I would expect them to make sure the vehicle is road worthy and do their PDI check but honestly I don’t think any dealer would change any car from manufacturer specifications unless there are specific instructions from the manufacturer to modify the car.
I apologise “plip19534”, you are correct the MX5 is fitted with coilovers as standard, “coilovers” has become slang for aftermarket upgraded matched spring and shock assembly’s, often adjustable.
(some cars didn’t have coilovers, the spring mounted separately to the shock absorber and in these cases generally is looked on as being in improvement)
But the original “coilovers” supplied by the factory are budget items as required to ensure they make a profit on the car, aftermarket “coilovers” range from budget (probably worse than original) , to very expensive giving a noticeable improvement over stock.
Its accepted by most that lowering the car 30mm makes a significant difference to both aesthetics and handling, I just wanted to know if I pay for MeisterR @ approx £800.00 how much better again is it.
e.g. if fitting MeisterR coilovers is the ultimate and represented 100% of the final goal, does lowering 30mm get me to 50%? , 10%? or 80%? of the possible improvement.
The minimum headlight height (also indicators etc) , can be seen in the IVA test documents (I have had to windup the suspension on a couple of kit cars I have built to get the heights within specification).
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No sure factory shocks on a MX5 would be “budget”. The 1991 £35,000 Mk1 M2-1001 also had Showa shocks, the same as stanard, but revalved to give different compression/rebound rates. The isony about the many various ROC/PRC “extendable shocks” is that they use a generic core part, with a custom lower half to reduce costs for their private label customers (ie. the brands we see marketed in the West). It was a wheeze that came from Japan, when some of the smaller shock makers wanted to avoid the set up costs from Kayaba/Tokico (the main aftermarket Japanese shock manufacturers)
Whether the aftermarket coilover is “better” than OE is probably dependant on your objectives. Mazda made a road car, not a track car, so its probably difficult to improve upon good condition Showa shocks (the operative term being “good condition”. Norman Garrett, a concept engineer on the original MX5 project, reckoned the original shocks were “done” at 60k miles. Krupps thought the Bilsteins supplied to Mazda would be ok for 200k kms).
There might be a ‘hidden bolt‘ that can catch you out during the stripping down of the suspension units, ( not sure of it ) But seem to remember something of this nature, Seeing that you are doing the job yourself ( Quite brave of you ) Look out for a possible hidden bolt… Happy new year to all,
Yes, But the billsteins rotted badly at the lower cup area, Which apparently is quite normal ( but ugly) but does not affect their Performance… Mine are corroded and when I visited W.I.M Their boffin ( Joe) assured me that apart from their ugly appearance they were Quite OK, I was prepared to buy new ones but listened to his good advice…
Few of the aftermarket shocks undertake any kind of adequate salt testing. Protech switched to NATO salt testing a few years ago to try and address corrosion issues concerning the brass adjusters. Not sure what Meister did (or rather Taiwan Bor-chuann Enterprise and Ld Auto Parts Co who make the kits for them, and others) to address the problem of their springs rusting through after a few years.
The paint on Billies can flake off, but its cosmetic. They are never going to rot through.
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Yes, That’s basically what I was told when I had a few bob burning a hole in my pocket. I thought Ah ! I will replace those ugly old ( Billies ).
However, On chatting to Joe at W.I.M I was assured that they were perfectly ok and that they do rust up around the lower areas ! He should know. He had recently lowered my car and had seen my ‘Billies‘ and judged them to be perfectly ok for going back on car, That’s what I like about the W.I.M Company they are genuine guys Not there to rip you off, Good business Great name ! And if you are listening Joe Best of luck and good fortune for all of you at Wheels in Motion ( W.I.M ) ……
Happy new year folks. Keep safe that virus is still hitting people Quite hard… Ray from Epping Essex…
Just to clear something up that is a common mistake…
ALL MX5s are fitted with coilovers as standard equipment, ie. the coil spring is fitted over the suspension damper - as opposed to vehicles where the coil spring and damper are mounted in seperate locations.
