Took my car (a 2010 3.5 soft top) into a local non Mazda specific garage today for the MOT and failed on leaking rear shock absorbers.
Having looked around I can see there are different types to replace them with, but I’m a bit confused as to what to fit. The garage recommended Sachs, but when I search on the Sachs site they don’t list Mazda, but Eurocarparts and others do sell them for the MX5 so I guess they must be generic. He also mentioned about KYB ones but he reckoned the Sachs were better. I have looked at MX5parts and they list different types for the hard top and soft top which I am guessing is down to a length size thing?
Don’t want to fit the wrong type, but I could be worrying about it for no reason. Is this something that needs to be specific? Are there better ones out there at about the same price?
Unless your car is a Sport model fitted with yellow Bilstein dampers, If you’re only concern is to get it through an MOT, I wouldn’t be too worried about what brand aftermarket damper is fitted unless you’re looking for a performance upgrade. Obviously make sure it’s specified for fitment to your specific model.
If you’re concerned about getting an exact like for like replacement, then really genuine Mazda parts is the only way to be sure of that.
There are Bilstiens and Standard Mazda shocks depending if your car was a Sport or not. The Bilstiens being a bit stiffer to begin with and are yellow.
There were convertibles and the RC hardtop variants of the NC and Mazda changed the spec of the shocks depending on the weight of the car as the RC was a little bit heavier.
Will the slight change in spec be noticable between the RC and the softtop with the “wrong” shocks, I cannot answer that question.
If you want the easiest way forward, go into the Mazda Dealer with your VIN Number and ask for the parts number of the units and ask the price. Then talk to MX5 parts and find out what they charge.
The majority of aftermarket suppliers will probably only sell a generic unit that is probably not the exact match to your car.
Therefore if you are worried, just buy from Mazda and sleep well at night with a less fat wallet.
Thanks for the reply. Mine is a 1.8 so not fitted with Bilstein.
Not too concerned about a performance upgrade as I find the MX5 is a great handling car as stock. I am erring towards getting the ones on MX5parts which I presume will be the same ones Mazda would fit just, about £40 each difference. They are about £95 each on MX5parts, which is about the same price as The quoted Sachs or KYB ones. I would be open to another brand but don’t want to end up with a wobbly handling car, and as it’s not 100% clear that these are a direct fit.
Do you happen to know if the stock OE part is a KYB twin tube? Unfortunately the info is a bit light on the site as to what make it is. I presume that is it’s an OE part then it should not need any further set up once fitted (as long as they fit it correctly)?
After reading up I would have preferred a monotube but just not sure about getting the right part to fit.
According to the Mazda parts system, the non Bilstien units like yours are manufactured by Hitachi. There is no further info on the listing so I can not give any further information on the units in question.
Yeah, I thought that’s what the guy at Mazda parts said when I rang for a quote, but I guess that they are not the actual manufacturer (although who knows these days).
I will try MX5 parts tomorrow and see if they have any more info on the subject. I’m surprised they don’t list the KYB or Sachs shocks. Makes me suspicious that they are a good fit, or it could just be that they can get a better deal from other manufacturers.