Mazda Talk Forums

Hi guys,
I am about to revamp my suspension, from stock shocks/rb springs to progress/billstein sport

My mechanic which I have a decent amount of trust in, tells me he is sometimes using aluminum rings/spacers to recover some extra ride height by lifting the springs off their support on the shocks. His shop is specialized in Saabs and his knowledge with miatas is not good! I understand the layout of suspension and the shock assembly itself is different on the saabs.

I was tempted to see if I could recover a quarter inch of clearance using this trick (I happen to take my miata through dirt roads occasionally! hah) to get a final drop of a quarter inch without loosing on comfort/handling characteristics of this shock/spring combo (apart the fact that obviously, the center of gravity of the car will be higher). My understanding of how the suspension works is limited - Would you have any input regarding this idea? is this something you have heard about before? would it reduce the travel in the suspension and affect comfort / handling ? Would it just compress the springs more and affect they way they work ?

I was talking with company that makes setup like this for MINI....for customers who rallycross. Anyway, the fellow at that company just bought an MX5 and tells me that they plan kit for this car....for customers who want to run higher rate springs without the lowering.

It may be niche but I would definitely be one in the market for such a setup - ride height at stock or barely lower but with better springs/shocks. Looks like there are no such options at affordable prices currently (I think you maybe told me it was achievable with the billstein pss coil-overs but that is way too much money for my needs!).

I'll chat again with my mechanic and see what he comes up with. He told me they could make the part from standard aluminum (billet? piping?) if there was nothing existing... They have been fielding 24 hours of lemons cars for a long time so I suspect he knows a bit.

Brian with your understanding of how the suspension works, would using this trick impact the way the spring is supposed to work negatively ?

What I am curious about in particular, is that putting a setup like this on the billstein sport would negate their feature of a reduced shock body to allow for longer suspension travel. so, maybe not a good idea at all...

After another chat with my mechanic, he clarified this - this is a trick he uses to regain clearance on tired, sagging springs. so obviously not a good choice for a new setup.