I’ve owned my NB Mk2.5 vvt Sport for 21 years bought from new. It has the bigger brakes, chassis stiffening, heated leather seats, 6 speed box, 16" wheels, etc. I thought this model came with Bilstein shocks as standard and which are usually yellow but the shocks on my car are black. The two rears are leaking a bit now and I plan to replace them like for like. Did Bilsteins ever come in black? If not do I assume they are standard OEM shocks?
You have the Sport suspension, ie Showa shocks.
Okay, thank you for the information. That’s disappointing since, checking the original Mazda brochures, Bilstein suspension was supposed to be standard on the Sport. I feel shortchanged but it’s rather late in the day to be going back to the Dealer to complain (who was in Belgium anyway).
If you have had the car for 21 years and haven’t been disappointed with the suspension until now, I don’t think there is much to be worried about 
maybe try upgrading to Bilstein and see if you can tell any difference?
No mention in the original UK technical brochure
Do you think Showa is somehow inferior to Bilstein?
You sound like someone who has been served the finest Wagyu and eaten it but now wants to complain because they thought they were eating an intensively farmed bit of shoulder steak…
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A bit unkind but I now see your ‘handle’!
So you’re effectively saying that Showa are better than Bilsteins …
Well, I’ve spoken to MX5 Parts who said that I have the Hitachi shocks ie. Showa. A Bilstein shock for a Mk2.5 rear is currently £292.50 on their website whereas a Hitachi shock is £82.24. Whilst I’ve been happy with the ride and handling of my car over the years I clearly haven’t had the experience of driving it on Bilstein shocks. There may be a significant difference that I’m not aware of. More to the point, the brochure I received with the car from the Belgian dealer I ordered it through back in 2001 clearly states Bilstein suspension for the Sport in the detailed specification list. I may have paid for something I didn’t receive in effect but I won’t know for sure until I remove the shocks at the end of the summer and inspect them more closely. Bilstein do make shocks that are black in colour.
Since you put it that way, I want to apologise to you. Completely understandable, you feel you were misinformed/misled.
At the risk of making things worse, even if Hitachi made the dampers for Showa…would that be the end of the world?
In the UK, when you mention Hitachi, we instantly think of cheap Hi-Fi or televisions. In reality, Hitachi design and manufacture much more than that. Their industrial products are well engineered and well built, high-quality, products. Same goes for Mitsubishi.
If it’s any consolation, my Koni “Sports” dampers are just over a year old and the front drivers side has developed a significant leak. Not what you would expect from a brand like Koni. Yours lasted for 21 years.
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I have no opinion re Showa vs Bilsteins. However the Nov 2004 dated catalogue I have says the 1.8 Sport comes with ‘Bilstein Sport Suspension’. Ditto the associated ‘Vehicle Specifications’ supplement. So possibly the NBFL Sport featured Bilsteins?
Interesting somewhere along the way, dreaded Wiki ?, I had it in my head SVT Sports had Bilsteins, from Ennepetal close to where I was born, as standard and was dissapointed to find my shocks were black. Not complaining about their quality mind you, as Madge on an 02 plate is now approaching 120k miles and I still have every confidence in the unmodified suspension on the road & track. I have picked up a used set of Billy’s which I planned to fit for a round the world trip when I retire, but since the Lisbon to Vladivostock leg is now effectively cancelled indefinitely I might focus on preparing Madge for more track work with some brand new springs and adjustable Billy’s. Thanks for posting the brochure ast, until now I have only managed to secure a 2002 edition (y)
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No problem.
Yes, the Showa shocks on my car have indeed lasted well although I have not yet reached 40,000 miles in all that time, so it might be different with an average annual mileage.
FWIW MX5 Parts have re-confirmed, having run a check of the VIN, that I have the standard shocks on an otherwise fully specced Sport version - they’ve not seen that combination before. Given the price differential I shall just buy replacement Hitachi shocks and be happy … although I am left wondering what a Sport on Bilsteins drives like.
I mean, when taking delivery, checking that my new car purchase had the correctly specified shock absorbers, in all the excitement of the moment, wasn’t exactly in the forefront of my mind back in June 2002.
“FWIW MX5 Parts have re-confirmed, having run a check of the VIN, that I have the standard shocks on an otherwise fully specced Sport version - they’ve not seen that combination before”
When I spoke with them they said that Mazda chopped and changed set-up to the extent that you should always check via the VIN to confirm what suspension actually came out of the factory gate.
Hitachi also make the Torsen diff that went into the 2004 Mazdaspeed Turbo… Its a much stronger diff than the earlier Zexel Torsens.
When Mazda launched their Clubman spec M2-1002 back in 1991, they didn’t go to Bilstein, who were then supplying Mazda with shocks for the then new S-Special, but instead turned to Showa to supply specially revalved shocks. Showa is one of the big 3 top tier shock suppliers in Japan (the others being Tokico and Kayaba (KYB). Tein, GAB etc aren’t top tier. Mazda turned to KYB for the Mazdaspeed Mk1 coilovers.
