NC1 suspension help

[seti01]

Hi folks,

Having come from a tastefully modified snorting/popping Ford focus Xr5 Turbo, I purchased my 06 soft top Nc1 Mx-5 last December. So far I have been getting to know the car a bit better, testing her dynamics and abilities in increments and is also my daily driver. She's done about 105,000km on the chassis. I have noticed that when spirited driving, there is quite a bit of body roll, and the word
" wallowy " comes to mind. There is also the 4wd look... Apart from that it still handles quite well and still quite fun.. more so than the focus..

Because of the Km's I guess i should start looking for a replacement. Not sure if im game enough for coil overs, as i think it would be overkill for a daily driver and would like some level of comfort.

I have had a look at the flyin miata website, and interested in their Tokico FM2 package, which have had some pretty good reviews. These come with Tokico Hts shocks, FM springs and sways. I like the idea that they were designed to work together. My only gripe is that to have it landed here, it will cost me 2k, and im thinking about $400 -$600 so for installation.

I was going to proceed with it tonight but I thought I'd hold off a couple of days and see what your thoughts on this, and would like some feedback on alternatives before i make a final decision..

Thank you and looking forward to your wisdom..

-Jeff

[PAU61L]

Hello Jeff, definitely do sway bars for starters, you will be very happy with Whiteline or racing beat, have used both on my NC, try ebay or forum sponsors, then you can see what other people have done for shock and spring setup, another option is to just change shocks after doing sways, where are you located, come along to any of the club of forum meet ups and see what others have done. Paul

[pie5]

Hi Jeff. i bought my 2006 NC just over 2 years ago but I kept my Focus XR5. First thing I did was the white line sways. Best first mod. Then I got some progress springs about a year later to fix some sagged rear springs. Another improvement. Still riding on some low k factory shocks but plan to update to something better later this year.

[JBT]

Bought our 2007 new in 2008 and put Whiteline adjustable sway bars on it in 2009. A vast improvement. The rest of the suspension is still stock at 93,000km. The car is used at track days, hillclimbs, motorkhanas etc. and performs better than me.

[James]

I wasn't at all impressed with the stock suspension of my NC1 when I bought it at 15,000kms.
I've always been a fan of doing things right the first time, so after plenty of research on the big forum I bought Ohlins DFV coilovers.

No more wallowly direction changes, excessive body roll, diving under brakes or squatting under acceleration..
They're also far more comfortable than the stock setup.

Have a read of the following page; Brian's notes and the review down the bottom say it all.
http://www.good-win-racing.com/Mazda-Pe ... -0015.html

Not the cheapest option, but in my opinion it's well worth it.

[Sailor]

Jeff, I have the Ohlins and they are bloody good.
Before that I had the Tokico HTS with Fatcat bumpstops and std springs and heavier adj bars.
The tokico actually lowered the car by about half an inch and the ride was very good indeed..extremely compliant for Oz country roads.
IF I was going that way again I'd drop in the Progress springs from Goodwin probably via MX5 parts here in sydney to get a similar ride and slightly lower look.

Ohlins are king without a doubt but probably overkill for a daily drive and no track duty.
Having said that, one of the quicker NCs is running Tokico and a low spring (not sure what brand).
My old shocks in fact.
You absolutely MUST use the Fatcat bumpstops to smooth out the inevitable hitting of stops

[seti01]

Thank you for the replies and your input.

I have decided to hold off for now, and decided to just get some front and rear sways. I purchased a set of Racingbeat front and rear sways, Hard settings on front and rear on soft, as per Mike from Deckspeeds recomendations. He has been very helpful and insightful, and delivered it personally to my door. Loving the way the car handles now, the car corners flatter, and leans a lot less..

I was going to just stick with the sways for now, and maybe look at upgrading the rest later on, but my installer had told me that my rear shocks are leaking.. so I think i may have to look sooner than later..

Im leaning towards the Flyin Miata Tokico HTS/springs combo and Fatcat bumpstops...
Anyone have experience with these? and how much do they lower the car..

Ohlins, I have been hearing great things about them.. still not sure if its worth it for a DD who may see some track days in the future..

Tein street flex. I have seen these on the GW racing aus site for $1479, and supposedly as quoted from their site
" Developed to provide the ultimate balance of comfort and performance for both street driving and circuit use " Anyone with feed back with the teins would be great..

Koni/Progress springs combo, heard some good things about this combo too..

anyway once again I thank you for your wisdom..

- Jeff

[panjap]

I use tein ss with edfc. Its work very great

[Rob]

This is something I need to think about in the months ahead.

I want to lose the 4WD look, yet not be low enough that every speedhump is a butt-clenching adventure.