Advice on checking steering and suspension

[Theenyx5]

as far as thre bushes go,
how far has your NB8A travelled?

If its low milage , its not impossible that a bush can go but more unlikely. If your car has traveled 200,000 k's or more I would be inclined to change them.

But really there are so many more less expensive things to check first.Or obvious signs.

You got an allignment.
New tyres? are the old ones worn ?
suspension arms. Are they visibly bent?
What about the shocks. How old are they? How many K's, Standard? Aftermarket?

Are you comparing the way your car handles to other MX5's?
In the past I compared a standard NB8A to fairly modified NA6 (suspension & steering). & it seemed unresponsive & virtually no feedback. But that's not a fair comparison. My point is not to badmouth your NB8A. Its more about if you are comparing it, are you comparing it in a fair way.

Thanks for the advice.

Cars done 150,000ish kms. Just fitted struts and springs that are just under 100,000kms.

Will be taking it for a wheel alignment as soon as I can. Tyres have plenty of tread but are poor quality tyres, will look to replace these (and hopefully wheels too)

Cheers

[Theenyx5]

First check tyre pressure....may have one tyre with low pressure

Mechanic picked up that the tyre pressures were out. One tyre had too much air

Check tyre pressure each time you fill up.....I find the manufacturers recommended pressure best

Unusual to have one tyre over-inflated.....logic says all tyres were over-inflated and 3 of the 4 have lost pressure?

Yea did seem weird. Will be keeping an eye on it.

Cheers

[93_Clubman]

SE Vic. Clyde north.

In that case, check with Quadrant Suspension (Cranbourne side of Berwick) - a number here have used them for work on Bilstein suspension (they are a Bilstein specialist & dealer):
http://www.quadrantsuspensions.com.au/
Also for MX5 mechanical repairs a number here use Mammi Motors in Somerville: www.mammimotors.repcoservice.net/
Not sure if either will do wheel alignment in your case, but if not they could recommend someone good local.

[Theenyx5]

Car ended up going to the local kmart tyre and auto with the missus.
Most of the wheels were out by 2-3mm. Handling has improved a lot, very happy.

Also have bigger wheels/tyres so grip is much better too. All in all feeling like a safer car to handle

[Okibi]

Glad you're happy.

Bigger wheels? Hope they're not too heavy.

A lot of enthusiast use MX-5s for motorsport, we tend to have the car setup so it can change direction quickly so less caster and more toe out. These effect the straight line stability.

Not all mechanics / alignment shops are the same.

Join your local MX-5 club and see which shop the Motorsport girls/guys use, they're the ones who will be fussy about the quality of an alignment.

Once you have a very reputable alignment shop, explain to them how you want to use your MX-5 and they'll help you set it up.