mx5cartalk.com

It's a '90 NA6 with 182200kms on the clock. I'm ready to get some new suspension upgrades since everytime I run through the potholes in Adelaide my whole car jitters and my teeth fall off. My suspension also creaks and groans like a grandmother during take-off and stops. This is also my only car, so I need something that's sporty and firm, yet velvety and soft ( )

I don't do tracking, but I do love spirited mountain/country drives. So I have no interest in FM AFCOs or really expensive kits. The current heights, referenced when I'm seated in the car facing forward:

FL: 14.2"
FR: 13.7"
RL:14.2"
RR: 14.5"

My proposed parts list is:

FM Springs/FM Rear upper mounts/Tokico Illumina
36+FCM mount front/58Wht rear for FM rear mounts
FCM Dust boots x4
Polyurethane bushings for 4 corners too (Probably from Super Pro?)

It's almost a stage 1.5kit, but I was told the FCM mounts/bumpstops are better? Please advise.

I know the FM kit will lower it quite a bit, I'm just worried that it'll be too low. I'll probably get the bushes/shocks locally. Does that whole package sound reasonable and did I miss anything else? (Not counting extra stuff like sways, FM butterfly, etc) And other than eBay, where else can I get the shocks?

I bought my Illuminas from the US via ebay. Another alternative is shox.com. Both have spring/strut combos at around $500 - $600 plus shipping. All up around $900 should get you springs and shocks deliverd.

Yeah, I've been looking at shox.com and eBay. Also looking at Koni Sports, since Australia has some official distributors. I'm just really thinking that that high shipping cost from FM is really painful

You can not go wrong with a set of Koni Sport adjustable dampers and some Kings or Eibach springs depending on your budget.

Les @ MX5 Shop

Thanks for that suggestion, I'll look into that. And I presume I still get the bumpstops and mounts from FCM/FM?

zephyrus17 wrote:It's a '90 NA6 with 182200kms on the clock. I'm ready to get some new suspension upgrades since everytime I run through the potholes in Adelaide my whole car jitters and my teeth fall off. My suspension also creaks and groans like a grandmother during take-off and stops. This is also my only car, so I need something that's sporty and firm, yet velvety and soft ( )

I don't do tracking, but I do love spirited mountain/country drives. So I have no interest in FM AFCOs or really expensive kits. The current heights, referenced when I'm seated in the car facing forward:

FL: 14.2"
FR: 13.7"
RL:14.2"
RR: 14.5"

My proposed parts list is:

FM Springs/FM Rear upper mounts/Tokico Illumina
36+FCM mount front/58Wht rear for FM rear mounts
FCM Dust boots x4
Polyurethane bushings for 4 corners too (Probably from Super Pro?)

It's almost a stage 1.5kit, but I was told the FCM mounts/bumpstops are better? Please advise.

I know the FM kit will lower it quite a bit, I'm just worried that it'll be too low. I'll probably get the bushes/shocks locally. Does that whole package sound reasonable and did I miss anything else? (Not counting extra stuff like sways, FM butterfly, etc) And other than eBay, where else can I get the shocks?

It sounds like you've done your due diligence. Sounds like you're probably in the same boat as me. So i'm going to throw some more confusion into the mix for you
I wouldn't be concerned about going "too low". The only way you're gonna sit too low is if you drop 2" or more and have a butterfly brace, and iirc the FM springs only drop you about 1.5".

I would avoid polyurethane bushes unless you can find the blue (soft) superpro ones for a decent price. The Mazda rubber ones are quite good for what they are, albeit not as stiff, when new they are compliant and work well (apparently).
To the rest of your setup, my only other concern at this point would be cost.

Illuminas will set you back $129 per shock. FM springs will set you back $250. Mounts for extra rear travel another $265. Shipping from FM will be around $400 for this stuff alone.
Sub-total: $1400+ before GST and duty. Throw on GST and duty and you're above $1500, creeping towards $1600.
That's without mucking about with bumpstops or boots and why bother - the FM included gear is pretty good now anyway.

By contrast you can pick up full coilovers - BC BR's - for $1250 delivered. They have adjustable lower mounts so you don't compromise travel. Something to consider.

Bear in mind, doing all the bushes in your NA will set you back upward of $600 in parts. Apparently the Mazda gear is about $700-800 for the set.
Personally I would be inclined to do the shocks first, see how things go, then if bushes seem to be a problem go for it.
You won't have any trouble finding a buyer for the shocks if you don't like them, but you will have a much harder time on-selling the bushes if you buy the wrong ones.

I'd suggest before you buy anything, you meet up with someone on the forum or your local mx5 club and go for a ride in whatever setup you're contemplating.
I recently met up with a WA member at a club meet to see what the BC BR series were like - I too was leaning towards illumina's - but they rode very well. Firm but well controlled, even on their firmest setting.

Hope that's confused you.

you made a good point in the coilovers.. I just didn't really consider them because I kept looking at the kits and I thought (wrongly, of course) coilovers just gave a harsher ride. Another small benefit is that there isn't a need for a spring compressor. Hmm, I'll look into coilovers. What other brands do you recommend?

I would look into getting some Megan ez street coil overs, I got a set a while ago now for my daily and are awsome, three way adjustable, can go very low or standard hight mine were 800 landed from gomiata.com

*sigh* back to the internet research phase again!

Haha good luck! If you go onto clubroadster.net there's plenty of reviews on there of the megans

Here's a stupid question: Would I still need bumpstops and upper mounts if I go the coilover route?

The coilovers come complete with new top hats and are dampner adjustable, I can't remember about the bump stops, mine are either my
Guards on the ground I run out of clearance before I run out of travel lol

zephyrus17 wrote:you made a good point in the coilovers.. I just didn't really consider them because I kept looking at the kits and I thought (wrongly, of course) coilovers just gave a harsher ride. Another small benefit is that there isn't a need for a spring compressor. Hmm, I'll look into coilovers. What other brands do you recommend?

The only reason coilovers might give a more harsh ride than a shock/spring setup, is if the coilovers use higher spring rates and/or if its poorly valved.
It's true that the firmer the spring, the more firm the ride will be. Firm doesn't necessarily mean harsh though. A harsh ride is not necessarily a firm one; usually it is a poorly controlled one.
FM springs are 318lb/233lb. BC BR series are ~390lb/330lb.
If you want though, you can order the BC BR's to whatever spring rate you like, but if you did you'd have to check whether they revalve the shock as well (you'd hope so).
Most of the BC BR's come pre-valved at 390/330 to suit our NA's, so if you change the spring rate, you'd want to change the shock valving so it isn't overdamped.

I think BC Racing are the best value locally retailed product. They've been tested by a lot of aussies, and there's heaps of info on them over at miata.net.
Otherwise, you can get Tein SS for around $1400 without top hats (use your NA ones).
Most coilover sets (shock, spring, top mount) come with bumpstops. The aforementioned certainly do.

I can't speak to other products.
Search on miata.net to canvas opinions, there are sure to be at least a few long threads on all the common ones.

How about the FM V-Maxx? It's $695 for the NB conversion, and including shipping it'll be around $900 (haven't asked), which isn't too bad

Shipping ends up being around 300ish. If you were to go for the 2.5 v-maxx kit with sways then shipping jumps too over 400! I too was thinking about these coilovers for my SE but you can find others around the same price locally. Or perhaps wait around til someone sells their setup on here