Seems like nobody hear is busting your stones for asking this. I thank everyone for that. Flyin Miata does have an awfully nice budget priced Miata suspension, but I think it is a little more than what you are trying to pay. Sometimes the pleasure of doing something right is remembered, long after the extra $150 it costs is forgotten.
In reply to Tim Suddard:
Theres a reason that the latest posts page of the forum is my homepage on my desktop and phone. This place is truly magic.
As far as the price goes, its a numbers game. I get reimbursed for mileage at 54 cents a mile. The goal is to turn a profit from miles to supplement my income so my wife can continue to be a stay at home mom. That means minimal investments with maximum returns on car, parts, and maintenance.
Half the reason I want a Miata is so I can buy stuff from FM, so I guess I would try to find a way to stretch the budget a bit.
Considering the VMaxx set is $659 new from FM, the used set for $600 seems a bit steep, so maybe there is some wiggle-room in that price. I'd offer him $450 and see if the seller will negotiate down to your $500 point.
Go with Koni STRT and cut a bit from the springs. I'd much rather have a quality damper with stock springs than a crap shock that's going to be under damped and blow in short order.
My experience has been that nice shocks with stock springs are usually a better experience than the other way around. I think the Koni STR.T has a pretty good warranty and they are basically Yellows that aren't adjustable. With those and some good bump stops you might not get the look you want but the car should feel a heck of a lot better, and the warranty means you should have no problems getting them replaced if you cook one on your crappy roads.
I second watching the forums/eBay/CL for a cheap used set of springs though.
As far as which FCM bump stops to use there is a great guide on their website
If it's "save your money" that's important, then I'll say it. SAVE YOUR MONEY I've just returned from a California road trip, and I'll tell you now that screwing around with a lowered Miata suspension isn't going to make those crappy roads better. Suck it up and drive on the crappy stock shocks.
If you want a good ride invest in a rallycross suspension with more travel. Otherwise you are wasting your money.
I DD's my '99 Miata for almost 15 years. If you want to lower it, and not hit the bump stops, that requires stiffer springs. Stiffer springs = harsher ride.
IMHO, unless you have very rusted springs like I now have on my car, I'd stick with the original ones. If you had the budget, FM has some springs that are very close to the originals with a slight drop in height. That's my planned replacement. (Along with shocks that are a matched set- for a reasonable ride.)
Shocks, OTOH, I would swap- I put some "cheap" adjustable one in, which, by the time I put them in my car, were far superior to the original ones- because they just wore out.
The other thing- check your bushings. It's possible that they have started to compress and make you feel like you are hitting the bump stops, too.
Lastly- tires. DO NOT GET LOW PROFILE TIRES if the goal is to wrack up relatively comfortable miles. I have my original 14" wheels, and intend to keep using them- Even with the original profile, they have plenty of grip for the real world, and don't sacrifice ride for grip that I have no use for as much as great racing tires.
In reply to maj75:
Care to educate me on a rallycross suspension? This is an avenue i had considered, but not investigated.
Alfa:its a California car. Springs are barely dirty, let alone rusted. Again, lowering was pretty far down the list. You make a good point about tires. I still have the stock 14s, but the 15s with 205/50 didnt seem to affect the ride quality at all. May be because the struts are dead. So i will revisit the 14s for back to back testing. I have also checked for worn components and bushings. I did not find any, which doesn't mean there aren't any. Just that they aren't bad enough to find yet.
Bumpstops: im seeing talk about civic/integra/honda bumpstops, but cant seem to find any consistency of information. Any ideas there?
Dusterbd13 wrote: Bumpstops: im seeing talk about civic/integra/honda bumpstops, but cant seem to find any consistency of information. Any ideas there?
I posted a link to the guide on FCMs website a little ways up.
They also break down the reasoning behind their products here.
Some generally good info in the first few links here too
Which modern foam bump stops isn't critical, you are just fine tuning a large improvement over the old Mazda hockey pucks by selecting different bump stop lengths and foam quality.
In reply to pointofdeparture:
I looked through it. Stated 46mm linear is what i want. Im also trying to understand WHY i want that, as well as all the options. Make an informed decision, if you will. It may be an exercise in futility and i order straight from fm or fatcat, it may not be.
Edit: you answered this while i was typing it.
If you really start digging you can find some charts like this out there:
So, the plan:
Stock springs, stock height.
46mm bumpstops from fatcat.
Replacement struts/mounts.
Options are:
Sensen: 85 shipped
Ast(ebay) 115 shipped
Kyb 325 shipped
Koni str.t 300 shipped
Minroe 400 at the parts store
Ive had sensen before. 50-75k life expectancy, ride like a monroe or Gabriel.
Ebay ast: have some on the elky. Feel just like the wore out bilstiens i had, just slightly smoother.
Koni: only ever had the set that was factory installed on my acr, but they were incredible.
Never had any experience with the kyb excel g, koni str.t, or monroe in miata fitment.
My wallet says sensen, lust says koni.
What says the hive?
And can i order the 46mm through flyin miata? I didn't see them on the website.
I think I got my FCM from Goodwin, if FM doesn't carry. Maybe it was 5X, can't recall atm.
I've always been a fan of KYBs, and with Vogtland springs it makes for a comfortable drop system, but I skipped that combo on the Miata.
My boy beat the crap out of that combo for a good couple years (like, perpetual autox and less than stellar Tucson roads - not a Miata...), held up well.
If budget is king, I've read a lot of good things about Sensen and stock springs, so I think that's your answer.
Late to this party (based on the thread title, I thought it was about Catholicism), but I'm running KYB Excel-G, 46mm FCM bumpstops, and stock springs on my '91 Miata. It rides about as cushy as an NA possibly can, but with Star Specs and an aggressive alignment, it's still fun to autocross. Lots of body roll, but it "eases" onto the bumpstops instead of crashing onto them, if that makes any sense.
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