I would just like to offer my belated thanks to Tony and the guys at WIM for their friendly and professional service when we were booked in for the springs upgrade on Dec 5th 08.
Both my wife and I are astounded at the improvement in our MX5 RC after the Mazda lowering coil kit was fitted by the team at WIM and the Geo was done properly at last.
The car was previously very twitchy - or as Tony accurately described it, nervous - especially at moderate to high speeds and after the WIM treatment its a different car to drive at any speed.
As for the look of the MX5 - its not slammed but looks so right and balanced now.
I would recommend anyone with a mk3 not already set up to take it to Tony to have the correct springs fitted and Geometry set up correctly.
Thanks again to all at Wheels In Motion in Chesham.
Hi, I’m in the process of buying my first MX5 - a 2006 2.0l Mk3 (if the engineers report comes back OK, I’ll be collecting it this weekend!)
I’ve been scouring the forums since I made the decision to buy one and am making a list of what’s to be done when I finally get the car - number 1 is to get the geometry sorted by WiM. I’m unsure about lowering the car as well simply because of the amount of speed bumps in my daily commute - which is why I noticed your post - exactly how much of a nightmare? - are we talking slowing to a near stop or risking grounding the car or merely having to be a ‘bit careful’?
I’d really appreciate your views on this
Hi Tony
Sorry for the delay in replying , we have had a family crisis at home to deal with.
In my opinion having the car lowered with the Mazda option springs is the best and first major upgrade to do - my wife uses the car everyday for work, and living in Bedfordshire we have a fair mix of road calming measures including speed cushions and full on ramps - all are negotiated easier in the lowered MX5 than we could in our Leon CupraR. Its not “slammed” at all - its just correct, as it should be.
The handling after Tony at WIM fitted and did the alignment is transformed. Much more as you would expect of a small sports car with the MX5 pedigree. I cant stress enough how different it is and so much nicer / fun to drive.
Good luck with the car - I have heard that once bought and bitten you will never want anything else - I can believe it now ours has had the WIM treatment.
Mike [:D]
Sorry too that I only just noticed this thread question - in all honesty I quite regularly get a horrible scraping loud noise going over speed bumps - in every car I have owned (recently Ford Ka, Focus, BMW 316, VW Golf, Mk1 Eunos) you can get one wheel on either side of the bump and go over at a fair clip with no ill effects, but in my Mk3 since lowering I have to slow down considerably and let one wheel go up and over the bump. The sound it makes is so loud and damaging sounding if I do go over a bump with a wheel on either side that it terrifies Katie! I might have this looked into my Tony when I go back for the 2000 mile check if no one else is getting it - I am sure the speed bumps in Sidcup are no different in height to elsewhere in the country.
Thanks to all for your replies - very interesting and food for thought. On balance, the case for lowering is getting stronger…
The proposed purchase hit a setback - despite the sellers saying otherwise, it turned out that the car hadn’t been serviced since the day it was purchased (full marks to Mazda Digital Service Record!) so that was that. I then happened to see Perry’s ad for new 2.0i Option Pack convertibles at £12,999 plus delivery. I wandered into my local dealer (Vospers, Exeter) and asked if they’d match it - to my surprise, they did! I’m now waiting impatiently for my True Red car to arrive. Maybe my ‘price-matching’ experience can help other potential purchasers…
Can you let me know where you purchased your spring set from? Was it from Mazda dealer or MX5parts?
I just called my dealer and they told me that the Eibach suspension kit sold by Mazda is only for the soft-top(!!?). Apparently, they dont recommend this spring set for the hard-top due to the extra weight of the roof. So if I still want the car lowered, I would need to go with an after-market solution, which would void my warranty. I’m just wondering if this is all a load of bull or if you guys had a similar experience?!
No mention of warranty issues from the dealer I used - we used to go to Lodge Garage Just outside Aylesbury on the Bicester road before we moved to the south coast - they have an excellent customer service reputation and I found them to be just that - both service side and new car sales.
They made no mention of the mazda springs not being suitable for our RC. We didnt let them fit the spring set though - just bought the kit and took it to Tony at WIM who fitted and set the car up for us.
The whole point of buying the Mazda branded spings was to maintain the warranty for the remaining 2 years.
Weve had no issues since - the cars great.
Our son even took it to Spa for the F1 GP in 2009 fully loaded with a mate (both 6 footers) and camping gear!! Had a great time apparently.
Id be interested to know how much weight difference there is in the RC over a soft top - its not a steel roof but composite so its lighter.
We have a set of 17in alloys which are just under 2kg heavier than the original wheels and tyres each - i asked Tony if this would make a significant difference on a road car and he said not - all would be fine.
Thanks for the reply Mike! Wow, your car does look a lot better lowered!
I’m planning to do the same as you did - purchase the springs at the dealer and get it fitted and setup by Tony. Thanks for your feedback Mike, it helped me with my decision.
