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Thread: Ultimate Miata Coilovers Thread, what are you using?

  1. #31
    6,000 rpm - mere mortals would shift HarryB's Avatar
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    So, after I have spent quite a few time trying to find out a reasonable solution (and spending countless hours reading about revalved Bilstein coilovers), I decided on building a Bilstein setup for my daily NB2; something relatively comfy but able to handle potholes and B-roads. 350/250 is what I have also calculated to be ideal for the use I intend on doing. I was planning on building "coilovers" using AllStar sleeves out of some HardS Bilsteins I got, but since I won't be needing height adjustment (which is "wrong" to do by adding preload eitherway), I am also looking in lowering springs. As already mentioned, the most important parameter here are the bumpstops; my plan is to manufacture extended top hats for both ends of the car, extended to an amount equal to the lowering of the car, so that both the dampers and the bump stops do not "know" that the car is lowered. Fine-tuning for the engagement point of the bumpstop could be done by adding shims on top of those (between the top mount and the bump stop). FCM solution seems neat as well, but a fair bit more expensive; might go that way in the future. Another issue with those spring rates, and especially if lowered, is the "deck height" of the springs (the height of a fully compressed spring that is). If bumpstop length is not taken into account and the bumpstops used are too short, "spring binding" can occur, which has been reported to blow circlips off dampers. This is the main reason I want to stay with stock bumpstops, offset by the amount of lowering by using those extended top hats...

    Any thoughts/comments/insight on this?

  2. #32
    Idling - Listen to it purr...
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    That sounds like it will be a very comfortable setup, and would be great for what you are looking for. Tein Basis is also a very affordable, comfortable suspension that would be much less of a hassle to assemble.

  3. #33
    Idling - Listen to it purr...
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    I have owned Fortune Auto 500 coilovers with 8k front/6k rear spring rates for over a year now.

    Usage: I drive on the street mostly as it is my daily driver at the moment, but I try to take it to race tracks near Austin 2-3 times a month. I used to autocross all of the time, but as soon as I started road racing I decided I never wanted to do that again.

    Driving Impressions: I really like these coilovers. They are comfortable on the street while still providing great performance for performance driving. I have never ridden in a Miata with Ohlins, Xidas, or any of the REALLY expensive coilovers, so I suppose I cannot really say how good of suspension this is. However I can tell you the second you get on a race track, windy road, or autocross course you never notice any bumps or imperfections in the road. They absorb it all well enough to where I never have to compensate my steering for bumpers or things like that. The car feels planted enough that you only have to focus on steering, braking, and throttle control 99% of the time. With the stock sway bars, 205/50 Kumho tires, stock NB2 body bracing, and a hard dog roll bar the car feels extremely neutral. I can take carousel-like turns on race tracks and confidently rotate the car by letting off the throttle. Every movement is smooth, responsive, and predictable. Like I said, I have never been in a Miata with really expensive suspension, so I cannot say for sure that this really is a super amazing suspension setup. Ignorance is bliss I suppose, but I can tell you I love this suspension, and it is certainly not holding me back during performance driving.

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  5. #34
    Admin / Pit Boss / Miataholic Phatmiata's Avatar
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    finally I can contribute to this thread.

    Here is mine!

    Street Car Coilover (Mostly Street, and some Weekend Racing)

    Maruha BC Street Coilovers
    Running NB bump stops and NB tophats
    Maruha Spring rates are 6 kg, 4 kg.


    more info here
    http://www.maruhamotors.co.jp/miata/parts/bcss.html

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  7. #35
    4,000 rpm - entering the fun zone etikoner's Avatar
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    That's gonna ride soft as a pillow

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  9. #36
    3,000 rpm - starting to feel the power druz's Avatar
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    700/400 in/lbs or ~12.5/7 kg/mm. They're as nice as everyone says

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  11. #37
    2,000 rpm - light wheelspin, no bog here! modernbeat's Avatar
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    I've had a set of MCS TT2 double adjustables waiting for me to make spherical top mounts. They will be going on in a few weeks and I'll pull off the "temporary" Koni 2812s.

