Need Shocks for NC

[5isalive]

Hi everyone.

I've recently purchased a second hand 2007 NC. I like the extra power from the 2.0lt compared to my NB, but this stock suspension is like riding a marshmallow.

Does anyone have any suggestions as to what shocks would be the best option in giving the car a firmer ride without spending a fortune?

Do I need coilovers, springs or both?

What brands should I look for and what ones should I avoid?

Is 2nd hand an option I should consider?

I've heard people talking about "Bilsteins", "Teins" and "D2 Racing". I've also just found some coilovers called "MeisterR", but they seem a little pricey at $1,400.

I won't be racing the car at all, so they don't have to be the best kid on the block.

Anyhow, I'd appreciate any advice you can pass on.

Thank you in advance of a reply,

Wayne.

[Charlie Brown]

Look down 8 post topics and you'll get your answer.

[5isalive]

Mate, I can't find the topic you suggested. The only thing I can find on NC suspension is over 12 years old.
Can you just point me in the right direction as to what most people seem to be buying for NC's?

[JBT]

Start here: http://mx5cartalk.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=30&t=74236

[5isalive]

Thanks JBT for getting me to the post that Charlie Brown had suggested to me. I'm damned if I could find it, but anyhow there's certainly some food for thought in it, however, I'm unsure of what option I should take.

As I said earlier, there's very little chance I'll ever be doing any track time, but I still want to be able to drive it reasonably hard through the twisties without feeling like I'm driving a boat.

So I guess what I need to know is... Which would be the best way of achieving a solid drive with very little dive and squat, and hopefully, minimal body roll as well, all without breaking the bank?

After purchasing the car only a week ago, I have a maximum budget of $1,500 which would include any labour costs.

I should also add that my NC is a hard top, which I'm pretty certain would make it more top heavy compared to a soft top version.

So if anyone's been in a similar situation and achieved a successful set up on a tight budget, I'd appreciate some input as to how you managed it.

Thanks again for any help.

[Sailor]

On a road car the Tokico HTS are absolutely superb for the price.

[JBT]

The Tein Flex Z are about the most affordable coilovers going at the moment and you won't get any change out of $1500 for supply/fit/wheel alignment. I doubt any of the spring & shock combos will work out any cheaper.

[Luke]

Are you more worried about body roll(left/right motion) or diving/squat(front/back motion) of the car?
Do you want the car lowered or are you happy with the current ride height?
Did your NB have standard suspension?
I find your driving experience with the NC a bit odd regarding dive.
To me driving a standard NC hard on the track I found that it dives less under brakes than NB's do but has far more body roll.
Outside pictures would indicate this as well. My NB SE when standard which has almost twice as stiffer springs as a standard NC would have its rear sky high under brakes. The NC, not so much. But roll was the opposite. The NC looks like it was going to fall over.

If it is just the body roll that is bothering you, you may just be after sway bars.
Used sway bars show up from time to time in the used parts section but get taken up quite quickly. There is nothing really to go wrong with them.
New ones are cheap anyway and cost bugger all to install.

If you do want to lower the ride height and have a firmer ride go with a Shock and Spring option as suggested already. They will generally be quieter and more comfortable than most coil over systems which I would avoid if not tracking the car. They should cost more than coilovers to install as there is more work required as parts need to be used from your existing springs and shocks.
Once you start going with springs about twice as stiff or higher than standard having a hardtop model makes little difference.
Tokicos with Flyin Miata springs seem popular. But they are $960 USD plus shipping. A bit more than 2.5 times stiffer than stock and adjustable shocks.
Someone was selling a set of used Koni's and Flyin Miata springs recently for about $600 if you are not worried about buying something new. They are about $1050 USD new and use the same springs as the above Tokicos and are adjustable as well.
You may not require bigger swaybars with these options as they are stiffer already which will recduce roll dive and squat.
I would be more wary of buying used shocks though as there are things to go wrong with them over time. You would want proof from the seller that they have had them for a short period of time or low mileage. Past rego km's, receipt when bought etc.

There are springs for the standard shocks from various manufacturers, but they will only be about 20-30% stiffer than it is now as the standard shocks do not have the damping capabilities for stiffer springs. They will lower your height from 10-30mm depending on the brand. With this option you will need to consider springs specifically for the hardtop model as well making them harder to come by. You rarely will see these come up used for a hardtop model. My opinion is that they are more for looks, but they will reduce body roll a little bit.
They can be an option if fitting sway bars and you want a lower look with less body roll without a stiff ride.
Will be the same amount of work as fitting new shocks and springs so should cost the same.

