Lowering a car - No idea - Help
Discussion
Hello All,
About to buy a cheap mk1 mazda mx5, and planning to lower slightly and put a nicer set of alloys on to start with.
Now i dont want it to look stupid and be undriveable after its been lowered.
So whats the most you could lower it without having to do a lot of extra work to the arches etc.
Something like this?
https://c1.staticflickr.com/7/6166/6178324151_8cd4...
I Understand the 'stance scene' is not popular on here and im not trying to achieve that, just think in the picture above it looks a lot better than standard.
No idea how it will affect the handling either.
thanks
About to buy a cheap mk1 mazda mx5, and planning to lower slightly and put a nicer set of alloys on to start with.
Now i dont want it to look stupid and be undriveable after its been lowered.
So whats the most you could lower it without having to do a lot of extra work to the arches etc.
Something like this?
https://c1.staticflickr.com/7/6166/6178324151_8cd4...
I Understand the 'stance scene' is not popular on here and im not trying to achieve that, just think in the picture above it looks a lot better than standard.
No idea how it will affect the handling either.
thanks
It'll drive like fanny all lowered that much.
The last MX-5 I had was fitted with Koni rebound adjustable dampers and 35mm lowering springs, the one previous to that had imported tanabe dampers and 60mm springs, it was just too hard and too low to be useable.
Light weight 15" alloys is probably best for tyre choice.
The nicest MX-5 I ever had a chance to drive was a bog standard 1.6 with the original 14" wheels. Mazda seemed to know what they were doing
The last MX-5 I had was fitted with Koni rebound adjustable dampers and 35mm lowering springs, the one previous to that had imported tanabe dampers and 60mm springs, it was just too hard and too low to be useable.
Light weight 15" alloys is probably best for tyre choice.
The nicest MX-5 I ever had a chance to drive was a bog standard 1.6 with the original 14" wheels. Mazda seemed to know what they were doing
That's quite low. You can get springs from the likes of Eibach and H&R which will lower the car around 20mm. Doesn't sound a great deal, but it will make a difference visually whilst still looking original to the casual observer. It's really the offset of the wheel that gives a car 'stance'; you would need some hub-centric spacers to lower the offset of existing wheels.
Springs come as either linear or progressive. Linear will retain the same spring rate throughout, so check how the aftermarket spring's rate compares to OEM. Progressive springs have a varying spring rate as they are compressed; the idea is you retain stock ride quality yet it feels sportier when pushing on. This is fine for fast road driving, but on track can lead to an odd response from the car - it depends on what you want out of the MX5.
Bear in mind the MX5 / Eunos is getting on a bit now. Lowering springs will exacerbate damper wear; especially so if the dampers have done 100k miles!
However, don't be put off by people who wave their finger mentioning "Mazda spent millions on R&D...". The reality is Mazda made a compromised car to suit a world market. You can improve ANY car to suit YOU and you don't need to justify it to anywhere. Just make an informed decision and stay safe. On that note, there are plenty of Mazda tuners and Mazda forums who will offer suggestions for setups depending on your driving style. Just bear in mind that, on forums, people tend to suggest what they buy (to justify their purchasing decision).
Springs come as either linear or progressive. Linear will retain the same spring rate throughout, so check how the aftermarket spring's rate compares to OEM. Progressive springs have a varying spring rate as they are compressed; the idea is you retain stock ride quality yet it feels sportier when pushing on. This is fine for fast road driving, but on track can lead to an odd response from the car - it depends on what you want out of the MX5.
Bear in mind the MX5 / Eunos is getting on a bit now. Lowering springs will exacerbate damper wear; especially so if the dampers have done 100k miles!
However, don't be put off by people who wave their finger mentioning "Mazda spent millions on R&D...". The reality is Mazda made a compromised car to suit a world market. You can improve ANY car to suit YOU and you don't need to justify it to anywhere. Just make an informed decision and stay safe. On that note, there are plenty of Mazda tuners and Mazda forums who will offer suggestions for setups depending on your driving style. Just bear in mind that, on forums, people tend to suggest what they buy (to justify their purchasing decision).
Edited by hondansx on Tuesday 19th August 19:00
By lowering it you'll reduce the suspension travel, so it will need to be stiffer & therefore harder so it doesn't crash onto the bump stops. My wife's Eunos rode badly even with no suspension mods on heavy 16" wheels & was much better on 14" daisys. It is now on 15" because she prefers the look!
If your wishbones go past horizontal itll handle like s
t.
Up to that point you're fine.
There's not a lot of travel as standard so if you want to be able to drive it at all you need shocks thatll cope. I had gaz make me some up specially which were lovely but obviously not cheap. Those with low offset 13"s and 185x60 tyres let me go very low indeed without losing the ability to drive round corners
t. Up to that point you're fine.
There's not a lot of travel as standard so if you want to be able to drive it at all you need shocks thatll cope. I had gaz make me some up specially which were lovely but obviously not cheap. Those with low offset 13"s and 185x60 tyres let me go very low indeed without losing the ability to drive round corners
There's some good info on this thread about lowering an mx5!
http://www.barryboys.co.uk/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?f=...
Have a read.
http://www.barryboys.co.uk/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?f=...
Have a read.
callywally18 said:
Not really too fussed about the handling as i am trying to be sensible after my last incident with a red rwd mazda 
Seems a fair statement till you end up in a situation not of your making going slightly faster than you really wanted to - then you'll be glad of some handlingI sort of inhereted a lowered Mk1 a few years back. Once the suspension was returned to standard and set up properly it was a real pleasure to drive. When lowered it was a nasty, unpredictable bouncy mess - I mean all over the f***ing place.
If you have previously managed to crash a RWD Mazda (I'm impressed - that takes an applaudable amount of crassness. I've never come across easier RWD cars to throw about and generally abuse than these) then I'd argue that it's even more important that your next one drives properly.
If you have previously managed to crash a RWD Mazda (I'm impressed - that takes an applaudable amount of crassness. I've never come across easier RWD cars to throw about and generally abuse than these) then I'd argue that it's even more important that your next one drives properly.
Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff