njaremka wrote:the goal was 13" in the front with the stock OEM bilsteins - we hit 12.6" on the drivers side, so Brian wanted them wound a little higher. passenger side landed just about right at 13". the new springs may or may not change the passenger side.
the rear target was 13.5", and i ended between 13.3" and 13.7" - so, close enough to not change the rear springs.
if you want slightly lower, plan on adding the koni's. my plan is to add the aftermarket bilstein sport dampers. i like the lower ride height, but i don't want to be too low.
Willing to make a little bet?
If indeed the springs come in @ 300 inch pounds then Koni's will not let the car set any lower. That's most likely to much spring for any aftermarket shock on the market now. This stiff of a spring would need to be re-valved. I just got set of Koni's warrantied.
Brian wrote:300 pounds is easily handled by the koni sport.... 300 is not that stiff...
Brain,
I'm sure you know a lot more than I do about suspensions for the Miata than I will ever know. But with all do respect, when FM released their front springs with the rate listed I call Tokico @ 310-343-7390 and was sent to Ray. I asked Ray if the HTS shocks could handle a 300 inch pound spring. He said let me check, a few seconds later said No, why? I told him a Co. in CO just released a 300 inch pound front spring for the 06 and newer Mazda MX-5. He asked me the name of the company again. I told him FM and he said thanks for the info I will pass it on.
Not surprised by your Tokico story....but it does not help on the KONI question.
On the NA/NB I first tried the Tokico with Ground Control 375/250 kit and indeed the Tokico did not handle those rates very well at all, so I switched that 94 Miata over to KONI SPORT and ever since that time we have been using KONI SPORT for rates up through 400 pounds on NA/NB with complete success...with thousands of customers. I expect a similar result this time.
Brian Goodwin
Good-Win Racing
www.good-win-racing.com
For what it's worth, I found a number of different sources claiming that 450 lb/in is about the most spring rate that the Konis can really handle, although there are people running 550 or more on NA/NB MX5s sucessfully. Also, on his website, Shaikh seems to think that 300/220 is just about the optimum rate for springs to match the off-the-shelf Koni damping, which is very close to the planned Swift rates.
Obviously haven't tried them yet, but I suspect that these will work pretty well with Bilstein HD or Sport for a non-adjustable setup, and will be perfect with Konis for an adjustable setup.
Update; Well I got my reply and Brian you are correct again. Like I said you do know more about the suspension then I will ever know. What little I know is from trial & error, mostly errors.
The reply from KONI,
One of the great advantages of KONI adjustable shocks is that there is no specific spring for matching optimum performance. Instead you can adjust your KONIs to match your springs. Since the shock controls the motion of the spring, increased spring rates require more rebound damping for control and that is one of the reasons why KONIs are rebound adjustable (and some are double adjustable). Using higher rate springs with OE or soft shocks will very quickly overcome and wear out the shocks. The KONI adjustment range is typically about 100% (twice as firm at the full firm settings at the full soft setting) to allow for proper damping of OE springs and high rate performance springs. There is no cut and dry answer as to the highest spring rate at which the sport shock can handle, as everyone has their personal opinion on optimal set ups and everyone's will be different.
I am still waiting for the revised spring set from Swift. What that means is, there has been no progress. What I can say is that the springs work very well with the off the shelf Bilstein Sport dampers. The Sport dampers handle the rates MUCH better than the OEM Bilsteins.
Any news on when the Swift springs will be, finally, available?
p.s. I will be having my OEM Bilsteins reworked by a local shop that specializes in revalving for race/track use.
The OEM's are Bilstein B6's, which are monotube already. I don't do track, so I don't need a car with two souls.
I just want the Ultimate Twistee Eater (TM)
I currently have Konis waiting to replace the NC2 bilsteins that are currently paired with Progress springs . I do my own wrenching, but I would really like this time around to be the last time I go through this iteration for a long while. I figured I might be willing to hold out a for a while if there was any news or should I just forget this as viable option and just be done?
