Total MX-5 – July 2019

SWAP TO COILOVERS ON A MK1

[ HOW TO ]

62 | TOTAL MX-5 |^ Summer 2019

BEFORE YOU START

If you can blag some access to

a hydraulic lift for this job

then you’ll be doing yourself a

favour, but otherwise a good

quality jack, some wheel

chocks and a couple of axle

stands will get it done.

Applying some WD40 to

wishbone and anti-roll bar

bolts an hour or so in advance

should make the spannering

easier later on.

YOU WILL NEED

14mm and 17mm spanners and

sockets: long handled spanners

will be very useful to have, as

the suspension’s nuts are likely

to be corroded and require a

fair amount of encouragement

to get loose. Powered socket

guns will speed things up. Not

pictured here is a long lever for

prying up the wishbones to

give clearance to remove and

fit old and new suspension

components. A hammer and

chisel are needed to split apart

the tapered ball joint at the

top of the wheel hub. And

you’ll want some adjustable

coilovers: we chose Gaz fixed

height items.

PARTS SUPPLIER

MX5Parts

http://www.MX5parts.co.uk

Cleverley Repaired Cars

http://www.mx5expert.com

1

Open the bonnet and undo the pair of 14mm nuts that hold the front

spring and damper units in the strut tower. This car has a cold air

induction kit, but chances are you will have to remove the plastic air

intake trunking to give easier access to the bolts.

2

Open the boot, remove the spare wheel and pull back the carpet. The

nuts holding the spring/damper units in place aren’t the easiest to get

at, and those on the nearside require you to remove that tin shield for

the fuel pipes leading from the filler neck to the tank.

PREPARATION
It’s hard to beat the

standard suspension on a

mk1 (or mk2 for that

matter) but there will

always be some of us

craving a slightly sportier

feel from the ride and

handling of our cars.

Hence a swap to

coilovers, in this instance

adjustable Gaz units with

a fixed ride height,

obtained through

MX5parts.com. It’s a

relatively simple

operation to change over

from old, tired suspension

to the spanking new, but

with four corners to do, it

can take a while...

Call

02392 644 588