That is currently up in the air, but once the nice lady who drives the '02 is tired of it it will be gone.....Originally Posted by Titus
We would like to add a few things to it to add to it's "blingness", one of the things was to drop it a touch, and there has been talk of a roll bar and possibly adding some belt driven boost......
POS is right, as of right now there is not a color combo that Mazda has that I would trade the '02 in on so I'd like to add few things to Vivid and a different set of springs and shocks is a good place to start. I've been wanting to change those 2 items out for awhile now.
Hmmm... Perhaps you could hold some classes for some of the other Miata wives. I think there is a lot that can be learned from you!
POS, IMVivid,
Since you are planning on buying both shocks and springs and you are looking for some more bling, I really think you should look into a set of TEIN Basics for the car. Height adjustable so you can get as much or little bling factor as you want.
I've never driven a car on Basics, but I'm sure they are probably more comfortable than the Flex coilovers I'm running now. I've got 500 lb springs up front and I think the car is definitely fine for daily driving. A well matched spring and damper is a good thing. Performance wise, I've been ecstatic with the results on my car.
If you think about the cost of buying springs ($200-250), shocks ($300-400), and new boots/bumpstops ($90), the price of the Basics looks very comparable. Just call Eddie at Adrenalineracing.com and tell him Thomas from TX sent you. He'll give you all the info you need. He's also got a discount for pointy board members (10% I think).
Sorry for the long post.
Thomas
V-to-the-Dub
Yep she is a true car gal! No need to sneak around and hide parts from her!Hmmm... Perhaps you could hold some classes for some of the other Miata wives. I think there is a lot that can be learned from you!
You should be!
We got a set of Bilstiens with a prior Miata purchase, was planning to use them on the '02, but a great point about the TEIN Basics as a good alternative!
Yep she is a true car gal! No need to sneak around and hide parts from her!
You should be!
We got a set of Bilstiens with a prior Miata purchase, was planning to use them on the '02, but a great point about the TEIN Basics as a good alternative!
People usually associate coilovers with $$$. I've tried to convince people to get the Basics for the NA instead of springs and shocks, think about the price comparison when you add shock mounts to the picture. The Basics have shortened shock bodies for more suspension travel when the car is lowered.
Thomas
V-to-the-Dub
Gary also sells TEIN, but he doesn't list the Basics on his site. You might want to give him a call to see what his price would be.
(Nothing against Eddie though... He has helped me in the past as well, but well, Gary is Gary, and Gary is in Plano.)
If you send him enough business will Gary take that lien off your house Titus??(Nothing against Eddie though... He has helped me in the past as well, but well, Gary is Gary, and Gary is in Plano.)
BTW I am also a huge fan of Gary!
Not a chance!!!! I referred at least 2 sales to Gary last week, and when I asked him to bring a part from the office home so I could pick it up from him over the weekend, He tells me "Maybe". "Maybe". Thats it. That was his only email response. "Maybe". Now is that any way to treat one of your top salesman?If you send him enough business will Gary take that lien off your house Titus??
Hey Gary... I got 2 words for you... FREE PRODUCTS!
I can confirm that they didn't just apparently have problems with the old springs but absolutely did! I had my FM springs exchanged on my 90 twice within a year. Both times they settled to an extreamly low ride height just over 11 inches from wheel centre to fender!Of course this made the car ride on the bumpstops and such creating a horrible ride. The second time they just refunded my money and gave me a little discount on the GC kit!
90 MX5 281k miles! - euro spec, Porsche Riviera Blue w/black hardtop, 97 motor swap, vintage Borbet rims, GC, FM shock hats/frame rails/rear sub-brace, AGX, sway bar, stb, Fidanza/ACT combo, EBC Yellows
92 COMMA SM - new paint coming soon...
We put a set of TEIN S Tech springs on a 05 Mazdaspeed and they seeem to working real well for the owner.
They drop the car approximately -.87" F and -1.18" R. With spring rates of 230F and 170 rear. (The MSM has 215 lbs/in front and 158 lbs/in rear) so thats less than a 10% gain in stiffness. The FM springs are too stiff for the OEM Blitsein's (according to FM).
Gary can order them and they are about $180.
HHHMMM looks like it could be a decent way to go.
Linky!
I forgot all about those. I was over there when they installed them, and she was very pleased with it (once they read the instructions and went back to cut the bumpstops).
Cut the bumpstops on an NB????I forgot all about those. I was over there when they installed them, and she was very pleased with it (once they read the instructions and went back to cut the bumpstops).
Yep.... it was a Mazdaspeed. They ignored the bumpstop step at first and it looked like the car hadn't lowered as much as they hoped. They then re-read the instructions and went back and cut the bumps. The car dropped down and looked great. I didn't get to ride in it, but she said that it felt wonderful.
So it was resting on the bumpstops?? How much did they cut off to get it to ride on the springs??
I don't recall. You'll have to wait for Mike to log back in... he was doing the cutting. I do remember noticing that the Mazdaspeed bump was MUCH longer and more progressive than the NA bump. Not sure if this was a MSM thing or if this is the case for all NBs.
The NB have a different and cooler bump stop that the NAs.
The spec on those Tein springs just sounds tooo damn soft, think I may just go with the FM Springs.
Well if your using the OEM blisteins (as I thought you mentioned) FM does not recommend their springs. It says it right on their site. (QUOTE: FM Springs are not recommended with stock shocks - the higher spring rates are too much for stock shocks to handle. This includes the OEM Blistein when we called and asked). If your going with aftermarket shocks then it will be OK.
Remember that stock OEM spring are really soft - approximately 160 lbs/in F and 120 lbs/in R IIRC. The Factory Mazdaspeeds are stiffer than standard springs at 215 lbs/in front and 158 lbs.
Here is a spring rate comparison for reference:
- Racing Beat Street springs are 190 F and 147 R
- TEIN S Tech 230F and 170 R
------------------------------------------- Cut-off for OEM shocks
- FM 318 F and 233 R
- Ground Control 350F 275 R
- TEIN Basic, Flex 392 F and 336 R
The bumpstops for the '05 mazdaspeed were trimmed approximately a 1/2" on the front and 7/8" on the rear. There are varying opinions on trimming the bumpstops but this setup need it.
Personally I'd go with the FLEX setup. And when you sell the car just replace the OEM's and resell the Flex setup and lose about 2-300 bucks. But it will be worth it performance wise.
Last edited by 2K Miata; 05-19-2006 at 12:34 AM.
More numbers attached.
*FM Spring numbers on attached are for the old FM Springs. See Mike's post for New FM spring numbers.
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