"whatuptkhere" (whatuptkhere)
10/30/2017 at 05:22 • Filed to: mx5, mx-5, mazda, .miata
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"whatuptkhere" (whatuptkhere)
10/30/2017 at 05:22 • Filed to: mx5, mx-5, mazda, .miata | 1
| 7 |
I spent $3000 on my MX-5, and it’s done almost 400,000 km.
It handled like a wet noodle.
Thankfully, through careful research (i.e. bugging everyone on the local Facebook groups), I figured out which parts I needed to make my car suck less.
Then I compiled this into a video, because there aren’t enough MX-5 videos on the internet already.
TL;DR: coilovers + fat front sway + sticky tyres will save your beater racecar from pitching and rolling like a drunk aircraft carrier.
Future plans: Get my 740's windscreen fixed and get the rollcage in the MX-5.
arl
> whatuptkhere
10/30/2017 at 06:02 |
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I always wondered though - don’t you have to start with replacing suspension bushings, tie rod ends, ball joints, etc? I’ve never gotten an old sports car up to spec, but don’t you have to spend a lot of time and money on replacing those basic items first, before putting on coilovers, sway bars, etc?
PS. Rack boots.
Echo51
> arl
10/30/2017 at 08:45 |
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Only if they have slop in them, but you could replace them with harder Poly bushings for moar performance, yo!
daender
> whatuptkhere
10/30/2017 at 18:40 |
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Did you also buy sway bar mounting blocks for the front sway bar tabs? NA and NB Miatas will flex at the stock mounting tabs when you introduce stiffer front sway bars and stiffer suspension (along adding heavier loading on the nose since you will try to attack corners at a higher rate of speed). I can provide you two autocross videos if you want to see the differences.
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whatuptkhere
> daender
10/30/2017 at 23:38 |
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I did not! I should try and source some before the sway bar mounts rip out, right?
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whatuptkhere
> arl
10/30/2017 at 23:38 |
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Nice legs, daisy dukes, make a man go RACK BOOTS.
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whatuptkhere
> arl
10/30/2017 at 23:40 |
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I mean, in reality, you don’t have to do anything. My bushes are getting old, certainly, but they’re still all in one piece and functional. The shocks on the other hand were totally shot.
That said, if you yanked your old shocks and the bushings were so worn as to fall apart during the process, then yes, you’d have to replace them then and there.
The tie rod ends do need replacement, really. They’re pretty far gone.
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daender
> whatuptkhere
10/31/2017 at 06:05 |
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Yeah, it’d be a good choice to prevent the tabs from shearing due to fatigue. The are actually welded and bolted to the chassis, which makes them a PITA to remove or repair. I’m using Racing Beat blocks since they came with my used front sway bar.
Here’re those two videos I mentioned. This shows the flexing without the blocks:
And here’s the same run with the blocks installed.