TEIN vs KW

[EliseSHH]

Dear all,

I am struggeling to make a decision regarding the suspension for my NA MX-5. Originally I was going for the KW var. 1, however the Tein Street Advance Z is around 300 EUR cheaper.
Street use only with focus on compliance and a nice drop for aesthetics. Any thoughts?

Car will eventually receive a bump in power to around 170 hp..

Warm regards
HH

[Gilhooligan]

Can’t comment on either of those suspension brands but the Meister coilovers seem to be the go to brand for good quality suspension on the mx5nutz forums. They’ve recently released a more road orientated version too. Worth considering anyway.

[ex1]

I cant comment on the Tein or KW but the Meister R's are ste. You have to be careful what you read on forums as lots the MX5 folk recommend them but for road use they are appalling. I can only imagine that lots of people think the stiffer the better.

Please post your feedback once you decide.

[Gilhooligan]

ex1 said:

I cant comment on the Tein or KW but the Meister R's are ste. You have to be careful what you read on forums as lots the MX5 folk recommend them but for road use they are appalling. I can only imagine that lots of people think the stiffer the better.

Please post your feedback once you decide.

Absolute nonsense. I helped a friend install them on his NC as a replacement for the standard bilstein sorts suspension. I consequently drove the car or was passenger in it frequently. The car was compliant on bumps and didn’t have any of the horrendous lean the standard cars suffer when hard cornering. Meisters are more than adequate for road use.

[ex1]

Gilhooligan said:

ex1 said:

I cant comment on the Tein or KW but the Meister R's are ste. You have to be careful what you read on forums as lots the MX5 folk recommend them but for road use they are appalling. I can only imagine that lots of people think the stiffer the better.

Please post your feedback once you decide.

Absolute nonsense. I helped a friend install them on his NC as a replacement for the standard bilstein sorts suspension. I consequently drove the car or was passenger in it frequently. The car was compliant on bumps and didn’t have any of the horrendous lean the standard cars suffer when hard cornering. Meisters are more than adequate for road use.

Most of the MX5 Nutz folk agree with you. But comparing the "lean" to a standard car demonstrates how clueless you are as just changing the springs would reduce the lean. No disrespect obviously ;-)

Cant comment on the NC but I've owned and driven several NA's and the Meisters are shocking on the road.

There is a chap who posts on here called Stressed Dave and his NA was one of best damped cars I've ever experienced, bar none. I understand he was doing development for Puredrive P5 who are no longer around. Maybe get in touch with him and see if he has any recommendations?

[Gilhooligan]

ex1 said:

Most of the MX5 Nutz folk agree with you. But comparing the "lean" to a standard car demonstrates how clueless you are as just changing the springs would reduce the lean. No disrespect obviously ;-)

Cant comment on the NC but I've owned and driven several NA's and the Meisters are shocking on the road.

There is a chap who posts on here called Stressed Dave and his NA was one of best damped cars I've ever experienced, bar none. I understand he was doing development for Puredrive P5 who are no longer around. Maybe get in touch with him and see if he has any recommendations?

LoL you seem like a charming individual. Thanks for letting me know I’m ‘clueless’. Stating that Meisters are ‘ste’ is over dramatic and somewhat undermines the validity of your opinion. eBay coilovers are ‘ste’, Meisters not so much.

Yes you’re correct that just changing springs will reduce lean. Just fitting springs is a fairly terrible setup also, I’ve been in a car with eibach lowering springs and the car bounced all over the place and was constantly hitting the bumpstops. The point is was trying to make is that the Meisters were composed on fast bumps and when hard cornering but still supple enough for road use. These are fairly adjustable, maybe the ones you experienced were setup too stiff.

[ex1]

Gilhooligan said:

ex1 said:

Most of the MX5 Nutz folk agree with you. But comparing the "lean" to a standard car demonstrates how clueless you are as just changing the springs would reduce the lean. No disrespect obviously ;-)

Cant comment on the NC but I've owned and driven several NA's and the Meisters are shocking on the road.

There is a chap who posts on here called Stressed Dave and his NA was one of best damped cars I've ever experienced, bar none. I understand he was doing development for Puredrive P5 who are no longer around. Maybe get in touch with him and see if he has any recommendations?

LoL you seem like a charming individual. Thanks for letting me know I’m ‘clueless’. Stating that Meisters are ‘ste’ is over dramatic and somewhat undermines the validity of your opinion. eBay coilovers are ‘ste’, Meisters not so much.

Yes you’re correct that just changing springs will reduce lean. Just fitting springs is a fairly terrible setup also, I’ve been in a car with eibach lowering springs and the car bounced all over the place and was constantly hitting the bumpstops. The point is was trying to make is that the Meisters were composed on fast bumps and when hard cornering but still supple enough for road use. These are fairly adjustable, maybe the ones you experienced were setup too stiff.

I'm not going to get into a pissing competition just giving my opinion having driven lots of very different cars and raced for many years I was very surprised how poor the Meisters were given how people rave about them. I'm equally as shocked how poor modern BMW's ride and yet people seem to be queuing up to buy them.

[iguana]

It's a tough one, I've got some of the later p5 on an nb I bought & they are fantastic, leagues above others I've had on mx5 inc the earlier p5 offering which I wasnt impressed with- I get get confused as to the sportdrives & puredrives & driven side by side vs my Gaz golds on my na is chalk & cheese better & I quite like the Gaz.

But you cant get the P5 now although it could be worth a call to Protech who iIthink made them? although to P5s own spring rates, they do list MX5 shocks on their site tho & good prices, so I wouldn't really know what to recommend, I've never really been impressed with Tein stuff on other cars & KW yes generally good but pricey & are cheaper other KW made alternatives by them in other brands on other cars ST & Weitec but I've no experience of them on mx5 & same with other available options Spax, BC, HSD, Meister R, or Nitron but they are big money, shame they don't do a street series for mx5, they are great on Elise/Vx220. oh is Ohlins too.

[5er]

I have Meisters on my NC and don't like them.

[scrw.]

I have run KYB, Miester R & Tein on my NA's. Tein are the best IMHO. M R's are over rated, I found the spring rate too soft for crappy UK roads, very crashy,metal bushes transfer too much NHV and the finish didn't last.

Current NA has Tein street basis on, so none adjustable damping but adjustable height, and find the handling spot on for me. Think I have the ride height -25mm/-15mm f/r over stock so as not to batter the underside.

Edited by scrw. on Monday 24th December 22:15