I have had a response from the Koni manufacture’s Sales Manager
He advises that the Koni’s I had on my Alfa would have been their FSD model which was optimised for comfort and performance. . . “but was replaced in 2017 by Special-Active, which uses the latest generation of FSD valve, but unfortunately as basically a comfort damper they are not made for [use] in general for sports cars like the MX5. For the MX5 we have Sport and STR.T dampers, but these are aimed more at performance than comfort and I cannot say they will improve ride comfort at all.”
So I guess I have to accept the standard ride of the MX-5 though it may be beneficial to check out the re-fittment of the front suspension with new springs. Also check wheel alignments.
If I want a smoother ride, maybe I shall have to reconsider the Porsche Boxster!!
Smooth ride, in a Boxter??? Really???
Yours must be really bad for some reason if you think a Boxter is better.
My go to choice would have been Porsche, either cCayman/Boxter, after years of bm’s, but the ride, gearing, tyre roar, cost of purchase and ongoing maintenance costs put me off big time, hence the 30AE.
If it’s the slightly harsh low speed ride that’s a problem I would try a set of PS4’s, (215/45x17 87y) which have a softish sidewall.
I’ve just ordered a Tein coil over kit for mine, and intend running the PS4’s when I eventually get round to finding some replacement wheels that fit.
I’ll let you know if just the coil overs make much difference.
Good luck with getting it sorted👍 I had a 987 Boxster S and definitely felt firmer than any of the MX5’s I’ve owned (including my current that is on the Eibach lowering springs).
Before you go any further take it for full wheel alignment, or even better just get someone to check all 8 camber bolts are free and adjustable before you do!
In defence of the Boxster’s ride – I have a 981S on standard wheels, and adaptive dampers. Far more comfortable than my MX5 Kendo around potholed Norfolk!
A bit wide along country lanes when white van man decides to play ‘chicken’ though…
It’s my birthday on Friday and I’m hoping a workshop manual is coming my war which should help me ID the necessary bolts. I have a couple of Mazda specialist workshops not too far away and I will take it there to get the alignments done. It has been done once in the past from its service history but that was a while ago.
Just a few days after I drove my MX-5 60 miles home, I helped a friend bring a 2003, 30k mile Boxster 13 mile back to my house so I could deliver it quietly in the morning for his wife’s birthday present. Parked in front of their house so when she got up in the morning there was the surprise with a big bow on the bonnet. That is the only Boxster I have driven and it was superb, I have to say and much more compliant than my MX-5. Super Car!!
That told me I have a NC-1 Standard Hart top model with 5 speed gearbox, which I have to say I prefer to a 6 sped. Maybe finding that data before my purchase would have had me looking for something else, but I’m happy with my model. As thay sell very quickly I needed to move quickly on finding it.
It is sitting on 16" Michelin Pilot Sport 3 tyres and I expect 16" 50 section tyres to be more compliant than 17" 40 section. So not much to be gained there.
It does look very high, my NC is standard and sits much lower than yours. Either they are not genuine springs or as previously mentioned the bolts were not tightened with weight on the suspension.
Hope you get it sorted as it looks a nice car.
Hi, my best advice would be, -25mm Eibach or similar springs. Full geometry, but drive around a bit after springs fitted before getting geo completed. A reasonable drive, not around the car park. Be careful though as it might feel scary and unpredictable. As previous posts mentioned, twisted bushes done up when suspension is dropped will cause all sorts of woes. One side will probably settle more than the other if they do eventually give at all. Best geo is achieved by the best people not necessarily those with “all the gear”.
Cheers
Marc
Thank you Marc. I’m planning taking it to Thrussington Garage for checking the suspension is correctly assembled and to get the steering wheel centred properly. A geometry check will be done too. Those guys seem to know what they are doing as MX-5 specialists so should do a good job of checking the geo etc.
A Jag? Rolls? Cadillac? Anything soft and soggy. If you find a stock MX5 too harsh you’ve clearly bought the wrong car, there is only one way to go with suspension on this car and that’s harder.
You got one right but there’s nothing soft and soggy about it and would show a clean pair is exhausts to the MX-5. But it is a coupé not an open top.
However, I’ve perhaps been a bit hard (pun intended) on the MX-5 ride. It could easily sit a bit lower but should not be harder on this 73 year old (today) body.
The dealer I bought the car from left me with a steering wheel off centre. I cannot live with that and as the front suspension had been messed with, I took it to Thrussington Garage for 4 wheel tracking.
That didn’t get done. As soon as it went on their ramp we found both front shock absorbers soaked with oil from failed seals. Hydraulic oil all over the inner wheel arches!! Both shock absorber/wishbone mount bushes both rear caster bushes (front) were shot too.
I took it back to the dealer today and he agreed to get it put right under the 3 month warranty he gave me but I was concerned about who would do it as they had not reported on the shocks when replacing the springs. Dealer agreed I could take it to Thrussington and he would pay, as long as Thrussington’s quote was not twice the quote he would get. Fair enough. Thrussington is half as far away from me as the dealer in Derby. Awaiting quote from Thrussington to pass on to the dealer.
It begs the question how did it pass an MOT in June?
Bushes don’t deteriorate overnight, and it’s likely that shocks were at least weeping when it was done, and whoever replaced the springs needs shooting imo, as no professional mechanic would ever put new springs over leaking or weeping dampers. Bl**dy cowboys…
Have you considered asking Thrussington to have a look at the rest of the car while they’ve got it, to flag up any other issues?
Hope you get it sorted.
Well, to be fair, I probably do not know the full story, so I have to be careful of speculation.
The shop which did the MoT failure/spring change/MoT pass is the same shop. It may well be that the bushes are not in an MoT failure condition but Mick at Thrussington is a race car builder/racer and the bush condition on his basis is bad.
The dealer for his part clearly wanted to minimise the cost of getting the car through its MoT and maybe instructed the MoT mechanic as such - speculation!! He (the dealer) several times told me the cost to him had been £250. However, he gave me a 3 month warranty on the car and is honouring this without question, to the point he will allow me to take the car to Thrussington for the “repairs” as long as their cost is not 2x the cost quote from his repair shop. I’m prepared for some discussion around the cost of replacing the bushes. We will see.
I wrote this for another post yesterday, it may help…
My NC Miyako handles very nicely for road tours and general green lane driving and is also a very comfotable ride in general. I like the spring rates for road use. I may put new dampers on just because they are old (2011). (All standard Miyako as far as I know)
I did put 4 new tyres on it not long after purchase because I wanted as tall a side wall as possible on standard 17" wheels due to the pot holes etc.
I bought 4 ‘Goodyear F1 Asymetric 5’ tyres on Quickfit website (£330 megga deal) I used 215-45-17 a very slightly wider and taller tyre; massive steering improvement and improved speedo accuracy too. I run standard book tyre pressures at the moment until I get wear indication (29psi).
Also importantly my car was tracked using a ‘Hunter’ 4 wheel alignment system and setup as per the Hunter standard setting for my car reg. (Not setup by Quickfit)… Brill result, love it!
