NA6 Suspension upgrade research

[ave]

Hi fellow MX5 ers, as the title suggests I am researching upgrading the suspension in my NA6.

I know the question has been asked before and found the following particularly useful:
http://mx5cartalk.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=30&t=35896&hilit=NA+bilstein&start=30
http://mx5cartalk.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=30&t=31271&hilit=NA+bilstein&start=30
http://mx5cartalk.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=30&t=42565&hilit=FCM
http://mx5cartalk.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=30&t=43350
http://mx5cartalk.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=30&t=45849&p=577931&hilit=NA+bilstein#p577931
http://mx5cartalk.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=30&t=44107&p=561517&hilit=NA+bilstein#p561517
http://mx5cartalk.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=30&t=31802&hilit=NA+bilstein&start=30

So if you haven't guessed already I am leaning towards Bilstein shocks, but before I get onto that I'll give you the basics.

Car: 1990 Aussie NA6, done ~140,000 kilometers, everything completely stock.
Use: Daily dríven, but on weekends taken for 2-3 hour drives which includes everything from highway to suburban streets (with speed bumps) and most importantly a fair amount of twisty roads.

Aim: I want to stiffen up the suspension, but do not want to completely kill the ride quality. At the moment I feel the level of smoothness over bumps and the ability of the suspension to soak up road defects and pot holes is acceptable. I want the suspension to be stiffer and the car to sit flatter through corners, but it should not be so stiff that when I hit a bump the car will dart over to the other side of the road. Alot of the twisty roads I like either have sections where the surface is poor or there are corrugations on the insides of the corners. The last thing I want is to hit these corrugations and the car to jump away (as I have experienced in a friends car, non MX5 with way too stiff BC coilovers).
Currently no plans of taking the car on the track, so figured coil overs would be overkill
Also I don't mind the car being lowered a little, but I am not into the whole scraping frame thing and my driveway wont allow me to go too low anyway.

Budget: MAX $1,000 AUD

From what I have read so far this is what I was thinking

Shocks: Bilstein Monotube shock absorber (can be sourced from US for ~$400 USD for a set of 4 excluding postage shox.com)
Springs: Eibach (not sure of rates)
Bumpstops: FCM 36F/46R
Will get dust boots

So here are my questions
What are forum members experiences/opinions on my choice of shock absorbers?
What are the suggested spring rates for my useage? No one in the above threads mentions their spring rates.
Why do people use NB upper mounts?
Is there anything else I ought to change? For example should I leave my current shocks and springs as they are and think about getting thicker sway bars instead?


Thankyou in advance

[lee]

Don't forget sway bars. I'm running on stock springs/shocks but with a Whiteline front sway, and it's made a massive difference. A good wheel alignment will help a lot as well

[spikes]

Mate, I've got a set of Bilstein shocks with lowered springs (-30mm) if you were interested??

[PeterB]

I have tried Koni/Kings, KYB/Eibach and Koni/stock springs on my NA.

I found Koni yellow adjustable shocks with stock springs to be a great combination for all round road use, particularly country roads, better again with whiteline adjustable swaybars on a softer setting.

Koni / Kings were way too stiff for the road (my wife refused to travel in the car) but good on the track.

Am currently using KYB AGX with Eibach coil-overs - good for track use, but a bit stiff for general road use.

[jerrah]

I have the Koni Yellow/King combination that many people go for. You can adjust the height and dampening to suit your application and if you used the stock springs you could maintain or slightly lower the ride height using the perches on the shocks.

I've used Koni Yellows on two different cars and I've found in both instances that the ride quality was better than original. People are often surprised about how well my MX5 rides.

I also have Racing Beat sway bars (hollow front, solid rear) and I've found that made the most dramatic difference to the handling.

I would advise seeing if there are some local MX5's you could go for a ride/drive in and see what you think of what modifications they've made. It may help you make a decision and you don't have to spend the money and regret it later if it doesn't work out.

[zossy1]

Consider:

http://www.flyinmiata.com/index.php?dep ... 90-93%20NB

or:

http://www.flyinmiata.com/index.php?dep ... %201990-93

Not sure how pricing would go in terms of shipping out here, might get under your $1K limit.

[ave]

Hi, thanks for your replies so far, it has been great to get such useful feedback.

Yes I will also consider replacing the sway bars and bushes first before I go messing with shocks.

Will try and turn up at a few Garage Caf meets and see if anyone will give me a ride around the block.

Are the Koni yellows that you guys have mentioned these ? http://www.mx5centre.com.au/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=19_24&products_id=306

Zossy how do you find the V-maxx's ? I have seen those miata mania kits before, but were not sure how they would suit Aussie roads. These Tokico shocks seem to be pretty popular in the US, but haven't heard much about people using them here.

[zossy1]

Zossy how do you find the V-maxx's ? I have seen those miata mania kits before, but were not sure how they would suit Aussie roads. These Tokico shocks seem to be pretty popular in the US, but haven't heard much about people using them here.

The v-maxx's are great. Firm but compliant. When you first install them, they take a while to work in - for the first thousand k's or so they are hard as a rock but they soften up nicely as they wear in.

They are not damper adjustable though so bear that in mind