Photography by J.A. Ackley, unless otherwise noted
Camaro. Silverado. Miata?
One of these things may not seem like the other, but all three share something in common: coil-over kits available from Ridetech for enthusiast vehicles. The company well known for its offerings for classic American cars, but it is dipping its toe in the import end of the pool with the beloved NC-chassis Miata.
“Sure, it’s a departure from our normal focus,” Ridetech’s Blane Burnett admits. However, he continues, a quick glance at the cars in the employee lot explains the decision: “But a few of our colleagues have Miatas and campaign them regularly. And while outside looking in they may seem foreign to us, these cars are pretty well in our DNA.” (The Burnett family owns a Miata, too, a ’99 NB.)
Our test vehicle, an NC Miata equipped by Ridetech.
Ridetech engineered its NC Miata HQ Series coil-over kit for those who love twisty mountain roads as much as windy tracks. The kit consists of 24-position rebound adjustable Fox Factory coil-overs caged in Hyperco springs (575 lbs./in. in the front and 350 lbs./in. in the rear). The coil-overs ship preassembled, too.
Photograph courtesy Blane Burnett
The Ridetech crew drove an NC Miata 600 miles to Virginia International Raceway to publicly display the prototype setup of the HQ series for that car at HyperFest. We got to take the Ridetech-equipped NC Miata out on roads surrounding Virginia International Raceway. We started at the midpoint setting and then took four clicks of rebound out. The softer setting turned a rough country road into a smooth thoroughfare. Significant road undulations didn’t perturb the Miata much at all.
Go up four clicks, and we certainly felt more response with increased feedback through the steering wheel. Yet, the ride wasn’t harsh; it just had added input.
The Ridetech HQ Series coil-over kits are now available and sell for $2945. Included in that price is Ridetech’s 1,000,001-mile warranty.
i have Ridetech shocks on my car and I can say that Ridetech is great and the customer service is worth while. I had a problem /w one of the shocks, sent them pictures, they explained what they think happened, asked that I send both rear shocks back to them so they can investigate and promptly sent new shocks back. I purchased the shocks 2nd hand and they didn't care.
Ridetech is owned by Fox, i wonder how these will compare to the Flyin' Miata Fox offerings...
Really happy to see Ridetech expand their offerings. I was very happy with the Ridetech dampers on the C5. I hardly ever adjusted them after I got them set the first time. Just a few small tweaks to rear compression now and then on various surfaces and that was it.
ClearWaterMS said:Ridetech is owned by Fox, i wonder how these will compare to the Flyin' Miata Fox offerings...
Well, they have very different mounts, dimensions, spring rates and valving. About all they have in common is the manufacturer of the internals - which is a good thing, as Fox internals are as good as they get. They did go for quite a different spring rate balance than we did, which I think may have been a mistake on their part.
big dude in a little car! thats the best thing for me about the NC at 6'7"
In reply to ClearWaterMS :
With the inverted rear and price I think they would be more comparable and competitors to Xidas. It's nice to see more products for the NC, for a while the NC was the redheaded step child, the ND had more aftermarket within a couple years while the NC was out for 10+ already. Things have definitely caught up in the last few years.
SliderX said:In reply to ClearWaterMS :
With the inverted rear and price I think they would be more comparable and competitors to Xidas. It's nice to see more products for the NC, for a while the NC was the redheaded step child, the ND had more aftermarket within a couple years while the NC was out for 10+ already. Things have definitely caught up in the last few years.
I had a chance to take a very close look at these at Miatas at the Gap. Got the full specs when I got back to the shop and compared them. They are ah, "very" similar to Xidas. So much so that I would not be surprised if there was a little bit of reverse engineering going on there at some point. We're flattered!
SliderX said:In reply to ClearWaterMS :
With the inverted rear and price I think they would be more comparable and competitors to Xidas. It's nice to see more products for the NC, for a while the NC was the redheaded step child, the ND had more aftermarket within a couple years while the NC was out for 10+ already. Things have definitely caught up in the last few years.
does Xida also use fox bodies?
In reply to ClearWaterMS :
I believe Xidas used to be AST and are now TracTive.
I am curious what is the point of the helper spring. Wouldn't it be simpler to have a longer threaded section of the body and maybe run a longer single spring?
In reply to Keith Tanner :
Keith, why do you think this was a mistake?
Displaying 1-10 of 13 commentsView all comments on the GRM forums
You'll need to log in to post.
