I’m looking for technical help or recommendations on: __
I’m interested in these dampers for my car. Has anyone found them in the UK? According to the video I’ve flagged they are only just appearing in-the US for my NC but have been available for the NA/NB for a while.
The problem I foresee is they are recommended with standard, not lowered springs. The Nc1 is silly high so I don’t want to refit those. The 30mm lowered springs I have fitted make the car look like a standard NC2> so logically I should be able to use these springs with the Special Active dampers? But the lowering springs were sold as fitting all NCs even though the car got lowered when the NC1 was superseded.
My other concern is I’ve installed RX8 yellow spot ARBars which I really like. The SP dampers are mostly activated by time: ie in a corner they react to the roll of the car(which is a relatively slow event in suspension terms) so I may not reap their potential benefits here?
Hope you are not as confused as me
Although I’ve never seen them spoken about for the MX-5, I use the Special Active dampers on my daily driver. They’re a good OEM replacement option in my book. Good compliance and ride comfort.
They can be used with lower springs upto 30mm, so you’d be fine.
I wouldn’t over think the ARB angle, they’re not that clever. I ran the previous revision, the Koni FSD on other cars with revised ARBs and they worked fine.
Yes, that’s the conclusion in the Flying a miata video too. Still don’t seem to be availiable in the Uk. I don’t want the sports Koni for the same reason I don’t want coil-overs: too harsh for what I hope will be a touring car in the future.
It depends on the springs that will give you a harsh ride not the dampers. The Koni dampers were better than the oem Bilstein dampers in my experience.
I’ve got the BBR Koni suspension with their progressive springs and I would say the ride is at least as good as the standard sport suspension, probably better. The car also rides a lot flatter without the need for updated ARBs. I would try and give it a test before ruling it out.
I’ve done a couple of hundred miles now. They are uncomfortable getting out of my village and not happy with potholes. Great on half decent roads at speed but I think a lot of that is down to fresh damping.
On balance I’m inclining to the the Koni route where you can keep the subtlety of a longer spring length and concentrate on good damping without the adjustability most peeps might not know what to do with?
Thankyou for taking thetime to reply with your experience so far. It’s interesting isnt it ? & I’m inclined to agree with you. I also live & mostly drive in a rural area where road surfaces are generally pretty shocking.
Im looking at getting lowering a little, maybe 25-30mm nothing drastic. I probably wont be changing heights much after that. So a decent set with a good compliant ride that is firm enough to keep every thing in good enough control will be enough for my needs.
I may be guilty of gilding the lily here! I would have been happy with my original move of using 30mm lowering springs on my NC1 if I hadn’t come across a BNIB set of meisters for £350. It’s the only reason I have tried them.
They are very easy to fit and the height adjustment is so easy to play with. This is a gift to those that like playing with the look of the car for not a lot of money.
My ‘suck it and see’ fitment at the front looks seriously mean but had a problem with some ill-maintained speed bumps on it first outing😀 But so easy to dial out. Their popularity is no surprise now I’ve actually tried them.
Downside: they are a bit harsh. It’s probably a lot cheaper to produce a spring with a constant diameter so you can spend extra on damping or making extra profit.
But you can’t beat physics. They are a great contribution to modding but I’m out of here once the Koni Active price gets sensible😀
What ride height (wheel centre to arch lip) have you got them set at?
And have had the alignment tweaked following fitment? My Teins on the NC2 felt more compliant once the setup was dialed in
Yer, Sportives. I’ve got the original heights for when I had my original alignment done, so easy to recreate that. I don’t think it’s that much off the make much difference but easy enough to try. As mentioned it’s so easy to alter. Will try that just to be a completist😉
So you’ve essentially set them at the same height as your previous setup?
This is one of the drawbacks of the Sportive spec - given it’s a fixed damping setup, so if you don’t find that works for you, you’re a bit stuck! Fairly easy to sell on though
I’d say the risk for you, going forward, is how you’d find the compliance with the Koni Specials. That’s as much of an unknown as whether you’d get on with the Sportives or not.
At least with a properly adjustable coilover setup, you would be able to get to the ride height and level of bump/rebound that works for you, on the roads that you use most often.
Interesting reply and appreciated.
No, I’m well off the original heights but as mentioned it will be easy to replicate if needed.( I’ve been out today on a dedicated blast and it’s been fine)
It’s true I can alter the spring rate with the Meisters but for average roads I wouldn’t make them shorter/ harder that’s for sure!
Adding adjustable damping is a very expensive addition and, as mentioned before I’m not sure the price is justified. Yes, you take a chance with damping fixed by someone else but equally you take a chance by paying a large premium for an adjustment you may not have the skills or sensitivity to take advantage of.
I do think if you track your car as well as use it on the road, your argument is sound.
