Suspension Install Guide

[metris]

okay great thanks guys!
i removed and replaced the springs on the rear last night successfully using compressors, put the fear of god into me...
so i'll be doing the front tonight! yay...

its actually sitting dead even right now with the lowered springs at the back and the standard on the front!!! im worried its going to drop toooo low at the front now...

any previous experiences?

[Juffa]

You should find that the suspension will drop slightly over the next week or so (depending on how much driving you do).

Did you tighten the suspension while it was compressed, i.e. with the weight of the car on it?

J

[metris]

I DIDNT JUFFA!!! Should i loose it and re-tighten it now that its on the ground???
Man its a bitch to get to those rear left bolts!!!

Hey i recall reading somewhere on here about some mod that stops the car from lowering too much with lowered springs...
but i cant remember if it was for NA or NB, and ive been searching most of the morning for it and cant find it.
Anyone know about this mod or where i can find the info?

[Juffa]

I DIDNT JUFFA!!! Should i loose it and re-tighten it now that its on the ground???
Man its a bitch to get to those rear left bolts!!!

Hey i recall reading somewhere on here about some mod that stops the car from lowering too much with lowered springs...
but i cant remember if it was for NA or NB, and ive been searching most of the morning for it and cant find it.
Anyone know about this mod or where i can find the info?

Can't help with the mod to stop the car lowering too much, but as to the tightening the suspension. The other way to do it is to raise the car, and then using a jack, raise the suspension of each wheel thereby compressing the spring. With this done you still have easy access to all of the nuts/bolts.

Important
Do not compress the suspension to the point where the car is no longer securely resting on your car stands, or what ever you used to raise the car.

J

[mightyboy]

Thats a great link with all the pics, provided I manage to pic up some konis/kings I will be using that website constantly

[metris]

hmmm... i wana install the front springs tonight but am worried it'll be too low... anyone know?

okay one more question...

what are those lovely little plastic things that my mate and i forgot to pit in that sit between the body and the suspension mount..?

Please oh please tell me they arent important!!!????!!!

[Kvision]

those are just plastic gaskets....not sure if they're important or not though.

[Juffa]

While they are very thin plastic, they provide a tough smooth surface between the car body and shock body. I am told (see big fourm) that without them you are going to get a lot of noise. You could take her for a drive and see what you think, but if it was me I would be putting them back on. The good new is that you don't need to separate the spring from the shock body to do that.

J

[Juffa]

hmmm... i wana install the front springs tonight but am worried it'll be too low... anyone know?

(

Without knowing what brand/type of spring you are fitting it is hard for us to judge this. What information (if any) did the manufacturer supply?

J

[Juffa]

On this site which is linked from the page you gave, it says:

"A Miata even with its stock suspension corners on the bumpstops essentially all the time."

Just wondering how true this statement is.... ?

I have seen that statement (or similar before) on the big forum. The bumpstops on the MX-5 are an intergral part of the suspension design, and from what I understand that statement is true. That is why when lowering the car is important to consider modifying/replacing the bumpstops to ensure you keep sufficent suspension travel, while not adversly affecting the handling.

J

[metris]

That is why when lowering the car is important to consider modifying/replacing the bumpstops to ensure you keep sufficent suspension travel, while not adversly affecting the handling.

Okay thanks! ... well its all done!!! front springs are in... theyre the lowered King Springs, and theyre looking looooow... a little concerned since i dont want to rip the guts out of my car on every speed hump...

i hope to do the shocks next anyway (KYB AGX) so i'll see how it feels with the bump stops as is, and if its crap it'll give me a hurry along to replace the shocks. Are the AGX bump stops okay out of the box?

I was hoping the job of changing springs wouldnt be too difficult and therefore i could swap (not too regularly) between the standard and lowered depending... but after doing finishing last night I think id rather just work a crap load of overtime and buy some height adjustable ones...

what is the cheapest height adjustable suspension?