Tein vs Weitec vs Yellowspeed

[jinbaittai]

Are yellow speed coilovers good for every day driving? And what spring rates has anyone used?
I drove a s13 silvia for 8 years daily with 8/6 then 6/4kg coilovers, I was used to them but it was still like driving a jumping castle, I don't really want the mx5 to be the same

[NitroDann]

Comfort is usually 80% setup.

I have been in cars with the street yellowspeeds which were definitely comfortable enough for daily use, then I have been in cars with 3000 dollar teins setup so uncomfy you needed to pee every 5 mins, because the owner didnt understand the fundamentals.

Dann

[Apu]

It depends on what your definition of comfy is jinbaittai, but in my case, they were sufficiently comfortable...bearing in mind that coilovers are not of the same ride quality as stock suspension.

[jinbaittai]

I just don't want to turn it into a bone jarring activity every time I drive like my old car, I have stock suspension with lowered springs at the moment and it's comfortable but sloppy. I have been recomended yellow speed coilovers I will give them a go I think.

[zossy1]

I'll throw another brand into the mix - FM V-Maxx. I have a set of the standard V-Maxx in my Clubman.

My setup was one of the first in Aus, and includes the NB top hats. They also have helper springs, which is unusual at this end of the market. I find them a little over-damped and over-sprung for our roads here in the Highlands (they are not damping adjustable). On smoother roads or the track, they perform much better. However, I still prefer the BCs or the Yellowspeeds as they cope much better with rough roads.

YMMV though, as my car is turbo, runs 205 semis on 8 inch rims at +25 offset, has no PS, and no sound deadening so you hear and feel EVERYTHING... I think they would be a little more liveable in a more standard setup.

For the lightness brigade, they are VERY light, being an all-alloy body unit.

[bensale]

Good read Apu and nice to get some good information. The track test will be interesting, both lap times and general drivability.
Unexpected that they're a lot heavier, perhaps larger piston rods / more fluid capacity? Which beyond matching valving and spring rates better could be why they deal well with big bumps. The piston rods in my KW Competitions are huge!

Beyond wheel alignment, if you want some adjustability in a car without it in the valving maybe do some reading on playing with varying rake front to rear. With my old Bilsteins raising and lowering the back of the car 5-10mm was a good tuning tool. I wouldn't be surprised if the setup works pretty well out of the box on the track though.

[Apu]

Thanks Ben. I am looking to corner weight the car which should help...but won't be doing that for a 3 months...

I did give the same feedback to Ajay - the pros and cons do balance out, eg you can get the Yellowspeeds to ride decently and they did out of the box until I decided to mess around with settings.

The Weitecs do ride marginally better (and like you say, I suspect the piston rods, more fluid and more solid galvanised shock body) but are much heavier and you need to factor in cost of top hats and loss of adjustability...but I think I learnt my lesson there.

[mxfive95]

What type of weitec's did you get? The GT or TX coilovers?

[Apu]

TX I believe...but don't quote me on it as I bought a set for my Integra as well.

In any case, there is only one type for NBs.

[Sailor]

Ran into the guys from Shockworks (www.shockworks.com.au) at WTAC.
They are breaking into the MX5 market at the moment.
Years of experience and prepared to sort your suspension to your requirements.
Would be worth a talk.