Gaz Fixed Height Coilovers Mazda MX5 Mk1 Reviews

4.6 Rating 7 Reviews

Gaz Fixed Height Coilover Kit.This is the ideal kit for those of you who want to lower your car by a sensible amount, without having to constantly adjust the height of the spring seats. This kit will bolt straight on and still give the car that sporty lowered look. Whilst these are designed to be a upgraded fixed height kit, there are 20 different damping settings on the shock absorber itself, giving you the option to set the vehicle up for either a comfortable ride, or the more sporty feel.The kit has been designed to lower the car to 340mm on the rear, and 330mm on the front measured from the centre of the wheel to the bottom edge of the wheel arch. This will give you an approximate drop of 30mm from the standard ride height.The kit comes supplied wth 350 lb rated springs on the front and 250 lb rated springs on the rear.Please Note: The expected lowering figures stated are dependant on the condition of the existing suspension parts fitted to the vehicle.Kit contains four shocks and four springs.Fits all Mazda MX5 Mk1 models, 1989>1998

Visit Product Page

Phone:

02392 644588

Email:

sales@mx5parts.co.uk

Location:

1 Orion Court, 5 Rodney Road,,
Portsmouth
PO4 8SZ

Visit Product Page

John Harding

Verified Reviewer

“Not impressed with these.First, there are no fitting instructions, so I had no idea if I had to use the new washers and old washers, just the new washers, whether I needed to use boots, etc.... I've tried many settings, but in every case the car has this slight 'wobble' backwards and forwards over undulations in the road. The rear loves to 'jump' up on certain bumps when the dampers are set anything about 5 clicks. Honestly I expected WAY better from Gaz.”

Helpful Report

Posted 5 years ago

Tim Headford

Verified Reviewer

“I rarely write reviews (sorry, Internet) but I'm rarely this impressed with a product. My NA is 25 years old and the springs were rusty and the dampers were misty. In fact, the previous owner had replaced ONE of the fronts with a totally different type, so I had oil on one corner and gas on the other. In my inexpert view the new Gaz shocks have brought the card back to what it SHOULD be, the right height on standard wheels (it was too high before, it now has an even gap round the whole arch) and the right balance of bump absorption and handling. The one thing that has really blown my mind is the extra grip the car now has, especially in the wet. It's on Pirellis and used to be more tail happy than Kim Kardashian in a twerking championship but it now corners and accelerates excellently even in an English Autumn. Suspension is designed to keep the tyre on the ground for the maximum time and this little-known fact is borne out well by these shocks. The car now corners like Michael—flatly—and yes, I know that the original setup has built-in body roll and this gives feedback before a spin and what I'm likely experiencing is feedback-free centrifuge for a longer time until I reach the threshold of grip and I spin without warning...but in all honestly I don't think this is the case. I've sent the back out in the wet when I've wanted to and I can still feel the spin a country mile before it happens. It simply has more grip now, with no apparent downside. Yes, it's a harder ride, but NOT as hard as a BMW 3 series with an M pack. I get more feedback from the road itself and steering is more responsive, as is acceleration, without the forward energy being soaked up in a bottom-dragging, dog-wiping-its-arse-on-the-carpet spring compression. This kit has transformed a great sports car into an epic one.”

Helpful Report

Posted 10 years ago

“Much improved ride for the road coming from Bilsteins. Note 20 clicks not 40 and around the 6/5 mark is good for normal use (I've gone a click or two higher on the front).”

Helpful Report

Posted 11 years ago

“Have just installed these in my NA and am very impressed, Set on 5 clicks it makes the car compliant yet flat and firm through corners. I have no doubt that a couple of clicks harder would suit for a track day. 2 hrs to fit and value for money(even importing to NZ).Cheers MX5parts!!!”

Helpful Report

Posted 11 years ago

Peter Williams

Verified Reviewer

“Very pleased with these. The car stands on the road with good poise and my fillings now stay where they should after binning the old Bilsteins. I don't know if Gaz have recently changed the spec but mine came with bump stops, so there is no need to buy the Mazda style ones as some have suggested, in fact they don't even fit through the smaller diameter first coil of the spring anyway. I did buy some but MX5 parts agreed they are not required and took them back. Also they have 20 settings and not the advertised 40 but there is still plenty of adjustment there. On the lowest stting the car bounces around like a beach ball but setting just 5 on the rear and 6 on the front has made them comparable to the Bilsteins but without the harshness, pot holes and drains are no longer the jolting experience they used to be. Their was a problem with one of the front shocks coming loose when driven for a while and my garage had to extend the thread in the mounting because it just wouldn't tighten enough otherwise, but that could just be a problem with my mounting rather than the shock. Unless you're dead keen and will be racing or something I don't see the point in hight adjustable shocks, these are just right, buy some!”

Helpful Report

Posted 12 years ago

“If you are considering this kit then just go for it , lovely plush ride with no wallow or bounce massive improvement over the factory shocks that i had before , fitting was fine except for a few old bolts showing up their 20 years of service , go for new lower mounting bolts if you can it will make your day much easier ! Thanks for the quick delivery guys !”

Helpful Report

Posted 14 years ago

Bruce Thompson

Verified Reviewer

“Chose these to replace what I guess were the original springs and dampers on my '94 1.8. While good for an MOT, they felt soft and bad roads would have the car hitting its bump stops and any sudden change of direction would cause a lurch. Not what you want in an MX5!I wanted a slightly lower ride but nothing too excessive, coupled with much more positive handling. This is a weekend fun car used for occasional track days so a comfortable ride wasn't the first concern. I recognised, however, that once fitted I would be unlikely to play with ride heights so the fixed height, coupled with adjustable damping, seemed ideal.Fitting them was reasonably straightforward, although choosing to work on the drive in January wasn't ideal and as ever with car jobs, if I have to do it again it will take me half as long! The units themselves look well made and of good quality. The results are pretty much what I was looking for. You would need to know your MX5s to tell that it is lower than standard and while the ride is firm it's not so harsh that I can't live with it. The wallowing and sensation of hitting the bump stops has gone completely. I've yet to push the handling because I need to get the geometry reset at WIM and in any case cold wet roads are not the ideal environment to experiment. Likewise, I set all the dampers at their mid point so there's likely to be scope to fine tune the ride and handling in due course.In short, initial impression is that this is a very good product for anyone wanting a slightly more hard core 5, without going too extreme.PS I took the advice of other product reviews and renewed the bump stops at the same time. Just as well - all four had deteriorated to a collection of rubber rings!”

Helpful Report

Posted 15 years ago