Unfortunately, “coilovers” has come to mean an upgraded/aftermarket suspension system that may or may not be adjustable.
To set the record straight for the 1973 model year passenger cars sold in the U.S. were required by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to withstand a 5-mph impact in front and a 2.5-mph impact in the rear. Over the next seven years the rules were toughened. Most notably, rear bumpers were also required to withstand 5-mph impacts and all bumpers had to be a certain height.
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I know.
Thanks for clearing up that up🤔
Actually I had thought this myself. Re, Bumper hight , Etc, Re US stipulations Etc…
But others think that there are other Reasons of what the ride hight of cars is all about in the US context … One thing for sure The MX5 looks dramatically different when lowered and the icing on the cake is to have the tracks widened by 25/30 Mm with spacers, The car is then transformed … Have a safe new year … Ray in Epping Essex…
I have this same issue - thinking of lowering my NB by 30-40mm at most to fit 15x7 ET20 wheels, but I’m with Churchill and something tells me they won’t cover me at all, much less with coilovers.
To me insurance is a bigger problem than the rest of the stuff.
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I got better sprint times with 15" 40mm offset Mk1 wheels on a Mk1 than with 14" Wats with 20mm offset. I know the stance crowd like the look of low offset, but they are not qualified to second guess Mazda’s engineers. Bolt on spacers (rather than shims) seem to add a second potential failure point.
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i’m going down the lowering spring route myself. my 1800 looks like a 4x4 although the 17"alloys look great. there must be at least 4" from top of tyre to wheel arch. 35ml lower would i’m sure look much better i’ll watch with interest how you get on lol
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That’s kinda where I am. There are a few videos out there about the history of the MX-5 that show the development team in California doing many miles swapping out springs and dampers by the side of the road. Track day requirements are different I know, and I can’t speak for NCs, but driving around rural Dorset with all its potholes in my bog-standard NB, there’s nothing I would change about the driving experience. I really think those guys got it pretty damn close.
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The MeisterR option(s) actually seem pretty good, especially at what they retail for, but they are far from being the “ultimate”. My NC has bespoke KW race spec 2-way adjustable units and they cost well over £3k! It all depends on what you want from your suspension, what you can afford and whether you will ever be able to tell any difference…
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An '09 standard NC PRHT I had on standard springs and shocks was so bad I got rid of it in ten days.
An '09 NC PRHT BBR200 with BBR30mm lowering springs, Konis and RX8 ARBS was excellent.
The present '15 25AE PRHT BBR300 is even better, even without bigger ARBS. It is the fourth Mx5 I’ve had with MeisterR CRDs. I recommend them for all MX5 models for up to fast road use. Apparently their Sportives are still very good on the road, as are their Club Race, even though they’re more track oriented.
Other adjustable coil and damper combinations exist.
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Lowering the MX5 for ordinary road use ( which is 95% of their use ) Is in my opinion a perfect way to add to the appeal and looks of the MX5 One only has to look at the number of MX5s across the World that have been lowered ( sometimes just for the looks alone ) To know that it is desirable, Of course During the lowering session The ‘ other ‘ suspension components get a closer look for any defects, Etc.
When I went to have my car lowered. I chose 30mm because most people were suggesting this as a best option … When I noticed how small 30mm was I asked if that would be enough drop ! I was assured that it was…. I was astonished when I saw the car after it had been lowered 30mm It was transformed … It looked as if it had been lowered a lot more substantially than 30mm, The Wheel sits much nicer within the wheel arch Instead of the gap around the wheel looking egg shaped… my car has lowered slightly more since the original work was carried out. ( perhaps another 5/10 mm ) It looks even better now that it’s settled down …
i’ve had 2 nbs and they were perfectly low enough and looked great stock. but to my mind the stock nc and i’m talking about my 1800 not the 2.0 ltr sport sits way too high. i’m not saying that the engineers were wrong at all just that the nc looks far better lowered even just slightly.
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