Suspension work - description and thoughts.

So, my friend Brett asked me about the kind of suspension work I'll be doing/paying someone to do over the next few months. As I typed a response to him, I thought: "I bet this would be a good post on the blog." So, I went ahead and added this.

As bought, the car came with a very tired suspension. Most bushings and ball joints around the front suspension are shot. Most suspension parts are covered in undercoating, oversprayed paint, and dirt. So basically, I'll end up replacing bushings and ball joints all over the place, and cleaning up parts as much as practical.

As far as the current work goes, the steering linkage has 6 tie rod ends that need replacement. Fairly simple stuff, except that separating the tie rods from the various knuckes in the suspension and steering mechanism can be a pain in the ass, since there is not much room for maneuvering. I borrowed a ball-joint puller from TJ, and it works OK, but again, space is limited. I am trying to find a tie rod lifter, which is smaller and would fit better under the car.

The suspension work seems very involved, but given enough time, it's very doable. I can take out suspension parts one or two at a time, without tearing the whole thing apart at once (take out lower a-arm parts, replace, reinstall, move on to upper arm and repeat.) There is that "minor" issue of dealing with a compressed spring, but I just use twine to keep it compressed. (not!)

I'll have to replace the dampers, too. But that's really easy to do on this car, so I can leave that for last. I'm still undecided b/w Bilsteins, Koni Classic, or Koni Sport. Both types of Konis are adjustable, but I am not sure what kind of spring rates they like. A lot of folks like Bilsteins, but a lot of folks like the Konis, too. Most of the discussion out there seems to go like this:

Question:
"What kind of damper would you recommend?"
Responses:
- "I like my (brand A of damper)"
- "Well, good for you, but my (other brand of damper) is better"
- "Oh yeah? Well, my (brand A) is better."
- "Well, obviously you don't know what you are talking about."
- "Well, I can adjust mine."
- "Oh yea? You would not know how to adjust a damper if it was stuck to your arm."

And so on. Sounds familiar? Lots of subjective zealotry, and no numbers to back things up (as in: what spring rates for each damper type, etc.)

Ditto with springs. "Buy brand A", or "I like brand B", but no one talks lbs-in or anything like that.

(It's even worse with the Miata community, since there are even more options -- Tein, Ohlins, KYB, JIC, Koni, Bilstein, yada yada -- although you do find some folks post good technical info. )

I tend to like Konis (I am a Koni zealot, admittedly), mostly because my dad likes them, and I am familiar with them. I like the idea of being able to adjust things, though.

Oh, and yes, after all this is done, I'll have to move on to the rear end...