Coilovers

[McSwede]

As part of getting the MX5 on the road again I fancy swapping the standard shocks/springs for some cheapish coilovers to drop the ride height a little and improve the drive. I have no experience of these so thought I'd ask for your thoughts. Been looking at the kits below. Fixed ride height is appealing to me because there is less for me to cock up or am I missing a trick as they're easy to set up?? What about fixed or adjustable damping?? And what about thoughts on twin tube versus mono tube dampers??

https://www.mx5parts.co.uk/fixed-height ... -1924.html

https://uk.tein.com/product/street_advance_basis_z.html

[Matty]

I can't comment on the below, but some of my biggest car purchase regrets have been cheap suspension kits/coilovers. I'd rather find the extra.

[integrale_evo]

Id always go higher adjustable, it's not really possible to mess up.

There's no voodoo, it's just the bottom spring perch on a screw thread so you can wind it up and down.

Make a guess on one, measure the threads with a tape measure, set the other side the same. Lower the car down. If it hits the floor, wind the perch up a bit. If it's still too high, wind it down a bit.

[Orange Cola]

Either go OEM replacements or get a proper set up and pay for someone reputable to set it up properly The cheapo ones never work and are just compromised, they only really exist for folk who want show and no go. I’m guessing you would want a road set up rather than a track one? There will be a short list of go to set ups from the MX5 folk.

[Orange Cola]

Id always go higher adjustable, it's not really possible to mess up.

There's no voodoo, it's just the bottom spring perch on a screw thread so you can wind it up and down.

Make a guess on one, measure the threads with a tape measure, set the other side the same. Lower the car down. If it hits the floor, wind the perch up a bit. If it's still too high, wind it down a bit.

On a known flat surface you can access easily, and let the suspension settle properly before doing any adjustments else you’ll be constantly chasing ‘changing’ ride heights.

Or get someone who knows MX5’s to put it on a rig and do it right first time.

[Sundayjumper]

Gaz stuff should be OK. They’re a real UK company so any issues should be sorted quite easily. I’ve got Gaz on my Porsche.

The *really* cheap ebay coilovers are a bit hit & miss AFAIK. I put a set on the Compact and both rears blew out after two events. That’s probably not really what they’re designed for though That said, the fronts have been OK, and they came with adjustable top mounts too.

[Sundayjumper]

What are you going to use the MX5 for ? They’re very popular for Autosolos...

[Orange Cola]

Gaz sponsor a few race series, they’re a reputable company and know what they’re doing.

[McSwede]

What are you going to use the MX5 for ? They’re very popular for Autosolos...

It'll be a daily for the wife for a while so no track work. Just some occasional fun for me too.

[McSwede]

Gaz stuff should be OK. They’re a real UK company so any issues should be sorted quite easily. I’ve got Gaz on my Porsche.

The *really* cheap ebay coilovers are a bit hit & miss AFAIK. I put a set on the Compact and both rears blew out after two events. That’s probably not really what they’re designed for though That said, the fronts have been OK, and they came with adjustable top mounts too.

The Gaz ones really appealed as they seem to be a reputable brand and they are fixed ride height so less buggering about for me. Also a nice drop in ride height and I can play about with the damper settings is a brucey bonus. They current springs and dampers are old and it does look like it's on stilts

[Orange Cola]

Gaz it is. Promise to get someone to set it up properly for you as it’ll cost not a lot in the grand scheme of things

[NotoriousREV]

Personally, if you’re not after height adjustability and it’s mainly for daily-ish road use, I’d go for Eibach springs and Bilstein shocks. They'll ride better and last longer than cheap coilovers.

[scotta]

Personally, if you’re not after height adjustability and it’s mainly for daily-ish road use, I’d go for Eibach springs and Bilstein shocks. They'll ride better and last longer than cheap coilovers.

This is the percived wisdom for elises. If you intend to track it then look at nitron or quantums. If your feeling flush then Ohlins.

Gaz are good. my mate runs them on his TVR - Not Neil btw. He runs Nitrons on his Cerb.

[scotta]

Gaz it is. Promise to get someone to set it up properly for you as it’ll cost not a lot in the grand scheme of things

Also this. Geo is key. When i got the Elise it was MILES out! We did a proper corner weight geo and it made a massive difference.

[drcarlos]

Tein are well liked in Subaru circles and not what I’d call cheap (hardly eBay specials or maxspeeding rods jobs). I’m probably going to find prodrive springs and get some koni adjustable struts when I do my suspension though. Coil overs with the tighter wound springs even the good kits always seem to get reviews on the harsh side of comfort for my liking. What did car throttle guy and Matt Watson use on their cars?

[Nefarious]

The 750MC MX5 Cup cars use GAZ Gold or Meister R NA/NB proR coilovers.

Can't comment on the latter, but the former are pretty reasonable and well regarded. If they're good enough for the racers...

Plus, I'd expect there will be info available online re. set-up advice etc if you stick close to the racecar specs

[Nefarious]

p.s. I forget where in the world you are, but I'll happily set it up for you if you can get to Edinburgh

[Jobbo]

I had Meister R adjustable coil overs on my MX5. They give plenty of opportunities for buggering up the handling; Flewy corner-weighted and set mine up and I didn’t then fiddle with it. But they’re a bit soft, I’d say; I always thought the Bilsteins which Mazda fitted as standard to the S-Special (and other versions, I’m sure) were fine. In fact, I still have the Bilstein dampers which came off my 1994 NA 1.8 if you’d like them, though it’ll take a little digging to get them out of storage.

[McSwede]

p.s. I forget where in the world you are, but I'll happily set it up for you if you can get to Edinburgh

Thanks Nef but I'm back down in N.Yorks nowadays

[McSwede]

I had Meister R adjustable coil overs on my MX5. They give plenty of opportunities for buggering up the handling; Flewy corner-weighted and set mine up and I didn’t then fiddle with it. But they’re a bit soft, I’d say; I always thought the Bilsteins which Mazda fitted as standard to the S-Special (and other versions, I’m sure) were fine. In fact, I still have the Bilstein dampers which came off my 1994 NA 1.8 if you’d like them, though it’ll take a little digging to get them out of storage.

That'd be great Jobbo. If you find them let me know what you want for them. I can then buy some decent springs.