Warning: Here Be Lengthy Discourse.
Background
Suspension tuning is part art and part science. The art aspect will come into what the driver wants for the car in a given set of conditions. After all, if it was pure science, it'd make setting up a F1 car a lot easier, don't you think? Feedback from the loose nut behind the wheel is part of it (the art).
Understanding what the car is going to be used for is as important for the driver as it is the person/ people designing the parts. Sometimes I'll hear of, or speak with, drivers who installed a part they're ultimately unhappy with because it's purpose is different to the drivers or it's not of a high standard. I get that.
I think I read everything I could get my hands on online from this and other enthusiast forums. I researched spring rates and what it means to the overall setup. I spoke with friends who are enthusiast sports car drivers like me. I spoke with mechanics and garages. Learning lessons from trial and error can be a part of building your ideal car. Likewise, it's important to work with a company that knows the car and has an extensive background in suspension.
With that in mind, I was very clear about what I'm looking for - my ND is a daily drive that sees me put 2,000km a month on the odometer. I wanted a suspension setup that was going to be well sorted for general duties with added adjustability for when I wanted a more sporting ride through the hills on the weekend or a club track day.
For those that are familiar with it, I had in mind something similar to the adjustable damping from my F30 3 series. Comfort mode for around town. Sport mode for more spirited endeavours.
What I didn't want was a harsh, jittery, bouncy, slammed, POS ride.
I joked to a friend at training one night that my fiance caught me looking at stuff online that I shouldn't be - suspensions mods
Why MCA
I went with MCA Suspension as they design and manufacture custom made coilovers built to suit each customer's requirements and car. If you want to read more about the company, go here-> https://mcasuspension.com/about. While this business isn't as well known overseas to the general public, they've a well deserved reputation locally and internationally with the motorsport community.
I'd almost be mad not to choose MCA in hindsight when I have such a quality suspension engineering and manufacturing business almost local to me, however I took the time to research there were a few things which one me over:
30 years of history and reputation in motorsport community
Positive reviews across many platforms
Build quality
Customisation
Engagement
I had a chat to Josh Coote about what I was looking for and decided to get the X-C series (purple) coilovers with spring rates of 9/3.5 kgf/mm F/R, what they recommend for the ND to match a sportier setup on the X-C series coilover. Other choices are available, but honestly after using these I reckon they're bang on.
To help understand spring rates, stronger springs at the front make sense as there is a) more weight up that end, b) the motion ratio at the rear is different to the front, c) springs need to be matched to the shock absorber. The X series come in a few flavours and offer a bit more when compared to the Blues (which still rate highly) however I figured if I was going to spend some hard-earned on this I'd do it right - Red and Gold are going too far for my application, X-series seemed just right. The website has a good comparison of the different types of coilover they have on offer (Blue, X-series, Red, Gold). https://mcasuspension.com/suspension
Thoughts after install
I couldn't be happier, MCA have absolutely nailed it in terms of delivering what I wanted. After playing around with damper settings I have two "go to" settings for both around town/ highway use and sportier, twisty road endeavours.
For those of you who haven't experienced a quality aftermarket suspension setup, it might be hard to imagine the difference. I'll call out some of the characteristics that stood out to me:
Composure - bumps and holes in the road are soaked up beautifully. They no longer unsettle the car as much as stock suspension. I actually went looking for bumps in the road and would laugh at how the car dealt with them now.
Far less diving under firm braking.
Far less pitching up under acceleration
Less body roll
More comfortable ride with improved handling (the holy grail!)
For reference, my Comfort setting is 8/10 back from hard (MCA use 12 adjustments) and my Sport setting is 4/8 back. Sport+ is 0/2 or 0/3 back, I'm still working out which I prefer best there. FWIW I added the adjuster extenders which make changing the rear settings a breeze. They tuck up nicely out of the way too. MCA advise against changing OEM sway bars when using their suspension.
In terms of ride height sitting at 35cm/ ~13 3/4" from the centre of the wheel to the top of the wheel arch/ fender on all four corners. My front lip (I have the Mazda aero kit, not the stock lip) is 14cm/ 5 1/2" from the ground. IIRC this makes the car about 2.5cm/ 1" lower than stock.
Final comments
A few shout-outs to those that helped- Josh, Murray and the staff at MCA, Jeff at Automotive+ for the install, Ken at Accurate Suspension for the alignment work. Thanks guys, appreciate all your work with Hiro and making this investment in his performance a reality.
Hope this helps the community out if you're thinking of taking the plunge with what I think is the single best performance modification you can make to the ND.
