By The Mazda Miata has been a staple of sports car racing and hairdressing alike for over 30 years now, and there are no signs of it stopping any time soon. Its perfect balance, front-engine, rear-wheel drive platform, six speed manual transmission, and darling good looks have given it recognition as one of the best sports cars on earth. The 4th-generation Mazda Miata is in its second revision now (called ND2). This iteration finally cranked up the horsepower to a staggering 181 ponies at the crank, and there are tons of go-fast parts available to make the ND much faster. But what is speed if you can’t hold it through corners?
The Mazda MX-5 Miata’s featherweight chassis (under 2500lbs, even for the hard top Miata RF!) carries very well around bends, but coilovers can further lower the center of gravity and close its cavernous front wheel gap. Like any car with wide aftermarket support, there are many different styles out there: some owners are going for full-on track builds, while others are turning their Miatas into stanced out lowriders with giant wheels and a ton of camber. Keep in mind, while we’re talking pretty explicitly about Miatas, any suspension that works for the ND can also be bolted onto a Fiat 124 Spider!
Why coilovers?
Whatever setup you’re going for, the most complete overhaul of your car’s suspension system is a coilover suspension kit. These kits include replacement dampers, springs, and mounting hardware, rather than just a set of springs. This more advanced suspension system allows for adjustable ride height and dampening as well as other fine tuning. This allows for decreases in body roll, better ride, and smoother transitions in corners.
The first part of selecting a set of coilovers is to figure out how and where you’ll be driving. Are you looking for a system for street use, or one for high-performance driving experiences and track days? Time attack, drifting, and drag racing all benefit from different components. Manufacturers may offer unique systems for several of the areas listed, or have a single product targeted at one of the driving modes mentioned.
As always, when you consider making any changes to your suspension, the factor you need to consider first is the tires. They are the vehicle’s only direct link to the road. The coilover kit you select should be one tuned to the type of tires that you’ll be using. For example, street coilovers take best advantage of ultra-high performance summer tires. Performance coilover systems designed for track use are more aggressive to pair with slicks or DOT-R tires. These tend to ride tighter than most people will be comfortable with on the street.
For track days, a set of moderately-priced coilovers, combined with larger diameter sway bars with adjustable links are a great starting point. As you learn the characteristics of the car over laps and laps of track driving you can begin to make adjustments – one at a time – to optimize the set-up to your car, tires, and driving style.
So what should I get?
For every generation of the Mazda Miata, coilover kits are available from a ton of reputable, high-profile brands. BC Racing makes one of the most popular kits for the ND MX-5. Their BR series coilover kit offers 30 levels of adjustable damper preload. This can give you a lower ride height than stock, a low center of gravity, and 1-2” less wheel well gap. The BR series coils are designed for road and light track use, so if you want to go low on the street these are a great place to start.
If you’re looking for flatter cornering and a world more tunability for SCCA or autocross, check out KW’s Variant 3 coilover kit. KW has decades of racing heritage and experience delivering excellent coilovers both for the road and the track. Their Variant 3 coilover kit offers adjustability for both compression and rebound damping, meaning you can get ride comfort without compromising handling.
If you’re one of those wild people who likes going sideways and banging the redline more than anything else in the world, the Ksport Slide Kontrol coilover kit is built with drifting first and foremost in mind. If you want to slide your car, this is the way to go: Slide Kontrol coils come out of the box with 30-50% stiffer damping than many standard coilover setups. That, plus the fact that they spell “Kontrol” with a K and that’s cool, make the Slide Kontrol coils easy to recommend for any ND Miata drifter.
The real fact of the matter is many drivers won’t reach the limits of their stock suspension setup, and it’s important to make the distinction for yourself of needing an upgrade versus wanting one. Coilover setups are a significant undertaking, and the most drastic change to your vehicle’s performance short of completely altering the suspension geometry. If you’re looking for the ultimate in ride height adjustment and handling tunability for your ND Miata or Fiat 124 Spider, coilovers are the right place to go. For coilover kits, sway bars, brakes and more, check out the Motoroso Marketplace!
