Suspension project:

I am strong believer that the Miata is a platform you should enjoy in stock form before your start modifying it. This is especially true if you are a novice driver. However, slam culture being what it is, it's rare to find someone actually doing that.

I’ve read quite a lot about suspension tuning and geometry many years ago. I used to compete in a Macpherson strut car. It truly is a black art with many, many variables going on. It’s a study of physics, energy transfer, geometry, trigonometry and a little calculus. I think it also involves a good amount of understanding spatial relationships and a healthy dose of voodoo.

I started looking into addressing my needs both in performance and maintenance. The car, at that time, being 14-15 years old needed some serious freshening. I was bottoming out in the rear going over train tracks and given what i was doing to the car in past years, these shocks were toast. The only addition since was a Racing Beat solid front sway I bought soon after moving here (thanks, Sean!). I added the frame blocks/braces and the adjustable endlinks with that purchase.

I was researching coilovers and consulting with other owners about Teins and spring rates. I had long, very
informative conversations with Steve at Gearhead’s Garage and Emilio at 949Racing. Both these guys are THE guys to talk to about giving you the straight dope about chassis tuning a Miata.

I researched the HELL out of coilovers. Spherical bearings vs Pillow ball, monotube vs dual tube, spring rates, adjustable bodies, shock dynos, etc. I read through a LOT of posts by Sheikh(?) on m.n about learning the nuances and deciphering dyno results. It hurt my head, but I re-read a lot of it until I grasped it. I have forgotten most of it now, probably subconsciously.

I was looking originally for a set of Tein Flex. It seems to be the coilover of choice here in SOCAL and I was pleased with the cars I tested riding on them.

Fortunately, Sideshow popped an ad on here for a brand new set of JIC FLT-A2s for $1000. I pulled the trigger.



The JIC's ARE beautiful, though, aesthetically and mechanically. They are 18 way single adjustable, aluminum bodies, monotube, pillowball mounts with an extended travel design in the rear, perfect for a Miata. They come with 9kg in the front 8kg in the rear. 8 is a bit stiffer than I wanted to run, so I sourced a set of 350# 7" long springs from Eibach. This effectively put me at 9kg F/ 6.5ish kg R.

So, in they went, probably around 2008. The car took a back burner soon after and I didn't get the car aligned OR corner balanced for quite some time after. Despite the jacked alignment and unbalanced corners, I still did a few track events.



That winter, I scored another rare bargain. I found a set of BRAND NEW control arms off an NB racer who had installed Superpro bushings in them. When he learned he couldn't use them on his spec Miata, he cut his loses. The part number stickers were STILL on the arms! I quickly picked these up for around 700-800. Unfortunately, they sat in a container in my garage for the next 18 months or so.





The following spring, Emmi tried to align it, or get it close to spec. He noticed the front subframe was tweaked and couldn't get the adjustment right on the front right. I think I probably damaged the subframe on an "off" I had a track event a few years before. The stockish setup I ran before was aligned close to where I wanted, but now the coilovers were allowing more adjustment and the alignment couldn't handle it in it's current form.

Lucky for me, living in SOCAL has some great advantages. One of them being Emilio's swap meets at his shop near my home. I bought a clean and straight front subframe from a gentleman who pulled it off his wife's '93.
I was gathering the parts to COMPLETELY refurb the suspension. Using the NB control arms, I wanted to do this right, so I sourced a set of NB front knuckles from Planet Miata.

Not having the desire or the means to raise the engine for the subframe replacement, I talked to a shop have the whole shebang done and the car aligned.

Here's what was done at:
Straight front subframe installed
NB control arms (all 8), new (means new upper ball jonts, too!)
Superpro P/U bushings with offset steel inserts
Inner tie rods
Outer tie rods
Lower ball joints
Front NB knuckles (uprights)
Superpro steering rack bushings
Energy Suspension P/U dust boots on the upper & lower ball joints
Energy Suspension P/U dust boots on the outer tie rod ends
New control arm mounting bolts
New camber bolts
Install stock NB rear swaybar
Steering rack rebuilt and P/S system flushed
Alignment

Some gaffs I had done to the wiring were also fixed.

Words can't explain how the car feels. I really didn't notice how much play I had become accustomed to in the aging components. I was literally turning too soon now because I was so used to the slop and play in the suspension. I have enjoyed this upgrade more than any power upgrade. The car is TRANSFORMED. By far, one of the most satisfying upgrades I have done to date

I really believe the glory of this upgrade is in the details. If you are doing this, I REALLY suggest spending the extra money on the new OEM hardware and P/U boots.

Here is a mantra I like to live by on car builds, "DO IT RIGHT, DO IT ONCE."