Tein or Raceland suspension?

[—The Driver—]

Give any consideration to the VMaxx?

I did. TEINs are rebuildable, Vmaxxs are not. That would be cool if Vmaxxs were guaranteed for life, but they only have a 24 month warranty.

[stormin'norman]

Give any consideration to the VMaxx?

drinking da cool aide. At the end of the day its still a cheap shock from a European company that specializes in slam apps for the VW world. But that's ok.. they must be good. FM endorses them.

Co-worker had some seat time on a set last few weekends at the local SCCA events. Put numerous drivers in the car (NB1) and compared to his box stock NB1. Times were no better if not worse between all drivers compared to the OE hardware. Folks felt the suspension was "ok". Quite soft overall and perhaps too much rebound in the rear. Car was a bit dicey on all seasons and only became marginally faster with rpf1's and 615k's.

[stormin'norman]

I did. TEINs are rebuildable, Vmaxxs are not. That would be cool if Vmaxxs were guaranteed for life, but they only have a 24 month warranty.

THIS as well. They better be Raceland/KYB GR2 cheap if you're going to consider a non rebuildable setup.

[—Bryan—]

drinking da cool aide. At the end of the day its still a cheap shock from a European company that specializes in slam apps for the VW world. But that's ok.. they must be good. FM endorses them.

Co-worker had some seat time on a set last few weekends at the local SCCA events. Put numerous drivers in the car (NB1) and compared to his box stock NB1. Times were no better if not worse between all drivers compared to the OE hardware. Folks felt the suspension was "ok". Quite soft overall and perhaps too much rebound in the rear. Car was a bit dicey on all seasons and only became marginally faster with rpf1's and 615k's.

Fair enough. I've never driven a car on them, but figured they've got to at least be better than the Racelands.

Personally, I'm a big proponent of the Illumina/FM Spring combo. Sure you can't get ride height adjustment, but it's a great compromise for street/autox/daily duty--AND the shocks have a lifetime warranty

[Caoboy]

Lifetime warranty is awesome if you're a set it and forget it guy.

Suspension is critical in the Miata. It's what makes it what it is. Why cheap out on it, and ruin what was good? I've learned this lesson already.

[—Bryan—]

Lifetime warranty is awesome if you're a set it and forget it guy.

Yep. You just need to figure out what your needs are. My needs are met by a set/forget/check-every-couple-years setup

[EMMI]

i just spent equal amount on s.tech springs and skunk2 shocks on my civic... wait wrong forum!

[Tekel]

Did someone really ask this question?

[AntiochOG]

Definitely go for the Teins if you're only deciding between those too. I've been really happy with the Bilsteins and Ground Controls I recently installed which are similarly priced to the Teins. I like them a bit more than Tein and FM/Illumina setups I've experienced.

[★ bedheadben ★]

I've had both Racelands and VMaxx on Miata's and all I can say is that both are pretty much the same thing and absolutely horrible. Spring rates are way too soft and the shocks blew out in less than a month on both of mine. Pretty much the only thing they're good for is being slammed, because why should you waste an expensive coilover on that. Go with the Tein's if it will ever see the track!

[stormin'norman]

Definitely go for the Teins if you're only deciding between those too. I've been really happy with the Bilsteins and Ground Controls I recently installed which are similarly priced to the Teins. I like them a bit more than Tein and FM/Illumina setups I've experienced.

I've been quite happy as well with the NB Bilstein kit I cobbled together for the Lazarus project. Seems to be, so far, quite the bang for the buck. Front shocks appear to handle the 500lb springs quite well. Should have some on track thoughts in 2 months!

[iamdallas]

I don't understand. I've rode in a ton of other cars with much more expensive suspension than mine

Bilsteins with GC coils
Tein basics
Koni adjustables with gc sleeves
Godspeed coilovers

And my car feels better with less body roll than all of these with my Racelands. They've lasted a year, 20,000 miles. No body roll and they aren't bouncy. Maybe a little softer than what would be optimal, but that's the only complaint. And its not even an issue that bothers me.

Now, I don't track but I do a lot of mountain driving... a LOT.

Maybe mine are defective? ;)

I also have prothane bushings, and racing beat sways.

[★ bedheadben ★]

Put your stock sway bars back on and tell me your car has less body roll than Tein Basics with stock sways.

[EMMI]

I don't understand. I've rode in a ton of other cars with much more expensive suspension than mine

Bilsteins with GC coils
Tein basics
Koni adjustables with gc sleeves
Godspeed coilovers

And my car feels better with less body roll than all of these with my Racelands. They've lasted a year, 20,000 miles. No body roll and they aren't bouncy. Maybe a little softer than what would be optimal, but that's the only complaint. And its not even an issue that bothers me.

Now, I don't track but I do a lot of mountain driving... a LOT.

Maybe mine are defective? ;)

I also have prothane bushings, and racing beat sways.

all of those suspension phases = brand new out of box?

[iamdallas]

These instances were on others' cars. The Godspeeds (on a 240) were BRAND new, the other set ups were probably between 1-2 years.