Flyin' Miata : Tech : Suspension noises

Here are a few notes on suspensions issues and cures. One of the more common problems we see and hear about is clunking while braking or accelerating. This can be caused by a number of things, but the most common cause we have seen is loose alignment eccentrics. Throw a wrench on each eccentric (there are two on each lower control arm, front and rear for a total of eight). If you can turn them without busting a gut, they're loose and you need to go back to the alignment shop. Another possible cause would be worn out control arm bushings, but this would probably only be seen on a very high mileage car.

One of the most popular mods to Miatas is to lower the ride height. This helps aesthetically, as well as lowering the center of gravity and improving handling. All sounds great, right? The only downside is that Miatas are very limited in rear suspension travel, especially the '90-'97 cars. When you lower the car, you reduce the amount of travel even more and often end up with almost no travel before you run into the bump stops. The softer the rear spring, the more true this is, so people will often think their new springs are too hard, when really they are too soft.

The cure to this problem is one of my favorite new products, our upper shock mounts. These allow the wheel to travel an extra inch or more before the shock runs into the bumpstop. The difference in ride quality is incredible. As one of our customers posted to an online forum "This could be the first product from FM that your wife will thank you for!".

Feel free to call or email with any questions. If you want to disseminate this info, feel free, though I would like to get the blame or credit as the case may be.

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