Buying shocks and springs

[Legend83]

Had the MX5 for over a year now and thinking she should be treated to some new shocks and springs (no idea when shocks last changed, lack of s/h).

How long typically should shocks and springs last as I am looking at some used items on Ebay? - eibach springs and KYX adjustables.

Cheers,

Ed

[miniman]

Not sure I would want a set of second-hand shocks unless I was damn sure what mileage they had done.

[Legend83]

Listings 'claim' the springs have been on the car for 1 year and the shocks are 6 months old and have done less than 2000 miles. How I validate that is anyones guess!

[speedychrissie]

buying second hand suspension is always going to be a mystery. they may have done thousands of motorway miles and be perfect or a few hundred very very hard miles and not be so great.

the suspension i got for my mx5 is £400 ish for both shocks and springs and in my opinion (and limited experience) excellent:

http://www.performance5.com/handling_suspension.as...

[Planet Claire]

speedychrissie said:

the suspension i got for my mx5 is £400 ish for both shocks and springs and in my opinion (and limited experience) excellent:

http://www.performance5.com/handling_suspension.as...

I also got the KYB AGX/FM combo, replacing my Bilsteins shocks and OEM springs - what a difference, a much more comfortable ride. Then having the full alignment (WiM) afterwards made it a different car altogether.

If you go to P5 for parts and fitting, look to pay nearer to £600.

[Legend83]

Thanks for contributions so far guys - so anyone want to answer the original question ? Can't remember what the service schedule says but I am guessing springs 50-60k and shocks 20-30k?

[miniman]

I'd be surprised if it was that little to be honest. My BMW is on 112k on its original springs and dampers.

[Legend83]

miniman said:

I'd be surprised if it was that little to be honest. My BMW is on 112k on its original springs and dampers.

In which case, I feel a little more positive about buying them used!

[TheForceV4]

After general use, how long is it before they are generally worn out?

[Munter]

TheForceV4 said:

After general use, how long is it before they are generally worn out?

Well my cars on it's orginals at 102000miles. I think things are starting to go a bit sloppy and the shock boots have vanished into little pieces of dust.

I was hopeing to get the P5 Puredrive kit on the car, but phil was out of stock and waiting for delivery dates last time I contacted him. From what he said a month or so ago he should have some in stock now...

[MX-5 Lazza]

I think the general consensus is that the shocks are worn at around 50-60k miles. That might just be the Bilsteins
though. Worn shocks will carry on working for a lot longer but you don't realise how bad they have got until you replace them.
They also protect the springs to a certain extent, so if the shocks are worn the springs will start to wear quicker.
I would have thought that on a car with over 100k miles, replacing the shocks will make a massive difference to handling and especially ride quality.

[Legend83]

What are people's consensus on a good suspension set-up for a daily driver on normal roads, but with the occasional fast-hoon round country b-roads?

Reading MX5-Nutz is making me a bit wary of the Eibach springs being overly stiff for my needs - I have read the trim springs on MX5-parts lower the car by 15mm rather than the 30mm the Eibachs do.

The KYB's seem to be popular so am happy to put those on I think.

[MX-5 Lazza]

I used to have the same KYB AGX shocks / FM Springs setup as Planet Claire but also with FM ARBs and was very happy with that setup. It was comfortable and very well controlled on the road and by knocking the shocks up a notch were also very good on the track.
The FM springs I had were from a batch FM had made that dropped much further than they should - I had about a 50mm drop which looked great but was hell on speed-bumps! The newer FM springs are a much better compromise between looks & practicality.
I changed to Performance5 PureDrive mostly to get the advantage of height adjustable shocks so I could fine-tune the ride-height but they have also given an improved ride over bumpy roads. Not sure they control the roll and bump quite as well as the AGX/FM combination did though...

[Legend83]

MX-5 Lazza said:

I used to have the same KYB AGX shocks / FM Springs setup as Planet Claire but also with FM ARBs and was very happy with that setup. It was comfortable and very well controlled on the road and by knocking the shocks up a notch were also very good on the track.
The FM springs I had were from a batch FM had made that dropped much further than they should - I had about a 50mm drop which looked great but was hell on speed-bumps! The newer FM springs are a much better compromise between looks & practicality.
I changed to Performance5 PureDrive mostly to get the advantage of height adjustable shocks so I could fine-tune the ride-height but they have also given an improved ride over bumpy roads. Not sure they control the roll and bump quite as well as the AGX/FM combination did though...

FM/KYB AGX combo is £429 at P5 - do you know how much it would cost to fit them (estimate)? So what total cost would be?

[MX-5 Lazza]

Legend83 said:

FM/KYB AGX combo is £429 at P5 - do you know how much it would cost to fit them (estimate)? So what total cost would be?

Wild guess - £100 to fit? Could be well out either way though.

[Planet Claire]

MX-5 Lazza said:

I think the general consensus is that the shocks are worn at around 50-60k miles. That might just be the Bilsteins
though. Worn shocks will carry on working for a lot longer but you don't realise how bad they have got until you replace them.
They also protect the springs to a certain extent, so if the shocks are worn the springs will start to wear quicker.
I would have thought that on a car with over 100k miles, replacing the shocks will make a massive difference to handling and especially ride quality.

My Bilsteins were replaced at 89k miles and Phil (@P5) said they were in good nick. It sounded to me that they still had plenty of life in them.

Legend83 said:

FM/KYB AGX combo is £429 at P5 - do you know how much it would cost to fit them (estimate)? So what total cost would be?

See my post above. Got mine fitted by P5 and it cost around £600 in total, can't remember the exact price.

[MX-5 Lazza]

Planet Claire said:

My Bilsteins were replaced at 89k miles and Phil (@P5) said they were in good nick. It sounded to me that they still had plenty of life in them.

I was thinking more of the Mk1 Billies that came on many Jap spec Mk1s. Again, I don't have 1st hand experience of this, it's just what I've picked up from the various forums over the years.

[Legend83]

In people's opinion, is there a risk involved in ordering FM springs & KYB shocks direct from Flyin Miata www.flyinmiata.com, then getting a local garage to fit them?

Do they need a specialist set-up that a local wrench-monkey might bugger up? Or can I just get them fitted then take them to WIM for a proper setup?

[MX-5 Lazza]

The only real risk as far as I know is getting them through customs without being hit with a ridiculous import duty tax. This is the reason why, despite the apparent cost saving by buying direct, it usually ends up no cheaper than buying from a UK importer such as Performance5 and that way you get support from UK too.

[Legend83]

MX-5 Lazza said:

The only real risk as far as I know is getting them through customs without being hit with a ridiculous import duty tax. This is the reason why, despite the apparent cost saving by buying direct, it usually ends up no cheaper than buying from a UK importer such as Performance5 and that way you get support from UK too.

Hmm. Good point that I did not think of. And I call myself an accoutant!