I’m looking for technical help or recommendations on: __Suspension upgrades
Hi there, I’m new to the forum as I’ve just purchased a 138k-mile-old MX-5 NC. It’s a 2.0 5-speed with 160hp, so I’m pretty chuffed.
I’m looking at using the car for track days and spirited driving only, but want to keep my spend low. I was looking at getting a new set of Eibach -30mm springs to lower and stiffen the car up, but for about the same price I’m seeing used Bilstein shocks with Eibach springs included on eBay.
My question is, for track day driving, are these Bilsteins considered an upgrade on a standard 2.0, one that’s better than a set of Eibach springs with the standard dampers? Which of these options is likely to be stiffer and therefore better at track work?
dont do anything other than maintenance. good (new) tyres, new pads, nothing leaking and take it easy no more than 10 minute stints to keep the brake temperatures low. if its doesn’t break after a couple of trackdays and you like track driving you will figure out what it needs doing (or feel free to ask again).
Thanks for the quick response. I’m fairly experienced with track driving as I’ve also got a Clio 182 which I’ve run on Bilstein B14s for a few years, but I’ve decided I fancy rear-wheel drive for the track stuff now.
Handily, both the Clio and NC have 16-inch wheels so I’ve a spare set of R888Rs to go onto the Mazda. But with so much grip, the standard springs will probably make it corner like a 2CV
In the longer term, I’ll be aiming for proper track-spec coilovers to match the rubber. But in the short term, I’m hoping to just enjoy the car on a budget. I’m guessing the Eibach -30mm springs are rated as well on here as they seem to be elsewhere?
I’d certainly think about doing a trackday or two ‘as-is’ - so you have a baseline for any adjustments/modifications/improvements you want to make further down the line. There are some great YouTube videos out there, showing standard NCs out on track and what they’re capable of ‘out of the box’.
In terms of proposed suspension changes, the main issue with a used setup is you have no idea how near to end-of-life they are, particularly the dampers. That set you’ve linked to doesn’t even say how old or how many miles they’ve done (not that it could be verified anyway!)
imho run it as is to test the engine (and do change the oil). dampers very likely shot so if it survives that, you are most likely looking to change suspension. if you want to make it a track focused car then I would look at your wallet and upgrade the brake hoses, motul RBF600, pads (prefer winmax w5), definitely look at front calipers and renew the carrier pins and general check the whole braking system. suspension i would go for ohlins but there are cheaper and more expensive options. check bushes, its likely something needs replacing and do that before fitting new suspension corner weighting and algiment.
power, don’t bother. keep it simple and reliable. a decent manifold with tune will give you +25 bhp, match that with a nicer sounding (but with baffles) back box and you are done.
My car is an NC Sport 2006, it came with standard Bilstein dampers and was very low milage (35Kish) when I brought it, but needed new tyres, brakes and a good service.
Once gone through I was shocked at how much the car rolled, it was like being in a boat compared to the previous sports cars I have owned.
It seems some people love the Eibach springs and others prefer the standard setup, it may be that later cars have a different setup hence different peoples options or they haven’t driven cars with a good setup before, but I had to do something with mine or would have sold it immediately.
I didn’t want to spend too much so fitted the Eibach lowering springs and did a full geo setup, the car was transformed , it now handles much better and I have had 3 fun years out of it.
I still think it needs better shocks but its now acceptable and the cost was only about £140.00.
Unfortunately you need adjustable aftermarket coilovers, but I know you dont want to. My car had the Bilsteins and Eibach springs on. On flat roads it will be fine, but on a motorway bridge at 70mph, it bounces bad as the damping isnt good enough and can be a bit scary.
You make the choice.
Best to spend some money and get
or
There are some MeisterR for about £500 (half price) on here
Thanks for the help here, really insightful stuff. With the long-term ambition of entering the car into the MX-5 Supercup championship (anyone on here racing/raced in it?), I’ve been reading the technical regs and it seems the suspension mods are pretty limited - Gaz coilovers and some ARBs are about as far as you can go. Even stiffer bushes are banned!
So I think it makes sense to follow advice here and start standard, see how much of a boat it is (I can see already it’s going to be very boaty), and then skip past the soft-sounding Eibach-Bilstein setup and go straight for the full coilover setup, when I’m ready to start spending race car money on it…
