Originally Posted by nderwater (Post 665767)

That's pretty exactly how this started. After the harshness of my R-Package NA, I kept my NB on its stock suspension because I was spending two hours a day commuting in it. Now that I take the express bus to work, I'm interested in putting a suspension under the car which is a better match for its performance... but my idea of what a better suspension should feel like has become more complicated.

The first time I drove an S2000 in anger I thought "Wow, this is what a well tuned Miata must feel like." Flogging a 911 was even better - it's as if a talented shop tweaked an S2000, then gave it more balls. But unlike even a 911, the mid-engine cars I've driven recently didn't feel heavy on the front tires under breaking, and on turn-in didn't seem to rotate around a planted front tire.

Now I'm not interested in just firming up the ride of my Miata. As much as possible, I'd like to replicate that planted, neutral (yet compliant) feel of a mid-engine exotic... so before I buy any parts, I'd like to understand the general mechanics of the suspension design on those cars. My thought was that if I better understood the mechanics of the suspension I would like to replicate, the easier it would be to make decisions about the specifics of the suspension setup I'm looking for.