Flyin' Miata Stage 2 FOX suspension for NC
Flyin' Miata Stage 2 FOX suspension for NC
Exclusive to Flyin' Miata!
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Description
A Flyin' Miata exclusive!
This kit combines our industry-leading FOX suspension with our front Flyin' Miata sway bar. This is the same suspension setup we run on all our performance NCs, from our long distance touring V8 power hardtop to our hard-core supercharged toy.
FOX has been a suspension specialist for 40 years, and have won a huge range of motorsport events from the Paris-Dakar to the Indy 500. As a supplier to Ridetech, they've dominated Pro Touring recently. It's fair to say they know their way around shocks. They also understand the importance of proper suspension travel. Since they've also supplied shocks for the Ford Raptor, they also know how to build to an OE level of quality and durability. So, as you can imagine, we were pretty excited to work with them.
To develop them, we took measurements of the suspension's full range. FOX then designed a shock setup that would work throughout the whole range. This even went as far as a new front upper mount to accomplish what we needed. After an initial fitting and test at their facility in California, they brought their race trailer out to our local track and we spent two full days with a FOX engineer, three Miatas and two drivers to fine-tune the valving. This is the end result - a Miata suspension built from the ground up for us.
Our goal was for a high performance suspension that wouldn't punish on the street. We placed an emphasis on stability in corners, turn-in and body control combined with a very high level of grip. The adjustment was designed to primarily adjust the low speed rebound damping, which is mostly affected by body movements. You can adjust from a street setup to a hyper-aware track setup quickly and easily.
There are a lot of little details on these parts that aren't immediately obvious. The springs sit on a high density plastic ring that acts as a bearing, allowing the spring to rotate on the perch without the expense of a bearing. The internal washers are disc ground for high accuracy, giving more consistent behavior of the shock. Even the body of the shock is given Kashima coat, which is a superior form of hard anodizing to protect the shock under the worst conditions. Even the shocks are light - 40% lighter than a Koni.
We came up with two different spring setups. The Sport package is a good all-around setup. Think of it like a BMW M3: it's comfortable enough for all-day interstate road trips and very rewarding in the twisties. The turn-in is fantastic, making the car feel very nimble and eager to turn. With a spin of the knobs, the car is ready for hard track use. Spring rates are 375 in the front and 300 in the rear.
The Track package is more like a Porsche 911 GT3. The rates are 550 in the front and 450 in the rear. This setup is definitely firmer than the Sport package, but it's not punishing. Just firm. There's almost no body roll and the turn-in is spectactular. It's a very quick setup.
If you choose one of the spring options they'll come with helper springs front and rear, as well as custom front upper mounts. This is a complete coilover setup with everything you need to install. We do offer them without springs if you'd prefer, just un-check the spring option - it'll still have everything else, just no springs.
In both cases, we pair the suspension with an adjustable Flyin' Miata front sway bar. This gives the right balance to really wake up the NC chassis, and you can fine-tune the handling to your preference. We do recommend less rear sway bar with this setup than our other NC suspension options.
The kit includes the front sway bar, four shocks, bumpstops, front and rear springs (main springs plus helpers) and new front upper mounts. You will have to reuse your existing rear mounts.
Shipping
What does it fit?
Emissions
Emissions do not apply.
Warranty
1 year
SKU
I purchases and installed the Stage 2 Fox suspension for my NC (sport spring pack) earlier this year, but I wanted to get a season of fun drives and track days on it before submitting a review.
I don't usually post reviews but I really do feel like this suspension package is ideal for canyon drives with some track days thrown in.
l had been running a competitors spring/koni combo and it was an improvement over the stock suspension but, just barely.
The Fox stage 2 kit really does transform the suspension to take advantage of the extra stiffness of the NC platform. Run it at the settings recommended in the installation instructions and it provides a really nice, supple, comfortable, controlled street ride. But stiffen it up once at the track and the car is transformed. I'm no hero at the wheel by any stretch of the imagination, but this setup makes the car so nicely balanced that I can turn off all traction and stability control and really experiment with driving the car on the edge of traction limits, confidently, lap after lap after lap on a track day.
I found the installation instructions excellent, and the installation itself relatively quick and straightforward.
I did have one minor glitch with one of the rear coilovers. This was a part left out when Fox packaged it, and was no fault of Flyin'Miata. Once I contacted Flyin'Miata they were very helpful in helping me get the part I needed.
Thanks Flyin'Miata for putting together such an awesome coilover for the (not as loved as it deserves) NC!!!
I think I need to go for a drive now....
I installed the stage 2 kit with front sway bar on my '09 NC. At 29 psi tire pressure (as recommended by Mazda) and the soft-ish shock setting recommended by Flyin Miata, the car has enough compliance for use on less than perfect streets. It's definitely stiffer than stock, but just about right for a good-handling sports car. With more air in tires and slightly stiffer shock settings, it has just enough stiffness for good track performance. So it strikes a very nice balance between the two usage profiles. I'm very pleased with this product.
Car - '15 NC GT Soft Top, 6SP, Suspension Package
When I test drove the NC Miata, it was perfect: The steering, the shifter, the soft top that flipped back in an instant. Okay, it was almost perfect. The suspension seemed a little soft, but no other cars came close to the total package in the price range, so I thought that I would adapt.
After a year and a half, the floaty ride continued to bother me, and driving past 6/10s of street driven pace felt like moving from bump stop to bump stop, bucking and diving. Researching upgrade options, I wanted the aftermarket suspension that best balanced handling quality with ride quality. This is my daily driver, which needs to thrive in the mountains, while surviving the roads in Seattle. Because the Fox suspension offered adjustability and full suspension travel, it fit the bill.
After installation, the Fox suspension corrected all of my complaints about the car. My worry with an aftermarket suspension was that it would feel... "modified." My hope was to have a car that felt like it rolled off of the factory perfectly tuned. The Fox takes it there. On back roads, rather than yielding in the corners, the car feels like it digs in and asks for more. Acceleration and braking feel is much improved as well, since the suspension simply doesn't move as much when hitting the gas or brake pedals. I presently have the dampers set about three clicks softer than the recommended settings.
The only recommendation for improvement would be the installation instructions. Installation wasn't difficult, but I would have liked some more clarity on where to drill holes in the strut tower braces. Templates would have been a nice touch. For the rear dampers, I cut access holes in the trunk panels with a razor blade. Again, would have been nice to have suggestions or templates for these. Less time problem solving means more time driving.
How's the Stage 2, vs. the kit without the sway bar? I can't safely say, because I installed everything at once.