Lowered MX5? Should you avoid this???

[JBT]

doesn't this ruin the handling and enjoyment of driving an MX5?

Not necessarily but it depends on what you enjoy or hate. If done properly, the car should still be enjoyable to drive. However, if it bottoms out on dips, scrapes over speed bumps and driveway entries, has \"darty\" handling characteristics and rides like a dray, you may tire of it after a while.

Should I stay away from used MX5s that were lowered?

Were or are? It comes back to personal preference.

.....does that mean that it can be adjusted to bring the car back to the original position?

Not necessarily. It depends on the type of suspension installed. Some are designed to be completely height adjustable but adjusting others may result in some change to damper stroke which, in turn, may compromise the intended ride/handling setup and result in undesirable characteristics.

However, if you have one that has a system you don't like, you will probably have little difficulty selling/swapping the suspension to replace it with OEM specification stuff.

[sliq]

hrmm.. i was thinking of putting some eibach springs into my nb... without changing the shocks.. my mechanic told me by doing this, it shortens the lifespan of springs.. gave me some technical reason, i lost track of it all too quickly..

should there be a problem with this?

[stevesports]

i would agree with the others. If you do lower the car, ideally you should tune the spring and shock bound and rebound rates to the height of the car. Otherwise you will, as the others described, get a bumpy or wallowy car that is worse off than it really is. I'm sure if you look around on the internet, you can find guides on suspension tuning.

[Adam_NAclubman]

If you want to go really low, you need something that was designed to work at that height. Like these




I think my Clubman was nicer to drive with the stock springs on the Bilsteins than after I changed to the lower Kings springs. Hopefully coilovers that still have lots of travel even when low will make it a bit nicer again

[chrislevingston]

Mine came with Bilsteins and Eibachs, and was lowered way too much.

It now wears Koni adjustable shockers and King springs, and is lowered only one peg.

A complete transformation!

Chris

[Okibi]

Some great advice.

Our car defiantly handles better now its lowered

I just have a paranoia about speed humps (there should be penalties for people who make them so big a legally lowered car still bottoms out at walking pace!!)

[JBT]

The person mentioned that the car had koni adjustable suspension. (Could they just mean that they replaced the shocks and nothing else so it will have the previously mentioned issues?)

Usually means that it has Koni adjustable (for "stiffness") dampers. Springs could be anything. They may or may not work in harmony.

[stevesports]

The person mentioned that the car had koni adjustable suspension. (Could they just mean that they replaced the shocks and nothing else so it will have the previously mentioned issues?)

Usually means that it has Koni adjustable (for "stiffness") dampers. Springs could be anything. They may or may not work in harmony.

yup, again it is more important to tune the spring rate, as well as the bound/rebound settings of the shocks than to worry purely about ride height. =]

[MX5-SP]

I think you have to answer some questions to yourself about what is more important.... handling or \"looks\"

I saw a beautiful Ferrari the other day, following a couple of ordinary cars easily traversing some speed bumps on Sussex Street Sydney. The Ferrari was clearly at a disadvantage. That is one of the reasons I don't have a Ferrari, because it would not negotiate the dip in my drive and I would have to leave it on the lawn. The other reason is the cost. But, I digress. I also have a continuous scrap underneath my front spoiler caused by (the BOV) trying to park my car frontwards, and not backwards due to the error of the house builder. That is why I am planning a move; and/or, planing the drive a tad.

My MX5 drives beautifully as is ...so why change it? The BOV has forbidden any track work, so it's just routine driving for me. Why change a good thing?

I can go back to the '70's when a lowered car indicated \"something special\"... but frankly... If my SP has it's ass in the air... So what? AJ is unlikely to catch it.

I guess my point is, why put up with the inconvenience of every-day drivability for a few hours track work... unless you can afford to have a \"play car\".

[Okibi]

... because you only come across a speed hump perhaps once a week that you can negotiate slowly, you come across thousands of corners a week you can take with a massive smile on your face.

[MX5-SP]

Depends what you mean by handling. It might not be able to handle speed bumps as well, but it will be able to handle corners even better.
I find the stock ride height a bit too monster trucky, as slow as it is, its still a sports car and should be low and look sleek.

...right, I think see your problem ...you ride shot-gun for AJ as a side-line?


...oh, come on....check your tyre pressure first.

...otherwise buy a Holden, then you will have something to complain about.

...is it JUST ME?

[Okibi]

i'm lost too .. that's just nuts

[broady]

Depends what you mean by handling. It might not be able to handle speed bumps as well, but it will be able to handle corners even better.
I find the stock ride height a bit too monster trucky, as slow as it is, its still a sports car and should be low and look sleek.

...right, I think see your problem ...you ride shot-gun for AJ as a side-line?


...oh, come on....check your tyre pressure first.

...otherwise buy a Holden, then you will have something to complain about.

...is it JUST ME?

God damn SP drivers...

[rwf]

as ROVE would say



WHAT THE ??????????????????????

[Mr Morlock]

I am with MX5sp. Speed humps are a fact of life in many parts of Melb. My estate is surrounded by them and negotiating is bad enough with std height. Remember the Top Gear story of the guys trapped in the car park because of the steep gutter- embarrassing at the least. 30 humps a day and its no fun!