- My model of MX-5 is: 2.0 sport nc
- I’m based near: __epsom
- I’m looking for technical help or recommendations on: __Tein
Has anyone fitted Tein flex z on there nc , I was going to go with Meisterr crd but they have jumped up in price which has put me off a bit .
Why do you want to change the suspension mate?
I just think they look so much better sitting lower , more sports car like , can only improve handling !
Personally i think most people do not understand the fundamentals of how their suspension work.
For example if they decide that they want to lower the car and ask for recommendations i want to understand the reasons why they want a new suspension or perhaps why they want to lower their car. The reason is simply because there are benefits lowering a car especially if you want to reduce roll and be quicker on track however there are also drawbacks and more specifically reduced suspension travel.
I came across an interesting talk about aftermarket suspension - not specifically aimed at a particular brand but more about the design principles that went into some brand offerings and how their adjustable coilover designs work and goes into the why some adjustable coilover designs will be compromised by using off the shelf standard damping chamber components matched with various bottom housing compared to adjustable coilovers made specifically for the mx5.
I highly recommend anyone who is interested about car suspension to watch this.
I also believe not enough is being said about the importance of swing bars and how they can influence your car handling. Again for the same reason as above i highly recommend watching this video to explain the reasons why one should look into adjustable swing bars.
Further and somewhat extensive discussion can be read here
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I think if someone is set upon fitting a new set of suspension, they don’t need lecturing about why they shouldn’t. I’m not an expert, but the difference in what I have now fitted to my car is so much better than the oe Bilstein setup and keep in mind that mainstream manufacturers have a budget to keep too and don’t always fit the highest quality units on the production line.
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Its not lecturing whether they should or shouldn’t. Its making people aware of what they should already know if they want to follow said path.
Making people aware of the consequences only helps them making the right choice for them.
You mentioned the bilsten dampers. The stuff that come with the car work very well, and imho is in par with the likes of koni and will outlast most chinesium origined shock absorbers. If for example one only change the springs with lower stiffer ones on a stock car they should also make sure the shock absorber does not bottom out otherwise it would not last long at all and will likely complain about the stock shock absorber is rubbish. This is why for example on the nc bistein offer the b8 dampers if you have a lowered car.
Damping is just a means of absorbing energy from the shock. Having a single flow damper with a fixed value that works for the car and decent amount of shock absorber travel versus one that uses a generic damping body with adjustable damping but much reduced shock absorber travel. The adjustable damping is great but it really depends whether its single or dual flow. If its single flow its the same thing with the other damper only now you have reduced shock absorber travel.
Many companies will happily sell you stuff and I’m not going to stop you or anyone else from buying it. All I’m trying is to make people more aware and to be able to understand what they really need by themselves not because Johnny from the internet says so
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I’ve run my NC on the standard sport spec bilsteins, koni dampers with bbr springs and now I’ve just switched to meisterRs.
The standard bilsteins were comfortable but the car sat too high and when pressing on a bit it was bouncy & too soft.
The Konis with BBR lowering springs gave a more confident drive, improving handling and the conficence that you had the grip, but they were really poor for ride quality and the BBR springs sagged really easily further degrading the ride.
The MeisterRs I’ve now got are the perfect balance - improved handling again and even better grip / confidence in the grip and ability etc, but with OEM levels of comfort and ride quality - it really is the best of both worlds.
I can’t speak for the Teins but I’d imagine they are running a similar spring rate as the MeisterRs, and with similar levels of damping adjustment so I’d expect them to be an improvement over just fitting lowering springs, but I can recommend the MeisterRs (and I was a sceptic about everyone raving about one brand!!)
Hope that helps!
I’m running Tein flex Z’s on my ND, so this may not be relevant, however the spring rates are softer than the meisters, and although I can’t comment on the NC, the ride quality on mine is superb now, plenty of travel (!) with a well damped oily sort of quality and less roll.
A big improvement on the standard sport type Mazda/Bilstein setup, which tbh was dreadful, somehow managing to find every bump and ridge at low speed, yet not controlling the spring properly at high speed, leading to a wallowing, rolling, crashy uncontrolled car. Not great.
It’s probably too soft for regular track work, but works really well on the road. I must add that I changed tyres around the same time, so the original Bridgestones may not have helped.
This is what im taking about re aftermarket adjustable shock absorbers.
if you compare the two shock absorbers the properly designed suspension for the car is the one on the bottom where the whole strut is used and the shock absorber travel is significantly more compared to the picture shown above where the strut is generic and the bottom bit is simply manufactured to fit the car.
I’m actually looking at coilovers myself as my car bottomed out again last weekend so i need to do something about it. The only issue I haven’t seen a setup designed like that available in the UK. I’m personally tempted buying the ones from flying miata or stick with fixed rate ones for my car.
The lower pic just shows a fixed length damper with an adjustable height spring perch.
Yea…
The first is adjustable preload, damping and height.
The second is the full length shock absorber but you can adjust damping and preload thus you can balance the car so that the wheels are loaded correctly (with the same load applied on each wheel for the 50:50 or whatever else distribution you need)
The height adjustment is effectively dead shock absorber travel - remember I’m primarily talking for a road setup not track. If you need a lowered car for track use then yea the first ones would work I suppose.