Suspension choice
Discussion
Hi all
Need to replace the suspension on my Mk1 Mx5, car is used on bumpy airfield trackdays and fast road use and is not a daily driver. I therefore value performance over slammed.
The options appear as:
Koni Sport Kit - tried and tested, perhaps not track focussed enough?
HSD's - i've never heard of the manufactorer, monotube design and good spec though. Most expensive choice here
BC Racing BR series - Never heard of these either but getting good reviews
GAZ Gold from WIM - Early GAZ suspension had issues, however these now rectified? Now used in the Ma5da series
Any comments or users of the above please? I have left P5 off this list as i need the suspension asap
Matt
Need to replace the suspension on my Mk1 Mx5, car is used on bumpy airfield trackdays and fast road use and is not a daily driver. I therefore value performance over slammed.
The options appear as:
Koni Sport Kit - tried and tested, perhaps not track focussed enough?
HSD's - i've never heard of the manufactorer, monotube design and good spec though. Most expensive choice here
BC Racing BR series - Never heard of these either but getting good reviews
GAZ Gold from WIM - Early GAZ suspension had issues, however these now rectified? Now used in the Ma5da series
Any comments or users of the above please? I have left P5 off this list as i need the suspension asap
Matt
I recently had the same dilemma, im replacing my KYB AGX/Eibach setup which has been good and reliable but i need the height adjustment.
I was leaning heavily towards the HSD's but finally decided on the BC's. Im yet to see a negative review and they are are apparently good on track as well as being comfortable on road. I think they are worth a punt at the price and have a decent warranty, i should hopefully recieve them this week.
I did consider GAZ and P5 options but they seem a bit hit and miss in terms of quality. I havent got the time to be dismantling my suspension to get issues fixed.
Ill do a review of the BC's once fitted.
I was leaning heavily towards the HSD's but finally decided on the BC's. Im yet to see a negative review and they are are apparently good on track as well as being comfortable on road. I think they are worth a punt at the price and have a decent warranty, i should hopefully recieve them this week.
I did consider GAZ and P5 options but they seem a bit hit and miss in terms of quality. I havent got the time to be dismantling my suspension to get issues fixed.
Ill do a review of the BC's once fitted.
- Tein are good.
- The advantage with GAZ Gold, if fitted by WIM, is that the alignment will also be calibrated at the same time.
- Pure drive get good reviews
- HSD's seem to attract the *slammed* crowd, so not sure what they're like on track
- Koni's with ground control coilovers are highly rated
Good luck
- The advantage with GAZ Gold, if fitted by WIM, is that the alignment will also be calibrated at the same time.
- Pure drive get good reviews
- HSD's seem to attract the *slammed* crowd, so not sure what they're like on track
- Koni's with ground control coilovers are highly rated
Good luck
Cheers for the replies
The BC Racing do appear to be a good spec for the price but i just have never heard of the company before - that may be my ignorance. However i dont believe thay have been tried and tested on track
Gaz are now on the Ma5da cars and have heard very good things about their customer service and WIm also get very good reviews too. However i know a few people who have had a lot of problems with their GAZ Shocks and would rather buy solid equipment that doesnt need the good customer service for repairs etc. But for some reason i am leaning towards these.
HSD's - as the post above states, these are very much for the slammed brigage and no idea what they'd be like on a rough airfield.
Confused.....
Matt
The BC Racing do appear to be a good spec for the price but i just have never heard of the company before - that may be my ignorance. However i dont believe thay have been tried and tested on track
Gaz are now on the Ma5da cars and have heard very good things about their customer service and WIm also get very good reviews too. However i know a few people who have had a lot of problems with their GAZ Shocks and would rather buy solid equipment that doesnt need the good customer service for repairs etc. But for some reason i am leaning towards these.
HSD's - as the post above states, these are very much for the slammed brigage and no idea what they'd be like on a rough airfield.
Confused.....
Matt
Some BC's are being used on track, have a read of this thread http://forum.miata.net/vb/showthread.php?t=331200
The BC's are made in China, aparently you get a shock dyno printout with them and the build quality is good.
The HSD's are very good spec (Equivalent spec wise to the £1300+ Tein Flex kit). They respond well to 'slamming' because they dont lose any shock travel when you go lower, they also have pillow ball top mounts. They are popular on track cars, the driftworks crowd all seem to use them.
The BC's are made in China, aparently you get a shock dyno printout with them and the build quality is good.
