pillowball or rubber mounts

GP14 · Postby **GP14** » Thu Jan 09, 2014 10:29 pm

Did a quick search but need some real world opinions on those that have coilovers with pillowball mounts for street use. They are recommended more for track use so are they rough/er over bumps on the street? Do you notice any more noise/crashing? Obviously those who have had previous setups with rubber mounts can comment on the difference.

cheers

sailaholic · Postby **sailaholic** » Fri Jan 10, 2014 9:06 am

I could be wrong but I thought the hard/soft mounting question was more applicable to strut suspensions as movement in the strut meant movement in the wheel alignment.

Yes they will be rougher over bumps as any load going into the damper shaft it directly transmitted to the chassis rather then softened by the rubber.

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hks_kansei · Postby **hks_kansei** » Fri Jan 10, 2014 9:09 am

sailaholic wrote:I could be wrong but I thought the hard/soft mounting question was more applicable to strut suspensions as movement in the strut meant movement in the wheel alignment.

Yep.

On an MX5 (well, NA and NB, not sure what suspension design the NC has) it won't make any difference to alignment etc, a rubber option would likely have a little more give before the spring compresses, but we'd be talking about a couple of MM at most (estimating here)

The factory tophats are rubber bushed.

project.r.racing · Postby **project.r.racing** » Fri Jan 10, 2014 12:27 pm

doesn't matter ride quality wise - both options have rubber between the springs and whatever metal object captures the springs.

GP14 · Postby **GP14** » Fri Jan 10, 2014 6:18 pm

Thanks guys. Yeah I was more concerned about increased noise etc over rubber mounts. Here's a snippet from the googlemachine

"While pillow ball mounts definitely increase a vehicle's handling and steering response, they do so at the cost of comfort. The metal bearings will transmit far more vibrations from the road, which will make the vehicle less comfortable. They can also rattle and squeak. This may be fine if the car in question is not a daily driver and used for recreational driving or track driving. However, if the car is dríven frequently on the street, pillow ball mounts may be too extreme."

I just need to know those who have them, do you feel they are acceptable, comfortable enough to warrant them for street or is rubber better off.

cheers

sailaholic · Postby **sailaholic** » Fri Jan 10, 2014 6:31 pm

project.r.racing wrote:doesn't matter ride quality wise - both options have rubber between the springs and whatever metal object captures the springs.

Yeah, but there is no rubber between the shock ram and the chassis on a pillow ball mount.

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Steampunk · Postby **Steampunk** » Fri Jan 10, 2014 8:08 pm

I forgot whose car I drove, and shotgunned, for a goodly distance that had pillowballs but it was not a pleasant experience.
Having said that, GP14, if you can tolerate the Energy Suspension bushes then one would assume you can tolerate pillowballs.

project.r.racing · Postby **project.r.racing** » Sat Jan 11, 2014 10:25 am

sailaholic wrote:
project.r.racing wrote:doesn't matter ride quality wise - both options have rubber between the springs and whatever metal object captures the springs.

Yeah, but there is no rubber between the shock ram and the chassis on a pillow ball mount.
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If the shock is working properly, it shouldn't be much of an issue.

Point is that the springs take up most of thw weight/vibrations etc. Both pillow ball and non pillow ball versions have spring isolators/rubbers on the spring heads and feets.

Yes pillow ball versions are a little tougher on your bum compared to non pillow ball versions. But if you just increased your springs rates by 4x. Then the difference in ride quality isn't gonna be ball related, it's gonna be spring/damper related.

speed freak · Postby **speed freak** » Sat Jan 11, 2014 5:45 pm

Iv got BC BR coilovers (street and track version) with the pillowball mounts in my nb8b. Mine is daily dríven with the occasional track day and I don't have any issue with mine on the street. Im still running on the factory 16" wheels (so lower profile tyre then most of the guys running 15s) and I don't find it rough. Ill be honest its a firm ride but its not uncomfortable. Highly recommend them especially if you go on track days. I haven't dríven one with the rubber mounts but they would wear out quicker under hard cornering etc.