Applicable to: '90 - '97
Eibach Lowering Springs
Good for a while. but sacked out eventually
These were great springs with a set of Bilsteins until they sat down on the bump stops. I bought Flyin Miata and koni's to replace them. No more Eibachs for me.
Over 30 minutes to remove completely
Applicable to: '99 +
Lowering/Stiffer springs for 99+
I installed these myself with a spring compressor and hand tools. I used the instructions found right here on Miata.net to do the job. It was not very difficult at all as long as you remove the upper control arm bolt to get the spring out. The Eibach Springs DO NOT SAG. I was reading the review above and the owner said his Eibach springs sagged horribly after one year. Thats just not possible. The struts were definitely the culprit, as Eibach springs are always top quality. (I've never had a bad experience with them)
The car rides great with these installed. This is my second set of Eibachs, I have several friends who've used them with good luck, and I reccomend them to everyone.
Over 30 minutes to remove completely
Applicable to: '90 - '97
Eibach Springs
Unfavorable.
A set(4) of Eibach Pro Kit springs were professionally installed on my 91 Miata (purchased new) along with Koni adjustable springs. After approximately 12 months the springs had sagged so badly that there was no camber adjustment left. This leads to abnormal inside tire wear. The car handles well and with the Koni's set on soft, the ride is acceptable. I contacted Eibach both by email and by telephone. No explanation, suggestions or fix. Since the Miata is a 91, I plan to invest no more money in it. Unfortunately, I threw out the original springs so I can't re-install them. I drive the Miata sparingly to preserve the tires.
Over 30 minutes to remove completely
Applicable to: '99 + 1.8 liter
Eibach Sport springs Purchased from Rspeed for the very good price of 209.00 (in retail stores 250+), Thanks to Peter for the quick shipping. I opted to have a local shop install the springs ($446.00 with alignment)a chamber kit was not required; I kept the stock shocks on, only 35K on the car. My Miata runs up and down the freeway with occasional jaunts on a decent road. With the new springs, I will have to find a different road to work. The ride is not as harsh as I expected, in fact its quite nice. The overall handling is much improved and it even knocks down some of the rear end shimmie, shimmie coco bop. The car now seems to hunt the corners (or drivers mind set), the response is quick, and the car is starting to look like a real sports car (down 1 ¾ ). This is an excellent add without having to go with racing springs and a Chiropractor.
Over 30 minutes to remove completely
Applicable to: '90 - '97 1.6 liter
This is the Eibach Pro Kit for the Miata.
I installed the Kit on my '90 Miata, I get my hands on a pretty well built 1997 Miata that had been rolled over, I removed the Shocks and Springs completely from the wrecked car and installed the on my '90. The job was amazingly easy, I just unbolted the two top bolts on each tower, disconnected the sway bar and lower shock bolt, and slipped them out. On the from I had to remove the lower A arm from the frame, this was very easy though, I used a sharpie marker to mark the alignment position on the adjustable washers. I never compressed a spring and everything went crazy smooth. I did have the advantage of having both cars side by side with lifts, and I used a stand and the lift to put appropriate pressure on the suspension when needed to line assembly up.
The ride is fantastic, it seems a bit 'busier' meaning you can feel every dip in the pavement, but it soaks up the jolts and jarring quite nicely. Plus the car looks quite good without the fender gap. Enjoy!
Over 30 minutes to remove completely
Applicable to: '90 - '97 1.6 liter
European Spec Eibach 25mm springs. Direct replacement for stock springs. As far as I know they are only available from RSpeed.
Good so far. Have only had them on a couple of days.
Installed by Hector at RSpeed. They really did tighten up the car and really dropped it. Since my old springs and shocks had 104k on them it is really hard to compare the ride to stock. Reading other reviews of Eibach springs I got really nervous about the ride quality and the height, but both are just like I expected or wanted. The car feels stiffer, and doesn't lean like a battleship going around corners anymore. And the ride height has me the envy of every Civic in the parking lot at work.
Over 30 minutes to remove completely
Applicable to '90 - '97 1.6 liter
Eibach Springs
Simply "AWESOME"
Got a set of Eibachs for my car...installed on stock struts...the ride....awesome.I dont know how others comlain it to be back breaking?The steering feels nice and firm now.I'll buy Eibachs over and over again.The look of the car ...you got to see it your self.....Macho!!
Over 30 minutes to remove completely
Applicable to '90 - '97 1.8 liter
Eibach Lowering Kit
Read all the comments posted before and was worried about harsh ride. Having no experience with lowering before, I was a bit nervous about it.
All my fears are at rest! The Eibach's are smooth as silk...I get a much better ride than with the OEM springs/shocks that had 46,000 miles on them. Can't be more pleased...lowered the car 1.25"...looks REALLY nice...and the ride is super.
Over 30 minutes to remove completely
Applicable to '99 + 1.8 liter
Springs for the 1999+ Miata that lower the car about 1.3 inches and improve suspension performance.