The HSD's are very good spec (Equivalent spec wise to the £1300+ Tein Flex kit). They respond well to 'slamming' because they dont lose any shock travel when you go lower, they also have pillow ball top mounts. They are popular on track cars, the driftworks crowd all seem to use them.
On the China front - I can say with experience of buying much bigger kit - (industrial sadly not as interesting as car stuff) that the Chinese will do much more QC than the West on kit IF ASKED TO.
So what I would say is that, there is a range of qualities available from China, and some of the best will easily (if not better) standards seen from other countries.
So what I would say is that, there is a range of qualities available from China, and some of the best will easily (if not better) standards seen from other countries.
I have the BC's, they are great, not been on track yet, but great on road.
Ride better than standar until you get to big bumps (obviously). Have them set to number 8 (of 32) so can go much harder. Height adjustment goes much lower than anyone but the most hardcore would want. I could go about annother inch and a half lower, and am scraping every speed bump around.
I can cpmpare it to other mx5 (except standard), but I have had other cars with 'better' suspension, and they werent this good!
Ride better than standar until you get to big bumps (obviously). Have them set to number 8 (of 32) so can go much harder. Height adjustment goes much lower than anyone but the most hardcore would want. I could go about annother inch and a half lower, and am scraping every speed bump around.
I can cpmpare it to other mx5 (except standard), but I have had other cars with 'better' suspension, and they werent this good!
BCA said:
Paul, is the ride height the only issue you have had with the KYB's?? If so, what general condition are they in?
Yes the only reason im changing is because i need to go lower, I have low offset wheels and they will look a lot better if i drop the car a little more.They should be in good condition, They have only done about 20k miles and the car is garaged, i am intending to sell them so ill give them a good clean up when i get them off and ill PM you.
paul99 said:
BCA said:
Paul, is the ride height the only issue you have had with the KYB's?? If so, what general condition are they in?
Yes the only reason im changing is because i need to go lower, I have low offset wheels and they will look a lot better if i drop the car a little more.That said, when I went from AGX/FM combo to TEIN coilovers the difference was night and day.
On m3 ive just sold I ran Bc inverteds & was v impressed (I did spend a lot of time setting that car up tho corner weighting & geo) i felt were fair match perfomance wise to pss9s at $1800 vs the $700ish of the BCs & the Bcs came with solid front & rear top mounts which made the pss9s so equipped to well over $2k
mx5- last turbo had Fm/Agx & I thought it was excellent, current mx5 has p5's but was too low & geo all to cock & was woeful, already raised it all adjusters free'd off & will report back when 1st geo'd tomorrow.
Ive run Avos on 2x Golf track cars & my Caterham, for the $ it was good, no complaints, not the best at all but I rated it, Golf stuff was race valved & ran v hard springs & not sure above why rebuilds were issues? I found v cheap & fast rebuilds at the factory too & uk based & fairly central so easy to get to for most folks, I'm sure a Golf set rebuild last yr inc a new damper shaft was somat like $150 the lot, vs koni rebuild prices are circa $200 per shock!
Golfs & e30s ive run Koni/Eibachs great combo, tad too soft on the e30 for hardcore tracking but ace on the golfs
(for $ I mean pounds, but no pound sign on this pc!)
mx5- last turbo had Fm/Agx & I thought it was excellent, current mx5 has p5's but was too low & geo all to cock & was woeful, already raised it all adjusters free'd off & will report back when 1st geo'd tomorrow.
Ive run Avos on 2x Golf track cars & my Caterham, for the $ it was good, no complaints, not the best at all but I rated it, Golf stuff was race valved & ran v hard springs & not sure above why rebuilds were issues? I found v cheap & fast rebuilds at the factory too & uk based & fairly central so easy to get to for most folks, I'm sure a Golf set rebuild last yr inc a new damper shaft was somat like $150 the lot, vs koni rebuild prices are circa $200 per shock!
Golfs & e30s ive run Koni/Eibachs great combo, tad too soft on the e30 for hardcore tracking but ace on the golfs
(for $ I mean pounds, but no pound sign on this pc!)
Edited by iguana on Tuesday 23 February 22:05
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ADJUSTABLE-COILOVERS-SUSPENS...
these have been getting good reviews over on nutz. there rebranded racelands and for the price you could change them every 2 years as the warranty runs out.
these have been getting good reviews over on nutz. there rebranded racelands and for the price you could change them every 2 years as the warranty runs out.
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