Wheels in motion NC geo - pros & cons?
Discussion
So, thanks to the impending patter of dirty nappies I have been forced to buy a sensible car (well, my wife has a car now). A rather dull, but competent F30 320d. On the plus side this means that my MX5 (I have been quite clear, she wanted a comfortable family car, and refused to buy a WRX, so it is her car) is no longer needed for day to day transport, so I was thinking, I can make it a little less practical and a little more usable.
So, I'm thinking about WIM Geo. I know it is highly recomended, but any expirince? Pros and cons.
Also, any other cheapish mods I could be thinking about, but without changing the fundamental MX5ness (no silly power or the like, keeping the reliability).
On the plus side, whilst the 320 is objectively a very good car, it handles wel for a family carl, is comfortable, economical etc it has reminded me of how good the MX5 is. After 4 years of almost exclusively driving the MX5 the rewarding drive had become normal. I now realise what makes it so good.
So, I'm thinking about WIM Geo. I know it is highly recomended, but any expirince? Pros and cons.
Also, any other cheapish mods I could be thinking about, but without changing the fundamental MX5ness (no silly power or the like, keeping the reliability).
On the plus side, whilst the 320 is objectively a very good car, it handles wel for a family carl, is comfortable, economical etc it has reminded me of how good the MX5 is. After 4 years of almost exclusively driving the MX5 the rewarding drive had become normal. I now realise what makes it so good.
Ok. Cool. I thought it had an effect on the ride, but it sounds like I was confusing it with more in complex work they can do.
MX-5 Lazza said:
Should have got WiM to sort the alignment long ago. It's not a modification, it's correction.
My wife wouldn't let me when it was our only car. She was worried about the effect on the ride, and as it was our only means of transport I didn't want to make it even more tiring on the motorway.RussNC said:
I'd recommend going straight to coilovers than spending the money on springs + geo to only spend the money on coilovers + geo again further down the line. I regretted going for Meister R CRD and not Ohlins/ GT1 etc
Hum... Interesting. Worth thinking about. I'm planning on keeping this car for as long as I can. The ND is a very nice car, but far to much tech no it for my liking. The NC 2.0 option pack is to me the perfect MX5, but it needs a few bits looking at, like the geo.drgoatboy said:
Completely off topic but why didn't you like the crd?
It's not that I didn't like them, it was just after going in cars with the GT1's and Ohlins I realised just how much better they really were, but by that point I was already £x amount into the CRD'sSteveSteveson said:
Hum... Interesting. Worth thinking about. I'm planning on keeping this car for as long as I can. The ND is a very nice car, but far to much tech no it for my liking. The NC 2.0 option pack is to me the perfect MX5, but it needs a few bits looking at, like the geo.
Changing over to coilovers was one of the best things I've done to the car, totally transformed the cornering ability of the car whilst still be supple enough on the road, but I suppose it's each to their own, coilovers are expensive and if you are already happy with what you have, then no point spending even more. I should say though that mines an 06 model, they changed the springs on the facelift if I'm not wrong?
To put into perspective I've done a lot of sprints in mine, when the car was stock I was averaging around 1.42 lap times. Since changing to coilovers and better tyres I have achieved a PB of 1.35. The only other changes to the car are a backbox. So pretty much just tyres and suspension. I know this isn't relevant to a road car, but shows how much more confidence a better setup gives.
Edited by RussNC on Friday 2nd September 14:08
I've had work done by them and no issues afterwards, the setup is very neutral, doesn't push or pull and feels quite safe. Car can still be provoked with a flick or with power but it's running more power than stock. Ask them about a set of lowering springs before you start pumping lots of money into it, the Eibach kit fitted isn't that much and coil overs can be very hit or miss depending on brand and setup.
SteveSteveson said:
My wife wouldn't let me when it was our only car. She was worried about the effect on the ride, and as it was our only means of transport I didn't want to make it even more tiring on the motorway.
It doesn't have any bad effect on ride at all. On the contrary, it's likely to improve the ride as well as the handling. All it does is correct the alignment to make sure all the wheels are pointing the right way. Any car that hasn't had geo reset will benefit from it after just a few years. I get mine done every other year. I may be a little confused/have confused things. By WIM geo I do mean the handling correction of coils and full geo to get to what they say is what it should be, not simply getting laser geo done (which I get checked every year locally).
I'm probably being dumb, but can someone explain what the options are with WIM suspension? I'm not unhappy with my car at all, but I feel like it has more to give. Or what are the alternatives?
I'm probably being dumb, but can someone explain what the options are with WIM suspension? I'm not unhappy with my car at all, but I feel like it has more to give. Or what are the alternatives?
Edited by SteveSteveson on Saturday 3rd September 21:38
From my understanding WIM mostly do the lowering springs with an alignment to suit, although they will offer fitting of coilovers and alignment I presume.
