Coil Overs and Sway Bars

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hall6463
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Re: Coil Overs and Sway Bars

Postby hall6463 » Wed Aug 13, 2014 10:30 pm

Have a look at the Racingbeat website.
They have a huge range of Swaybars for MX5s, and also make tubular bars.
They are around the corner from Mazda USA and do lots of track testing.
Every model requires different bars,
Most local bars are once size fits all which is not the case.

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ED_MX5
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Re: Coil Overs and Sway Bars

Postby ED_MX5 » Wed Aug 13, 2014 10:51 pm

^ Cheers for the tip mate, will have a look for sure.
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ED_MX5
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Re: Coil Overs and Sway Bars

Postby ED_MX5 » Thu Sep 04, 2014 8:28 pm

So, Slight change of plans.
I may still buy a top spec coilover in the future, but at the moment I just need to sort this suspension out. I have done some reading, and come down to 3 options.
MCA blue
bc br type rs
bc br type ra.

Any comments on which of this would be good for general street use plus just a little track time?
To add to preference, I'm not a fan of the old bounce down the road coilover, so if anyone knows that any of these do that, please tell me.

I am leaning toward the bc br type ra at the moment.

Thanks for any advice.
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M1474
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Re: Coil Overs and Sway Bars

Postby M1474 » Thu Sep 04, 2014 9:09 pm

I don't pretend to be an expert on suspension but from what I can tell the whiteline bars are ok with lower spring rates but way to stiff for rates over 8f/6r.

I plan to run them with my 5/7 GC/koni yellow setup.

Thoughts?
GHETTOCET

sailaholic
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Re: Coil Overs and Sway Bars

Postby sailaholic » Thu Sep 04, 2014 9:34 pm

All I can say is my MCA (reds) don't bounce down the road.

Have you considered how much it is to get different springs in each brand (if you think you might be playing with spring rates). McA is $50 a corner.


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greenltd
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Re: Coil Overs and Sway Bars

Postby greenltd » Fri Sep 05, 2014 5:19 am

Don't forget to also consider the shock absorber part of the equation. It has a major impact on bounce. Springs shocks and bars all need to work together.

kazama
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Re: Coil Overs and Sway Bars

Postby kazama » Fri Sep 05, 2014 1:10 pm

I have BC BR 7/5kg (the black and gold ones)

Theyre decent on smoothish roads. The fronts are decent on bumpy stuff as well, however the rears are on the bump stops pretty often. Firmer rates might keep you off them, but they do have brutally short bump travel imo

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ED_MX5
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Re: Coil Overs and Sway Bars

Postby ED_MX5 » Fri Sep 05, 2014 10:31 pm

Kazama- are you saying that the back may jump around a little bit?
I do regular drives through some twistys that are not always very smooth.
Have you much experience with them on a rough road?
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kazama
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Re: Coil Overs and Sway Bars

Postby kazama » Mon Sep 08, 2014 12:33 pm

ED_MX5 wrote:Kazama- are you saying that the back may jump around a little bit?
I do regular drives through some twistys that are not always very smooth.
Have you much experience with them on a rough road?

On roads like Old PAC it bottoms out pretty hard. It feels decent on putty and the smoother roads of Newcastle. If I had to purchase coilovers again i'd definitely consider spending a bit more. Lots of people on this forum love their BCs though, so it could just be me

roket52
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Re: Coil Overs and Sway Bars

Postby roket52 » Mon Sep 08, 2014 11:35 pm

spend the money mate and go for something proven. My MCA blues are a bit short on damping control on the rear's and hitting bumps in the road at speed can force the shock to play catch up with the springs. in other words a bounce or two can happen even at higher damping levels.
Koni, ohlins, bilstien, tein, mca reds are my recommendation. BC and HSD have caught my interest but after buying the cheaper MCA Blues i'd be doing more research on my next suspension buy.
NB8B| MCA Blue 10K/7K |SE Sways| 8lb Flywheel| 4.1 LSD| Lots a Fun!

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Re: Coil Overs and Sway Bars

Postby The American » Sat Sep 20, 2014 12:19 am

M1474 wrote:I don't pretend to be an expert on suspension but from what I can tell the whiteline bars are ok with lower spring rates but way to stiff for rates over 8f/6r.

I plan to run them with my 5/7 GC/koni yellow setup.

Thoughts?


It's interesting you say that. I had whiteline adjustable sways front and rear coupled with 8f6r and it cornered very flat (which I enjoyed driving) but it was not that much quicker, and in many cases, slower than other cars with a lot more freedom to roll. I had a sneaking suspicion that my stiff setup may have been compromising ultimate grip.

This effect seemed to get less on smooth surfaces, and if I focused on 'smooth' rather than 'fast'

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Re: Coil Overs and Sway Bars

Postby sailaholic » Sat Sep 20, 2014 7:03 am

Mx5 were designed to roll.
Unlike some strut based cars where roll destroys alignment a certain level of roll actually enhances alignment for cornering in a mx5


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