Entry Level suspension setup.

[Ollygt]

Hello all, now that I have joined the ranks of the Mixie owners, I have to look at bringing up the sad lil NA6 up to spec.
It's currently riding on shagged out RS*R springs and not sure what struts. Its too low and is bouncing all over the shop and off the bumpstops.

How is this sounding for starters? I will be doing them as I save money for them.

Goodwin - Strut mount conversion to '99-'05 MX-5 spec to allow better suspension travel.
Eibach Pro spring kit. (a friend mentioned that the King springs for this car didn't feel so good)
Set of Koni STR-T non adjustable struts (I'm not really confident about setting up adjustables plus the entry level adjustables seem to have some dubious durability issues)
Super Pro bushes
A front swaybar mount reinforcement kit (is this necessary?, I've heard that stiffer swaybars can pull the mount if used for autocross)
Whiteline Swaybars front and rear
Racing Beat Hymie links

[fattima]

What are you mainly going to use the car for? Track, daily use, weekend toy or a mix?
One thing to budget on is a new set of alignment bolts, they NA6 ones tend to be shagged out by now and were replaced by a better design.

[Ollygt]

Weekend toy for Mountain twisties, and maybe autocross if my budget will allow me Pretty much street only.
The NA6 has camber bolts? Do you still specify NA6 bolts or are they NB or 99-05 items?

[fattima]

Just ask for the NA6 bolts and Mazda will supply the later model NB type ones as they are the replacement part.

[Ollygt]

Thanks for the info Very helpful

[geofiz]

I have just been through this dillema, and finally decided on the following setup. I have a 99 NB, but the prices should still be about the same.

$239 - Tein S springs. These are a little lower than stock (25mm drop at front, 30mm drop at rear), and slightly stiffer.

$550 - Tokico Illumina 5 way adjustable shocks.

Fitted them myself over 2 nights after work

Results are truly fantastic. Crank the shocks up to 5, and I can tell you if the 5 cent piece on the road is heads or tails. Excellent for autokhanas, although I did back the rear down one notch to reduce the oversteer. Set them on 1, and the ride comfort is better than the 115K old oem set.

Front sway bar is next, along with end links.

The bushes were in surprisingly good condition. No free play or binding, and they had not gone rock hard or brittle.

Just my 2 cents worth.

[Locutus]

unless your car has done less than 100,000 kms your bushes will likely be worn. they will be shagged by 200,000 kms. you might not feel it but if you drive another mx with new bushes the difference is like night and day.

Its too low and is bouncing all over the shop and off the bumpstops.

this will likely still happen unless you raise the suspension backup to stock or near stock height - your car was designed to ride on the bump stops under cornering. any lowering shortens suspension travel and increase bump stop contact, and this is especially bad on the NAs. you can work around this by buying shorter bump stops or changing the rear top mounts with NB or after market (FM) ones.

imo by the time you've finished tinkering with all the bits and pieces you would have been better off buying an entry or mid level coilover setup that has adjustable lower shock mounts. you can get a set for around $1k + fitting now that the dollar is high. coilovers aren't the best for the street, but that way you aren't likely to want/need another upgrade for a while.

[Steampunk]

The Koni STR-T had unfavourable reviews over in the US forums. Steer clear.
Stick with Super Pro, ie. don't get too excited about getting harder bushes like Energy Suspension as they are bone-shakers.

My 2c: either get an entry level coilover set like BC or Yellow Speed, if your budget allows. Or go down same path as geofiz and many others and get "cheapy" combination. I found Eibach springs to be the cheapest reputable brand to buy online, and either Tokico or KYB adjustable dampers.

I bought a used set of Eibach springs and Koni Sport (yellow) dampers.
You should have come out on Friday as you could have had rides with many different setups.
There was Tein SS and Bilstein PSS9 that night

[fattima]

Stick with Super Pro, ie. don't get too excited about getting harder bushes like Energy Suspension as they are bone-shakers.

Interesting you've found that. I've installed and owned cars with both types of bushes and would be hard pressed to tell the difference on the road or track I reckon. Energy suspension was a little easier to install I found, but are both good kits.

[Ollygt]

The Koni STR-T had unfavourable reviews over in the US forums. Steer clear.

Really I read very favourable reviews, go with Kayabas then? I've tended to get Kyb gas shocks as replacements and I've liked them as an OEM replacement.

[Noddycar]

I recently fitted Energy bushes and Tokico adjustable shocks to my NA. I also fitted a set of FM bump stops to increase the travel, as my OEM shocks thumped the bump stops a lot on our horrible roads.It made a huge difference to the handling (getting rid of the 16" rims also helped!). The car feels a lot more lively through the steering wheel now (assume that is due to the bushes), but I had to turn the adjustable shocks onto quite a soft setting to improve comfort. While even on the softest setting they seem a little firmer than my OEM shocks, comfort and noise has been improved and the handling is fantastic. I considered changing my springs as well, but I was concerned about changing the ride height, due to a very difficult entry into my front yard. I have been really happy with the changes I made and accessing the top of the shock to change settings is a breeze. The fronts are the easiest, but the rears only take about two minutes to change if I feel like doing some spirited driving over Mt Glorious etc.

Before I changed the shocks I got rid of the 16" rims that had been fitted to it and went for a 15" rim, albeit a little less low profile. I was quite concerned about how this would affect the handling, but losing the extreme low profile did not seem to hurt the handling at all and certainly improved comfort/noise levels. It also got rid of the dreaded tram lining and reduced the thumping over pot holes, due to carrying a little less weight (I assume).

[project.r.racing]

It's currently riding on shagged out RS*R springs and not sure what struts. Its too low and is bouncing all over the shop and off the bumpstops.

This lead me to believe the shocks are shagged. The springs might/should be okay. RS*R are great springs, and if you can keep them and save some money, go for it.

I'd replace the shock only 1st, and see if the height and ride improve.

[Ollygt]

I doubt the height will change with the same springs, plus they're already 10 years old I think.
They've also sagged and softened a bit I think.

The Conversion to 99-05 strut mounts and bump stops will improve the travel.

[rob323]

Koni Sport adjustables and Kings Lows here. When set soft, they keep my wife happy, when firmed up a little, they keep me happy. And my acceptance criteria is based on the MCA suspension I have in my rally car so the King & Koni combo can't be all that bad.

[Boxer]

$550 - Tokico Illumina 5 way adjustable shocks.

Keen on these as we're really happy with the springs in our car, where are they available from.

Also, where can you get the FM bump stops?