Take a look at this: http://pictures.autotrader.co.uk/imgser-uk/servlet/media?id=855497449
It’s a tidy looking car, but the back end seems to have been jacked up by several inches!
Does that indicate a suspension problem, or could there have been insanely big wheels fitted to it, or is it just an optical illusion?
Any thoughts would be appreciated, cos I might well make the trip to go and take a look… if this doesn’t indicate some catastrophic problem!
Could be several things:-
Optical illusion / photo.
It’s had new UK rear springs fitted.
It’s had Eunos (or lowering) springs fitted to the front only.
The front springs have collapsed.
Bit hard to see from the pic (it’s small), I’d ring the seller first and ask - there’s probably a very simple explanation!
Fixed the small pic problem 
Might have changed the springs and fitted them back-to-front, I suppose.
Some late UK spec MK1s (I think its them) are just very high… So I think it just could be normal…!
Well if it is just the rear springs, would it be relatively cheap to replace them?
If you follow the sponsor’s ad at the top right corner, mx5parts do a pair of rear springs for £47.47. (First place I looked, others may vary.)
Slap some Eibachs & Koni Sports Adjustables on… [:P]
Yes, I had a look there, and saw them… but I’ve got no idea how much it’d cost to get them fitted.
I’m waiting for the dealer to call me back to give me his side of the story 
Although less likely, it is possible that it has been jacked up, and it has not settled yet…
It looks quite tidy though, so I’d give the selller a call, and pop along and see it.
Lots are like this. There was a fad of swapping the front and rear springs a while back to achieve this kind of rake. Also if the bushes have been replaced and the bolts torqued with the car jacked up then the car would not settle properly. The fix being to re-torque the bolts with the wheels taking the weight of the car. Standard practice but I’ve read so many stories of people not doing this properly.
The car will drive like that but handling will be odd. You may find excessive understeer suddenly transitioning to oversteer which is not good.
Take a tape measure with you and measure from the centre of the wheel to the lip of the wheel-arch. The difference between front and rear should be no more than 1/2".
To achieve a suitable stance for your car may take new bumpstops ,springs, shocks and roll-bars. Expect £1000 for the bits and £300 for the labour. Add an alignment to that and a bit of travel and you are talking £1500. Koni are not the best but they are really good, especially with their own coilover springs. If you do spend the money you will end up with an amazing handling car and it’s well worth it. If you are looking to get the price of the car reduced 'cos of this then that’s down to you and the owner to discuss. They are probably going to say that it’s always been like that and that it isn’t a problem.
Having said all this it is just possible that the guy drove on to his drive and braked sharp whilst pulling the handbrake. That would leave the car in this attitude. I doubt this though. Best to phone the guy and ask why it’s like it is. Minimum to fix would be £1000 with stock parts so bear that in mind with any negotiation. These cars do eat front shocks and bumpstops.
If you love the car and would have plans to upgrade the suspension anyway ,like most of us do, then just buy it and get on with it. Good luck.
Well, I must lead a very sheltered life, I’ve never heard of anyone knowingly swopping springs front/rear on a '5. The ride height can be put right witha set of stock springs from our sponsor at £49/ pair. A realignment at wim will cost £100 max. I’m not really sure where new shocks, anti roll bars and the rest come from wrt ride height/stance.
I got an email back from the dealer, he said ‘it’s normal’ and attached a pic of another MX5 he’s got for sale, which looks fine to me.
So, if I’m being optimistic, means that the pic is an optical illusion, or some weird cirmcumstance.
If I’m being cynical it’s that he’ll say anything to get me to turn up and buy a lemon I’ll go and look anyway. The car is up for £1650 which is a nice price for a tidy car.
Might also be worth spending £10 on a vehicle data check. Better if you can get the VIN as well as the reg.
http://www.rac.co.uk/web/vehicle-checks/car-data-check/ this should show if it’s been written off at any time.
No way is that normal - the sills should be parallel to the ground. The only time I’ve seen a 5 at that angle is when mine was on axle stands at the rear. I would imagine the handling would be a tad on the “exciting” side with the rear end that far up in the air.
