Suspension Confusion

[Basstones]

G'day all,

Im driving an NA6 atm which sadly isn't performing as it should.

The car seems to ride really rough, rattle a bit more than it should etc...

The car has 190k on the clock, so I wouldn't be suprised if the majority needs replacing. Since I will be doing most of it at the same time, is there anything else i should take in to consideration? Any way to test what does need replacing and what doesnt before I dissasemble?


Bushes - Superpro
Shocks - KYB from ebay
Springs - Kings

Not of much relevance, but will prob be keeping the stock rims for now (save some cash for the suspension) and getting C-Drives all around.

That general set-up is taken from what seems to be the general consensus on the boards of the value for money etc.. I know there are better parts for more $$$ but would that be a recommended setup. Mainly wondering about how the KYB will react with Kings, or if whiteline etc is better....

Thanks guys

[StanTheMan]

OK...here we go



many options

depending how bad your suspension rattles are. To save cost you could change the bushes on the sway bar & sway bar end links only. It made a decent difference with my car. I would have been very happy for qute some time with this in hindsight. How ever if your suspension is bad enough it may be worthwhile to do the lot. You will get the whole kit cheaper if you buy it in 1 hit.

Decision time.



If you are going to do the whole lot. do some serious research on the super pros. There others which may be better.
I find the superPros just a little too harsh. But thats on top of my fairly stiff suspension anyway. Maybe I'm getting Old & Grumpy. but I find it to stiff now & need to re-think the suspension. don't get me wrong....its awsome on a nice new piece of road.....but when it get bumpy. I now start jumpmg holes.
You are heading in the same direction with the springs & shocks. So do some very careful research.
The other bushes I was close to purchasing was these. Not sure how they compare to the superpro's or if they are any better. but the full kit is just short of $900 landed
http://www.mx5parts.co.uk/product_info. ... 3a29180b38

the other alternative is to replace all the bushes with OEM parts. But that means also about $900 and they will only last about 100K km.

So if you decide on the Super Pro kit.
shop around. I personally wouldn't worry about getting the Camber offset bush kit. For a road car......now that i have it.....is point less.

There is a few places who sell them now.

MX5 Mania $590
N*Power $450
RaceSuplies $503


here is a bit of fun when a few dodgy peeps got together recently
Stans Dodgy Day


So my advise is tread very carfully. Check out those bushes from the UK. yes at almost twice the price......They'd have to be a siteload better. So do some serious homework.

you should also allow about $300 or more to let a professional to do it for you. If you decide to have a dodgy day...... should be less than $120 for beers wignzz & BBQ.

[Basstones]

Thanks, thats exactly the sort of info i need. Considering that the car spends 99% of its time on brisbane roads, with occasional spirited driving/track work. So I am looking for a nice balance between comfort and performance (Ie I am getting sick of feeling every single bump on the story bridge rattle the whole car)

I admit I haven't done much research on the bushes before today, so hoping to get some more time in tomorrow to really suss out the situation. It did get the general idea that most people on here had got the superpros? but there are different levels arent there? (ie race,street)

Had a quick look at the noltec site, then decided to save that for when I am slightly more awake haha Will research that tomorrow i suppose...

I would rather match my bushes to shocks/springs rather than the other way around anyway, so with that in mind, what would be recommended?

[JBT]

You could take the car over to Fulcrum Moorooka and get them to give you an assessment/quote of what needs replacement/repair and then decide what to do.

[Garry]

Have you fitted any of the extra under car braces? They really tighten up the chassis.

[Basstones]

Have you fitted any of the extra under car braces? They really tighten up the chassis.

Yep, tower, strut and sway bars were put on by Mx5plus when I bought the car

[Bevan]

Have you fitted any of the extra under car braces? They really tighten up the chassis.

Yep, tower, strut and sway bars were put on by Mx5plus when I bought the car

Na, he means actualy underbody bracing. Things like this that actually bolt onto the chassis:

[ampz]

Maybe have a meet with some QLD boys with similar setups to what you are thinking of.

I have superpros with KYB and standard NB springs. The car rides great.
The shocks are most comfortable on the softest setting (duh) and take about 30 seconds to stiffen them up.

I can drive over almost everything (scraped exhaust tip today coming off some detailing ramps ) an unless I have the 16s wi way overused tyres the suspension feels great.

If you can conmpare what you have with another mx5 It makes a huge difference

[zoomzoom]

You should come out sometime when a few of us meet up and have a ride in some of our cars. Both Boags and I are running king/kyb and they seem to work pretty well,. I wouldn't bother going much better ie coilovers, even with these and a couple other fairly minor but quite effective suspension mods I am able to be quite competitive with alot of the faster guys in the club in newer and more powerful cars. And as for the adjustable shocks, I have never moved them from the softest setting.

As for the bushes, unless they are shagged I wouldn't bother doing them either, unless that is you are looking to be highly competitive on the track or something. My car has over 200K on it on wat I assume to be stock bushes and still seems to go pretty well.