Lowering Springs

Discussions relating to MX5 Tyre choice, Wheels, Brakes Suspension components and other items to keep you going around corners, stuck to the ground or stopping on a dime.

Moderators: Growler, jif, Born_disturbed, punkoutnz

marcellarius
I count 5-s in my sleep
I count 5-s in my sleep
Posts: 367
Joined: Thu Apr 18, 2013 12:52 pm
Location: Hamiltron

Post by marcellarius » Fri Oct 11, 2013 9:16 am

100mm is with the car unladen. Surely a standard MX5 has like, a foot of ground clearance when unladen.

chris
I have stars, you haven't. Deal with it
I have stars, you haven't.  Deal with it
Posts: 1397
Joined: Mon Mar 26, 2012 8:59 am
Location: Auckland

Post by chris » Fri Oct 11, 2013 12:13 pm

Baring in mind that is measured from any structural part of the body.

I believe factory is like 120mm.
1 X Primera
2 X Silvia
1 X BMW E30
1 X Audi A6
3 X Mazda MX5 (1989, 1990, 1991)

siren676
I have stars, you haven't. Deal with it
I have stars, you haven't.  Deal with it
Posts: 1115
Joined: Fri Jun 08, 2012 12:21 am
Location: Auckland

Post by siren676 » Fri Oct 11, 2013 1:11 pm

Measured mine before installing tein s-techs and it was around 170mm to chassis rails
1990 NA6C MX5

marcellarius
I count 5-s in my sleep
I count 5-s in my sleep
Posts: 367
Joined: Thu Apr 18, 2013 12:52 pm
Location: Hamiltron

Post by marcellarius » Fri Oct 11, 2013 1:36 pm

Fine, so like half a foot ;)

MrGrey
I have stars, you haven't. Deal with it
I have stars, you haven't.  Deal with it
Posts: 1172
Joined: Mon Jan 21, 2013 3:52 am
Location: Northland

Post by MrGrey » Sat Oct 19, 2013 8:07 pm

I spent a few hours on the shocks again today and succeeded in getting one of them done... woot!

if all goes well tomorrow they should be all in and my car will be looking a lot better :)

Undoing the top wishbone bolt gave me just enough wiggle room to get the shock out :) bring on cybernetics or bioengineering I say, as it would have been a lot easier with four arms :wink:

MrGrey
I have stars, you haven't. Deal with it
I have stars, you haven't.  Deal with it
Posts: 1172
Joined: Mon Jan 21, 2013 3:52 am
Location: Northland

Post by MrGrey » Sun Oct 20, 2013 4:01 pm

By the power of brute force and ignorance (which I have bucket loads of) I finally got the lowering springs installed and am very happy with the result. Thank you very much Warrior for the loan of the spring compressors, I am very grateful :)

I will say however, that during the change over I had a terrifying moment of self doubt when, after doing the front springs, I removed the rear springs and found that they were noticeably longer than the front springs when the lowering springs are supposed to be the long ones at the front and short ones at the back. Thankfully I continued ahead with the installation and it all worked out OK but I did not expect the rear ones to be so long.

Image

The tyres that are on currently are 185/60/14's and I am wondering whether I should get 195/55/15's or 195/50/15's for the new rims.... any suggestions?

Angreal
I have stars, you haven't. Deal with it
I have stars, you haven't.  Deal with it
Posts: 1621
Joined: Tue Feb 03, 2009 10:13 pm
Location: At the pub

Post by Angreal » Sun Oct 20, 2013 4:50 pm

That photo makes your car look like a cappuccino

MrGrey
I have stars, you haven't. Deal with it
I have stars, you haven't.  Deal with it
Posts: 1172
Joined: Mon Jan 21, 2013 3:52 am
Location: Northland

Post by MrGrey » Sun Oct 20, 2013 5:30 pm

luckily when I had it jacked up I had it on blocks, otherwise, I could have ended up with a flat white instead :wink:

-=edit=- here is a pic of the springs that came out, the longer ones were from the rear but are a slightly lighter gauge compared to the front springs, as opposed to the lowering springs which the front and rear were an identical gauge. The difference in un-tensioned height is about 100mm which is why I had a pang of paranoia.
Image

warrior
I only think 5.
I only think 5.
Posts: 989
Joined: Wed Oct 06, 2010 7:11 pm
Location: auckland

