AGX Shocks and new FM springs

[HudsonHawk]

All I can say is WOW. I am pretty certain the shocks that were on the car were shot. But the car drives so much beter with the new shocks and springs that I have to give some credit to the springs. Body roll is noticably less and it absorbs the road so much better now.

Thumbs up to the new FM springs.

[CraiginTX]

Enquiring minds want to know: The ride is still acceptable for the street? How's the ride height? Measurements? Pics, perhaps?

Congrats on the new suspension,

Craig

[Billy Blaze]

Congrats!
I have the same set-up, what settings are you running on the KYB AGX's?
I usually keep mine at 2 all the way around for street driving and 3 in the front and 2 in the rear for autocross.

[mvalant]

Cool! Glad it works so well - I'm about to do the same things to mine.

[HudsonHawk]

It dropped a stock '94 about 1/2 inch on each corner. I have the shocks set to 4 all the way around. So far it is much better on the road then it was pervious. It absorbs the road much better now and a lot less body roll.

[HudsonHawk]

No pics during the install. But here is the finished product.



The tires are 195/60r14.
front closeup

rear closeup

[Adam Payrot]

I would adjust the front shocks 1 or 2 higher than the rears... 2 or 3 in the rear and 4 or 5 in the front.

[Sharpie]

I've had my AGX's about 2 years and run 4 in the front and 3 in the back, like Adam said.

[HudsonHawk]

with the near 50/50 weight distibution, why do you set the rear 1 notch lower?

[mvalant]

with the near 50/50 weight distibution, why do you set the rear 1 notch lower?

Well, the short answer is that it works. A slightly longer answer is that the dynamics of the car favor a slightly softer rear shock setting, which promotes good traction under acceleration, especially over surface irregularities. It also deters power-on oversteer (not that my own tired Miata has much of a problem with that!).

BTW, when I saw you today, you were just about finished with the rears and were moving to the fronts. How difficult did they turn out to be? Any trick to it?

[HudsonHawk]

Yeah, follow the directions on FM's site. It was easy to do once I got the bolts holding the upper a-arms out. And the spring compressor worked great once the shocks were out of the car.

[altiain]

BTW, when I saw you today, you were just about finished with the rears and were moving to the fronts. How difficult did they turn out to be? Any trick to it?

You've come to the right place, m'boy.

Post up here when you're ready to do the swap, and you'll probably get some veteran volunteers willing to help out with the install.

If you decide to do it yourself and you're reasonably mechnically inclined (which I would expect out of someone who desigend their own harness bar!), expect to do the first shock swap in 5-6 hours. The longest part of the job is compressing the springs and disassembling the stock spring/shock units.

[mvalant]

You've come to the right place, m'boy.

Post up here when you're ready to do the swap, and you'll probably get some veteran volunteers willing to help out with the install.

If you decide to do it yourself and you're reasonably mechnically inclined (which I would expect out of someone who desigend their own harness bar!), expect to do the first shock swap in 5-6 hours. The longest part of the job is compressing the springs and disassembling the stock spring/shock units.

Thanks! Can't wait to get those blankety-blank racing beat springs off the car. The bump stops are getting very tired.

[BAM!]

hows your alignment?

[HudsonHawk]

The alignment is good.

[CraiginTX]

So, how are the FMs working out, Hawk? Is the ride acceptable and off the bumpstops? Stock rear mounts? Did you cut the stock bumpstops?

A million questions, I know - but I'm trying to decide what to do to my '96. Shocks are gone and it's time for a replacement...

Craig

[SirHustlerEsq]

with the near 50/50 weight distibution, why do you set the rear 1 notch lower?

corner scales typically put the car what is visually a little lower in the rear. However, the rear wheel well is smaller than the front, so it looks lower.