If you want to make your '99 Miata look great and handle better at the same time these springs are a must. They lowered the car about 1.3 inches, getting rid of that "lifted look". The car does not lean as much in the corners; this keeps the geometry of the car from changing, thus improving performance by preventing unwanted weigh transfers. Installation was not simple. You can elect to have a shop do this for you, but expect to spend about 300 dollars for the work. Check the alignment after the springs are installed.
They were difficult to install. It takes about 5 hours with two people working without a break. Expect to get VERY frustrated when trying to get the spring/shock assembly off the car . I had a mazda service manual that made the procedure look deceptively easy. You will need a spring compressor (can be borrowed from autozone for about 50 dollars). You MUST disconnect the sway bars (front and rear) and compress the springs (we had to compress the springs in order to get them to slide out of the shock tower and back through the A arms) before trying to get the shock/spring assembly off the car. The rear is not that bad, but believe me, the front assembly is difficult to get out. You will have to disconnect to lower A arm (something not alluded to in the service manual) and put a lot of pressure on it to give you enough room to get the assembly out.
Over 30 minutes to remove completely
Applicable to '90 - '97 1.8 liter
The Eibach Pro Kit is a spring set that will lower the Miata 1-1.25 inches.
When I originally installed the Pro Kit, I was very unhappy with the street ride, using my stock
shocks, which would not rebound. I recently installed a set of Koni Sport shocks with the adjustable perch and am more than pleased with the street ride.
The Eibach Pro Kit is meant to be used with adjustable shocks, not factory Showas. After using the Pro Kit with my stock shocks for a few months of horrible street driving, I reinstalled the Pro kit using Koni Sport shocks with the adjustable perch. The perch should be set at the factory setting (which happens to be the "Showa setting" or top setting for the snap ring). I adjusted the Koni's to "full soft. The street ride is absolutely wonderful and I have no complaints about the Pro Kit.
Over 30 minutes to remove completely
Stiffer springs that lower the car over and inch
I have Eibach springs on my car along with GAB shocks, Racing Beat anti-sway bars and Racing Beat suspension braces, front and rear. On ideal driving conditions the car handles extremely well. With stiff settings on the shocks, body roll around corners and body rocking during acceleration and braking are almost undetectable. On mountain roads I can safely add 50% to any posted suggested speed. If I were to add performance tires, like the Dunlop SP8000's, the car would probably out-corner anything you can find on the road.
This type of setup requires a lot of caution driving on city roads. Hitting potholes will have you calling a chiropractor. Maximum safe speed going over speed bumps is about 1-2 mph. If the shocks are in a softer setting, some speed bumps will be impassable as the wheels will travel further up into body, allowing the speed bump to hit the underside of the car. At first I was discouraged by these side effects and wondered if I had made a terrible mistake. Now I just feign getting sea sick in my friends' stock cars as they sway around turns.
Applicable to: '90 - '97 1.8 liter
The Eibach Pro-Kit is a sold as a streetable spring kit that will lower a Miata approximately 1.25 iiches.
Easy to install. Lowered the car. Terrible street ride. Great for autocross.
The Eibach Pro-Kit is sold as a streetable street spring set that can be used with the stock Miata shocks. The OEM shocks are to be low mileage and in good condition in order to work with the springs. Maybe on other vehicles, but not a Miata. The ride is totally unacceptable. Your stock shocks will no longer rebound on the street making for a rough, violent street ride. Unless you live in an area where there are no expansion joints on the road and the road is perfectly smooth, the Eibach Pro-Kit is not for you. I must also add, the car did extremely well at autocross with this set-up.
Over 30 minutes to remove completely
Stiffer springs that improve handling and appearance by lowering the car.
I've been really pleased with these springs so far (I waited forever for them to be released to the market), both in the handling and ride departments. I've got the sports package, so the car is already pretty stiff with the lower profile tires and Bilstein shocks, so the ride quality isn't that much harsher. The car definately looks much better--it doesn't have that "slammed" look, but the front wheels are almost flush with the fender. I wish the back was a bit lower (I can get about one to two fingers in the rear well), but that would have required lowering the front wheels into the wells to keep the back from being lower than the front. The car has a much more muscular look, and clearance is still very good. I'm using 205/40ZR-17 tires on 17x7" Racing Hart Type-C Tracers, and have no problems with rubbing, so don't be afraid to go big! If you want to get an idea of what this looks like, head over to the Racing Beat site, check out their '99 (same wheels), and imagine it a little lower than their springs go. With the clearance of the wider fender wells of the '99, I'm sure I could move up to 235/40ZR-17 wheels without rubbing.
If you aren't experienced with suspensions, DO NOT try to perform the install yourself. In the front, you have to actually release the lower control arm from the suspension, weight the suspension by the rotor mount, and compress the springs to get the strut out--there are two control arms, and the strut goes through the center of the upper arm, which is why it is such a pain. The rear is much easier, but still more of a challenge that your average car--you have to weight the suspension near the rotor mount, and compress the springs, to get the strut to pop out.