Post by warrior » Sun Oct 20, 2013 8:08 pm

You are welcome mate. I,m glad it all worked out
warrior

Simonmx5
See my 5 and raise you.
See my 5 and raise you.
Posts: 96
Joined: Thu Sep 19, 2013 9:18 pm

Post by Simonmx5 » Sun Oct 20, 2013 9:41 pm

Did my suspension and wheels yesterday. KYB shocks, King spring lows, 15x6.5 wheels with Michelin PS3 tyres. Feels like a totally different car. Didn't go as low as I thought it would but it has settled a bit more now.
Image
Image

warrior
I only think 5.
I only think 5.
Posts: 989
Joined: Wed Oct 06, 2010 7:11 pm
Location: auckland

Post by warrior » Sun Oct 20, 2013 9:56 pm

They will settle more. Sometimes it takes quite a while.
warrior

MrGrey
I have stars, you haven't. Deal with it
I have stars, you haven't.  Deal with it
Posts: 1172
Joined: Mon Jan 21, 2013 3:52 am
Location: Northland

Post by MrGrey » Sun Oct 20, 2013 10:31 pm

very nice simon, what size tyres are you running? I have rims the same size and am unsure whether to go for a sidewall of 55 or 50.

for what its worth, your car looks much better... super sexy!

Simonmx5
See my 5 and raise you.
See my 5 and raise you.
Posts: 96
Joined: Thu Sep 19, 2013 9:18 pm

Post by Simonmx5 » Sun Oct 20, 2013 10:45 pm

I went with 195/50/15.

MrGrey
I have stars, you haven't. Deal with it
I have stars, you haven't.  Deal with it
Posts: 1172
Joined: Mon Jan 21, 2013 3:52 am
Location: Northland

Post by MrGrey » Sun Oct 20, 2013 11:07 pm

Thanks for the info Simon. My car seems to sit just a little lower than yours but that is probably because I am using 2nd hand springs.

I need to give my car a block test on a flat surface (slide a 100mm block under to check clearance) but I am pretty close to the 100mm mark now and I don't want to have any problems with WOF's or the Police so I am putting a lot of thought into my tyre selection.

As you guys know more about this sort of thing, is my mathematics correct in this case:

185/60/14 = 572mm diameter (111x2)+14" =572mm
195/55/15 = 589mm diameter (107.25x2)+15" =589mm
195/50/15 = 570mm diameter (97.5x2)+15" =570mm

If my maths is correct, then even tho' I am not a fan of the balloon tyre look I will probably go with the 195/55/15's as they would give me an extra 8.5mm to my current lowered height compared to the 14"s I have on currently (as long as they don't rub while turning the wheels)

Is my Bourbon fueled mathematics close to the mark?
thanks for the feedback everyone :)

Angreal
I have stars, you haven't. Deal with it
I have stars, you haven't.  Deal with it
Posts: 1621
Joined: Tue Feb 03, 2009 10:13 pm
Location: At the pub

Post by Angreal » Mon Oct 21, 2013 7:59 am

195/50/15 and then just steal some of Furai's spacers?

MrGrey
I have stars, you haven't. Deal with it
I have stars, you haven't.  Deal with it
Posts: 1172
Joined: Mon Jan 21, 2013 3:52 am
Location: Northland

Post by MrGrey » Mon Oct 21, 2013 8:21 am

does he make them?

Angreal
I have stars, you haven't. Deal with it
I have stars, you haven't.  Deal with it
Posts: 1621
Joined: Tue Feb 03, 2009 10:13 pm
Location: At the pub

Post by Angreal » Mon Oct 21, 2013 8:24 am

No but he should have a lot of spare ones I think. From memory he replaced his bilsteins

MrGrey
I have stars, you haven't. Deal with it
I have stars, you haven't.  Deal with it
Posts: 1172
Joined: Mon Jan 21, 2013 3:52 am
Location: Northland

Post by MrGrey » Mon Oct 21, 2013 8:26 am

do you mean spacers like this?
I have 4 of them but they are for bilstiens and I did not install them as they did not look like they would sit nicely.
Image

jif
Why yes, actually I do run this site.
Why yes, actually I do run this site.
Posts: 470
Joined: Wed May 24, 2006 10:03 pm
Location: I'm a JAFA and I'm OK

Lowering Springs

Post by jif » Mon Oct 21, 2013 9:20 am

easiest way - www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html  :)

On 20 October 2013 23:07, MrGrey <cornering@mx5forum.co.nz (cornering@mx5forum.co.nz)> wrote:
Thanks for the info Simon. My car seems to sit just a little lower than yours but that is probably because I am using 2nd hand springs.

