Hi guys,
Just bought an ‘07 mk3 2.0 sport. Love the car generally and was attracted by the spec and lovely condition for the age. I have sold my mk2 1.8 S which was brilliant but starting to rust a bit, but the suspension was a joy compared to this mk3!
The handling is great, but It is so HARSH! Every cats eye and grate or hole in the road is like a shockwave. I can’t continue with it like this, so I’m considering changing the suspension for standard springs and shocks as I’d rather trade some handling for a modicum of comfort! Do I have to go that far? I’ve reduced the tyre pressures to 26 which has helped marginally. The tyres have loads of tread, but would rather change them if that would help. They are budget tyres i think as I’ve never heard of them.
Any thoughts?
Having cheapo tyres isn’t helping, depends what they are.
I’m no expert on this but generally the Bilsteins that were fitted to my car were doing an ok job even when lowered, far from harsh.
Get the whole lot checked over, you could have a dodgy one or broken spring or just something else amiss.
Hi, thanks for the reply, just had it serviced pretty sure nothing is broken, maybe I was spoilt by the 1st car having such brilliant suspension also bilsteins, but maybe they’re not all the same?
What does having the car serviced have to do with it.
The Mk3 Sport unless under 10,000 miles from new is no harder than a mk2.
There is an issue with your suspension, get someone who knows the MK3 to check the make of the dampers and springs if possible. It does not appear to have standard suspension.
I’m hoping for something a bit more constructive! I mentioned the service because the mechanic who I trust and have used for years would have noticed anything broken as was suggested.
The suspension has not been changed.
Many if not all of the aftermarket coilover kits (is that what you have on the car now) will give a very harsh ride on the road (but be much better than standard for the track). I suggest you revert to OE dampers, but make sure you get the slightly shorter OE springs. And don’t forget that once fitted you really should be looking to get the geometry reset ie toe and camber.
I’ve owned an '07 2.0 Sport for the past 8 years and find the ride absolutely fine - in fact better than the 4 x Beemers I’ve also owned during that time.
As MickAP says, cheapo tyres are a definite no-no on a 5. I would upgrading to some quality ones asap as a matter of course.
Where in the country are you? You may even find that a local member will give you a ride in his / her 5 for comparison.
My 2.0 NC has Bilsteins and lowered 40mm and rides fine, no bangs or crashes at all. I would get some better tyres on first.
My comments were constructive, it appears you have not done your homework, you have been advised by two posters that the suspension of the Mk3 Sport after it is run in is not noticeably harder than the Mk2 cars that have original standard suspension.
If you want to be constructive you have work to do rather than criticising others.
You need to drive some other Mk3 cars of a similar specification to find if your car is on average “standard”.
You need to drive some non “Sport” MK3 cars with the non Bilstien suspension to find if these cars and the 16" wheels and 5o ration tyres suit you better.
You have to explain exactly how your mechanic proved your cars suspension is standard as many MX5 cars have non-standard suspension fitted.
So assuming you have Bilsteins in good nick, no broken droplinks and the car is in general good running order. That said I’d be going straight to the tyres and alignment on the car, it definitely needs those sorting and go from there.
If you have problems at all with the suspension that’ll be picked up when you have the alignment done, if of course you go to the correct place, an MX-5 specialist who have all the correct settings. Plenty of recommendations on here depending on your location.
Cheers for the help
I will be replacing the tyres as I think the problem lies there. Having talked to the previous owner (from new) the car is entirely standard. The tyres seem to have a very hard sidewall. They were all about 10 psi down when I bought it ( bit of a clue there I think) but no visible difference when inflated to 30. Can’t see if they’re run flats as I’ve heard they are no good for ride quality.
There would have to be something very odd indeed going on with your current tyres to make a huge difference in ride quality. However, buying good quality tyres is never a bad thing, so would be a good start.
Mine’s a 2012 Mk3.5 2.0 Sport - on Mazda’s standard “sports” suspension - Bilsteins etc - for that model (I know this because I’ve had it from new) - & I’ve never found the ride harsh.
I did notice that the ride became noticeably smoother though when I swapped the tyres; after 5 years & 25,000 miles the factory Bridgestones were all worn down to just over 3mm so after a request on here for advice & a lot of deliberation I replaced them with a set of Michelin Primacy 3s, which a few folk had recommended. While, admittedly, the car now isn’t quite as “sharp” as it was on the Bridgestones, it still handles extremely well on the Michelins & the ride’s definitely much better - a combination which works well for me even though I found the ride to be fine on the original tyres. I’m sure the ride improvement wasn’t due to the age of the Bridgestones, because I’d noticed no deterioration in ride quality at all during the 5 years they were fitted to my car.
I always kept both sets of tyres at Mazda’s spec of 29psi - personally, I wouldn’t recommend any departure from what Mazda states the pressure should be.
Tyres will make a miniscule difference to generalised suspension related issues unless those tyres are of the wrong profile or incorrectly inflated.
MK3 geometry is critical but discomfort in standard road conditions implies an issue somewhere. Standard suspension is softer and by definitiion less effective on the margin. My concern is that you were happy with MK2.5 bilstein suspension, sport?, which really would give similar discomfort to those sensitive as similar fitted to a MK3
Some people do fit run flats because the fear a puncture.