Soo.. what to do next to my car?

ess · Postby **ess** » Thu Feb 20, 2014 6:28 pm

My birthday is coming up, so I'll be able to actually afford something for my NA6. I'm on my p's so I cant do any engine mods, but has anyone got some suggestions to what I could do?

Sway bar maybe? Does a sway bar do much for the ride with stock suspension?
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/ULTRA-RACING-Front-Anti-Roll-Sway-Bar-23mm-Mazda-Miata-MX5-MX-5-NA-NB-AR23-095-/271352791768?pt=AU_Car_Parts_Accessories&hash=item3f2de302d8

Or maybe some lip spoilers, or something that will make the nose look a bit, 'manly-er', maybe a roll bar?

Any suggestions much appreciated! Cheers.

hejira · Postby **hejira** » Thu Feb 20, 2014 6:56 pm

Sway bar no. Front lip yes.

http://tetsuyagarage.com/varynew.htm

ess · Postby **ess** » Thu Feb 20, 2014 7:03 pm

May I ask why no to sway bar?

StuwieP · Postby **StuwieP** » Thu Feb 20, 2014 7:21 pm

Envious of being able to afford to do anything to the car

Changing the front sway bar to the stock suspension will change the way the car behaves.
If you go heavier, the car will tend to understeer more. I know that's basic but I'm not well enough informed to offer more detailed information.
It won't do much for the ride because it's more about weight tranfer than the movement of individual wheels over bumps etc.
I think most people who go for sways have already done suspension and are using them to tune the balance of the car with reference to the new setup.

Stu

ess · Postby **ess** » Thu Feb 20, 2014 7:47 pm

So what about something like coil-overs? is like, tops $600 going to get me anywhere?

speed freak · Postby **speed freak** » Thu Feb 20, 2014 8:00 pm

You might get a decent shock and spring combo for $600 but yellowspeeds and BC coilovers are around $1000

Swaybars will make the car 'stiffer' through the bends so it wont roll about as much as it might now. Generally you would do swaybars after you have done coilovers or a good shock and spring combo.

I take it your suspension is stock still?

Maybe do the front lip and a duck tail lip/spoiler for the boot. Or a roll bar is a great idea not only for safety but looks and it does stiffen up the center of the car which helps. Or a nice set of wheels?

Have you got a good wheel alignment? Even on stock suspension a good setup wheel alignment will do wonders and change how the car feels and drives through the corners. Its one of the best things you could do.

ess · Postby **ess** » Thu Feb 20, 2014 8:18 pm

The wheels have been aligned recently, but I'm not sure how good of an alignment it was..

I'm still on stock suspension, I was thinking:

http://www.racelandus.com/coilovers/mazda-coilover-kits/mazda-miata-mx-5-na-ultimo-coilovers.html

Originally I liked the idea of a roll bar, but I'm looking at $500+, not including postage, for something like a hard dog bar..

speed freak · Postby **speed freak** » Thu Feb 20, 2014 8:28 pm

Where are you located?

Automotive Plus in Brisbane, QLD and MX5 Mania in Sydney both have roll bars and can ship too might be worth checking them out and get a quote.

I posted a reply about the coilovers in your other thread in the Suspension section.

Might be better just to have a good think about what you want to do first and if you dont have enough money for it yet save up some more then get that done. Rather then finding something to suit your budget or get some cheap quality part just so you can do it now rather then in a month or two.

By a good wheel alignment I just mean not factory spec. Run some camber and toe etc get a really good sporty setup, rather then factory since it runs pretty much zero camber.

ess · Postby **ess** » Thu Feb 20, 2014 8:42 pm

Thanks. Yeah, I'm searching the forums for information and hoping people reply to my questions while I do so.

I'll look into a good wheel alignment!

I'm located about 3 hours from Melbourne, but I'll look into them.

maxgus · Postby **maxgus** » Thu Feb 20, 2014 9:40 pm

You could possibly get a second hand set of coil overs. Who knows how old the current suspension is.

Postby **Okibi** » Fri Feb 21, 2014 2:27 am

Spend it on a track day or advanced driver training. :mrgreen:

Black_Penguin · Postby **Black_Penguin** » Fri Feb 21, 2014 2:55 am

I'm with Okibi, $500-$600 is a fair bit of track time or a good quality driver training day.

22Silver · Postby **22Silver** » Fri Feb 21, 2014 1:04 pm

If you just want to stiffen the ride up a little bit- Mazdaspeed springs seem to work very well with stock shocks, and are not a whole lot lower or too hard (still legal it seems, ride height, and still comfortable).
You could almost treat yourself to a set of headers or an exhaust system with $600 though