Improving the ride of a 2003 Shinsen?

Hi y'all, just got my first Miata (first stick shift car, too) off
eBay a few weeks ago. I am having a lot of fun with it as you might
imagine, but there is one issue - over rough pavement, the ride can
get pretty damn harsh. I mean, there are some bad stretches of
interstate around here that will loosen my fillings pretty soon if I
don't get shaken baby syndrome first. Now I wasn't expecting the car
to be luxo-smooth, and I don't even know what's normal for a Miata,
but this is not what I had in mind. It's making me think twice about
taking it for long road trips if I can't do something to improve the
situation.

What we are dealing with is a 2003 Shinsen version, 30K miles on the
odo, not sure if the suspension is the same as on the base model or if
it is a sport suspension.

It came with Fuzion ZRi tires (205/45-16) and since the fronts are
close to worn out anyway, I will probably replace them with all-season
ones, maybe Yokohama or Pirelli. The user reviews on tirerack for the
Fuzions are a bit on the low side for ride comfort, so maybe a tire
swap will help some.

Could the shocks be done after 30K? How comfortable would Koni sports
be on the soft setting?

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Tires can make a huge difference. Tire pressure can make a huge difference.
I think your car is recommended to be 29psi IIRC. You don't mention what
pressure you are running. When deciding new tires, lean heavily on the
comfort side if you feel that's important, the miata doesn't need supercar
tire grip to be a blast to drive and if you can't stand the ride getting
there, you're never going to make those drives to the best roads. As for
shocks, some say stock wear out by as little as 30k but generally by 40k at
the upper end so, you wouldn't be shooting yourself in the foot to replace
those. I think I've heard that the Koni's on full soft are just a bit firmer
than OEM but, I think that is probably about the same for the other quality
aftermarket performance shocks (KYB and such) but again, if ride is more
important than all out performance, you could simply have your local tire /
brake place replace them with a good name brand OEM replacement shock.

Happy you could join us, you won't regret it!(buying the car that is)
Chris
99BBB


> wrote in message
ups.com...
>
> Hi y'all, just got my first Miata (first stick shift car, too) off
> eBay a few weeks ago. I am having a lot of fun with it as you might
> imagine, but there is one issue - over rough pavement, the ride can
> get pretty damn harsh. I mean, there are some bad stretches of
> interstate around here that will loosen my fillings pretty soon if I
> don't get shaken baby syndrome first. Now I wasn't expecting the car
> to be luxo-smooth, and I don't even know what's normal for a Miata,
> but this is not what I had in mind. It's making me think twice about
> taking it for long road trips if I can't do something to improve the
> situation.
>
> What we are dealing with is a 2003 Shinsen version, 30K miles on the
> odo, not sure if the suspension is the same as on the base model or if
> it is a sport suspension.
>
> It came with Fuzion ZRi tires (205/45-16) and since the fronts are
> close to worn out anyway, I will probably replace them with all-season
> ones, maybe Yokohama or Pirelli. The user reviews on tirerack for the
> Fuzions are a bit on the low side for ride comfort, so maybe a tire
> swap will help some.
>
> Could the shocks be done after 30K? How comfortable would Koni sports
> be on the soft setting?
>
> Any thoughts would be appreciated.
>