Suspension Upgrade! October 2010
Looking back, I can't believe I've been driving around in this car on the stock suspension for the last three years. What took me so long?
I know all of the benefits and there are tons of great, affordable options for the Miata. I suppose I was just too focused on making more horsepower, but
who can blame me there? Plus, the stock handling on these little cars is quite good right out of the box. So I, ahem, put it off for a bit.
After getting the turbo setup upgraded and where I wanted it, I knew it was finally time to focus on upgrading the suspension. I did lots of
research on the web and talked to a few local Miata folks to get their opinions. I had been shopping around for a few weeks when a barely used
set of KYB AGXs and Eibach springs popped up for sale on the local Miata forum. I jumped on the deal and picked them up for a great price the
next day. I've had AGXs on many of the cars I've driven and have always been very satisfied with them. Another plus? They were already
assembled and ready to be bolted up. Score!
The next morning, I immediately got to work getting the Miata up in the air and ripping off the original stock bits. The job wasn't bad at all,
especially since there are some great how-tos posted on the web. I did the job by myself in about 2 hours. There's really nothing too exciting
about pictures of grubby old 70,000 mile shocks and struts, so lets get to the results!
Front before and after.
Rear before and after.
Here are some outdoor before and after shots to give you an idea of the ride height. In the last few weeks of driving (after these
pictures were taken), the car has actually down another 1/2 inch or so, which I think looks just right.
So how does it ride? Excellent! I currently have the struts set to "1" all the way around until I get some time to play with them, but already
they are a massive upgrade over the worn out stock stuff I had on there. The car has much less roll than before, and the back end is more
predictable when the turbo power comes on. It has greatly improved the look of the car too. Now about those lame wheels and tires...it never
ends, does it?!?
Thanks for reading!
-Tom
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