I went for a test drive this lunchtime.
Some things good, some things were bad…
To cut a long story short(ish) it was a nice tidy car (with the exception of a long envy scratch along the passengers’ door)… decent hood, clean engine bay (new radiator), clean boot, ok interior (except for the ghastly orange gear knob, and a hands-free phone holder over the fan dial, and the smell of wee that was hopefully from the cleaning products that had just been used and had made all the plastics shiny)
The rear of the car definitely looked high. Not as outlandishly bad as the photo appeared, but deffo too much space between wheel and arch.
The test drive was indeed ‘interesting’. In a straight line the car was great - engine pulled cleanly, gearshift was a bit stiff until warmed up, but good. Decent clutch. Brakes not as sharp as mine, but ok. Standard Mazda steering wheel was bigger than I was used to and kept brushing the tops of my thighs… I’d have to buy another Momo ;). Bit of vibration at 70-80mph. The front left tyre looked a bit worn, but don’t know if that’s cause or effect 
But the worst fears were confirmed when I got to the first roundabout I could take at speed. It turned in, rolled a bit, then the body then lurched over a bit more, and I felt the back end go light. I don’t mind a car being tail-happy, but it wasn’t pleasant because there was no progression to it.
I talked to the dealer about it, and he could only continue to express surprise about this. Maybe my Eunos is better set-up than I thought
Neither have I, in 11 years, heard of this dingbat trend. [^o)].
Mk1s were designed to have a little rake on them; older FM lowering springs tend to flatten this. Generally, cars with a flat rake, have tired rear springs.
An unlikely possibility, but possible due to the propensity for some dealers to throw on scrapyard bits, is that Mk2 rear shock/spring units have been fitted. The easiest way to checkis to remove the spare wheel, and compare the rear offside top mpount to one of the front mounks. The Mk2 part is quite different in design from the Mk1.
http://www.mx5forum.co.nz/viewtopic.php?t=6384&sid=411fbd8a5474dffc0399cc8d4517527e
Here you go. Read this one and then you can say you’ve heard of it knowingly!! With respect to the uninitiated I wouldn’t do it myself and if I were unhappy with the stance and ride I would prefer to install some kind of adjustable spring perches so I could have complete freedom to change ride height and rake etc.
I wouldn’t install new springs without new shocks. If you lower then spring rates of a lot of them are quite soft - you’d need a stiffer roll-bar to help. Plus if the car is lower then the stock roll-bar would end up being pre-loaded , the cure is to get an adjustable roll-bar both ends.
If you’re stripping the suspension then it makes sense to inspect and change if necessary - shock mounts and bumpstops.
I would be tempted to get the car and wait for a set of S/H Bilsteins to come up on ebay (complete with springs!) although re-valving is expensive if you needed it.
Now would anyone put £1500 into the suspension of a £1650 car? Yeah I would for sure. Once you’ve done the tyres, cambelt,water pump, tensioners, pulleys, seals, thermostat, rad cap, hoses, plugs and leads, all fluids, filters, belts, (which you will) then for your £4,500 or so you’ll have an absolutely amazing handling car that is reliable and sweet running.
To drive that car as it is I would put some Rainsport 2’s on the rear and keep them 1psi higher than the fronts. This would give you good rear grip and cut down the understeer. You could live with that for a while.
Well I guess whatever floats yer boat [;)]
There are thousands of MX5s running around very happily on a set of lowered springs, original shocks [some of which do more than 100,000 miles]. I don’t hear any reports of these cars rotating off into the undergrowth due to the spring/shock combination. As to the rest, if you have a bottomless pit of money, your route is fine. A lot of the guys contributing to this forum are running there cars on a shoestring budget and I’m sure, to be told, that you need to spent £1500 on a car you just bought for £1500 is enough to make a guy sell up and buy a Fiat!!!
I don’t get the NZ reference, the guy was suggesting that maybe the springs were swopped he didn’t know, and as we all know one very small Kiwi swallow doesn’t make an epidemic!