A delima.....or a pickle.....

240sxTurbo · Post by **240sxTurbo** » Mon Jan 19, 2004 8:38 am

Not really just trying to decide what to get done before the next season starts. I managed to go through my first season and not mod a thing, just try to be a better driver, I think I improved greatly from the start. Needless to say however in order to be competitive in CS I need a few mods to make up the gap. My problem as is most peoples comes in at the money level. I really need shocks and slicks if I want to have a chance to win, but don't know if that’s in the budget for next season.

Here is my thought process tell me if you shared similar situation what you might do. An upgrade in rubber without replacing the shocks will only accent the problem that exists due to improper damping, thus shocks are a gotta do. Likewise I'm doing for an alignment in the coming weeks cause during last session its pretty obvious from tire wear that mine popped (literally) out of alignment. My next thought is, replace shocks before alignment thus killing two birds with one stone, while also, torquing down the cam bolts a bit over stock to hopefully keep it set. Now enters the tires, I don't have a second set of rims, so slicks on the street while fun and silly..... Probably won't happen. What would be a good 14in tire I could run that would last me a season, not break my bank and give me a chance to be competitive but most of all just have fun.

I'm going to check on a second set of rims 15in OEM for the street, so I "might" have a spare set at which point I wouldn't mind picking up a set of used race tires (don't want to flat spot new ones just yet), anyone got a good source I might spec some tires from, and what size would be good on a 14x6 in miata wheel.

Sorry to be long winded, haven't posted in a while been busy, but any advice, criticism or fun at my expense is always welcome.....

jared · Post by **jared** » Mon Jan 19, 2004 9:39 am

Well I ran 225/50/14 on the stock rims last year but I would probably go down to a 205 next time. By the way Joel I corded two of my tires, I found a course that the surface made William Blount look like new pavement. So they are no longer for sale. But IMHO I would get tires and wheels before shocks. The tires will give you the best performance for your buck. By the way good luck this year in CS.

240sxTurbo · Post by **240sxTurbo** » Mon Jan 19, 2004 9:48 am

jared wrote:Well I ran 225/50/14 on the stock rims last year but I would probably go down to a 205 next time. By the way Joel I corded two of my tires, I found a course that the surface made William Blount look like new pavement. So they are no longer for sale. But IMHO I would get tires and wheels before shocks. The tires will give you the best performance for your buck. By the way good luck this year in CS.

To bad about the tires.....good luck down in Bama. I'm afraid my shocks are SO bad that the tires will only slow me down with the added lateral grip but the lack of balance in throwing the car around resulting in some very dizzy like roundy rounds....LOL

We will see I guess. I found some AGX's for $330 shipped, in my price range so I might slap down some cash.

MARKP · Post by **MARKP** » Mon Jan 19, 2004 10:45 am

If your shocks aren't blown then I would go with tires before shocks. The tires are the biggest improvement you can make.

If the shocks are blown then get the shocks and get some Falkens. If you aren't driving the car daily, the Falkens should last all season long and still give very good grip. If you can afford them, get Koni's. They are more expensive but they have a lifetime warranty as long as you own the car and if you decide to, later on you can probably get them revalved for stiffer rates.

240sxTurbo · Post by **240sxTurbo** » Mon Jan 19, 2004 10:51 am

MARKP wrote:If your shocks aren't blown then I would go with tires before shocks. The tires are the biggest improvement you can make.

If the shocks are blown then get the shocks and get some Falkens. If you aren't driving the car daily, the Falkens should last all season long and still give very good grip. If you can afford them, get Koni's. They are more expensive but they have a lifetime warranty as long as you own the car and if you decide to, later on you can probably get them revalved for stiffer rates.

Describe what I would see if blown vs just worn. I think obvious stuff would be lots of bounce which I don't have.....I do feel some rear bottoming but then again I'm not a small guy either.....

Mark McCrary · Post by **Mark McCrary** » Mon Jan 19, 2004 11:14 am

I would get Koni's if I was going to get shocks. I am sure you can get a set for $475 shipped. Trust me on this. I bought some springs that were alot cheaper than coil overs and I just wasted $200 because shortly after I went and bought the good stuff. If you can't buy the shocks. You might want to lood at getting a frount sway bar. They will help a lot. I think you can get one of them for as low as $100. Worth every penny.
Good luck,

240sxTurbo · Post by **240sxTurbo** » Mon Jan 19, 2004 11:31 am

Mark McCrary wrote:I would get Koni's if I was going to get shocks. I am sure you can get a set for $475 shipped. Trust me on this. I bought some springs that were alot cheaper than coil overs and I just wasted $200 because shortly after I went and bought the good stuff. If you can't buy the shocks. You might want to lood at getting a frount sway bar. They will help a lot. I think you can get one of them for as low as $100. Worth every penny.
Good luck,

The car seems to really roll a lot. I want to keep it as balanced as possible otherwise the wrong mod will in turn make the car harder to drive. You drove the car mark, what did you feel, or do you recall.