[5isalive]

Thanks JBT, Sailor and Luke for your comments.

To Luke, I'd say I'm more concerned about the body roll if I had to choose one over the other, but first I suppose I should give you an understanding of how we typically use our MX-5.

I very rarely drive it by myself. My wife and I tend to travel the back roads together taking photos. She's 95 kilos and I'm 105 kilos, so we're no light weights, and the boot is usually filled with travel bags, cameras, lenses and a laptop. By this time, the car is pretty much chock-a-block.

I know most people would say "just get a bigger car", but we love getting away with the roof down and wish to continue doing so. We found that our NB didn't have enough power carrying all this weight, that's why we ended up buying the NC. It has the extra power we needed plus it has a wider cabin, so we really need the car to be set up with all that in mind.

To answer your question, the shocks on our NB were stock as far as I know, I never checked. They always felt up to the job so I had no concern or reason to have a look. They did tend to dive a bit under heavy braking but were pretty good as far as body roll was concerned. The car rolled a little but nothing that bothered me. When I set up for a corner it held its line with no adjustment needed mid corner and it always felt very stable. I was never worried as to how it handled, even with us and the gear as described above.

On the other hand, the NC feels like I'm constantly 2nd guessing and adjusting throughout the corner, which adds to the body roll, and often makes the rear end feel very light and that's with virtually nothing in the boot, which I suppose would only be exacerbated with our gear on board. Like I said, I "never" had this problem driving the NB.

In addition, the road feel coming through the steering wheel in the NC, I feel is quite vague compared to the NB, which I suppose is probably due to the hydraulic steering. Any thoughts?

[JBT]

Well the NB has hydraulic PS as well - unless it was removed.

You will be surprised the difference that Whiteline adjustable sway bars can make. Set to soft front and mid rear they transformed our NC. It was all we had on ours since 2009 until the addition of the Teins last year. Probably don't need them now and am considering going back to stock.

How many km has your car travelled? Maybe the shocks are dead.

[pepejesus]

Get a proper wheel alignment before you do anything with the shocks

[5isalive]

The car has 147,000 kms on the clock and I'm not sure if they've been changed in the past. I've also heard that the Whitepower sway bars are expensive. I was however looking at the Progress Technologies sway bar set for front and back. What's the consensus on these?

I've also been checking out different forums as well to get a guage on what people are doing to their NC's. Some are suggesting full under body braces while others are going for sway bars. Would any of these options help with the problem I'm experiencing or should I just concentrate on the shockies? I think I may have opened a can of worms

[Mr Morlock]

I reckon the NC in standard form and good nick for suspension will be fine for what you want.quote "I very rarely drive it by myself. My wife and I tend to travel the back roads together taking photos. She's 95 kilos and I'm 105 kilos, so we're no light weights, and the boot is usually filled with travel bags, cameras, lenses and a laptop. By this time, the car is pretty much chock-a-block"
I changed the rear shockers for new ones on one of my cars and it made a big difference. If it were me I would be getting the vehicle checked and making sure as pepejesus suggested wheels are correctly aligned and of course the condition of existing shockers, tyres etc are checked. . I reckon JBT's fix sounds pretty easy and well worth checking out.

[JBT]

The car has 147,000 kms on the clock and I'm not sure if they've been changed in the past. I've also heard that the Whitepower sway bars are expensive. I was however looking at the Progress Technologies sway bar set for front and back. What's the consensus on these?

It has a lot of km so the shocks are probably well past their prime.There are quality shocks (some like Koni are adjustable) available but, your budget limit may be exceeded once you include shipping, fitting etc.. It sounds like you would want to keep the original springs with your loading concerns.

As with anything, you get what you pay for with suspension. Whiteline are known good quality sway bars. I think Fulcrum Suspension (Super Pro?) does a version of these too but I don't know how the price compares. Don't know anything about Progress but the Americans seem to think they are OK. I think they would cost more landed here than Whiteline anyway.

[5isalive]

Hey JBT.

I get the idea that you're selling your Whiteline sways? I wasn't sure if that's what you were saying in your comment or not. If so, how many kms have you done with them and what sort of money would you be asking if you were to sell them?

Thanks also to the other members who have joined in on the conversation. All input from those who have a much better idea than myself is very welcome.

A shot of our NB and NC below.