When it bounces, it lasts a while. As in it continues bouncing. That’s what I’m trying to sort out.
Apart from that, most of the ride problems I have experienced through dampening (i.e. it was soft, then I increased and it was firm).
I heard he retired and sold his garage?
You can send the springs to Gaz and they will give you the spring rates. All Gaz stuff is fully rebuildable. Your top mounts are stock ones not gazs.
This sounds like the shocks are knackered if the adjusters are not making a difference it sounds like they need a rebuild.
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That really is a shame but understandable. I have had two NDs set up by Paul for “fast road use”, which I was very happy with. The only issue now is that he would not divulge his suspension setup figures to me. If I were to hit a pothole or do something else that affects the suspension geometry I now have no reference for returning it to Paul’s original settings. If his business has been bought by somebody who is going to offer a similar service hopefully Paul has provided the required knowledge to them.
Could you take them to another competent “aligner” and get them measured as a reference?
Yes, there is not enough damping. Increasing damping should mainly affect the amount of rebound, but will have a smaller effect on the amount of impact from a particular bump, i.e. “firmness”. As suggested sounds like dampers need repair, as any “sport” upgrade for an MX-5 is going to have a lot of damping even at lowest setting.
If it’s continual ‘bounce’ after an undulation on the road etc, then it sounds most likely to be worn dampeners to me too. Especially if you’ve set them to ‘full hard’ and that hasn’t removed or altered the behaviour (as I think you eluded to earlier?)
You say the seller is reputable, but do you know how old the suspension setup is, and how many miles it’s done? I think the best option overall is to talk to GAZ about a rebuild.
Yes. I came to that conclusion but I trusted Paul Roddison’s skills more than most. Thanks anyway.
There are a lot of places around that would understand how to set up the suspension on an MX5, it doesnt have to be an expert.
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You don’t need a ramp to change shocks. I’ve done all mine on the drive. With lowering sets, they are especially easy to take off, all the more so as you changed them recently. All I need to get the units off is 3 or 4 half inch drive sockets, decent ratchet, breaker bar, and a big flat head/crowbar. The way I take them off, I don’t touch the ball joints or alignment bolts. For the rears, I use the standard factory jack as a third hand. Fronts I take off using the long bolt method; game changer when I started that way I take the car to 4 wheel alignment, and the car needs minimal adjustment.
IG Racing explained to me the AVO, Protec and Gaz are all basically the same shock, given Rod Avon’s involvement. They have a good design, but let down by sub par QC, as he found failures happen due to contamination. For that reason, he brought them “dry” and assembled himself.
Used shocks are fine until they are not. Shocks don’t gradually fail. They just fail. Its easy to be wise after the event. Its the chance you take, same as taking a chance on used brake calipers. The seller might have known, might have not. Often “performance” aftermarket shocks don’t last as long as OE; they are built in far smaller volumes, with a much smaller R&D budgets. And while they don’t get the miles of an OE, they get hammered on the track. And on the MX5, if lowered, the rears spend a lot of time bouncing off the bumpstops.
http://www.igracing.co.uk/dampers.html
IG Racing charged me about £70 per shock to rebuild. Probably gone up now.
Or here
You might get away with getting the rears looked at. Looking at the photo, those look like old shocks. The top mounts are past their best; people think Mk1 top mounts are just lumps of metal that never wear out. They have a rubber insert that wears out. I “think” they would have been drilled for the Gaz shocks. The blue springs are certainly not fast road springs, so I tend to think trackday or race. I can’t see bumps stops on the fronts, but it might be the photo.
You could spend £150-200 shocks overhauled to new functioning condition (they’ll still look old). I would replace the top mounts if spending that; fairly inexpensive pattern parts are available. But then you will be in for £250 or so, plus whatever you paid for these.
Last quote I got from Gaz was end of 2023, £50+vat and carriage for the rebuild
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As above.@ast. changing shocks is easy, can be done roadside. A long reach 16/17mm spanner is helpful. About £9 off eBay.