My model of MX-5 is: 2006 , 2.0 Sport (Bilstein standard suspension) less than 40K miles.
I’ve brought some second hand, unused Eibach pro kit 30mm lowering springs (impulse buy).
Will these make a decent difference or should I just buy some decent coilovers?
(obviously coilovers is going to cost me £800 + )
I’m interested to hear from people that have done the various stages to see their views
e.g started standard, then tried lowering springs then gone full coilovers to see how much of an improvement each option gives.
The car is only for enthusiastic road use (weekend car).
I bought my 5 on standard suspension, then dropped using Eibach pro springs. Visually it ticks the box I wanted to, and to drive, it feels very similar to standard. I haven’t got coilovers, or tried a 5 with them installed, so can’t offer a comparison, but the springs were a worthwhile investment from my perspective.
I was recently in the same position as the thread maker.
I didn’t want to fit coilovers because it was a new concept to me and I would defiantly have to tell the insurance company.
so I tried to go for lower springs HOWEVER, none of the spring kits that I looked at would tell what my ride height would be after fitting! and for me, that was a big issue.
now months later I know a bit more about things.
basically, I was worried that I could put 30mil lowing springs on and find my ride height was actually higher than I started!
(turns out this worry only really applies to very early NC1’s that came out of the factory at 400mil ride height, and in the 15 years that they have sat on those springs the ride height has dropped by over 30mil! )
ok moving along,
lowering springs versus coil-overs
lowering springs are cheaper BUT once the job is done you gave got what you’ve got and that’s it!
there are no adjustments!
coil-overs are more expensive but if there is something you don’t like, you can adjust it!
ride height, damping, spring bounce!
now i put the meister zeta crd coil-overs on mine and they seem to be the favorite choice among the members of this forum.
they are good quality, and the ride is almost exactly the same as the very comfortable stock suspension and that is out of the box with 8 to 10 clicks on the damping.
my 5 is a daily driver I started at 8 clicks (from soft) went to 12 clicks and am now back to 10 clicks and it is a fantastic ride.
not sure if linking this will help but maybe it will.
have a read through my suspension thread and see what you think.
i um’d and ar’d all over the place so just about every angle is covered 20mil drop without cuting or adjustable coilovers?.
I got my 1.5 ND1 on standard suspension. Changed to bilsteins and eibach 30mm springs. Lowered just enough to still drive rural and stiff enough to notice that corners are faster. I did do the strut braces front and back previously and they helped too.
The rear one was as noticeable as the front, I put them in a few weeks apart. I’d say yes. Worth doing, I’m no car expert, but I’ve noticed each of the mods change the car for the better and will eventually do the arbs too.
To be honest for road use the lower Eibach springs will be great. They made a significant difference for the better to my NDs with the Bilstein shocks. Coilovers are great if you want to track/race your car in controlled conditions to get the absolute max out of your car but to try to get the best out of them on public roads will always be a compromise of ground clearance, balance and comfort and you might find yourself going round in circles. Put the saved money towards a full geometry alignment (fast road) from somebody like Roddisons who will set up the geometry for your style of driving and the types of road you mainly drive and have fun on. You won’t be disappointed. Anyway that’s my own experience and opinion.
If you can (budget) go straight to coilovers, the adjustable type for ride comfort. Budget for fitting and alignment, so you’ll be needing to spend £1k plus. Coilovers are over £800 alone, I can recommend the MeisterR’s.
I agree with Mick on this . I had lowering springs on my last NC1 while they do the job the car looks better and corners a bit better as Thibor said you have zero ajustment. Also you can find the car hits the bump stops on occasion.This time around on my NC2 I’ve bought a set of Meister crd coilovers . Can’t comment on how they perform yet as I’m waiting until the Spring to fit them.
I have Ohlins on my NC2 and in spirted road use she corners really flat. Yet to try her out on the track to find the weak spots but looking forward to the track day calendar being released and booking myself on a couple…1 to find the weaknesses, the others to tweak any changes/mechanical updates.
I’m afraid I can’t give a comparison as I bought the car with Ohlins already fitted.
