Koni Adjustable Shocks
Photos coming
As the car hit the 45,000 mile mark, I was still running the factory shocks. I was looking for more performance on the offramps and in the park, and I was told that the factory shocks were probably long gone. I was skeptical on this one. I did the Buick bounce test, and the the car didn't move after being pushed down a couple of times. But I autocross, and the way I drive, I need every edge I can get.
What to buy, what to buy?
Back to Miata.net, checked the reviews. the world was pretty much split into the Tokiko camp and the Koni camp. I checked out the good folks at rec.auto.makers.mazda.miata had to say, and the same story there. I looked at the Bilsteins, figuring if Mazda used them for the R package, they must have something going for them. Alas, not adjustable, and I wanted to do this right.
I talked to my uncle, who has a mantelpiece full of trophies from campaigning his Corvette on the autocross circuit a generation ago. His advice: Konis. So Konis it was.
I did the install myself on a cold Friday night after work. The backs went on in a snap. The fronts are a completely different story. I dragged the wife out at 11:30 from a warm bed into a cold garage and had her sit on the pipe I was using to hold down the lower A arms so I could wrestle the whole thing into place. The favors owed for that one were being collected well into the summer.
Actual installation instructions are much better in the Garage section at Miata.net than anything I could give you. This is a doable job yourself with a helper though. Total time for all four shocks was about 6 hours. Do the backs first though. It gives you an idea about what's to come.