Some guidance on Coilovers for my Miata

[Mints]

Okay I have been searching thread after thread after thread, on multiple forums. Whenever someone seems to ask a question about suspension they just get chewed out. So hopefully I can get something here. Im looking at a set of coilovers, which idk yet, but I was reading everything from racelands to kw's. A huge price range difference. I am looking for something that I can get low with but still keep as a daily. Yes ride quality will suffer, im aware and not concerned. I just was something that has a little bit of comfort not like riding on square wheels that can still get low for that sweet stanced look.

These are my options

Racelands/Rokkors (I know they get low)

Flyin Miata Vmaxx (No idea about these)

Megan Ez streets (Dont know much about these)

Just lookin for reviews/pictures or any information.

Thanks.

[— kung fu jesus —]

You need to help us help you by giving us a price range.

I knew a few guys in SOCAL who were happy with the Stance coilovers for this purpose. They seemed a nice step up in quality and performance over the Racelands. I have heard nothing but bad things about Racelands.

[Mints]

I dont want to spend over 1k. I like the megan price range. Cuz id rather spend the big money on my caliber srt, And yea i havent heard anything bad about Racelands/rokkors but it seems like that anybody that asks about get gets reamed.

[Mints]

and I dont plan on autox so no need for anything super duper.

[— Phatmiata —]

If you just want to be low then do the cheap stuff, if you want a good ride height and have something that is good on the street and track then do some TEIN Basics, maybe get some FatCat bumpstops too, if you have a full time track car or its not your daily driver then go for the really good stuff, Ohlins, Bilstein, XIDA, etc.

[Mints]

Any ideas of ride height/lowness, ride quality, performance, of megan ez? streets?

[— kung fu jesus —]

Go with Megan or some other type of shock-in-cup type of adjustment. It will give you the height you are looking for without completely destroying the shock travel. If you take an off-the-shelf shock and give it a crazy srping rate, reduce it's effective travel length, or slam the shock body into the upper mount, you will destroy it really quick, not to mention create a dangerous condition for street driving.

This is the type of coilover you want:


The bottom portion(blue) of the shock allows you to lower the body of the shock(black threaded part) into it first, without reducing the travel length(shiny chrome-looking rod). Then you can adjust the upper perches(doubled, nut-looking thin blue pieces) a little more downward to lower the spring further on the shock body.





The picture above is the FM VMaxx. For all intents and purposes you have in mind, this isn't the type of coilover you want. When you lower this, you reduce the shock's travel length too much. This style of coilover is similar to Ground Control's threaded body coilover system. It is possible to have Koni's or Bilsteins revalved and shortened, but it is out of your price range.

[JLBMX5]

I have the FM vmaxx non adjustable coilovers. They are on a 93 Miata. The kit came with nb top hats and bump stops. They ride good. I drove around for a week. At 11 inches all the way around. It was scary because I was hitting tire on any bumps and some turns would also cause a rub. I have since raised my car up to 11 1/2 front 12 rear and now takes a bit more to hit the fender of my car with the tire. The total cost was about 755.00. I would recommend them to anyone. These are my first and only coilovers so I cannot com pair them to any others but for the price they were worth it. If you go to my build thread I have pics of my car set at both ride heights

[Mints]

I think Im going to go with megan's mainly because the adjustability, the fact they have their own tophats, and can get pretty low with them it seems. Just gotta find some pictures of miatas on a megan setup. Thanks guys, i really do appreciate it and the fact that i didnt get forum raped is even better. Thanks again

[— kung fu jesus —]

Good luck! We try to help each other here. No raping allowed.

[Gene Rodriguez]

Here is some reference I have the Megan Street series (red ones). Low enough for me since I keep rubbing if I go any lower. If you want to slam your car its not that great for your application.

Excuse the different colored wheels aha.

[— kung fu jesus —]

Something else to add, if you want to go lower than that and you want to protect your investment, you may need shorter, stiffer springs. 2.25, 2.50 inch springs are relatively easy to find in different lengths and rates. Rule of thumb, the lower you go, the stiffer the spring needed. I remember some stance/style folks use Swift springs because they use fewer coils on their springs for coilovers resulting in lower heights, less coil bind.

[riefdaddy]

I've got the FM VMaxx classics and love them. The ride is far from rough and I too ride at 11.5 front and 12 rear. The only times I have been jarred is on a pothole and frankly, I'm just happy it didn't bend my wheel.

[—atank—]

Remember if you are going lower, get a good skid plate or have a spare engine......