Make sure to get a four-wheel alignment after suspension changes--it throws off a lot of things, especially after messing with the front control arm--the bolts that hold that arm on also have the camber and toe adjustments on them!
I've never been anything but extremely pleased with Eibach springs. I've used them on previous cars, and most of my friends use them for their cars with the same results. These springs are designed by Eibach, not MazdaSpeed, so they're not overly stiff like the springs for the 1990-97 Miata. If you plan to use these springs, I would suggest larger aftermarket wheels, however. I have good ground clearance because my tires are about an inch taller than stock. Don't go with a standard plus size--go with a 50-16 or a 40-17. With my stock wheels, the car is much lower to the ground, and I have to be very careful not to scrape the front chin spoiler.
Springs to lower car 1.25" and improve handling.
Initially, I was very pleased with these. Ride was harsher, but handling was greatly improved. But beware: after one year they had sagged so much that it was no longer possible to bring camber within specs, and my tires are now wearing on the inside edges. No longer within specs required for autocrossing, either. I have run into others with similar problems. One racer told me she ended up throwing hers away and replacing them with HKS. I sent numerous e-mails to Eibach, over a period of several months, and they made no response. Too bad: it was great while it lasted! I will replace them over the winter.
Replacement springs which lower the car 1.25"
This product is a good choice for anyone wanting to add a more aggressive stance to their Miata. Makes the car handle flatter and gives the driver more control. Even though they are lower, there isn't a serious ground clearance problem. I do recommend going with a good set of adjustable shocks like the Tokico Illuminas I bought. Also, I recommend having a set of new boots for the shocks on hand for the install. The old ones will likely be worn.
The handling on my Miata has improved dramatically, partly because my old shocks were worn out(1990 with 66,000 miles. I highly recommend RSpeed to for doing the work. Joseph went the extra mile by staying until 10:30p on a Saturday evening because I was from out of town. He even cared enough to make me call him when I got back to Columbia, which was 1:30am.
I would definitely do this again. The "careful driving" compromise was worth the crisp handling.
Set of four springs to replace the factory springs. The lower the car approx. 1.25 inches.
A must have for anybody that likes to take corners very very fast. I installed them along with help from my brother in about 8 hours. These springs are great. The ride quality is a little stiffer than stock buy well worth the trade off for enhanced cornering abiltiy.
I used the factory struts and it does not seem to be much stiffer than stock, however on sharp bumps the rearend is kinda harsh. Overall I would suggest these springs to anybody wanting to lower there car. Also I have 205/40/17 tires and they tires do not rub at all under no circumstances.
Spring kit for lowering and improved performance
Coupled with the Tokico HP shocks in place of the stock Bilsteins, I actually felt like it gave a better ride through most situations as far as comfort goes. And LOOK OUT! Get tight in a corner, or come in under hard braking and be ready for go-kart precise handling. It is night and day as far as high performance driving.
I had them ordered through NTW, and had them installed at a local performance shop. Expect to pay around $300.00 for the installation. The shocks work well with the springs, and running 205/45/16 tires has not caused ant problems as far as rubbing or clearance. Recommend them highly.
After market springs to lower the Miata, improve handling.
Spring arrived in really well packaged. Instructions were written more for someone with mechanical/ suspension experience. Not having a good place in which to install, I decided to have them put on at a local Western Auto store. This was not a mistake, but found that at least in the Mid-west they have limited experience doing this type of work on this type of car. None the less, they started work on the car an managed to get the fronts on the back and vice versa. When I showed up to see how the work was progressing I realized the mistake and it was corrected. If you aren't doing the work yourself, make sure you go over the instructions with the mechanic as they state which spring goes where depending on the model number that is embossed on the spring. The disassembly of the stock shocks and springs requires the use of a compressor. I was somewhat surprised to see that when re-assembling the front units the use of a compressor was not required and they went together by hand. This was a concern to me as to if I had the correct springs. After they were installed back on the car it must be okay as I have no rattling or anything and the front end is noticeably tighter.
The end result is a lowering of about 1.25". Spring really tighten up the car. Be prepared for a harsher ride regardless of what the adds say. Seems to be worse on stutter bumps or whoop te doops. Pothole avoidance becomes a real challenge, but the increase in handling make them easier to avoid. The look is great, and I have no rubbing with 205/50-15 tires. If you don't do the work yourself, find a good shop and be prepared to spend a little cash. I had other work done at the same time, (shocks/sway bars/4 wheel alignment) the cost out the door was about $300+ the cost of the parts. If I had a proper place to do the work I think I could have done the work myself. If you decide to do the work be mindful of the springs when you use the compressor. They have been known to cause bodily damage! I'd do it again.
| Back to Product Reviews | 25 November, 2005 |