Applicable to: '90 - '97 1.6 liter
Spax Ride & Height 14 way Adjustable Coilovers
Very easy to install as are most shocks. The price was good for coilovers so I thought. The ride height is very touchy with these, a 1/16th inch of a difference on the shock means 1/2 of an inch on the suspension. The damper setting: 1-3 is way too soft. 4-6 normal car, 6-9 very stiff, 9-14 you might as well have steel rods instead of shocks. Unfortunately the springs are kind of weak and unless you set the car at almost normal ride height, which is very near the end of adjustment and the damper on 6 or 7 you will bottom out. I live where the roads are pretty nice rather smooth and it will still bottom out constantly. The springs take a long time to set in every time you adjust them, and i swear that one of my springs is weaker than the others. Overall I do not think this is a very good quality product. perhaps the new 24 way adjustable with new springs works better. I for one will not spend the money to find out.
Spend 500 more dollars and get another kind of coilovers.
Over 30 minutes to remove completely
Applicable to '90 - '97 '99 + 1.6 liter 1.8 liter
Adjustable shocks & ride-height adjustable springs. Shocks are adjusted via a flathead screw at the base of the shock (14 levels, 1=soft to 14-really really hard). Ride-height is adjusted via the threaded body and requires putting the car on blocks.
I purchase the product from Brainstorm and had them do the installation in their Los Angeles facility. I have since driven on them for about three months and 5,000 miles. (Car had 118,000 total miles at the time of installation)
I asked Brainstorm to install the suspension with a *minimum* of lowering to my car. I was not prepared for exactly how low my car became. It is now about 12.5" from the center of my stock '94 alloy rims to the edge of the wheel. The handling impact on my car has been orgasmic and the appearance is great. I have been able to corner flatter and with more confidence at a higher speed than I thought was possible. Unfortunately, the ride quality is poorer than I had expected. At full soft, the ride still has a lot of harshness and develops a "bouncy" feel when going over bumps. However, at all settings, the ride quality is pretty harsh. This suspension would not, in my opinion, be a good choice for anyone wanting their Miata to be a daily driver. However, if you use your Miata for mostly performance driving or on a more casual basis, this suspension is probably the best performer for the money.
Over 30 minutes to remove completely
I've been driving on the SPAX for 15,000 miles now and very much regret buying them. The handling is truly awesome on smooth roads, but for daily driving they just plain suck. I have experimented with all softness/hardness settings (including having different settings for front/rear) and have even driven with different tires & rims. All around, this suspension is a major disappointment.
I am also unhappy with Brainstorm since they have not been willing to ensure my satisfaction with the product. When the shocks were just a month old and I was unhappy, I asked about a trade-in on something different. I was told to sell the Spax on eBay (gee, thanks). I will still do business with Brainstorm, but I *am* disappointed and will not trust their recommendations for high-cost items again.
Applicable to '90 - '97
SPAX Coil-overs from Brainstorm $850.00I bought SPAX about 3 months ago from Brainstorm for my 96. I told them that I did not want to lower the car very much, 1" at the most because this was my daily driver and did not want to lose too much of the nice ride that the Miata has. Brainstorm told me that SPAX was the thing for me.
After the install (instructions would realy have helped) I had a four wheel aligenment done. My car was lowered far more than any reasonable daily driver should be. I could not hit any bump, even at low speeds (15 MPH) without scraping either my front air dam, exhaust, or rear stock braces. I am running stock wheels and stock size tires. When I contacted Brainstorm for sugestions on how I could get more height out of the SPAX they told me NO ONE had ever had this problem and had no ideas for me.
As far as handling goes the SPAX where fantistic on SMOOTH ROADS, NO BUMPS, DIPS, or ANY OTHER IREULARITIES. They would be great for track use if you took the car there on a trailer.
I enjoy spirited driving, I have never hesitaded to hit the rev limiter or see just how fast I could take turns, so handling is important to me. The SPAX just do not cut it on real world roads.
I finaly put the stock springs back on and the handling is almost as good on smooth roads as the SPAX springs but is far superior on the roads that most people will come accross on a daily basis. With the stock springs my 96 seems to be a little to high in the rear so I am still looking for a fix.
IMHO SPAX are a good product for the aproiate aplication which IS NOT DAILY DRIVING. I am not very pleased with Brainstorm for the miss information about SPAX, but I don't think that would prevent me from doing busniess with them in the future. I would just make sure that I received a recomendation for a product from another source (Miata.net, doh!) before buying from them again.
Jeff
Over 30 minutes to remove completely
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