Shocks for first gen

[kbmwm3]

What shocks do you recommend for autocross stock class gen 1 miata? Bilsteins koni best price thanks for your advice
Keith r

[buddy bodean]

go here --> http://www.tampabaymiatas.net/forum/index.php and use the search function. You'll find EVERYTHING you ever wanted to know on this subject.

[Loren]

"Best" for how much money?

Best "cheap" is KYB AGX. Decent, but not "fantastic", adjustable so you can tweak them a little bit. (adjusts both compression and rebound with one 8-position knob... or 4-position for the NB version) Pretty durable. $340-380/set... cheaper if you find them used.

Bilsteins are awesome, but non-adjustable. For the street, some people find them too harsh. They have LOTS of compression damping, so they give great steering response, but that's also what makes them harsh over small bumps. They're actually okay over larger bumps due to their digressive valving. At higher shock piston speeds, they don't damp as much, so they can soak up big bumps. If you're sticking with stock springs, you really can't go wrong with Bilsteins in my opinion.

Koni's are loved by many, and hated by some. I think they're good, myself. Not as good as Bilsteins, but they are adjustable, which is nice. The adjustment is rebound-only, and they don't have as much compression damping as a Bilstein. If you want to get crazy, they're revalveable (so are Bilsteins). But, by the time you've paid to do that, you might as well just buy a better shock!

You can get Bilsteins for a touch over $100 each if you shop around. I forget where I found them for something like $104. Was about to pull the trigger on them when I got a deal on a set of used AGX that I couldn't pass up. They work well enough for now. Konis are a bit more expensive, like around $550/set.

There are some other options that I'm less familiar with. Tokiko and such.

Like Ed said, search our local forum, but also search Miata.Net and other places where national-level autocrossers hang out. Just search your question on Google and go where the answers are... it's usually not hard to pick out who really knows what they're talking about and who's just blowing smoke.

[Jamie]

Keith -- when I first got my Miata, I did lots of research on Miata.net and talked to a number folks running nationally. It seems to boil down to two basic stock setups: Bilsteins and a heavier front sway bar, or Konis and the stock front bar. The Konis are more expensive, though -- Mazda Motorsports sells them for about $170 apiece, versus Blisteins at about $120 apiece.

[Loren]

And don't forget to factor in race tires vs. street tires, and personal driving style/preference.

There really is no single "right answer". There are shock snobs that will tell you that only Konis are good... and others that will tell you Konis are junk because their adjustments are not repeatable or equal from one shock to the next. And there are others (like me) who will tell you that an extremely small number of us are actually good enough drivers to notice much difference between "decent" and "perfect" shocks. (I'm certainly not)

Just avoid generic stock replacements unless you absolutely have to for budget reasons. And if you HAVE to go that route, go with KYB GR2, they're an "okay" stock shock... where something like a Monroe Sensatrac is almost like not having shocks on a Miata.

[Gerry]

I have the KYB AGX shocks on my NB (4-setting version). I'm quite happy with them for both daily driving and autocross. They were on the car when I bought them from Ed.

If you're looking in the used market, you *can* use NB shocks if you use them with the NB upper mounts. This seems to be a common mod since it increases suspension travel a little bit.

But seriously, sign up at TampaBayMiatas.net.

[Jeremy]

Keith bought a new car?