Kings on stock shocks

[Matty]

stiff springs won't wear out shocks per se. My understanding is that if you lower a car, the piston starts rubbing a part of the shaft that it hasn't regularly contacted before, which increases the seal wear rate.

I just got a reply from Kings about fitting their springs to the SE shocks:

We have King Springs Part No's KMFL-88 (front - 175-250lb/" progressive rate) & KMRL-89 (rear - 140-220lb/" progressive rate) to lower your vehicle approximately 30-35mm from factory std NB height. The Bilsteins will be more than capable to control the added spring rate.

FWIW the standard NB springs are 162F/118R and the SE springs are 215/158

[crzymx]

What dangers are involved with having shocks that have been destroyed.

[meanmx]

I had king springs on my stock shocks for about a year before they wore out. It is my perception that not neccesarily aftermarket springs but lowered springs in particular will wear out your shocks faster. How fast depends on the condition of the shocks in the first place of course. Lowered springs on standard shocks means that there is less travel able to be utilised in the shock itself, which is why shorter shocks are recommended for lowered cars. Also with the NA you had to worry about the whole bumpstop issue as you will be essentially riding on the bumpstops constantly. Not sure if that is as much of a problem on the NB's due to their redesigned top hats but places like fatcat motorsport can fix that up if it is a problem. Worn shockies will result in longer stopping distances and less control around corners. I felt the biggest indicator on my car was the increased jarring over road defects. Don't skimp too much on the handling side as that is what makes the mx5 so brilliant.

Ben

[der baron]

This has been an interesting thread gents. I just acquired a 98 NB8A, and am considering changing the springs over.

I have been searching for the 'right' springs...

* Pedders
* King Springs
* Whiteline
* Eibach
* TEIN

any thoughts as to which manufacturer is best suited? I will be getting shocks once my Bilsteins pack it in

cheers

[crzymx]

From my understanding, tein are very stiff as they arer designed for foreign roads which seem to be more 'advanced' than ours. Eibachs seem to have a good following, dont know about pedders and kings have to be your most common. Ive seen a king/bilstein combo before and i dont see why not. Im pretty sure they are the cheapest and they doo the job, bang for buck. However it depends on your preference and how pedantic you are about your suspension.

[philz]

Eibach or Tein

[der baron]

Eibach or Tein

yeah, I think the Eibach's are the go. Will keep everyone posted

[Matty]

Everything I've seen about the Eibachs on the NBs suggests they're too low for the spring rate.

Teins are about 10% stiffer than the SE springs.

Kings are 'progressive' but I don't know at what point in the travel the progressive nature is fully absorbed - probably at their standard ride height.

I'm hanging out for some FM springs when I get to the US.

[tassone56]

I just dont want the shocks going on me.

If you are worried, then get Koni's or KYB shocks, do it once do it right.

What's the point spending $200 for installing the springs, later on they may leak, then spend an extra $200 on removing and installing the shocks+springs.

I guess it just depends, on whether that $200 is important to you.

mm.. Find me a place that can do half decent spring and shock setup for $400 and ill get them to install it for me tomorrow..

seriously some bastard quoted me $850 for a set of stupid pedders springs today, i went to pedders and they quoted me $580, then some other guy quoted me $500 for the SAME SPRINGS. I know they change in labour costs.. but cmon.. After all that, i found out these springs dont even lower my car the slightest bit. All these guys r talking out of their ass. i went to heaps of places for quotes today.. one guy said kings r bad, another said kmac is the way to go, another said kmac and king r exactly the same, another says there both useless and that i should get 'lovells' sum1 even suggested some "jumbo springs"? they all talk up their own product, and say that if u get anything else, your shocks, tyres, exhaust, ride comfort, steering, headlights, air con, rear-view mirror, paintwork, spouse, self-esteem, closest friends, first child and/or future career is most definately going to come to a sudden end in its life.

By the end of it all im fed up with the lot of them.. i have half a mind on reaching for the old hack-saw and doin a bit of DIY. Or even worse.. buying a set of $100 adjustable coilovers from ebay and wacking them in over the weekend with nothing but a car jack, a miata.net write-up, and my friend Gary who was a modestly successful vacuum cleaner nozzle salesperson.

[philz]

Don't go to pedders.

Even a PERFORMANCE shop, will do it for $250 max.

At a normal mechanic shop, they will do it for cheaper.

Bob jane, or bridgestone centres can also do this job.

OR even look at mx5mania.... one of our sponsors?
http://www.mx5mania.com.au/suspension.htm


EDIT: I have just realised what you have just said.
I was talking about price of getting springs installed, not the cost of springs + shocks.

[tassone56]

Oh i see, my bad. Yeah that all makes sense now.

mx5 mania seems like a good option.. the shop is like 15mins from my house n i had no idea haha

is it hard to install the springs urself tho? (or with the help of gary) cos labours heaps expensive.

i duno what hijacking is.. but if i just did it... sorry.

[philz]

It's not rocket science, but you do need to know what you are doing.

It's a bit more fiddling around compared to full coilovers, since you have to use spring compressors.

[crzymx]

You dont EXACTLY have to use spring compressors. I was quite fine with the pneumatic and a bit of caution, just have to do it in sequence so it doesnt pop off too quickly. But i guess thats not advisable for most people to do. The hardest part really is getting the shock off, you have to drop the camber arms, unless theres a better way but this is all i could come up with.

Basically theres bolts on the top of the strut towere, 2 on either side, one in the middle. The two on the other side secure the shock to the chassis, and theres a single bolt on the bottom that secures it to the chassis aswell. Its pretty tricky if you dont know what your doing and this is one thing you dont want to trial and error with. Even if you have a mechanic mate its not that hard!

[philz]

But it's safer to use a compressor.

You don't want a loaded spring smashing into your chest or face, precaution is better than cure.

[crzymx]

Oh yeah ofcourse, ive heard of someone who died from copping a compressed spring in the face.
I had the assembly on the ground ofcourse with the end pointing away from anything. Oh well you think thats dangerous, you try watching your 86 y/o grandfather balancing on a plank of wood on the frame of the new gazebo hes building..