Next up: suspension upgrades

So the new wheels and tires are a big hit...

....and new spark plugs have put a little zip back into the engine...

....and big brakes are out for now, because:

1. The 15x7.5 6ULs won't fit over any of the aftermarket big brake kits
without spacers (small ones; maybe 10mm max.); minor

2. I had to spend $$$ on making the current brakes work properly enough
to take my long distance run down to Pullman, Wa. and I'm not going to
spend on big brakes until I no longer feel that pain. :-)

So I think the next logical step would be to replace the still original
shocks and springs (after 212K km; do you think it's past due?)

So I'm looking for opinions.

I'd rather do it once and do it right, so I don't mind spending a couple
of grand to get a suspension that will go from the street, to the
autocross track to... ...who knows?

One other useful data point might be that I do want to be able to raise
the ride height up to at least stock NA levels (if not a tad higher) for
winter driving.

I've looked around some, and I'm leaning heavily towards 949 Racing's
Xida Clubsports or Flyin' Miata's AFCO setup. I like the potential to
upgrade the Xida's to dual springs and double and even
triple-adjustability, but I like the extremely long travel that FM seems
to have dialed into their AFCO's.

But I'm also open to other ideas...

Has anyone here used either of these, or something else that they think
might be in the same ballpark? Actual comparisons between these (with
each other or with other setups) would be good to read.

--
Alan Baker
Vancouver, British Columbia
<http://gallery.me.com/alangbaker/100008/DSCF0162/web.jpg>

On Wed, 01 Jun 2011 12:00:30 -0700, Alan Baker wrote:

> So the new wheels and tires are a big hit...
>
> ...and new spark plugs have put a little zip back into the engine...
>
> ...and big brakes are out for now, because:
>
> 1. The 15x7.5 6ULs won't fit over any of the aftermarket big brake
> kits without spacers (small ones; maybe 10mm max.); minor
>
> 2. I had to spend $$$ on making the current brakes work properly
> enough to take my long distance run down to Pullman, Wa. and I'm not
> going to spend on big brakes until I no longer feel that pain. :-)
>
> So I think the next logical step would be to replace the still
> original shocks and springs (after 212K km; do you think it's past
> due?)
>
> So I'm looking for opinions.
>
> I'd rather do it once and do it right, so I don't mind spending a
> couple of grand to get a suspension that will go from the street, to
> the autocross track to... ...who knows?
>
> One other useful data point might be that I do want to be able to
> raise the ride height up to at least stock NA levels (if not a tad
> higher) for winter driving.
>
> I've looked around some, and I'm leaning heavily towards 949 Racing's
> Xida Clubsports or Flyin' Miata's AFCO setup. I like the potential to
> upgrade the Xida's to dual springs and double and even
> triple-adjustability, but I like the extremely long travel that FM
> seems to have dialed into their AFCO's.
>
> But I'm also open to other ideas...
>
> Has anyone here used either of these, or something else that they
> think might be in the same ballpark? Actual comparisons between these
> (with each other or with other setups) would be good to read.

I posted in the Got 'em! thread before seeing the budget. I've never
owned an NA, so take this for what it's worth.

Your car has been on the road for a long time. I would think about
stiffening: a butterfly brace and possibly a rollbar if you don't have
one already.

Given that you're still on OEM suspension, any package you buy will
utterly transform the handling of your car. You won't need to go
crazy to see really noticeable gains.

"Carbon" <>
> Your car has been on the road for a long time. I would think about
> stiffening: a butterfly brace and possibly a rollbar if you don't have
> one already.
>
> Given that you're still on OEM suspension, any package you buy will
> utterly transform the handling of your car. You won't need to go
> crazy to see really noticeable gains.

I think Allen is looking for more than 'noticeable gains' ;-) Wish I could
help but don't know much about these two set ups. I HAVE installed the
butterfly brace on my car so I can vouch for that to some degree.

Chris
99BBB

On 6/14/2011 11:43 PM, Chris D'Agnolo wrote:
>
> "Carbon" <>
>> Your car has been on the road for a long time. I would think about
>> stiffening: a butterfly brace and possibly a rollbar if you don't have
>> one already.
>>
>> Given that you're still on OEM suspension, any package you buy will
>> utterly transform the handling of your car. You won't need to go
>> crazy to see really noticeable gains.
>
> I think Allen is looking for more than 'noticeable gains' ;-) Wish I
> could help but don't know much about these two set ups. I HAVE installed
> the butterfly brace on my car so I can vouch for that to some degree.
>
> Chris
> 99BBB
>
As old as it is, I'd think that the suspension bushings are shot!
If so, replacement of just the bushings might make a big difference!

In article <1f827$4df82a79$471eb925$(E-Mail Removed)>,
"Chris D'Agnolo" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

> "Carbon" <>
> > Your car has been on the road for a long time. I would think about
> > stiffening: a butterfly brace and possibly a rollbar if you don't have
> > one already.
> >
> > Given that you're still on OEM suspension, any package you buy will
> > utterly transform the handling of your car. You won't need to go
> > crazy to see really noticeable gains.
>
> I think Allen is looking for more than 'noticeable gains' ;-) Wish I could
> help but don't know much about these two set ups. I HAVE installed the
> butterfly brace on my car so I can vouch for that to some degree.
>
> Chris
> 99BBB

Small point of order: it's "Alan", not "Allen". :-)

But otherwise, you're correct. No matter what I do, it's going to cost
both time and money. I'd rather spend an extra $1K-$1.5K and get
something extraordinary.

If (for the sake of argument and because it is relatively complete) the
baseline is set at a Flyin' Miata stage 2.5 kit ($1,099)

....and since you've got the car apart anyway and the bushings are all
original ($189)...

....and you should maybe replace every suspension mounting bolt ($70 +
??)...

....then you're already into the job for probably $1500 parts and another
$1000 for labour.

Frankly, I'd rather spend an extra $4K and get something really good.

:-)

--
Alan Baker
Vancouver, British Columbia
<http://gallery.me.com/alangbaker/100008/DSCF0162/web.jpg>