I've never used the ISC mounts, but I've run the FM mounts and they SUCKED. They jingled and rattled constantly. Every time the rear suspension compressed, they'd make noise. My buddy had some on his SM2 car, and his were so noisy, he thought that they'd sent him bad bearings form the get-go. He called FM and got new ones sent to him, and they were even louder. I'd go with the Fat Cat mounts/ sleaves/ stops, and I intend to on my next project.

FCM bumpstops and mounts Ben :)


FWIW the FCM top mount is little more than an NB mount with some clever hardware, which will get you ~3/4" lower on fixed springs, or allow you to raise a coilover that amount and have more travel for a given ride height.

I've had FM mounts on my car for a couple of years. I know at least 10 people locally who have them. I've never heard your complaint before.

I'm wondering if there wasn't an issue with your install?

They're not exactly rocket science. Perhaps FM changed bearing specs or suppliers. Or maybe we got a bad run of CNC work on our mounts...

Why not just go with the FCM coilover kit at that point? It works out to be the same price as GC + bumps, but you get FCM advice.

That's looking like the other option at this point. I like the $100 sleeves + eibach race springs + NB hats method for the cost savings compared to FCM or GC coilovers.

I'm concerned about too low ride height with the NB hats and w/o coilovers.

I sit a 12.5"F and 12.75"R with Konis on the top perch with FM springs....dunno how low Eibach's drop you...

They have a coilover kit? I'll have to check that out..

FWIW my GCs are set at 5/8" above bottomed out with the FCM mounts, your car doesn't look very low really, I think you'll be fine.

I must say, it is pretty bad-ass!!!
I wish I had the knowledge to piece something together, that would be a badass set-up.

If you can get some cheap ebay sleeves that were mentioned here, you can pickup some cheap QA1 springs in many lengths and rates from Summit Racing. Would probably be worlds better than running the Eibachs which you could sell for $100.

Frank

My car isn't gangsta low, but it is pretty frikkin low. I'm not into the SoCal drop. And I bang my cat on speedbumps enough as it is.

That's looking like the plan

I'm running some eBay sleeves with QA1s on the R Bilsteins. BUT - here's what I found. The sleeves fit the front shocks perfectly with very tight tolerance between the sleeve and the shock body. Though on the sleeves are loose on the rear shocks. And it doesn't matter which goes where. I believe this looseness is what causes a lot of the failures you see reported on the eBay sleeves- the sleeve doesn't seat on the lower perch ring flat and the load is then concentrated at one point causing the sleeve to ultimately crack/split. So I just used the original lower perch and sat the sleeve on that. Still room for adjustment - just not so pretty. Anyway- you need to make sure you get the sleeves that fit the Konis since IIRC they've got a narrower body than the Bilsteins.

I did something similar on my last CRX. The ebay sleaves were about 1/2" to big for my Koni bodies, so I found a piece of ABS pipe that was an exact fit between the shock body and sleave ID. In hindsight, I probably should have machined a new mount, but this solution was passable in the time frame I needed to get the car rolling, and the guy I eventually sold the shocks to had been using them exactly like that for about 20k miles.

I learned a trick from Mike Kojimas in the SE-R world back when GC/AGXs were the hot combo. To stop noise and movement of the sleeves you wrap the strut/shock body with duct tape until the sleeve fits over it very snugly. Put a coating of RTV on the tape and slide the sleeve into place. Then you seal around the top and bottom of the sleeve to prevent water from entering and you are set. It will last the life of the shocks/struts and you'll never have any problems with them.

I spent the last 75 minutes searching thru suspension threads on m.net. I'm now leaning towards Koni threaded sleeves with Eibach Race springs and NB hats and some sort of bumpstops. I think this will give me the maximum possible travel and not make the car stupid low, while still not being terribly expensive.

So, rec's on bumpstops that are maybe a bit less than FCM?
Rec's on where to get the Koni threaded sleeves? I not only fail at searching, but also am not 100% sure on what the correct model sleeve is for the miata sport shocks and 2.5" springs.
Finally, I'll need help picking the spring, both length and rates. I'm thinking like ~350 front with the corresponding rear. I want to stiffen the car up, but not make it harsh. I also want the rear to hook.
Then finally finally, we can deal with sway bars. But that's later. I'm still leaning towards the RB hollow front with stock rear. I'll need to sell my FM bars first. Or I'll just run the FM bars.

I'll solicit suspension swappin' help once it's time, at my dad's shop where there's lifts and air tools. We can make a tech day thing out of it.

Ben

Front springs: http://store.summitracing.com/partde...5&autoview=sku

Rear Springs: http://store.summitracing.com/partde...5&autoview=sku

That shouldn't be that harsh. They've got 350 for the front too, and 250 for the rear in those sizes.

Don't get hung up on Eibachs. Your paying for the name and the nice red paint. ;)

Frank

I had to go softer from 400/300 to 300/250. The city roads were just too brutal for the first rates.

Frank,

You'd need a big ol' front bar and no rear bar to make that close to neutral feeling. Maybe a 450/300 spring combo instead, still big front bar & no rear, but a bit less oversteery, still alright with pitch.

I personally love the additional grip in the rear that comes with no rear sway and an LSD.

edit: I personally wouldn't go that high on rates on my (or Rob's) Bilstein R's, but I keep hearing high rates on Konis aren't too bad on the street.

I've got revalved bilsteins w/ Fatcat sleeves from Shaikh with an FM front and no rear (on my NB). I'm actually running 375/300 and it's quite neutral.

Frank

I believe it on an NB. Probably the 1" front bar? Not sure whether Ben has sitting arond the 7/8" or the 1". 375/300 with the 1" front and no rear would likely be nice on Ben's car, I imagine.

Ben, not sure if you've used it or not, but I highly recommend Shaikh's spreadsheet for playing around with spring rates and swaybar sizes to get a feel for their effect. It saved me a lot of trial-and-error (not to mention money) in getting my setup how I want.

Thanks fellas. I'm down with whatever springs as long as they work and are cheap.
I've been searching and searching. Still don't know where to pick up the perches or what bumpstops to look at besides FCM.

Ben, yes I've used FCM's spreadsheet before.