I’m looking for technical help or recommendations on: Whiteline ARB and Lowering Kit vs MeisterR Sportive Coilovers
Whiteline currently have what looks like a very good deal on their anti-roll bar and lowering springs set. i.e. front and rear adjustable ARBs, drop links and front and rear lowering springs, all for £520, possibly £500 with a first time customer offer. It’s a fair amount cheaper than elsewhere so caught my attention.
However you could also get a set of MeisterR Sportive Coilovers for only a little more.
So I am looking into this as I like the way my MX5 is at the moment, but I do notice a little roll and pitch. Despite being different parts of the suspension, either of these products could help with that, so which would you recommend as a first modification?
Thanks!
(edit: the whiteline ARB kit, minus the lowering springs, is £420, £400 with promo code. This could be a better option as a 35mm drop may be too much on the stock Bilstein shocks. Getting 30mm lowering springs elsewhere is also an option)
Tough call on a potentially great offer…
Springs aside, it’s like a toss up between antiroll bars and shocks ?
What miles are on your original shock absorbers - an '08 NC would suggest 60-70k+ or more. You may not appreciate all the benefits of the suspension makeover if the shocks are past their best.
I guess it’s also about what you want from the car (which I’m assuming is spirited driving over just “looks”) therefore, IMHO, I’d urge towards the Meister option you mention as you’ll be replacing both the springs and shocks in the new coilover package.
Consider replacing the existing sway bar bushes/mountings at the same time.
A difficult call, as ever, because our pockets are only so deep…
I hope others chime in with their views.
Good hunting
Thanks for the reply. It’s a good point about the mileage on the current shocks. The car is on 92k and I know it’s had one coil replaced in it’s time but the rest of them and all the shocks I believe could be original. In which case they might be a bit tired!
It sounds like either way, I won’t reap the full benefits of one until the other is done also. It’s a very difficult call but I appreciate your advice!
Soooooo… i have just done this. i have gone from bilsteins (was told springs on bilstein shock are awful) non bilstein shock with lowering springs works well. ive got meisters and the is a total different car. Was told not to bother with ARB. this was a mazda specialists. told them i wanted fast road car
I’ve owned an NC that had tired Bilsteins, well they were eventually. First started off with lowering springs on the Bilsteins which suited my budget at the time. They did the job reasonably well and also gave the car a better look, a lower look, they always looked odd with the large arch to tyre gap. The max lowering I’d recommend is 30mm no more or those speed ramps become tricky to negotiate.
I moved on to MeisterR’s the adjustable damping one, they are a tad over £1k now, the Sportives £600. With a full proper alignment too it’s not a cheap option but well worth the spend, in fact the best mod you can do on an MX-5 in my opinion.
Moving on I sold the MeisterR equipped NC and bought another but with Sportives this time. These again do the job nicely but if I were spending the money I’d have gone for a set of the fully adjustable MeisterR’s, as on the previous NC.
So I say go straight to the MeisterR’s if you can with the adjustable damping, it’s worth it.
My opinion again if you are wanting to change the drop links go with those offered by Autolink or Mx5parts, the aftermarket versions. You don’t really need anything else for the NC for road use, that’s what I have fitted.
imho if you have concluded that you are going to replace your cars suspension, and are already spending a grand, I’d be looking to spend a little bit more and buy from a brand that offers better quality (and I appreciate the term “better quality” is subjective).
Give the OP a few options of what you consider decent quality suspension as a replacement.
Me, well I’ve given my opinion on what I consider a decent quality replacement and options. Not everyone’s choice, granted, they did ask for recommendations.
Thanks for your earlier reply. I have read through the thread you linked and it’s fair to say I’ve stumbled into a topic which has a vast array of opinions but I will read up and try to start really understanding the fundamentals.
What I have come away with from reading your post on that thread is that the shocks, springs, ARBs, links, etc are all inherently related and so arbitrarily changing one or more of these components might not give the result I’m looking for. However my technical knowledge in this regard is limited and so it is all too easy to read subjective opinions and get carried away.
With that said though, I do appreciate everyone’s opinions and suggestions, you all most likely have a lot more experience than I!
In terms of what I want from the car. It will be used 99% on the road most likely, however I do intend on taking it to some track days in the future. I won’t be wanting to sacrifice too much in compliance and comfort but a car with a little less pitch and roll on turn in and braking would be great. I absolutely do not need it to be all-out performance focussed as I’m well aware my own abilities are probably well below the cars’.
Reading between the lines and noting what you just said, personally I think buying adjustable dampers will be a waste and of no use to you so imho you focus on getting quality suspension instead. I think a set of bilstain that are offered in the nc sport edition or koni dampers will last you for the life of your vehicle (if indeed the dampers need changing). Note bilstain have two set of dampers available for the NC, one i already mentioned and the other version is probably valved differently and aimed to work with the shorter springs.
Historically the NC had a few different heights from factory, at least my nc2 was okay in terms of ride height however the early models looked slightly agricultural (like a tractor basically) just bear that in mind.
If where you live have a lot of speed bumps my suggestion to stay with oem nc2 spec springs. However if you go slightly lower than stock it will reduce a little bit of body roll and will look slightly sportier. But also note that you actually need body roll if its wet as you have more tyre contact with the road hence more traction.
Last before buying anything I would consider what is the condition of your dampers on your vehicle. For a 2008 model I’m pretty sure they have seen better days so I suppose this is the reason you started looking at this. Then is the bushes in your car do they need changing? If and when you do decide to change one or the other or both you have to budget for full alignment (camber caster and toe front, camber toe on the back). That’ll probably be around 250 quid. There are quite a few well known alignment settings on the internet (commonly known as fast road settings settings) that will make the car feel nimbler.
Personally I think an alignment for the mx5 would provide quite a significant change to how the car handles even with stock suspension however I have never tried this in my car (I drove it on/off track stock then i went straight onto fitting ohlins, weight corner balanced, aftermarket braces and alignment setup by a well known company in Sheffield that does mx5 tuning) so I don’t have a personal experience hence I can’t quantify my claim.
