I have OEM shocks and Eibach 30mm lowering springs
They are 12 years old so I’m going to replace them.
I’ve searched here and googled etc choices seem to be direct swop with OEM, Bilstein B8s as they are a good fit with he Eibach springs , or Meister Rs
Its just road use , thoughts?
Road use - then B8’s will play nice all day 
I changed to the highly recommended MeisterR Zeta CRD’s last year. I’m happy to say the difference and improvement is very noticeable and I’m glad I splashed out on them. No regrets at all. 
My chum has just fitted the MeisterR Sportives and he’s well pleased with their improvement over the stock Bilstein shocks.
the OEM lasted 12 years…
you want to use it on the roads…
simple really…
personally I’d fit whatever comes in the Mazda spec sport model for your car.
Its not just whether it lasted or not, it’s whether there is another option
suspension setup is a compromise, ride / comfort / handling.
you want to use the car on the road, the mx5 works just fine as is. Mine is a sport NC2 and albeit from a bbr tune and complete exhaust and the IL motorsport under body braces - my suspension is still stock and will stay stock. I managed to bottom out the thing again today during my excursion (ok I as going a bit spirited over bridge).
regardless of what people perception is, if you fit aftermarket springs and shocks they are more tailored for track/flatter roads. it wont work as well in the countryside because you wont have as much suspension travel and the wheel cant follow the road irregularities. If the wheel is not in contact with the ground you don’t have traction. The people who say I fit shorter springs because I like how it looks - just dont.
I already have, and have a geometry set up from Wheels In Motion its superb and I love it
I have asked a similar question extensively.
The Meister have a massive following with virtually everyone recommending them. I asked about Gaz coilovers on here yesterday as they are serviceable and used by a number of specialist garages but didn’t get a single answer.
As a result I think you will find most recommend the Meister, but it will all be subjective and no one drives exactly what you do.
If you were happy with the springs I would consider just refreshing the shocks so you have the same ride as previous. If you want to widen you options the adjustability of the Meisterr will allow you to push harder at some point, even if not now.
You will enjoy them all though
I use Bilstein shocks and Eibach springs, but with adjusters fitted. I’ve experimented with several different rates of spring and settled on stock front rate and slightly higher rate barrel spring for the rear. This is assisted by an RX8 yellow dot arb. Overall the car sits the same level as the 30mm lowering springs, but has much better ride across the country roads where I live. Its taken quite a few months to perfect including 5 trackdays at Snetterton to confirm the results.
It helps having the main ride and handling engineer from the Lotus Elise programme with me on this.
Thanks, these insights help
i have the meister zeta crd’s on my daily driver NC 3.5.
very happy with them.
i set the damping at 8 up from full soft and the ride is about the same as stock but without all the roll, dive and lift!
as to setting up the damping, it all depends on what your local roads are like?
if they are very bad then you wont really want to go above 8 clicks
if you live in an area with good raods and few pot holes you might want to go to 10 maybe 12.
if you do track days then you can pop em up to 16 or 18 but remember to turn em down before you get back on the public pothole’s, i mean roads!
Thanks for the replies, ordering Meister R CRDs
Will have some stock shocks and Eibach lowering springs up for sale soon
Interesting contri, I wouldn’t be a fan of the basic Taiwan built Sportive Meisters, yes, developed they claim by a well respected chap in England, who’s now dropped out of sight almost, I bought a set of these just used a few miles they weren’t even showing signs of stone rash paint wise when I was starting a total rebuild on an NA 1.6, now after seeking advice from someone who was sales executive with the UK importer , I was complaining about that lack of shock control on rebound over bumpy roads at the rear , what he waffled on about was the ride height, mine afaik were topping out, I had a chat with a mate very experienced motorcycle racer, ex IOM race winner, hes chatting about the SAG he said didn’t you get any measurements , no my reply, as you know they are threaded partially on the shafts, I set it approx when they eventually supplied measurements of ride height , however my car is a slightly lighter, yet i still have the double rebound feeling when pressing on… so I also have a cheapset of china susp kit coil overs with adjustable rear shocks , which I am about to fit just to see if i can have more stiffness in rebound… i like the meister spring rates for road driving and if poss we will use the springs as well,if it works out i’ll look at changing the rear shocks to good quality adjustables, the front i haven’t yet had issue with…w
Also consider underchassis bracing. Funny how few people do. Even very good aftermarket suspension cannot fully compensate for chassis flex. And once the underchassis bracing is installed, the OEM suspension might be just fine, especially for bumpy A & B roads.
Some of the Meister shocks are Taiwanese built, some are Chinese built. I brought a set, and thought there was a mistake when I had two packages of shocks arrive from a tv aerial supplier (Turbosat).
MeisterR USA LLC (US subsidiary) imports parts from LD Auto parts Lts. LD Auto Parts is a Hong Kong company founded in 2019. But the parts were shipping from Ningpo located in Zheijiang province, quite a ways from Honkers, so I suppose the goods weren’t actually made there. Interestingly, LD isn’t shipping anything else to the US, 3 shipments of shocks in 2019, 2020 and 2021. Wow, a brand new company wins orders right away.
MeisterR Ltd (slightly different entity) also has a single supplier, this time Taiwan Bor Chuann Enterprise. They sent over 11 containers stuffed with shocks. Bor Chuann has a bit more presence.
http://www.bcec.com.tw/index-new.html
ie. BC Racing. They are a private label manufacturer (rebrand for other brands)
Keith Tanner (FM Miata) does a bit of a hatchet job on Chinese shocks (the orange ones).
Fair points about “goofy” Chinese sized springs and lousy rear shock travel with extendable shocks/double perch designs (its a marketing scam; how to get the same generic insrt to suit a dozen or so applications, saves tooling costs for small brands).
Pre or post Ohlins, there is the latest supermiata/xida offering.
Miesters everyday without question, you can never compare OE fixed units to quality fully adjustable works of art in each corner.
http://www.mazdamenders.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=138&t=4800
On the clubs stand at the NEC classic car event…
M-m
Well I’m just taking in the post above doing further research on who makes what etc
I’m also reading very good reviews about Bilstein B8 when paired with Eibach springs
SAZ, thx for the info, I had a look at the video, interesting , I feel Konis are the way I would go and much of the Euro /Deutsch stuff is set around their smooth roads so way too stiff spring rates for our 3rd world carriageways… as regards Ohlins yes at a price, I have a mate who builds 6 figure+ Rallye Escorts, Asconas Mantas, the kit on those is Reiger at 3k plus a corner, you can drive on a really horrid bumpy road flat to the mat, where with anything else you would be fighting for control lifting crashing down more in the air than under control and much slower… quite unbelievable…w
exellent how to video there.
but reader please note that the procedure for an NC is slightly different.
i wont go into detail but basically on an NC you dont need to split the ball joint!