is a pronounced lift oversteer, to boot. It is Ok as long as I am very smooth with the gas, and do not lift at all in a turn, which is not easy to do in city traffic.

The AGXs are about 6 years old, and they have gotten pretty soft.

Remember I said money is tight? Well, anything I will buy will cost me about $250 in shipping alone. So, I need to find some local solutions.

I found a suspension specialist in Istanbul. They tell me they can rebuild and even revalve my shocks. Total cost for four shocks will be just under $100, if I remove the shocks and they just do the benchwork. (They provide a warranty)
Even then, (from what I have read so far) pairing these shocks with Tein-S springs would not be an ideal setup.
These people I got in touch with also build custom coilover sets. And yes, they can use my AGX shocks, to save money.

I understand our cars respond quite well to a 400-250 spring rate, which translates to a 7-4.5 Kg setup here in the metric world. I was told the springs would not be a problem. Total cost will be around $500 for all this. (I think I can talk them down to $400)
Also, the ISC top hat is recommended with a lower ride height, so that the shocks work properly. I can either make my own top hats – basically copying what ISC sells, OR shorten the shock shafts.

Would shortening the shock shafts have the same effect as installing custom top hats?

Would you guys recommend building a coilover system based on beefed up AGX shocks?

This (if I go this route) will be a setup I will be using for at least 2 years. Maybe then I can afford a proper setup and shell out $800-1000 + 250 for shipping.

I need your input guys. There is virtually no one around here I can talk about suspension setups, and Miatas are pretty much unknown around here. I will either be told to “slam it”, or “go to the dealership”.

So, help!

wannafbody

iTrader: (1)

Maybe try adding some more rear camber and see if it tames the car. Next would be better shocks.

Godless Commie

iTrader: (2)

Actually, I spoke with Shaikh at FatCat about this since I started this thread, and he suggested the same thing - among other things.

I'll set the rear camber at -1.75 (same as the front) per his suggestion and take it from there.