They do “tick the box“ when lowered 30mm They become a much more desirable little roadster with a much sportier look … They should have come from the factory like that. But the story goes. The USA were a major buyer and demanded they sit higher in order to satisfy pedestrian safety ( if hit ) I don’t know if this story is correct, Surely the lower they are the more soft landing the victim would get ? Rather than chance going under the car and inspecting the condition of it on their Brief journey Before being spat out of the back !
Well, Thibor, Yes. The car does drop slightly after about 2000 miles so 30mm is enough. I had my sports version lowered on H&R springs, It looked far too high as it was, Best move I ever took. The car had better presence on the road and looked just right They drop slightly more after a couple of thousand miles And look even slightly better than the original 30mm … There is in my personal opinion, No need for Coilovers for every day usage … and they seem to work well with the sports model shock absorbers Too, Fitted to my model from new, Happy new year to you all, from Ray in Epping Essex
Go for the lowering springs. I had my PRHT 2.0 done a few months ago and all I can say is WOW what a transformation and no body roll.
I did look at coil overs but quite expensive and I don’t tend to go on track that often. More of a B road man myself. Also the 4x4 look worn go if lowered also.
The other story is the other way round. European cars were raised to game Euro NCAP crash ratings… I suppose its all to do with how someone hits the bonnet (hence the honeycomb). US doesn’t do peestrian safety so much, hence no active bonnet systems there.
A certain trader went on a bit of an online rant circa 2007, and appeared to be convinced it was some sort of Mazda Europe conspiracy, and he could fix it.
The cars all over the world were the same height. Europe overtook North America as the biggest market in 2002-2003.
There is no doubt that Coilovers are the best option if you want to set the MX5 up for the track, But lowering springs are Quite adequate for ordinary road use … I don’t do many miles so just like the looks of the MX5 ( lowered ) Happy new year to all of you, keep safe and healthy … Ray Epping Essex.
Yes, indeed, I did hear that there were several versions of the reasoning for Mazda to put the MX5 on stilts, Your explanation behind that reasoning sounds the more feasible. happy new year Sazz
PS Incidentally Sazz I Always thought that the USA were quite strict on Pedestrian safety Look no further than the monstrous bumper that Lamborghini had to put on their Contach circa 1980s before they could be sold in that country ! It destroyed the look of the car. Maybe the OTT bumper was for crash purposes more than pedestrian . But grotesque in its application. I had a Contach 5000s (1985) … and it had far cleaner lines prior to the front bumper abomination that the US buyers had to look at…Ray… google one and look at how ugly the American variant become,
It bugs me somewhat that many people talk as if a “coilover” is something magically different and/or better than a regular spring and damper system - but it isn’t!
After all, what the word “coilover” describes is simply a coil (ie the spring) sitting around the damper. Of course some cars have springs and dampers that are located independently of each other and can sometimes be substituted by a “coilover” arrangement (eg on the rear of a BMW E46). But on a Mazda the suspension straight from the factory is a coilover arrangement.
From reading previous posts on this forum, my understanding is that UK (EU?) regulations stipulate that headlights must be located a certain height above the road surface. But with at least some MX5 models this regulation could only be adhered to by the inclusion of a relatively longer spring (ie to raise the ride height). And I believe that’s why some cars (NCs in particular?) tend to look like they are on stilts. Furthermore I read that that some main dealers would deliberately change the springs before the car was delivered to the customer (which they were legally entitled to do) to ones that were actually as Mazda designed the car to have, and indeed how their car would be supplied into other markets around the world. But that not all dealers did this, or maybe only on certain cars or if the buyer requested it. Do others recognise this story?
EDITED to add:- Further research indicates that fitting of taller springs (than Mazda intended) was to to with increasing/meeting pedestrian safety ratings in the UK (and EU?), not to do with headlight height from the ground. But because these ratings were only judged on the basis of the car as supplied by the factory it was perfectly acceptable for a dealer to swap the springs prior to delivery to the customer.
In all of this it’s important to remember that a manufacturer will design and optimise a suspension system around, amongst other things, a very particular ride height. And in the case of the NC that will have been with shorter springs than were actually supplied from the factory on many NCs.
