flex setting

[dark shadow]

i got my new flex coilovers on yesterday. i was wondering where i should have them set other than the 8/8 the instructions say and where exactly the ride height should be,
i also got my mazdaspeed motor mounts and was wondering if anyone had some tips for putting them in.
thanks in advance
tim

[Radio-Active]

i also got my mazdaspeed motor mounts and was wondering if anyone had some tips for putting them in.
thanks in advance
tim

How about asking TailChaser

Linkie

[johnwag]

i got my new flex coilovers on yesterday. i was wondering where i should have them set other than the 8/8 the instructions say and where exactly the ride height should be,
i also got my mazdaspeed motor mounts and was wondering if anyone had some tips for putting them in.
thanks in advance
tim

I run 10/12 on my car as do most of the other guys with the flex's. Remember to go to full stiff, then set it. As far as ride height, I believe Gary's settings are 12 and 3/8 inches in the front and 12 and 5/8 inches in the rear. This is from the center of the hub to the fender lip.
Maybe 2K Miata will chime in and verify the accuracy of my numbers.

Now go get your car aligned by AJ.

[MoonieGT]

Are most of the Flex users running the "stock" rates of 396 lb/in front and 336 lb/in rear or some other rates?

[trickyrix]

I run 10F/12R on the street, with the standard spring rates - which translate to 7/6kg (I think). Johnwag's ride heights are what I'm running, IIRC.

Remember, clockwise = stiffer. And that first CCW click to back it off can be touchy.

[jeff_man]

Remember, clockwise = stiffer.

[juxt3r]

This thread's almost three years old. Outstanding!

Are most of the Flex users running the "stock" rates of 396 lb/in front and 336 lb/in rear or some other rates?

As to rates, I have one set on the standard 7/6 springs, another on 9/6. If I had to guess, I'd say "most" Flex owners stick with the standard rates, at least upon initial purchase.

[MoonieGT]

I guess what I should have asked is should I get the standard 7/6 springs or opt for more of a split like 9/6? I thought there was supposed to be a larger difference in spring rates front to back...

[ckearns]

I've got the mono flex coilovers that come with 10k front and 8k rears. A 9k/6k front to rear bias sounds pretty significant, but it may work well depending on how they're going to be used (street/track/autocross).

The guys at TDR have done some spring swapping with the flex kit and may be able to chime in as to how the 10k/8k springs work and whether the shocks would benefit from a revalve due to the higher rates.

Chris

[MoonieGT]

Thanks Chris. I'm working on turning my car into a track toy, but I'd still drive it around town too. Reading through the Fatcat site has brainwashed me into thinking that the front to back ratio should be larger than 7/6. I might be interested in running an X/6 or a 7/X if I could do so without a revalve. Just wanted to hear from the masses about preferred rates for the Flex.

[SixAce]

On my '94, I'm running standard flex but with 10f/7r, which I believe to be max before revalve. So far so good, no issues and feels good on the track and ok on the street, (big RB bar up front, stock rear). On the '90 I run GC w/ 700f/450r (same bars) which is great on track, but I would not recommend for much street use.

Still running the middle settings on the flex (8/, but thinking on bumping them up as my track speeds increase w/seattime (someday).

I've actually considered swapping the entire suspensions between the cars to get the harder setup on the 94, mostly just to handle the low ride height and possible rubbing on bigger tires, but the fender roll and liner removal by the TDR crew worked and resulted in no rubbing issues at the lower height, and since the car still exceeds my abilities, the swap plan is on hold until I can't get anymore tenths out of it as it is.

just two more cents from the masses.

[Bubba 417]

My Teins are 10K front and 8K rear, full stiff. AX only, not street legal.

[MoonieGT]

I'm still a month and a half off from buying a set of flexes, but how do you set up the ride height. I may be confused all together, but you can change the height by adjusting the shock length or by changing the spring perch height correct? I assume you want to maximize the suspension travel... is that done by setting the spring perch as low as is practical and then adjusting ride height with the shock length?

[ckearns]

Ride height is set by adjusting the height of the spring perches on the damper body. I think the target height is 12.5 to 12.75 inches from the center of the hub to the lip of the fender well. There's an alternate measure if you want to use the pinch weld seams on the bottom of the car (but mine have been mauled, so I don't use them). Lower ride height yields lower roll centers, lower CG, and increased camber which results in higher grip, but the thing that stops you from going too low is the bump stops - hitting them is generally frowned upon and often results in a loss of control. The test for suspension travel is to put a zip tie on the damper shaft, go for a drive, and measure how high the zip tie has moved up the shaft. The target (IIRC) is 1 to 1.25 inches of travel, where the suspension has a total of 1.5 inches before it gets to the bump stops.

You can also set ride height to put rake in the car - this affects static front to rear weight bias and generally will increase grip at the end of the car that is closer to the ground (and decrease grip at the other end, so be wary!).

Chris

[MoonieGT]

But the flex allows you to adjust the shock length as well as the spring perch height. How should the body length be adjusted?

[juxt3r]

I have a printout of how to do initial setup for Flex, as well as a pdf on disc from Emilio. Just give me another week or so to dig everything out (just moved), and I'll make a copy for whoever might want such a thing.

[MoonieGT]

Awesome, thanks.

[juxt3r]

Sorry for the delay...things are still a bit of a mess in certain aspects.