- My model of MX-5 is: _NA
- I’m based near: Edinburgh
- I’m looking for technical help or recommendations on: Suspension Swap
Following a recommendation from this forum, I ordered a set of Pedders easyfit shock absorbers from MX Heaven.
These are a direct replacement for the originals and have the same ride height. The service from MX5 Heaven was first class and the price of £450 worked out just over half what I would have paid to MX5 Parts to source a complete set of dampers, springs, top mounting, bump stops etc.
For anyone contemplating this work, here are a few tips.
There are of course loads of Youtube videos on replacing shock absorbers on the MX5/Miata. Most of these recommend removing the long bolt on the top suspension arm to lower the front suspension sufficiently to allow the front strut to be removed/ replaced. My workshop manual advises against this as it may disturb the suspension geometry, so instead I separated the top balljoint. This is straightforward enough if you have a balljoint splitter and some split pins for re-assembly. Do this first as you can then swing the brake disc and caliper to better access the lower shock absorber mounting bolt and the sway bar drop link. I took the precaution of applying penetrating oil to all nuts the day before, but even then it took a good heave with a breaker bar to undo the bottom nut. You can then wiggle out the old strut and I then discovered that there was no plastic gasket for the top mounting and the new kit did not come with any, so if you are going to do this job it would be a good idea to order a couple. Re-fitting was straightforward and the rears presented no problems. It helps if you have a trolley jack to support and position the struts.
Here are a couple of pictures of the old and the new struts side by side. You will see that the dimensions are identical and preserve the original ride height. The ride quality has improved, although I think these are a bit frimer than the originals.
Taking the long bolt out does not in anyway alter alignment, it is a fixed pivot just like the ball joint you seperate.
Has any one had one of these kits for a while? Ie any experience with durability?