Hoping for some input here as suspension seems to be the hardest thing to quantify.
I currently have HSD dualtech coilovers on my car, and while they’re fine on smooth roads they are the absolute worst on any road with slight imperfections (see: all UK roads). Even on full soft they are somehow bouncy AND crashy?!?!
Since these coilovers aren’t exactly cheap I’m starting to question what I need to do to ‘have my cake and eat it’ - fairly compliant sporty suspension day to day and decent on track if I go there once a year…
So that leads me to the question. Are Ohlins worth it? From the marketing they tick all the boxes but who knows if that’s true. The same with Flyin’ Miata’s FOX coilovers. They sound like they’d do what I need but there’s no way to tell without spending ££££, which I’m ready to do but only on the right thing!
Car = 1993 Eunos Roadster 1.6 running around 130 whp with bolt on NA mods
In my experience (Mk1 1.8) yes, the Ohlins are very much worth the cost. Advantage over the FM ones is that they are sold here in the UK with full service backup. They are in a different league to the Far East offerings in terms of damping and control, they don’t go as low, but that’s immaterial to me. I’ve had them on my car for 3 years now, absolutely no regrets. I’ve had brand new standard suspension on the car in the past, and there’s no comparison on the road or on track.
The car came with these HSD units on. I do appreciate the ride height and dampening adjustability and I don’t have the OE units to simply switch back to stock. (I prefer my car a bit lower than standard anyway).
As far as I’m aware the only reason they run standard suspension is due to the competition requirements/limits as opposed to the OE units being superior
Its not about (insert brand here) whether its superior or not. Suspension setup is a compromise ride / comfort / handling. You want to use the car on the road, the mx5 OEM setup works just fine as is. Every single aftermarket suspension tends to have reduced ride height from stock and are essentially trying to focus the car handling to be a better track car. Lowering the car reduces suspension travel and this requires to have stiffer springs from stock. Because there is not enough suspension travel to absorb the bump damping is also harsh (even if some companies say they have two settings I would like to see the effect by myself) and as result the tyres are not in contact with the road in the bumpy UK roads
So if you want to use your car where its meant to be used, do yourself a favour and fit the OEM sport setup for your car.
If you want to know more knock yourself out reading the link below.
Thanks for this summary - I haven’t heard anything from people who have actually fitted the suspension and I’ve heard excellent things from people who have used them in other cars.
Mostly I’m looking for a more confidence inspiring modern ride and it sounds like that is possible with Ohlins. The only negative I’ve read is that they can bottom out in the rear - have you found this?
I’ve taken some time to read through this and your linked post. I think you raise some good points to justify the standard suspension. Travel and compliance for me make a good suspension - if you’ve ever driven a Lotus Elise or similar, they’re certainly not uncomfortable on the road and follow similar principles.
Keith Tanner - who works with FM in the US and wrote the book on MX-5 suspension bits is certainly a big proponent of this school of thought and makes sure any replacement suspension he uses offers significant travel; though it doesn’t stop him from replacing OE ones.
I’ve never driven a MK1 on stock suspension but if it’s anything like I’ve read then it’s quite wallowy and not very confidence inspiring due to the weight transfer. I’ve driven an 30AE ND and I know that I wouldn’t be happy with the OE Bilstein units had it been my car. Perhaps that’s an argument for stiffer ARB’s instead, though I still feel the standard ride height isn’t ideal.
Since it’s mainly the rears that have bottoming out issues, perhaps extended top hats are the answer
At the recommended ride height, I have had no issues with the rears hitting the bump stops, however I am using GoodWin Racing extended rear top mounts. I’m in Bristol, if you are anywhere near, I’d be happy to give you a demonstration.
If your complaint with what you’ve got is about lack of compliance and a crashy ride then personally I’d look at spring rates you’ve got.
It sounds like the rates you have are too high to give the compliance you want, and when you back off the damping to try and ‘soften’ things up there’s not enough damping to control the spring, which results in the crashy ride.
I have a 30AE, and I agree the standard Bilstein setup is poor, over sprung and over damped at low damper speed, underdamped at high damper speed - especially noticeable on the fast bumpy B and C roads that are my thing where it got out of shape very easily and was bloody uncomfortable and crashy.
I went for Tein replacements, with a fairly soft spring rate and the difference is remarkable, it’s like a different car now, with a smooth oily well damped feel which instills confidence, too soft for most tracks, but great on the road. Despite what others have said, travel is not compromised too much as the shock body is shorter to compensate for the lower ride height, (ND, NA’s may be different)
I’ve only had experience of Ohlins on bikes, and they are generally recognised as being one of the best available, plus there is the backup of service/spares etc. Not cheap though, and maybe overkill for what you want.
Also bare in mind that we have some of the worst quality roads in the 1st world (despite them also being one of the most expensive) so a lot of what works in say, the USA won’t be so applicable over here.
Have fun.
This basically. ^^^
Race cars run, unless the regs have been opened recently, Gaz Gold Pro and spring rates of between 450 and 550LB/in on the front and a little less on the rear. You would not be able to drive a car so equipped at any sort of speed on a back road as it would bounce you off the road.
They certainly wasn’t worth the cost on my Bimota Furano They were several thousand pounds in extra cost to my Bimota, I had been informed that they were The be all and end all of Motorcycle suspension Etc ! The front ones had to be replaced after leaking in less than 50 miles, Let’s hope that this was an exception to the Ohlin quality …The problem we’re The ‘seals’ were not up to the job Etc. Just saying, However I cannot comment on the Car adaptions having problems ….
Spring rates on the Ohlins are approx 450 front, 350 rear. On bumpy roads (ie most of them in this country) they are supremely comfortable (me and the mrs are in our 70th year, my back is a mess) with great body control, the rebound damping is particularly good. I’ve also thrown the car up Shelsley, Prescott, Curborough, and Gurston to good effect. Having had brand new standards, P5 Sportdrives, and a very brief spell with HSDs, I can confidently say the Ohlins are in a different league. Also trouble free after 3 years/30k miles. I have no idea what they’d be like on a NC or ND.
Again, appreciate your first hand experience and the previous offer of a demonstration. If I have to spend the ££££ to have my cake and eat it then I’m more than willing to, just need to cut down on takeaways for a few months
I live in Kent so no small distance from Bristol but it may be worth taking a trip to justify a pricey purchase based on my own feel as opposed to speculation.
I know the Rocketeer demonstrator car uses FM’s FOX suspension and is very well regarded by people who have driven it on UK roads.
I don’t think it’s fair to say that any aftermarket solution is detrimental to the handling, after all, the OE solution is built to a certain budget and to suit as wide a market as possible. After 30 years I’m sure there’s been some improvements in the technology which we can implement into our cars.
Hmm my spring rates are ~500 lb/in (9kg/mm) fronts and ~400lb/in (7kg/mm) rears. I’ll check the ride height when I get back home but it’s probably considered fairly low (didn’t want to have another alignment). Maybe this is giving me the effect Overdrive was speaking of where the rates are too high. Travel is definitely on the low side as the coilovers are twin tube design (less room for dampers) and the car sits low with no rear top-hats. I expect I’m getting hit with several negatives as a result.