    Jason McDaniel

  12. #38
    Supporting Member Dandy's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by modernbeat View Post
    I've had a set of MCS TT2 double adjustables waiting for me to make spherical top mounts. They will be going on in a few weeks and I'll pull off the "temporary" Koni 2812s.
    Interesting. Try and post up a review if you can as I am sure most of us are not familiar with this set up.

  13. #39
    3,000 rpm - starting to feel the power Corifto's Avatar
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    BC Coilovers
    -Extreme Drop variant(Shorter body, different valving)
    -10kF/6kR




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  15. #40
    2,000 rpm - light wheelspin, no bog here! modernbeat's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Dandy View Post
    Interesting. Try and post up a review if you can as I am sure most of us are not familiar with this set up.
    While they aren't on the car, I worked with Lex at MCS to have them built the same dimensions that I had my Koni 2812s built (full compression without bottoming out the shock, while still has enough droop), and had Maxcy (guy who did the development for the Xida) set up the valving. This is about the 150th pair of MCS I've worked with. They are the successor to the old Moton and we have had enormous success with them on our Pikes Peak car and our NASA Time Trial car.
    Jason McDaniel

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  17. #41
    Idling - Listen to it purr...
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    I can also chime in about the Maruha coilovers, and living with them on a DD. I have to run mine pretty bonkers high, at least by slammage standards. Think almost stock R package- a touch over 12.75" front, a little under 13.25" rear. I still manage to scrape on the absurd speed bumps and driveway entrances that are abound in Pennsylvania.

    That aside, I'm really really happy with them. The 6k/4k rate is maybe a bit soft for those looking for track monsters, but for a DD it's that perfect balance between "nice and snappy handling" and "doesn't make my butt pucker in anticipation of bumps" I originally ran the dampers at 7 clicks up from soft front, 5 clicks up from soft rear, but moved the rears up to 7 to keep it from pushing too much. It's a great setup for a street driven NA, plus it's got that JDM swag going for it. I appreciate the fact that it uses NB tophats too. Paired with Maruha's "Mixed" control arm bushing set that's part OE, part Mazdaspeed makes the whole package something you could easily live with for long trips.

    Anyways, if you've got any specific questions feel free to ask.

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  19. #42
    2,000 rpm - light wheelspin, no bog here! 91BRG's Avatar
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    Just want to update my impressions of TEIN MONOSPORT coilovers (F:10kg R:8kg) that I got this year. I've run them since January so I've had adequate time to run them in. In my first few posts I said they were really bumpy, well stupid me I had the dampers set to stiff on one corner without realising. Yes, I had a blonde moment there and I ran like this for the better part of 2 months without noticing just thinking, damn these shocks are bumpy.

    Well everything has been set up correctly for the last 3 months now and I can say without a doubt I am very satisfied with the set up. Cornering is much improved as expected but the weight transfer between front and rear has been the most noticeable. The car just doesn't dip or squat during hard braking/accell.

    Ride comfort is very good considering these are monotube coilovers. You will feel more of the road surface than std setup but at the same time its not bouncy, the suspension travels and incredible feedback will be delivered to you. Though I will say I run these on FULL soft setting for the street, as even 5 clicks to the right make the car too bumpy for me.

    My set up is with std swaybars (F:19mm R:12mm) and racing beat adjustable end links. I don't feel like I need to upgrade the swaybars yet as the roll stiffness is quite good enough already, though I feel it has more tendency to oversteer now than understeer, it can be quite fun sometimes

    Another thing is with these coilovers I've pretty much approached the grip limit of my yokohama c.drive tires. Unfortunately in oz there's not much good rubber you can get in 14s so it'll have to do until I can find something better. On the street it is adequate but the limits are easily reached on a winding road.