For the NB, there were a few different shocks fitted
NB1
NC10-28-700C; Standard Showa
NC12-28-700C/NC12-28-700D: 2 different versions of the Bilstein. The D suffix means there was a revision to the part, but its backward compatible
NB2/NB3
N066-28-700 Standard Showa
N067-28-700; “Hard Suspension” shock.
NB4
Same two shocks but now adds NE45-28-700A, listed in Japan for the Mazdaspeed Turbo. Cross references to a Bilstein.
The 2004 UK brochure does reference Bilstein.
From my communications with Krupps Bilstein in the past, the Bilsteins supplied to Mazda were unique to Mazda, and not the same as aftermarket Bilsteins. They may have been supplied in batches. The original NA Bilstein has been criticised for having a high rebound rate but low compression, making for a poor ride quality. The NB shock on the NB1s, has been described as a lot milder. When you really get into the weeds, when looking at Mazda parts listings in Japan, is the dizzying number of spring options. “Hard S” suspension is Bilstein. Sport S is basically standard.
A very interesting article about these three different setups
The conclusion is that the Showa is better than the Hard S Bilstein, which was the standard Bilstein on NBs.
I wouldn’t be surprised if Mazda fitted the run out Sports with Mazdaspeed Miata (MSM) suspension. Not a lot of MSMs were made, probably too few for an order from Bilstein.
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Well thank you for your very insightful post. There’s more to this suspension malarkey than meets the eye. I’ve never ‘tracked’ my car and don’t intend to so I have no need for stiffer and lower suspension more suited to smooth race tracks. I do want something that will cope comfortably with our potholed roads though and turn abruptly without excessive body roll. In both respects my 21 year old MX5 outperforms my 2016 BMW 330D which thunderously crashes through potholes despite not having M Sport suspension.
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You are best controlling body roll using thicker anti-roll bars. Choosing thicker front or rear ARBs can also liven up handling, taking the car to more understeery or oversteery. Thicker adjustable bars allow fine tuning. But don’t go overboard. Tubular bars are the stiffest, and can allow high cornering speeds, to the extent that some tyre-wheel combinations allow the bead to seperate without warning (OC member, retired police driver, upgraded his stock UK Mk1 1.8i with Jackson Racing tubular bars, because Moss told him to, promptly stuffed it into a hedge on his favourite back road, after the tyre came off the 14" rim. He recalled that he didn’t get any of the usual tyre squeal that was his usual warning to back off,)
The NA was plagued with lack of rear shock travel which meant on bumpy b-roads, a standard car would be hitting the bumpstops a lot, leading to a jittery ride. The NB redesign addressed this, to an extent, but the chassis is basically exactly the same. My NA is on NB-spec suspension (adjustable shock combined with NB top hats), but even so, I know the bump stops are being hit a lot.
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Which adjustable shocks are you using ? Thinking about going adjustable on my NBFL does the soft setting allow comfortable touring or are all settings track orientated ?
Well, its the Performance 5 Puredrive setup which used Protech shocks. Performance5 are no more (for reasons best not to go into), but Protech are listing shocks and springs for the MX5.
I’m not sure these are exactly the same; the Puredrives used the standard skinny spring perch Protech uses, with Mazda top hat hardware, so the spring was a pigtail (diameter bigger at the top than bottom.
When shiney and new in 2008
So fitted in 2008, so getting on for 100k kms now. I suspect they are not so shiney now, and the adjusters are seized. But I’ve haven’t felt the need to touch that in over a decade. Its on a mid setting, slightly stiffer up front by a click. The ride is lovely. Unlike Meisters which I had on anther car, it ripples over catseyes. In those 15 years, I’ve had to replace the rear bumps stops once, and the rear shocks needed a rebuild after one popped a seal during a trip to Cornwall. The paint on the springs is, not surprisingly, flaking off everywhere.
The USP of the Protechs is their alumnium construction, so very light. But brass adjusters and aluminium don’t mix.
If one of the shocks pop now, I’ll likely look for a new set. Maybe Protechs, but also the Chinese Tein Street Advance Z kit; seems very well priced. Tein brought the price down of their shocks by setting up a factory in China, with Tein QC
On the Protechs, soft is too soft. The middle setting feels OE like
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My 2003 NB Sport , bought new, has yellow dampers, which I have always understood were Bilstein and part of the Sport suspension. You say you bought the car in Belgium which was notorious for bumpy pave road surfaces, so maybe the dealer swapped them before supplying the vehicle.
Have you noticed a change in ride quality or handling since the damper started leaking? If not I doubt you need to worry about replacing with a damper of the same spec, particularly since you would have to change all four to change to the Bilsteins. As another poster has said , the Showas may be better suited, but in the world of MX5 handling tweaks opinions are plentiful, facts less so!
I’m sure the dealer didn’t change anything suspension wise. The car was ordered from the factory in Hiroshima with full UK spec. I haven’t noticed any change in ride or handling but deterioration occurs slowly over a period of time so I doubt I would until it got real bad. The rear of the car passes the bounce test when you push down on the rear quarters. The only reason I want to renew is because leakage on the rear shocks has come up as an advisory on the last two MOT’s.