Miata suspension comparo

Tired of arguing with guys on Miata.net about the best Miata suspension? We've made this article (from our November 2010 issue) live on the Web for future reference.

http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/articles/miata-mission/

Anyone who reads this article should continue to do research, it's really limited.

I was really disapointed with this artical when it came out, even more so now. It jumps from a stock set up to a $1,300 PSS9 to a custom made hard to get hold off set up. What about the 99% of Miata owners who want to upgrade in steps? What about the budget set up's out there? I would rather have gone:

Stock - Bilsteins while stock on the R are a step up for most owners, so this is a good starting point.
Stock with aftermarket springs. This is your average local ST style set up.
Optional, upgrade of shock at this point.
Stock or upgraded with coil overs so you can corner weight. Your average semi serious set up.

Also where's the times to show what measurable improvement there was rather than a totaly subjective 'star' rating.

Stock shocks with aftermarket springs is a pretty bad choice - the car will be underdamped and will work fairly poorly. Especially if the stock shocks have 100,000 miles on them.

There was an "upgrade article" that GRM did on a 2006-7(?) wrx that i actually found pretty useful.

Edit: Two of them actually: Article 1 and Article 2

This one? not so much.

Keith Tanner wrote: Stock shocks with aftermarket springs is a pretty bad choice - the car will be underdamped and will work fairly poorly. Especially if the stock shocks have 100,000 miles on them.

Not to mention that stock shocks get pretty worn out after only about 40k miles. My '99 had been getting really harsh and rattly, my wife thought it was "worn out" with only about 40k miles. Upgraded the shocks (went with KYB AGX, they were just for the street) and it was all better on the damping front. I left them adjusted to full soft.

Bilsteins typically last longer than the standard Miata shocks. But it's fair to assume that pretty much any NA and most NB models need replacements by this point.

Autolex wrote: There was an "upgrade article" that GRM did on a 2006-7(?) wrx that i actually found pretty useful. Edit: Two of them actually: Article 1 and Article 2 This one? not so much.

Those were great articles

Keith Tanner wrote: Stock shocks with aftermarket springs is a pretty bad choice - the car will be underdamped and will work fairly poorly. Especially if the stock shocks have 100,000 miles on them.

Agreed on the 100k miles bit, but the stock R comp Billies can take a mild upgrade

Since the stock R suspension doesn't really use the springs, I guess that's right I wouldn't go more than 15% or so higher, and you're going to have a hard time finding an aftermarket spring that soft that isn't also too short. Stock R package Bilsteins will also drop the car down below the design height of the springs due to a different perch height, and that's going to affect your travel in a bad way.