    Ride height is 12.5" from centre of hub to fender, and I am using flyin miata wheel alignment settings.

    Would I buy them again or recommend them to anyone? ABSOLUTELY

    obligatory lowered pic


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  21. #43
    2,000 rpm - light wheelspin, no bog here! Fishbulb's Avatar
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    That looks killer! Do you have any links to high res pics?

    Also - what rims are those? They look great on the BRG.

    Thank yoU!

    obligatory lowered pic

    [/QUOTE]

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  23. #44
    6,000 rpm - mere mortals would shift NCGreasemonkey's Avatar
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    Don't yell at me if I missed a post saying; "Never buy these, they are worthless, they will get you killed....". I haven't seen anyone post anything up. Has anyone run these?

    CXRacing Damper CoilOvers Suspension Kit for 90-98 MAZDA Miata MX-5

    http://www.ebay.com/itm/CXRacing-Dam..._qi=RTM2067269

    They have a great feedback score but no one has posted reviews.
    Last edited by NCGreasemonkey; 11-18-2015 at 10:08 PM. Reason: Added info on why I asked

  24. #45
    5,000 rpm - there be torque here! Greasemonkey2000's Avatar
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    For the first year of ownership of a miata i read up on different coilover options and right away i knew i didn't want a 'cheap' setup i would end up hating and subsequently have to replace. At the time really the only real quality options in the sub $2k price range, imho, was Ohlins, Bilstein's, Flyin Miata's AFCO's, 949 Racing's Xida's and Fat Cat Motorsport's Elite's. I started reading all the reviews and relevant information i could find on these previously mentioned options and narrowed it down to Xida's and Fat Cat Motorsport's Elite's.

    This was not an easy decision but ultimately what swayed me was Shaikh's willingness to have countless discussions with me about not just what he sold but suspensions in general and i felt if i was going to spend almost $2k on coilovers i wanted someone as committed as he was to helping people understand what would meet their needs even if it wasn't his product. I went in knowing the big glaring complaint was product turn around/delivery time which Shaikh himself admitted was an area that needed improvement.

    So after, iirc, approximately 12 week wait i received my Fat Cat Motorsports Elite 2040 coilovers:





    Before with stock 97k mile suspension at approximately 13.5":



    After with Fat Cat Motorsports Elite 2040 coilovers at approximately 12.25"F/12.5"R:



    I was absolutely in love with how much better it looked, handled and drove. I drove it for over a year and a half and put approximately 10k miles on it and it handles just as well as it did the day it was installed, well even better after a decent alignment.

    Here is a breakdown and review of my current FCM 2040 coilover setup:
    I now have approx. 10k miles(@107,700 miles and installed @ 97,730 on 05-10-14) and can say that I have enough time on them to give a proper review.


    Year/package: '97/M Edition
    Estimated new price of setup: Flyin Miata Frame rails $180.47, Flyin Miata Butterfly brace $200(used), Fat Cat Motorsports coilovers $1977, Racing Beat tubular front sway bar w/brace $188, 949 Racing SuperMiata end links $139.90, Beatrush PPF brace $151, 949 Racing rear subframe brace $100, GarageStar fender braces $200, GarageStar derlin door bushings $55= $3190.37 (prices include S&H)
    Shocks: Bilstein w/ custom FCM valving
    Springs: 375 lbs 8''F/325 lbs 8''R
    Bumpstops: FCM 39 white 200 in/lbs
    Top hats: FCM
    Front sway bar: RB tubular 1.125''/28.575mm
    Rear sway bar: stock
    Ride height: 12.25''hub 4 3/8" pinch F /12.5''hub 4 5/8'' pinch R
    Diff: Torsen
    Alignment: F: +4.7°caster,-2.4° camber,0° total toe, R: -2.3° camber
    0° total toe
    Wheel size: 15x8 +25 Konig Flatout 12.4lbs
    Tire size and model: Hankook Ventus RS-3 225/45/15
    Amount of time with specific setup: 1 year, 6 months/10k miles
    Car condition description: dents and dings but overall good condition
    Area of primary use and brief description of typical road condition: DD


