Setup

When you hear the term “secondary spring,” what comes to mind? There are several types of secondary springs, including helper springs, tender springs, and primary springs. Here, I use “secondary spring” as a general term for a spring that is used in combination with, but separately from, the main spring. For example, a 20 N/mm … Read more

When setting up rear-wheel-drive cars, I sometimes hear people say that they use bump stops at the rear to gain traction. I used to think, “If the rear hits the bump stops and that increases the rear suspension’s effective spring rate, wouldn’t that actually reduce rear tire grip?” I couldn’t really make sense of it. … Read more

Field of the Invention The present invention relates to the rear suspension of the NA/NB Mazda MX-5 Miata, and more particularly to a method for determining, with a reasonably practical level of accuracy, how much clearance remains before the upper control arm contacts the vehicle body. Background of the Invention A known method for checking … Read more

In the past, partially threaded coilovers — also called “spring-perch-adjustable” coilovers, since ride height was adjusted by moving the lower spring perch — were the standard choice, and fully threaded coilovers, which adjust ride height independently of the spring, were considered a premium product. These days, however, depending on the vehicle, it can even be … Read more