New customer....a few questions before buying..

GordonJ · Post by **GordonJ** » Tue Apr 24, 2007 1:44 am

Hey Brian

I've been lurking around the site for a few months now and finally registered. Great site, btw!

There's several things on here I'm seriously considering buying, but have a few questions about them first I was hoping you might be able to answer (or anyone reading who happens to know, too!).

I'll try and be brief and concise:

1. Do you happen to have any pics of your custom billet grilles installed on any color NCs? If not, could you point me to a simple rundown of the installation procedure for one?

2. Will the "Racing Beat Connecting Midpipe" attach without problems to your Roadster Sport Exhaust Ver. 2?

3. Would you recommend a new set of shocks if I was to buy the Mazdaspeed/Eibach ProKit Springs? Are new shocks a neccessity in your judgement?
If so, are the Racing Beat springs the better choice if new shocks are not an option?

Thanks for your time and help! I'm really looking forward to making a purchase here soon but hoped to get some of that cleared up.

ZIPNBYE · Post by **ZIPNBYE** » Tue Apr 24, 2007 5:21 am

Gordon,

Welcome.

As to your questions:

1 - the billet grills are sourced from Moss Motors, and the pics used on Brian's site are the same that they use. Have you gone through the "Wheel and Product Picture Gallery" section, as perhaps there's a client showing off in there.

2 - Any of the mid-pipes will work with any of the mufflers...they all start and end with bolt-flanges, so yes.

3 - My experience with Racing Beat springs is that they sag, over time. Their site claims that they've attended to this issue, but I still have my reservations.

Brian's writings in the Mazda Sport magazine in regards to his suspension series have proven that the oem shocks are not amazing bits of kit, and will be further overwhelmed with the Eibach / Mazdaspeed springs. If you can deal with the added 0.5 - 0.75" drop that the Koni shocks will add to the drop of any spring, go with them.

Post by **Brian** » Tue Apr 24, 2007 7:29 am

Richard summed things up pretty well. The Eibach springs were made to work with the factory shocks but certainly any spring upgrade is going to work much better on an upgraded shock (we have the factory shock dyno posted here in the forum which can be located with a search). All springs can sag over time but we have not had much issue with the Racing Beat springs in this respect, certainly have had more of the issue with the Eibach springs over time on the NA/NB generation.

GordonJ · Post by **GordonJ** » Tue Apr 24, 2007 12:53 pm

Thanks for the replies, guys!

As far as the springs go, I'm not too concerned with pure "track" performance. Just a slightly stiffer ride around town and tighter handling through the twists. Also, the more aggressive lowered stance would be nice.

I've heard on other forums that over about 20,000 miles or so, new sport springs will seriously weaken stock shocks, basically making the ride very "floaty" and bouncy. Has this been your experience?
I would not want to damage the suspension (shocks) over the semi-long term by having a new set of eibach or racing beat springs on there.

Thanks again guys!

Post by **Brian** » Tue Apr 24, 2007 1:32 pm

Stiffer springs do "work" the shocks a little more. Stock shocks are only good for roughly 40k anyway and it hard to say how much faster they wear with stiffer springs.