Meister R / Gaz Gold Pro / Something else

[cito quod fortis]

Hi all

I collect my MK2 1.8 SE tomorrow. During the test drive I spotted a few things that need attention fairly soon:

1. a couple of new front tyres (easily sorted)
2. brakes will need sharpening up (one for a month or two time)
3. wheel alignment to be done (presume I need to sort tyres and suspension first)
4. suspension is a bit bouncy for my liking on the road, let alone on track

My plan is to do 4 or 5k miles a year on road and about 10 or so trackdays, but the first won't be until next year.

So the real question is that there seem to be loads of people in favour of Meister R and Gaz Gold Pro, but which are better given the similar cost? Also are there any other suitable alternatives, preferably a bit cheaper, but still good?

Anyone have some good advice on this please?

Thanks Andy

[roddo]

Gaz 60% track 40% road
MeisterR 60% road 40% track

Just remember to get the correct spring rates.

Feel free to ring me if you like, we supply both.....
Paul

[Schmeeky]

Not sure how much use this will be, as I've no experience of the GAZ stuff, have never done a track day, and am still on the Chinese ditchfinders that were on the car when I bought it..

What I can say with confidence is that the Meister R stuff really works, the ride is supple while being firm enough to get every bit of grip out of those tyres. The cost of purchase, installation and alignment was nearly half the price of the car, but I consider it good value for money, as it totally transformed my car into something that goes round corners very nicely indeed!

[MX-5 Lazza]

And my experience is only of the GAZ Gold Pro with front 400lb and rear 300lb springs which are great on track and still decent on the road.
I suspect that it's Roddo who has the most relevant knowledge & experience on this one and it's up to you to decide what you want most from the car. What feels tight on the road can feel too soft on track.

Just so you know, my experience is as follows:
Standard Mk2.5 Sport suspension (not Bilstein): Comfortable on the road but too much pitch & roll for me, especially with a supercharger.
KYB AGX shocks/FM Springs/FM ARBs: Actually a very good setup. Worked very well on track and was comfortable on the road. I only swapped because I had some faulty FM springs that were much too low and wanted adjustable height.
P5 Puredrive: Again, very good on the road but not quite stiff enough on the track. Mine were faulty though and both fronts blew their seals so I might not have got the best out of them. Removed to get them rebuilt by Protech and replaced with the GGP while they were off.

If I was swapping again now I think I might give the P5 Sportdrive a go...

[pewe]

On my Mk1 the MeisterR's have transformed the handling.
Gather this comes from their units being specifically tuned for 5's.
We've run them for a good few thousand miles - fast road, motorway, track days and autosolos.
The click adjustment from inside the engine bay/boot makes it so easy to adjust them.

Other up-grades to consider -
1) frame rails - help torsional stiffness and reduce scuttle shake,
2) chassis braces,
3) braided brake hoses, Mintex pads and some decent brake fluid whilst you're at it.

HTH.
Cheers, Pewe.

[Ab Shocks]

I keep hearing about specifically valved shocks from the BC factory that are marketed by BC uk, Meister, D2 and Uncle Tom Cobbly but not surprisingly when we start talking about servicing and revalving for track use it transpires that not one of the suppliers opens them up for service or revalves.
Similarly some of the newer British offerings seem to offer great things in theory but when it comes to it we keep hearing about moving up to Mk3 versions, so I would ask what was wrong with previous offerings.

I have to confess frustration at why a British company that make product from billet, service and repair in house and have something like 220 Mk1 cars racing all over Europe with a very low failure rate shouldn't be top of the list but as we saw in contrasting TV programs Sunday, British is great but you can spin anything if you put your mind to it.

[cito quod fortis]

roddo said:

Gaz 60% track 40% road
MeisterR 60% road 40% track

Just remember to get the correct spring rates.

Feel free to ring me if you like, we supply both.....
Paul

Thanks Paul - can you mail me a number please?

All other comments gratefully received too thanks.

[snotrag]

Rodders number here

http://www.mx5-racing.co.uk/contact-us/

Got Gaz on mine,appeal to me due to the construction, backup, and ease of mainland.

