Lowered springs and spacers on ND (1)

Technical Area Steering & Suspension
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Hi All

Apologies as I know this subject has been discussed many times, however some of the posts are quite old and want latest views from those that know!

I’ve recently got a 2016 2.0 Sport Nav and like a few others want to fit lower springs and possibly wheel spacers. Car has the standard alloys fitted. So a few questions in no particular order

  1. Mazda sell a set are these same as the 25-30mm eibach ones that most sites sell?
  2. Does car need a 4 wheel alignment after? If dealer does it presume they adjust lights?
  3. The 15mm spacers that MX5 parts sell, do they need something doing to existing bolts, I have read a few things about having to grind them down a bit?
  4. Presume best to fit spacers then springs then
    alignment in that order ? Aside from any bolt issue spacers look fairly simple to do so thought may do that myself.

Anything else to consider apart from dreaded call to insurance company!

Cheers

ian

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I bought the 30mm Eibach (Black in colour) from MX5Parts, they are the same as the ones Mazda fit, and had my local service guy (and MX5 expert) fit them, he said they didn’t need a 4 wheel alignment as nothing had moved, but I had one done anyway which only confirmed what he’d said and cost me £100.00 for doubting him. I didn’t bother with wheel spacers, didn’t think they were necessary. My cars are a 2015 ND SE-L NAV 1.5l and a 2019 ND 30AE. Don’t know who you’re insured with but check with them BEFORE you do anything because some insurers will not cover lowered cars.

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  1. Yes they are.
  2. My advice, don’t get the dealer to fit them, take it to a specialist and yes get an alignment done after fitting with the spacers on (I had mine setup by an MX-5 race team/specialist), most people go with the Flyin Miata alignment settings.
  3. I don’t believe any grinding is necessary on ND1, i think its ND2 that has that issue

As above, call your insurer before fitting spacers, most companies don’t have issue with lowering, but most have issues with spacers, i had to change insurer to have them covered on mine, the popular choice is 15mm front and 20mm rear by the way.

Also, bear in mind when lowering ND1 the headlights WILL need resetting.

1 Like
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Thanks both

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Hi.
If you do have any issues with insurance at all for wheel spacer then please feel free to drop me a line.
Regards,
Dan.