The suspense is terrible. I hope it will last.

"Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To" (murdersofa) 02/10/2020 at 10:36 • Filed to: None

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And the suspense _was_ terrible. Seriously, for having the name “bilstein” on it the stock sport suspension on the NC Miatas is absolute trash. Harsh over bumps and wallowy in corners and floaty on the highway, it’s somehow the worst of all worlds. NA and NB owners will be looking on in utter confusion as Bilsteins for their platforms are highly coveted bits of OEM equipment but NC bilsteins, even mine with <20k miles on them, are best suited as door stops.

$1k later I remedied these issues this weekend. In addition to the already-equipped RX8 yellow-dot sway bars I now have:

Progress Technologies springs (.5" lower than stock, 20in-lbs stiffer, significantly denser wound)

Koni Yellow shocks (adjustable rebound, though the adjusters are pretty much impossible to get to once installed)

GWR Race bumpstops (for daily driver cars that will see track time)

Fun fact about the progress springs: They’re OEM equipment. You could buy an NC from the Mazda dealership with these lowering/sport springs on them. It came as a part of a class-cheating trim level that also included the combo of the limited slip rear differential with a 5 speed transmission for better autox ratios.

Also, they’re far better than the numbers would suggest. 20 inch pounds over stock sure didn’t seem like it’d be enough considering my NA where I went with springs DOUBLE the stock spring rate, but there’s obviously something going on here my neanderthal brain can’t comprehend because this car is SUBLIME now.

No more diving under braking or nose lift under accel (the last one has me a bit sad because the car feels much slower now in a straight line). Wallowing when pushing it through an offramp is completely gone. Ride harshness is either the same or slightly lessened over the stock billies. Steering precision as a whole is massively improved and the car will now oversteer almost on command.

As an added bonus, the 1" drop over stock with the Konis (.5" built in drop) and the springs (.5" built in drop) finally makes the wheel gap at the top of the tire equal to the wheel gap in front and back of the tire, ditching the blatantly 4x4 looks of the NC1 and now just looking like a normal ass stock car. I’ll take it.

In short: this suspension is amazing. The car feels more purposeful without affecting daily drivability. It’s a lot more precise and telepathic. A lot of this is probably due to the bumpstops alone; the stock ones were obviously not replaced when the shocks were (previous owner had new OEM shocks put on shortly before I got the car) and were completely smashed to bits. While tearing up the touge in Arkansas the car felt downright terrifying when pushing it to keep up with my buddies’  track NC, autocross FRS, and modified Z3 M coupe. Now I feel like I could easily keep up with the group, especially given a better wheel and tire package than the zillion-pound stock 17" wheels and mediocre Pilot Sport AS3 tires. But that’s a project for another day...

themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To 02/10/2020 at 10:52

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“While tearing up the touge in Arkansas...”

Initial Yee-Haw  

arl > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To 02/10/2020 at 10:55

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Great looking car - I like the wheels.

Good to hear the new suspension bits are suspending well.

Never would have thought Bilstien’s would be such a bad fit .

MonkeePuzzle > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To 02/10/2020 at 10:56

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excuse me, but nothing appears to have gone awry here. I find this post very unlike a bad luck jake post

Nibby > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To 02/10/2020 at 10:57

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time to put a lift and 33" ATs on that baby

Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To > Nibby 02/10/2020 at 11:02

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No, no, no. That’s my other japanese coupe. You’ll see that project a bit later.

Nibby > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To 02/10/2020 at 11:05

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SOON

Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To > Nibby 02/10/2020 at 11:10

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“Soon” may be an understatement but... we’ll see when the powertrain gets here and what kind of condition it’s in. Expect shenanigans .

Nibby > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To 02/10/2020 at 11:10

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t0ast > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To 02/10/2020 at 11:35

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Not surprised to hear the Bilsteins were garbage. I recall reading somewhere on the forums that they were tuned to be even softer than the standard suspension for some mind-boggling reason (at least on the pre-’09 cars). Good choices on the upgrades. I wound up going for  H&R coilovers while I had mine (which were almost too much for the street), but also had some chances to ride along in some MSR-package cars and found them to be genuinely impressive. Anyone sleeping on the NC really needs to try one with some upgraded suspension parts underneath.

Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To > t0ast 02/10/2020 at 11:45

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I’d love to do an MSR conversion so I could troll people in street class autocross but I’m sure someone would get a stick up their ass about the fact I have Grand Touring interior and it’s a PRHT which I don’t believe ever got the MSR package and blah blah blah some autocross guys are humorless twats.

themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles > MonkeePuzzle 02/10/2020 at 12:04

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Jake: Has good luck

Everyone:

Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies > MonkeePuzzle 02/10/2020 at 13:03

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Things did go slightly wrong, relax.