So recently bought a mk1 mx5 that came with bilstein shocks and tbh I think theyre god awful so they will be getting swapped at some point in the future.
However I noticed something strange after I got the car home. The drivers side top mount studs are only just poking through. The nuts are on and are not going anywhere but the studs are short.
On the passengers side the studs look to be the correct length. Apart from the fact there is only 1 stud there so that needs sorting.
Which raises the question of, do bilstein shocks run top mounts with longer studs? i cant seem to find much information on them as I would like to get some new top mounts seen as one side is too short and the other is missing a stud
I noticed this on our Eunos when I swapped the suspension out for MK2.5 - good move for us by the way.
There are longer studs on some top mounts and shorter on others - should not make any difference. I seem to remember that the Bilsteins have the longer type and Mazda standard are the shorter ones.
Could you tell me more about the mk2.5 suspension you swapped to, standard all round or any lowering springs?
Well i would like to purchase a longer bilstein ones because the shorter mazda ones don’t go all the way through the nut. So if i can find two longer ones that would be great cheers for the info
Yes.
The top mounts on Bilstein cars have longer studs than standard ones. some aftermarket top mounts have the longer studs to allow the fittment of the strut brace.
I bought a set of four a couple of years ago for my car, Possibly from IL motorsports in Germany.
I am happy with the Bilstein suspension on my car, as I was on my first Eunos Roadster.
You should not have an issue fitting the mounting bolts on either long or short stud top mounts.
Perhaps yours is not fitted properly or has been shortened by damage?
I fitted standard MK2.5 shocks straight on to the Eunos some years ago now. Raised the car to a similar height to my UK spec MK1. Ride is a little firmer than MK1 setup but no banging and crashing and far better handling. It was a risk at the time as no-one else appeared to have tried it but has turned out to be one of the best mods done to the car(1991 Eunos).
We wanted the car high but others would likely fit the same suspension and top mounts with lowering springs.
Later cars (from NA6CE-2*******) had a revised top mount, with longer studs compatible with the earlier car.
The part number changed from NA01-28-380A to NA01-28-380B. People think there is a Bilstein specific part, when there isn’t; they are comparing early cars to later. Mazda does not list seperate part numbers for Bilstein top mounts.
I believe if you purchase a new top mount from Mazda, all of them will have the longer stud. Probably advisable to buy new, as these are a wear part. About £70 each.
Swapping to NB suspension requires NB shock, spring, and top mount assembly/bushing. The higher kerb weight for the NB model results in an increased ride height on NA models.