Joel

scottgib · Post by **scottgib** » Mon Jan 19, 2004 12:30 pm

A quick shock test is to quickly push down with all your weight on each corner and release completely, then note 1. Did the corner go down fast, 2. When you release how fast did it come up, and most tellting 3. did it oscillate. Try this on other cars and get a feel of how a good shock acts. If it rebounds more than once and a very little, there is a problem.

This is real crude and only indicates whether you have a blown or severly worn shock. If there is a problem, it would be rare if all four act the same.

I agree that tires are the first upgrade assuming the shocks are in decent near stock condition.

MARKP · Post by **MARKP** » Mon Jan 19, 2004 12:32 pm

240sxTurbo wrote: Describe what I would see if blown vs just worn. I think obvious stuff would be lots of bounce which I don't have.....I do feel some rear bottoming but then again I'm not a small guy either.....

If you bouce each corner of the car and it does more than just come back up, then the shocks are either significantly worn or blown. The bottoming out could just be soft springs, which you can't change. I had a Celica that would hit the rear bump stops under hard acceleration. Some cars just do that.

All the shock is supposed to do is dampen the motion of the spring. If the spring continues to move up and down after you stop moving the car then the shock isn't doing it's job.

Mark McCrary · Post by **Mark McCrary** » Mon Jan 19, 2004 12:40 pm

Stock miata's roll a lot. I do not think that your shocks are blown just worn out. But they do roll alot from the factory. You would think that they would put a stiffer shocks on them.

BillyM · Post by **BillyM** » Mon Jan 19, 2004 12:53 pm

MARKP wrote:...I had a Celica that would hit the rear bump stops under hard acceleration. Some cars just do that.

Yep, 83' gts for a daily while the supra's down for the turbo... If you've got someone in the back seat, she's bottoming out... period. Not to mention I can get 3 oscilations using the weight/release test on the front end. Jeez, what is it with these cars? (Silly toyota and non-gas-charged front inserts (fixed in 84+).

If anyone knows blown shocks, I drove half a season dribbling my inside front tire around each corner in the supra, literally. Until you are at that point, tires are going to be your best money/time addon. Even at that point you'd drop more time with tires...

For an allright performance shock, check out the TokicoHP's. Not the greatest thing since sliced bread, non adjustable, nothing fancy, but seems to do pretty well, and can get them for most cars at sub-$200 for a set (4).

--BillyM (wonder what I'm going to drive this season... smod, here I come..)

MARKP · Post by **MARKP** » Mon Jan 19, 2004 1:32 pm

BillyM wrote:
Yep, 83' gts for a daily while the supra's down for the turbo... If you've got someone in the back seat, she's bottoming out... period. Not to mention I can get 3 oscilations using the weight/release test on the front end. Jeez, what is it with these cars? (Silly toyota and non-gas-charged front inserts (fixed in 84+).

Yup, that is exactly what I had. It was a nice car but got totalled in a hail storm in the mid 90's.

Sorry to hijack the thread... back to Miatas.

240sxTurbo · Post by **240sxTurbo** » Mon Jan 19, 2004 1:37 pm

Mark McCrary wrote:Stock miata's roll a lot. I do not think that your shocks are blown just worn out. But they do roll alot from the factory. You would think that they would put a stiffer shocks on them.

Really though shocks won't really do a whole lot for roll, a strut tower bar or front sway would help, all within the rules of course. I guess I could just look for some other wheels, and get some race tires used for the 14's, replace the shocks if I feel that the car is not right once I start running. Now I need to find me set of used race tires to run.

The fun the fun.....

Mark McCrary · Post by **Mark McCrary** » Mon Jan 19, 2004 2:52 pm

Contact Ted Visscher at Appalaction race tire for some tires. He might have some. I would get a sway bar first. If it was me I would get the hollow bar from Racing Beat. I have the solid on and like it but I wish I got the hollow one. It is alot stronger.
Good luck,

240sxTurbo · Post by **240sxTurbo** » Tue Jan 20, 2004 9:31 am

Mark McCrary wrote:Contact Ted Visscher at Appalaction race tire for some tires. He might have some. I would get a sway bar first. If it was me I would get the hollow bar from Racing Beat. I have the solid on and like it but I wish I got the hollow one. It is alot stronger.
Good luck,

What size 14in tire would I be after, 205/50 or something, or 215....just curious what others have used. I'll give him a call.