DaveyR Posted September 27, 2012 Author Report Share Posted September 27, 2012 Just another quick thanks to the guys at WIM for bringing my attention to my rapidly seizing bolts and for sorting them out this morning. Now to try and resist spending money on shiny new bits for the car! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Posted September 27, 2012 Report Share Posted September 27, 2012 Your welcome...... Don't stop spending, it's the law Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveyR Posted September 27, 2012 Author Report Share Posted September 27, 2012 Oh I do subscribe to that law Tony, i'm just not sure my wife shares my enthusiasm for shiny car bits! Otherwise i'm sure I could rack up a fair old credit card bill on this car, new wheels, bc coilovers, full ss exhaust + remap, etc!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Posted September 27, 2012 Report Share Posted September 27, 2012 Don't forget the gear knob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveyR Posted March 16, 2013 Author Report Share Posted March 16, 2013 It's been a little while now since I bought the mx5. Firstly I shall address the last comment that Tony made, Gear knob was one of the very first things to address! Now has one of these machined aluminium knobs: The car has now covered almost 10,000 miles in my company since September. I need a second car so I can stop racking up the miles on this one! The suspension is showing the signs of the mileage on Bucks/Herts roads as my left rear shock now appears to have leaked all of its fluid and every time I go over the smallest bump in the road it sounds like someone is hitting the inside of my left rear wheel arch with a hammer! I have been on the phone to WIM about sorting it out. In the end I wasn't all that impressed with the control of the Mazdaspeed option suspension (turned out to be Tokico blue shocks and similar springs to the Eibachs from what I have gathered), as soon as the road gets choppy the shocks seem to lose the ability to control the wheel movement and it gets very choppy and crashy. So rather than replacing shocks I am thinking of going for the BC Racing coilovers. Hopefully they will offer a nice balance between the stiffness and lack of roll of the old setup, but actually do a better job of absorbing the bumps and keeping the wheels in contact with the road! Anyways, I will throw up an update once the final decision has been made and the work completed. And whilst I'm at it I should probably throw up a picture of the car in question somewhere, although it doesn't look all that special, mostly a fairly standard MX5! Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Posted March 17, 2013 Report Share Posted March 17, 2013 I have a set of BCR coilovers at the center for £500 if that helps? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveyR Posted March 17, 2013 Author Report Share Posted March 17, 2013 Oooh, that sounds good Tony. How comes they are going cheaper? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveyR Posted March 26, 2013 Author Report Share Posted March 26, 2013 The MX5 is going into WIM tomorrow morning to have the BC Racing coilovers fitted. Quite excited really! I can't wait to try them out, and also be able to drive the car properly again. I've been driving around like a Granny the last week or so to avoid the banging and/or any extra damage! And thanks to Joe for being very helpful and polite when i've been on the phone to sort this out, much appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Posted March 26, 2013 Report Share Posted March 26, 2013 The BC's and the Mazda really work together, you will be shocked at the difference. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveyR Posted March 26, 2013 Author Report Share Posted March 26, 2013 That's good to hear Tony! Really looking forward to having some decent suspension on the car, and who better to sort that than yourselves. Once the suspension is sorted, next job is tracking down what is causing a noticeable click (more a click than a knock) from the front right area almost every time I brake! Not always instant upon applying brakes, but doesn't do it when just decelerating without braking. I replaced the drop-links on the front about a month ago myself (that was a learning experience, I officially hate rusted nuts, what a ball-ache!) as trundling along in traffic was causing a constant light knocking every time I accelerated or decelerated. New drop-links seemed to fix that, but now I have another noise! I will eventually get everything just-so!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Posted March 27, 2013 Report Share Posted March 27, 2013 Let's hope is just the dampers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveyR Posted March 27, 2013 Author Report Share Posted March 27, 2013 Just want to say thanks to Joe and Tony for the install and setup of the BC Racing coilovers on my MX5 today. Also it was nice to speak to you both face to face. It looks fantastic. It was already lowered over standard but now it sits even better! I'll post up impressions on ride etc soon when I've had a chance to drive it a little more, but already impressed with the improvement in quality of damping over what was on there. Re. The noise Joe noticed on the test drive, that's a new one to me, so I now have 2 separate noises to track down! Hehe. Really appreciated you guys taking a little extra time to try and track down the noise though regardless. Will be back with pictures and impressions soon! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Posted March 28, 2013 Report Share Posted March 28, 2013 Was great to meet you "eventually" on what was a manic day..... The cars stance is spot on in my opinion but remember the damper settings are just a base open for personal setting once you get used to the handling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveyR Posted March 28, 2013 Author Report Share Posted March 28, 2013 Yep, you guys were busy! Which is great because it obviously means business is good, as it should be with your expertise and customer service mentality! And don't worry, i'll definitely have a play around with the adjustable side of things and get an idea of the range of soft -> hard and possibly the balance of the car. Although right now the balance feels pretty nice, zero understeer at sane speeds, the front of the car just turns and points exactly where you ask it to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joeB12 Posted March 28, 2013 Report Share Posted March 28, 2013 That's great news Dave, give it a few hundred miles for everything to settle down and for you to get a feel for it and pop it back in for a fine tune. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveyR Posted March 28, 2013 Author Report Share Posted March 28, 2013 Ok Joe, will do! Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveyR Posted April 8, 2013 Author Report Share Posted April 8, 2013 Joe/Tony: After a 400 mile round trip this weekend i've now put 700 odd miles on the coilovers, is it worth arranging a time to bring it in for a fine tune now or should I wait until i've put another week or two's regular driving on them? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Posted April 8, 2013 Report Share Posted April 8, 2013 I would wait so you know they have settled. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveyR Posted April 8, 2013 Author Report Share Posted April 8, 2013 Ok, will give it some more miles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattslegg Posted May 14, 2013 Report Share Posted May 14, 2013 DaveyR would love to hear your thoughts on the BC coilovers as im thinking of getting some but am worried they might be too stiff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveyR Posted May 15, 2013 Author Report Share Posted May 15, 2013 Of course I can give you my thoughts! Firstly, whether something is too stiff is going to be quite subjective, and also depends on what base you have as a comparison. What suspension is your MX5 currently on out of interest? I have never driven an mx5 on the "standard" suspension, as I bought my car on uprated suspension, Mazdaspeed items. Springs were equivalent to Eibach's that are commonly fitted to the Bilstein yellow shocks as an upgrade and I think the dampers were slightly firmer than the Bilstein's. Just to give you an idea of my base for comparison. Yes, they are reasonably firm, however, with the dampers set on a soft setting they don't really feel firmer than my previous setup, and at the same time they offer significantly better quality and control of damping i.e. they are a lot smoother in their damping over lumps and bumps and react a lot quicker. If you are running on completely stock suspension then I would imagine they will be significantly firmer even on a soft setting though, but the trade-off is a sizeable improvement in handling and how planted the car feels, not to mention the ability of the dampers to keep the tyres in contact with the road more of the time, rather than skipping across the road over imperfections. Over really broken tarmac (the kind that should be fixed!) there is no escaping the fact that you are going to get jiggled around a bit! As you say, the best comparison for yourself would be to have a ride in a car with them fitted, and you would of course be welcome to a ride in mine should you be in the area (Chesham) some time. Anyway, I know it's a bit wordy, but I hope that is of some use! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattslegg Posted May 15, 2013 Report Share Posted May 15, 2013 Hi Dave thank you very much for taking the time to write that, really helpful. Im local to WIM to so I will PM you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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