I need to give my car a block test on a flat surface (slide a 100mm block under to check clearance) but I am pretty close to the 100mm mark now and I don't want to have any problems with WOF's or the Police so I am putting a lot of thought into my tyre selection.

As you guys know more about this sort of thing, is my mathematics correct in this case:

185/60/14 = 572mm diameter  (111x2)+14" =572mm
195/55/15 = 589mm diameter  (107.25x2)+15" =589mm
195/50/15 = 570mm diameter  (97.5x2)+15" =570mm

If my maths is correct, then even tho' I am not a fan of the balloon tyre look I will probably go with the 195/55/15's as they would give me an extra 8.5mm to my current lowered height compared to the 14"s I have on currently (as long as they don't rub while turning the wheels)

Is my Bourbon fueled mathematics close to the mark?
thanks for the feedback everyone :)





[Posted via external email]

authentic
I have stars and not afraid to use them
I have stars and not afraid to use them
Posts: 277
Joined: Wed Jun 06, 2012 8:45 pm
Location: Wellington

Post by authentic » Mon Oct 21, 2013 1:02 pm

http://www.willtheyfit.com/

Gives you all the info you need.

MrGrey
I have stars, you haven't. Deal with it
I have stars, you haven't.  Deal with it
Posts: 1172
Joined: Mon Jan 21, 2013 3:52 am
Location: Northland

Post by MrGrey » Mon Oct 21, 2013 4:55 pm

thanks for the calculators guys :) very handy

I managed to quickly put the spacers on the back shocks and they fit nicely, now I just have to do the front....eeesh i hate doing the front springs :wink:

BRM
I count 5-s in my sleep
I count 5-s in my sleep
Posts: 379
Joined: Thu Apr 25, 2013 9:01 pm
Location: North shore

Post by BRM » Mon Oct 21, 2013 6:36 pm

195/50/15

MrGrey
I have stars, you haven't. Deal with it
I have stars, you haven't.  Deal with it
Posts: 1172
Joined: Mon Jan 21, 2013 3:52 am
Location: Northland

Post by MrGrey » Tue Oct 22, 2013 8:32 pm

I whipped the front shocks out, and ran into another problem...sigh
I was able to put the 5mm spacer in the rear shock fine and it fit perfectly, however, the front shock has a lip about an inch above where the shock sits, so I am unable to use the spacer on the front shock.

the spacer is circled (it has a rubber sleeve over it)
Image

I could see about a spacer on the top hat, but as you can see in this pic, the threads are quite short which pretty much screws up that idea as even putting in a 5mm spacer there would be not quite enough thread to screw the 2 nuts on the top hat down safely.
Image

very frustrating ...... does any one have any ideas or suggestions? (yes I know a set of coilovers would eliminate the problem but that is out of reach of my current budget)

Furai
I have stars, you haven't. Deal with it
I have stars, you haven't.  Deal with it
Posts: 1394
Joined: Tue Feb 14, 2012 5:57 pm
Location: New Zealand

Post by Furai » Wed Oct 23, 2013 11:43 am

The spacers I have dont change preload just rideheight, they go between the body of the car and the tophat.

Mine are 3mm which changes the height about 6mm at the wheels, I think I have a few spare...

MrGrey
I have stars, you haven't. Deal with it
I have stars, you haven't.  Deal with it
Posts: 1172
Joined: Mon Jan 21, 2013 3:52 am
Location: Northland

Post by MrGrey » Sat Oct 26, 2013 1:43 pm

I have put the old front springs back in as the lowering springs lowered my height by about 50mm when I could only get away with 25-30mm while remaining legal..... and I was scraping on nearly everything (our roads up here are not exactly level, so I have gone for legal practicality rather than lots of scraping that was illegally low but looked awesome.

that's just the way things go I guess.

All the more reason to save up for some adjustable coilovers in the future.

Thank you for all the help and suggestions everyone, I really appreciated it :)

Post Reply

Return to “MX5 Suspension, Wheels, Tyres & Brakes etc”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 20 guests