Miata Mailing List: October 1993, Message #186
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   From: "Michael Butler" 
Subject: Re: aftermarket shocks
   Date: Tue, 19 Oct 1993 13:08:16 -0400

Herb Samuels  writes:
>
>Alan Dahl indicated by e-mail that you have adjustible Koni's and the
>Motorsport Auto front (and rear?) anti-sway bars.  From your last
>message you drove Miata'a with Koni's, Tokicos (adjustible?) and GABs.
>Which do you think is the best for a Miata to be driven aggressively
>but will be primarily for street use (i.e. which will give the best
>ride but still give oustanding handling?).  With the GAB and Tokicos
>adjustment changes both compression and rebound simultaneously while
>the Koni only changes rebound.  I've been told that with the Konis
>the springs maintain a constant compression giving a less harsh ride
>while with an increase in both compression and rebound the ride might
>be harsher since compression is effected by both the shocks and
>springs.  Do you think that this is correct in the real world for
>street use?

For a car that's going to be autocrossed, the important issue is
adjustability -- this will allow you have stiff shocks for competition
(to make up for insufficient stiffness in the springs/sway bars) and
a reasonable ride for the street.  Don't sweat the double/single
adjustment issue -- if you look at the damping curves for the GABs,
you'll see that the compression changes are small compared to rebound.

My first piece of advice: make sure you're a Mazda Motorsports member
so you can get the shocks for a good price.

As for Tokico vs. Koni vs. GAB, I would dismiss the Tokicos because
they're the most expensive (and IMHO, no better than the other two).
The GABs have a "plusher" feel to them -- they'll probably work better
on a bumpy surface.  The Konis have a "harsher" feel to them -- I
prefer this, in that the car reacts more quickly to steering inputs.
The GABs have eight "click" adjustments.  If they went to "10" (or
"11" -- Spinal Tap edition), i.e. 25% stiffer, I think the GABs would
be my choice.  Other issues: GABs are nicer for the street (in the "1"
position), but cost more.  Konis have adjustable spring perches, but
you can't use this feature in stock class.

The left rear Koni is also a pain to adjust (you'll have to remove the
access panel) and you'll have to drill out the shock mounts for
installation (IMHO, this is a gray area in terms of legality for CS but
I've been told not to worry about it).  You won't have to weld the
spring perches in position though (there's been a clarification on this
issue).

>Also, Alan said that you really liked the Motorsport anti-sway bars.
>They seem to be the same size as the bars from Racing beat which are a
>little less expensive.  Do you think that the identical size is a
>coincidence or is it possible that Motorsport sells the Racing beat
>bars?

I have the 7/8" front bar from Motorsports.  I've tried the 15/16" front
bar from Competition Parts (Mazda Motorsports) and found that the car
understeers too much.  I've also tried the stock front bar with just
plastic bushings -- too much oversteer.  So, the 7/8" bar (using the
"soft" endlink position) is my current compromise.  As far as I know,
only Motorsports sells a 7/8" front bar.  Unfortunately, it only comes
as half of a pair ($200).

Michael Butler (mcb@vnet.ibm.com)