Emily's 04 VR SE

KevGoat · Postby **KevGoat** » Mon Oct 22, 2012 9:59 am

Nice :-)

Excellent value for those Bilsteins & Springs!! Stock valving on the Bilsteins or have they been changed? I've read they can feel rather harsh, so I will be interested in what you think of the ride/handling of this setup when they are fitted. The addition of the Fat Cat Bumpstops will make a huge difference to the ride quality. When I fitted FCM stops I was amazed how such a small mod makes so much difference!

emily_mx5 · Postby **emily_mx5** » Mon Oct 22, 2012 11:11 am

Haha thanks guys, I'm super keen for the wheels!! But they are still about 4 weeks away, travelling on a Japanese ship :lol:

I have been a passenger in a lot of heavily modified cars in the past few months, and have really gotten used to harsh suspension, and when I get in my car it feels, quite boaty hahaa. So I'm looking forward to a stiffer set up, I just hope it isn't bouncy, but the stiffness of the dampners should match the stiffness of the springs. And the bumpstops on my original suspension are nonexistent, so I'm looking forward to actually having some haha.

Aussie Stig · Postby **Aussie Stig** » Mon Oct 22, 2012 3:35 pm

Ah tol ya you needed dope mags. Righteous.

hks_kansei · Postby **hks_kansei** » Mon Oct 22, 2012 4:00 pm

SPring rate discussion here:
viewtopic.php?f=30&t=53654

Basically the Kings shouldn't be that stiff that you'll be bouncing, My Mazdaspeed springs are probably comparable to the Kings in rate (Kings are progressive and list low and high rates, mine are progressive but only list one rate, so I assume it's the overall average..... basically, mine are slightly stiffer than the Kings average rate)

Anyway, the point is, SPrings like the Kings work well enough on OEM shocks without causing much extra bounce, so on the Billies they should be fine and bounce-free.

(they certainly won't be like Yellowspeeds..... personally I think they're so badly damped they feel like there's a pogo stick under each corner of the car)

Lokiel · Postby **Lokiel** » Mon Oct 22, 2012 4:05 pm

You're going to need some guard rolling too with those rims to prevent rubbing - even then they'll probably still be too wide.

My housemate has them on a black NA8 and they do look good - just make sure that when you get pulled over you smile sweetly and plead ignorance to the cop.

emily_mx5 · Postby **emily_mx5** » Mon Oct 22, 2012 4:49 pm

Aussie Stig wrote:Ah tol ya you needed dope mags. Righteous.

Rare and legit JDM wheels cant be in the same sentance as 'dope mags' hahaa, but yes they look boss imo.

hks_kansei wrote:(they certainly won't be like Yellowspeeds..... personally I think they're so badly damped they feel like there's a pogo stick under each corner of the car)

I couldnt agree more, I've sat in a couple of cars, NA's and NB's with them fitted, and I was so unimpressed, they felt like shytttt, not sure why they are so popular haha.

Lokiel wrote:You're going to need some guard rolling too with those rims to prevent rubbing - even then they'll probably still be too wide.
My housemate has them on a black NA8 and they do look good - just make sure that when you get pulled over you smile sweetly and plead ignorance to the cop.

Yep guard rolling this week, ppffttttt no way to wide, have you seen what they fit in America? crazy 10" -25 fitments. My 8" +23 will be perfectly fine.
They arent my rims though, thats just a pic of an NA with stock hight/alignment, to show that those sorts of fitment dont go without lowering and neg camber haha.

Mine are a secret

PaulF · Postby **PaulF** » Tue Oct 23, 2012 2:08 am

emily_mxV wrote:
hks_kansei wrote:(they certainly won't be like Yellowspeeds..... personally I think they're so badly damped they feel like there's a pogo stick under each corner of the car)

I couldnt agree more, I've sat in a couple of cars, NA's and NB's with them fitted, and I was so unimpressed, they felt like shytttt, not sure why they are so popular haha.

2 reasons:
1. $$$
2. "Coilovers brah, hektik"

Dweezle · Postby **Dweezle** » Tue Oct 23, 2012 7:37 am

I had Bilsteins & Kings on my Malibu and Hated them!!
They crashed their way over bumps.
Smooth, racetrack condition they felt ok, but anything else and it was horrible.
Especially corrugated like surfaces. They just felt like they could never keep up with the undulations.
It was truly awful!!

I went with Yellowspeeds this time around.
When they are set soft they feel like a Pogo stick.
But that is just because the high spring rates are now too powerful for the dampening setting.

Yellowspeeds provide me with a firm and quick reaction, like ride when set quite stiff compared to my Bilstilein/King combo.
The best way for me to explain it is, the bump happens then it is over and the car is not unsettled.

I looked to have the Bilsteins revavled at Heasemans.
This was quite expensive but i was assured they would feel great as they are valved incorrectly for our cars from the factory.
Hence why FatCatMotorsport valve them for your needs.

I never had them revalved.
They just went with the car when i sold it.

I hope your Bilsteins provide a better experiance then i had.

PS- looking forward to seeing what wheels you have bought!!!

Sent from my GT-I9100T using Tapatalk 2

emily_mx5 · Postby **emily_mx5** » Tue Oct 23, 2012 9:27 am

Oh dear that doesn't sound to good!
Maybe they were worn out or the springs were to stiff/soft?
I hope mine are ok, really would have to be better than my stock set up though, it's gone really soft and willowy.

Postby **NitroDann** » Tue Oct 23, 2012 10:02 am

Number 1 coilover stuffup.

Setting the damping to minimum.

That will always feel like crap.

Dann

Apu · Postby **Apu** » Tue Oct 23, 2012 10:25 am

I've dríven Luis' car and it didn't feel right but suspected that was due more to setup than anything else.

There are also a lot of Yellowspeed owners who are happy with them. I've got them on my Integra and quite like them - unbeatable for the price really and like Dweezle said, hit a bump, and you move on.

Right now, I've raised the car as I felt it was too low, scraping the underside and tyres as well. With the car higher, I've got a little bit of oscillation, but I think tightening it up one click might solve that...obviously it's not bothering me enough as I still haven't done it.

At the end of the day, they're not going to perform like Ohlins...but I wasn't prepared to spend that amount.

By comparison, my Tein Super Streets ride like stock and I just about max out the adjustment when I go to the track.

Dweezle · Postby **Dweezle** » Tue Oct 23, 2012 10:34 am

Here is thread i started due how bad they felt.

http://mx5cartalk.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=30&t=42565&hilit=king+bilstein

I believe a few good points are made in there somewhere ???

The FCM bumpstops will help a lot i think.
I was going to get those.

the_darkside · Postby **the_darkside** » Tue Oct 23, 2012 8:31 pm

Don't worry about the rims, I have 15x8 +4 with 205's on it and don't scrub driving it as hard as I want with 70-80mm ground clearance. Going up gutters is different though, because the pressure is opposite so I scrub, but hey, you have 19mm more clearance and probably slightly better height too. What tires you going with?