[cito quod fortis]

Thanks Simon, I'll give him a bell. From the above, Gaz looks the way to go, just a bit pricey, when the car only cost £1k!

[skinny]

mk2 bilstiens with RS springs (cut down) is not too bad for a road option. I also have FM ARB's just to improve the response a little.

[vrsmxtb]

I really like my Meister R's, perfect for general road use towards the softer end of the damping and with the new lower spring rates.

[Kozy]

pewe said:

Gather this comes from their units being specifically tuned for 5's.

MiesterR seem to produce coilovers for practically every car on sale in the UK in the past 25 years.

You really think they put specific research into any one vehicle?

Buy SportDrive if you want that kind of thing.

Ab Shocks said:

I keep hearing about specifically valved shocks from the BC factory that are marketed by BC uk, Meister, D2 and Uncle Tom Cobbly but not surprisingly when we start talking about servicing and revalving for track use it transpires that not one of the suppliers opens them up for service or revalves.
Similarly some of the newer British offerings seem to offer great things in theory but when it comes to it we keep hearing about moving up to Mk3 versions, so I would ask what was wrong with previous offerings.

I have to confess frustration at why a British company that make product from billet, service and repair in house and have something like 220 Mk1 cars racing all over Europe with a very low failure rate shouldn't be top of the list but as we saw in contrasting TV programs Sunday, British is great but you can spin anything if you put your mind to it.

Quite.

[pewe]

Kozy ^^, don't take my word for it then.
Go onto Nutz and ask that question directly to Jerrick under MeisterR.
I think you'll find he has been tuning shock/spring/piston combination specifically for 5's.
Cheers, Pewe

[Kozy]

pewe said:

Kozy ^^, don't take my word for it then.
Go onto Nutz and ask that question directly to Jerrick under MeisterR.
I think you'll find he has been tuning shock/spring/piston combination specifically for 5's.
Cheers, Pewe

Tuning 'specifically for 5's' could mean anything from simply picking spring rates that match the weight distribution, and adjusting the damping to match it according to their pre-defined force-velocity curve, through track testing with datalogging equipment, all the way to a full setup on a 7 post shaker rig.

I should bloody well hope he's done the former, but no way has he been doing fully datalogged testing at Milbrook/Mira, specifically on MX5s and MX5s only, like SportDrive do.

[towelie]

I like the MeisterR's had them on the car for over a year now and they're really good! They handled fine on track and are easily stiff enough although I run with 5mm preload on the springs, which helps!

also the damping adjusters are on the top of the damper, not under the car like on the GAZ!

[pewe]

pewe said:

Kozy ^^, don't take my word for it then.
Go onto Nutz and ask that question directly to Jerrick under MeisterR.
I think you'll find he has been tuning shock/spring/piston combination specifically for 5's.
Cheers, Pewe

[Rage Page]

Has anyone here tried the sachs shocks with the autolink sport springs?

[MX-5 Lazza]

Rage Page said:

Has anyone here tried the sachs shocks with the autolink sport springs?

Which Sachs shocks?

When we first bought our Mk1 1.6 track car it had some Sachs Touring suspension 9which I'd never heard of before) that was comically high - higher than the late UK Mk1 setup. I used it like that at Curborough which really highlighted how bad it was as I found I could lap over 2 seconds faster with a passenger than I could on my own! The GAZ Gold pro that replaced them was night & day better in every way.

[Rage Page]

These are the ones I was looking at. I've read somewhere that these are pretty much the standard shocks.

http://www.123spareparts.co.uk/cgi-bin/atm_shop.pl...

Garath from MX5-restorer recommended the gaz gold pro coil overs to me as well but they are quite pricey. This car is my daily driver so I am hoping to set it up for fast road use / comfort. I am not planning on tracking it any time soon.

I am on quite a tight budget and adjustability is something I am not to concerned about right now so a fixed setup and a proper alignment done by WIM would be best for me. My current are shocks standard as far as I can tell and just past their best with knackered bumpstops. These sachs shocks with shorter springs might be the best option for now? Any recommendations?

Edited by Rage Page on Friday 30th August 11:52

[MX-5 Lazza]

In that case I'd recommend a 2nd hand set of Mk2 shocks & springs with the Mk2 top-mounts.