My 95 becomes my fun track toy. (WARNING: COLLEGE BUILD, slow progress)

[xjdesertfox]

So, I finished the install this morning about 10am.

The miata has to be the EASIEST car to change coilovers on that i've ever done. For those of you who like the long bolt method...



San diego method > Long bolt method. For those of you who arent familiar with the san diego method, let me break it down for you:

1) Remove wheels
2) Remove endlink bolt
3) Remove coilover lower bolt
4) remove balljoint bolt
5) remove inner ball joint bolt
6) Slide complete coilover assembly out

It took me about 15 mins to do the first side, then about 7 minutes to do the driver side. The rear was another ridiculously easy swap. 3 bolts and youre done.

So, on to the xidas...

First impressions:
The shocks are built and packaged exceptionally well. It feels solid in your hands, and everything feels extremely high quality. The detent used on the adjuster is awesome and gives a positive click for every single turn of the dial.

Out of the box settings:
Not sure if 949 has a height that they set them all to, but DAMN my shit was dumped upon initial install. I had to raise everything a couple times to get it to a reasonable "street" height suspension.

Comfort:
These shocks are not built for the purpose of comfort. But they blew me away with the level of comfort they provide, even with my stiff rates. I not too sure how else to explain it, other than its amazing. The most comfortable shocks I've been on in a lowered car, with stiff rates.

I havnt been able to test out performance yet, I've only been driving around the local mountain roads. The only way I can describe the feel of cornering with xidas is "smooth." The biggest thing I wanted was a suspension system which is valved in such a way that it would not be upset by bumps mid turn. And that is exactly what the xidas deliver. Im 100% satisfied right now. It will be a ton of tuning to dial in the suspension.

[VagaXt]

Out of box settings: No, they are not set up as they are packaged. The springs are barely snug for packaging/shipping so the springs won't move and hit the damper shafts in transport and for you to easily initially move your perches to your preferred ride height.

Comfort: I had a brief discussion about this when talking about proper sizing of the damper. There is a misunderstanding of lowering your car and/or having stiffer spring rates equal losing ride comfort. Part of it is true, it is mainly due to not having enough damper travel and/or enough spring rate to keep off the bumpstops. That is what you are feeling, staying off the bumpstop, which means low ride height and gaining ride comfort.

I am glad you are enjoying your new setup.

[xjdesertfox]

Sonny I had to raise my rears up about an inch, so the springs are quite preloaded in the rear. Would I be better off taking it apart and putting those spacers in?

[VagaXt]

Sonny I had to raise my rears up about an inch, so the springs are quite preloaded in the rear. Would I be better off taking it apart and putting those spacers in?

Yes, the extra bushings in the kit are specifically for raising the car. The bushings do so by moving the tophat up the damper's shaft, which if you move the spring perch up to have the same preload as you did before, you effectively lengthened the damper body by the thickness of the bushing.

The only downside now is that you lose damper travel by the thickness of the bushing you installed, given the same preload as before.

[xjdesertfox]

Heres another question, Why does it look like theres a penis coming out of your abdomen in your avatar? =P

[VagaXt]

Heres another question, Why does it look like theres a penis coming out of your abdomen in your avatar? =P

Haha, I don't know, but it is just the waist strap for the driving suit.

[xjdesertfox]

So, a few updates.

I replaced my front upper control arms because one of my ball joints was busted. Got some low mileage OEM arms from panic motorsports.

I've been trying to dial in my suspension, and I think I finally got the front tuned in to where it wants to be...or at least close. I took almost all the pre-load out of my front coilovers and dropped the car in the front to about 3.5-3.75" at the pinch weld. Rolled and pulled the shit out of my fenders while I was at it. The car rides much better at this height than it did .50-.75" higher.

The rear I need to put in the little urethane spacers so I can keep my height but take the pre-load out.

[xjdesertfox]

So I detailed this car for the first time since I got it. My porter cable raped it.

Teaser.

[xjdesertfox]

Old battery vs new battery on left

[xjdesertfox]

So, long time no update!

Lots has happened. And im back into the swing of things even though i've hit a few snags.

Problem: My stock rear endlinks were begging for mercy on rough roads and driveways, the click/rattle was driving me nuts.

Solution: MSM 14mm rear bar w/ 949 links and PU frame bushings.

(yes i know i need to swap the spacer over one spot to make the link more vertical)


Problem: Getting tired of my old exhaust, wanted the car louder and wanted the exhaust to flow better.

Solution: Ordered an enthuza XR system, just waiting on it. It supposedly was shipped out yesterday. Also got this cat.



Problem: 2 days after ordering my enthuza and spending a butt load of money on it. I blew out my 5 speed trans. The car can still move, but with a pile of marbles bouncing around the housing sound. 5th and 3rd gear are gone.

Solution: 6 speed + FM happy meal + 5xracing clutch line + Miataroadster short shifter. The trans i picked up is a JDM unit, no vin to check it on. But supposedly has 28,000km on it.
(shit pic of trans)


My last trans blew while running 1qt mt-90 1 qt mtl, so this time i'm gonna run amsoil in it.



Still waiting on parts to flow in for the trans swap. I'm trying to figure out where i can get seals for the trans, because they dont look like the ones I have at work. Hoping to get the car back on the road within a couple weeks.

[xjdesertfox]

Worked on my 6 speed swap a little tonight. Prepping the trans to go into the car. Got a replacement seal for everything in the trans, So I started working on the trans seals.

Trans on my bench =D


While cleaning changing out the trans seals, we did the clutch hydraulics on my buddy's car.


While working on my buddy's car, UPS showed up and dropped off some flyin miata parts I ordered 3 FUCKING WEEKS AGO. Jeez, every time I order something from FM, I have such a shitty experience.




And today I just ordered my new toy to help out with the swap

Cant wait to get that thing and rip the trans out with it!

[Vincent123]

Took out my pass. Airbag, Re-mounted the cover on a hinge to turn it into a glovebox.

Any pics of the hinged airbag cover? I really want to do something like this for my NB

[I<3flippyheadlights]

For college build you have some nice shit! I like it that way. I hate when college kids complain that they can't have nice things because college. "I'm slamming it on racelands and getting xxr's, its what I can afford cause I'm a broke college student." Thank you for not being a typical excuse. I'm in college too, I think my car has shaped up nicely.

Anyway, hope the trans goes in nice and all that. Look forward to more updates!

[xjdesertfox]

For college build you have some nice shit! I like it that way. I hate when college kids complain that they can't have nice things because college. "I'm slamming it on racelands and getting xxr's, its what I can afford cause I'm a broke college student." Thank you for not being a typical excuse. I'm in college too, I think my car has shaped up nicely.

Anyway, hope the trans goes in nice and all that. Look forward to more updates!

I know what you mean, I see it a lot in my car club. That definitely wasnt about to happen here, I like my stuff in the badass flavor ;)

[xjdesertfox]

Oh yeah, got my enthuza in. This sucker is LOUD.