RoadsterSport Suspension Package

Purchased this package as recommended by Brian. Added the front chassis sub brace, rear shock tower brace and a set of Progressive sway bars. Couldn't be happier. Handling is outstanding. Going into, through and exiting a curve the car the car is flat, stable, predictable and "sticks" to the road. Highly recommend this setup for anyone wanting to improve their car's handling. Thank you Brian.

-- William E. ( 2018 Fiat 124 Abarth ) December 2023

I have been doing track/autocross for 3 years now but have never made a suspension mod. I wanted to wait to post a review until after I experienced it on autocross, track, and as a daily. My conclusion: I wish I had done this a long time ago. This setup feels like what the car should have come with from the factory. I replaced my stock Bilsteins and this combination of springs/shocks only feels slightly harsher than stock, but very usable as a daily, especially when you set the shocks to full soft. For track and autocross, right now I am following Brians recommended starting settings of full stiff front and one turn off stiff from rear which is working well.

I did about 20 autocross runs at a school shortly after install – the car is much flatter than before (I still have stock sways). I know it is faster, but of course since things change from course to course it is hard to say exactly how much faster. Keep in mind this does bump you to STR (springs), but the car has a much better balance. I’d rather have a balanced car – I don’t care about winning events, I only do autocross a few times a year and spend most of my “fun” time with the car at track events.

On the track – amazing. My “local” track is the Charlotte Roval. Numbers do not lie. My average time (stock) was 1:54s – with my record best being 1:51.7. My first session out, I broke my personal best with a 1:49.3. Second session, new personal best – 1:45.9. Third session – not a new best but my best lap was a 1:46.6. My average lap time wound up settling out in the 1:47-1:48 range. I only have GoPro telemetry, so I cannot provide super accurate data but my average time was easily a 5 second improvement over stock.

Alignment numbers – I followed GWR recommended perch settings and install procedure. I’m -2.5 camber with about 6 degrees of caster in the front. Rear I’m at -2.0 camber. Unfortunately, I’m “unlucky” as no matter what I tried (loosening all components, prying while tightening, etc.), when I was stock I could never get more than -1.1 on my driver front wheel. I had all sides set to -1.1, and when I lowered everything went to -2.5. The rear toe went in a lot after lowering, so watch out for that. I’m happy with my alignment right now which is around -2.5f and -2.0 rear. I had well over -3 camber available in the rear. You may be luckier on the front, but I’m limited to around -2.5 on the front at 6 caster. I could probably get -2.8 out of my right front but the left front is a struggle for me. Ride height has settled around 12.5” front, 13.25” rear. Rake at pinch welds is about 7mm higher in rear.

My next modification will be shock tower brace – it’s a huge pain to adjust the front shocks with the factory brace. I’d recommend grabbing one when you buy this kit. I don’t think there is a better value performance upgrade you can get for the Miata. I’m sure a high end coilover would be better, but it would cost more than double. You still get great street driving, have improved looks as the fender gap is mostly gone, and you have a well balanced car for track and autocross by just turning a knob.

-- Billy B., TN ( 2022 MX5 ) August 2023

Overall, I was very pleased with the ease of installation and how much handling improved with the Koni Sport shocks and upgraded bump stops. They're well worth the upgrade!

Starting from a GT trim level with soft, non-Bilstein shocks these Konis make a HUGE difference in helping remove unwanted body roll. Also, for Autocross they are a must because in C Street class with only one sway bar upgrade allowed, adding adjustable Konis lets you balance the car and tune the handling depending on your preference for oversteer vs understeer.

I can't speak to how the lowering springs performed because I had to leave stock springs on to stay in CS class for AutoX, but the Koni shocks were definitely a game changer! I took 1st pax time in Novice, 2nd fastest raw time in CS, and beat all of our region's STR prepped Miatas raw times too after I added these Koni shocks. They might not be coil-overs, but they can put up a good fight.

Thank you Brian for the setup notes! As Brian mentions, for people who autocross, you'll want to purchase bump stops separately from Good-win (or at least add different front bump stops). You'll want the red medium stiff in the front and blue full stiffness stops in the back.

As a novice level mechanic, the install of both shocks and springs is simple, straightforward and only required purchasing spring compressors and following tutorials online. Definitely something anyone could do with enough patience. Easier than swapping out the front sway bar!

-- Alex M., Pennsylvania ( 2021 MX-5 ) August 2022

This was my 4th suspension swap on a Miata but my first shock swap (vs coil overs). The job took me about 6 hours without an alignment. Only significant glitch was that I could not get the top nut on either rear strut started even with max spring compression. I cut down a couple of NC top bushings by about a 1/4 inch and made it work. Using Goodwin's recommendations for ride height, the car's posture is perfect post install; slight forward rake, about one finger gap between tire and fender in the front. Out of curiosity, I checked corner balance. LF/RR only off by about 70 lbs with my 200 lb butt in the seat. Aligned the car after about 100 miles. Easily achieved 8 degrees caster. I set camber to -1.0 all around but had well over -2 degrees available on all 4 wheels. I am still playing with damping; Goodwin's 3/4 turn damper setting seems like a good compromise. Overall, excellent bang for the buck.

-- Tim T., Cotati, CA ( 2020 ) February 2022

Received quickly. Roughly 2-hour install on jack stands (my car only had 500 miles on the clock - so bolts are fresh). I followed the normal install, but used a jack to fully compress suspension to torque bolts (Randy's suggestion?). The Koni's have adjustable perches, so I followed GWR's recommendation and set at 1 perch below how they ship on fronts and 2 perches below on rears.

Measured at center of wheel from ground to bottom of fender lip (after 100 miles):
LF 24.75
RF 24.80
LR 25.5
RR 26.0

The good: love it, no-brainer upgrade, at 3/4 turn past full soft, ride is very similar to Club Bilsteins, springs drop the car and transform how this car behaves and drastically improves the appearance of the car. Brake dive is substantially better and transitions much more confidently. (Have not installed Progress bars yet) This is the route I've taken with all 4 generations of Miatas - don't see the need to spend the extra $ on coilovers for how I use the car. Love the fact that the new Konis have multiple perch points, allowing a lot more flexibility (again - diminishes need for coilovers).

The bad: none.

Highly recommended.

PS. Don't freak out when you first install them if the ride height varies from corner to corner. Every install I've done in the past results in (typically) the right rear being 1-1.5" higher than the left rear, but quickly settles down with a few miles and will get within .25-.5" of the left.

-- William S., Charlotte, NC ( MX5 2019 30AE w/ 3 pedals! ) September 2019

This setup works fantastically for me. I wanted to get rid of the sloppy stock suspension and have it lowered some. Now it is lowered about 1", which got rid of the fender gap. Looks so much better now. I also wanted to put on the 235/40/17 tires and not rub (I don't) and I didn't want to worry about bottoming out (I don't).
I also just started SCCA auto crossing and they work perfectly for me. I turn the front Koni's up a turn toward firm and go. This is my wife's daily driver, so I keep the Koni's on full soft. I haven't had any complaints on the ride being too harsh.
I would recommend this setup to anyone who wants to have fun on those tight turns but also drive the MX-5 and not get beat to death and need to wear a kidney brace.

-- Scott M., Davidson, NC ( 2016 ND A/T ) December 2018