If you just want to sort the handling then you have plenty of options; coilovers - is the car for road or track? Meister R are a great place to start, the offer a wide range for the mx5. You've then go BC which are very similar to Meister R. Ohlins DFV would be the best but not cheap.
If you fit coilovers you don't really need to specifically go to WIM, plenty of garages will fit them of you can't do this yourself and then just pop down to your nearest place to get aligned. theres various resources online to help find a suitable alignment settings to suit your needs.
If you just want to sort the handling then you have plenty of options; coilovers - is the car for road or track? Meister R are a great place to start, the offer a wide range for the mx5. You've then go BC which are very similar to Meister R. Ohlins DFV would be the best but not cheap.
If you fit coilovers you don't really need to specifically go to WIM, plenty of garages will fit them of you can't do this yourself and then just pop down to your nearest place to get aligned. theres various resources online to help find a suitable alignment settings to suit your needs.
Depends on where you take your car to for laser alignment. If it's just your local tyre shop that charges £40 or so then that won't be the same level of alignment as you get with places like wim. So don't discount just a full geo to make a substantial difference.
However wim will also fit lowering springs and do a full geo.
I don't have any experience of this personally but have seen a few positive reviews. Probably make the rude a bit harder but Google is your friend
However wim will also fit lowering springs and do a full geo.
I don't have any experience of this personally but have seen a few positive reviews. Probably make the rude a bit harder but Google is your friend
For my money The Wheel Alignment Centre, Southampton every time. http://www.wheelalignmentcentresouthampton.co.uk/
Owned and run by Nick, all round good guy, he charges half what others charge.
His machine is the latest on the market and allegedly knocks the spots off a Hunter....
With my Mk1 he couldn't safely undo the rear camber bolts without the risk of snapping them so ended up with a compromise setting - still an improvement over previous though.
Once I'd soaked the bolts and bushes in penetrating oil for a couple of days they freed off nicely ( I actually took them out completely and greased them, putting them back at approximately the setting they came out at), then it was back to Nick for free re-alignment.
It now feels much more planted and much less twitchy at the rear.
HTH.
Cheers, Pewe.
PS as indicated above douse all the components in penetrating oil a few days before going to have any alignment done. Especially important to force it up the insides of the D of the rear camber bolts.
Owned and run by Nick, all round good guy, he charges half what others charge.
His machine is the latest on the market and allegedly knocks the spots off a Hunter....
With my Mk1 he couldn't safely undo the rear camber bolts without the risk of snapping them so ended up with a compromise setting - still an improvement over previous though.
Once I'd soaked the bolts and bushes in penetrating oil for a couple of days they freed off nicely ( I actually took them out completely and greased them, putting them back at approximately the setting they came out at), then it was back to Nick for free re-alignment.
It now feels much more planted and much less twitchy at the rear.
HTH.
Cheers, Pewe.
PS as indicated above douse all the components in penetrating oil a few days before going to have any alignment done. Especially important to force it up the insides of the D of the rear camber bolts.
You won't go far wrong with WIM, as a good starting point, certainly as cost effectiveness goes. There are other options - your mileage may vary. Review all suspension bushes - replace anything clearly knackered - avoid polybushes like the plague as they remove compliance and wear quickly. They have their applications, but you need to know what you're doing. Check the condition of your bumpstops as well, small things that make quite a difference.
At the time of writing, my NC has the lowering springs by WIM and stock Bilstein dampers. According to the paperwork, it had WIM geometry; later it had a more aggressive set-up applied by Blink Motorsport. It's now at a different garage having this reviewed while it receives some fresher OEM dampers. The geo is clearly not perfect at the moment, but it's not bad either. I've driven a few different NCs that didn't seem as good as this one, so looking forward to seeing what it can do when it's freshly sorted.
At the time of writing, my NC has the lowering springs by WIM and stock Bilstein dampers. According to the paperwork, it had WIM geometry; later it had a more aggressive set-up applied by Blink Motorsport. It's now at a different garage having this reviewed while it receives some fresher OEM dampers. The geo is clearly not perfect at the moment, but it's not bad either. I've driven a few different NCs that didn't seem as good as this one, so looking forward to seeing what it can do when it's freshly sorted.
Ah right. I thought you were just talking about geo. You are talking about the "lowering" springs. I put lowering in quotes because the standard lowering springs they sell just correct the ride height (so therefore spring rate) to how Mazda designed it to be (and how it is sold in Japan I believe). They are fitted with taller springs for the UK market to pass pedestrian crash tests and get the required type approval.
Mazda sell the same lowering kit but charge more for it and usually don't do as good a job.
Mazda sell the same lowering kit but charge more for it and usually don't do as good a job.
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