    Brief description of suspension reactions:
    A. Pot Holes/ Bumps/ Curbing/ Dips: Very calm, collected, smooth and predictable under reasonable speed for conditions with no unusual suspension noise (no creaks like before)
    B. Quick Transitions: I had slight understeer in entry slightly but this was due to lack of alignment and my previous tires that were on their way out and now is essentially gone with alignment and new tires.
    C. Body Roll: minimal (even less when the height was 0.5'' F/R)
    D. Other impressions: Overall I am thrilled with the results!

    How about you?
    Driving style: Normal driving on streets with eventual fun when I find interesting wide view corners.
    Official commendation/accolades: none
    Race shop/profession garage experience?: None just wrenching on my own cars for the past 15 years

    Misc.
    Other notes: I plan on getting an adjustable rear sway bar to render the car neutral, roll bar, various suspension urethane bushings, possibly front and rear strut tower braces.


    Something has changed and it isn't Warbird or the suspension....it is my wants/needs. In the past year i started reading up on functional/street friendly aero and after discussing those with Shaikh and concluding the springs would not be up to the task at 375F/325R but the valving would still be able to handle another 100lbs/inch springs front and back, even then it was soft for aero which Shaikh made clear. In the mean time more mid tier priced coilover options came onto the scene. I kept a close eye on the different setups and any relevant information pertaining to them.

    One in paticular caught my eye...FEAL's 441 coilovers. After reading feedback from ThePass aka Ryan and Lincoln Logs aka Sean and doing some reading up on Odi who runs FEAL, i was intrigued to say the least. My intrigue was further aroused by Ryan and Sean's racing exploits, which I'm very jealous of. Well then Sean aka Lincoln Logs post Maxxis will be releasing a 245 width 200tw tire in 2016....i was very excited. After making up my mind that those would be my next set of tires to replace my current set of 225/45/15 RS3's, that i love, and aero being a real possibility i decided that i either needed to get my FCM's revalved and accompanied with much stiffer springs or go another route.

    I REALLY wanted to have Shaikh revalve my Elite 2040 coilovers and add the KBO feature but i couldn't justify the cost since I'm not racing and given my blue collar/middle class income. I decided to give Goodwin Racing a call and spoke with Ryan and Sean, explaining my current setup as well as my future goals/plans. They both had first hand experience with FCM's, Ryan driving a few FCM's equipped miatas and Sean having had Fat Cat Motorsports 3040 coilovers on his miata. While not bad mouthing FCM's and giving them and more importantly Shaikh the respect he has earned they both felt for my future goals/plans the FEAL's were better suited, given my currently spec'd FCM's coilovers spring rates and accompanying valving.

    Well i had made up my mind....FEAL's 441 Road Race coilovers was the right option for me, all things considered. Ryan and Sean both recommended either 11k/7k or 12k/8k given my plans for even wider wheels(15"Χ9" or maybe even 15"Χ10" vs current 15"Χ8"), tires(245 Maxxis vs current 225 RS3's) and aero. Plus the Road Race can handle decent spring rate changes. So last week i ordered the Road Race coilovers with 12K(672lbs)/8k(448lbs) Swift springs:

    http://www.good-win-racing.com/Mazda...t/61-1643.html


    As a added bonus i shouldn't be out of pocket any money since i should be able to sell my Fat Cat Motorsports Elite 2040 coilovers for about what I paid for the FEAL's, that keeps my beautiful wife and wallet happy! Received them today and hopefully can install this weekend, very anxious and excited!!!!! Obviously a follow review with the FEAL's is in order.
    '01 NB2 aka MisF1re: http://mazdaroadster.net/showthread....218#post207218
    '97 M aka Warbird, gone but not forgotten: http://mazdaroadster.net/showthread....B&goto=newpost
    Instagram: @greasemonkey2000

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