Truth about the E-bay Coilovers

If you've been following the discussions on the Miata Ebay Coilovers you will know that they used to be about 30 dollars. If you've gone shopping for these coilovers you'll know now that they are over 70 dollars after shipping. And if you've ever looked around in ebay beyond just a cursory look, you'll notice that there are the same "ebay-style" coilovers for other cars, listed for cheaper. If you are like a lot of people, it will have crossed your mind that maybe these coilover kits are all the same. And maybe you thought you didn't want to take a risk and spend the money on kits that might not fit your vehicle. 

In this hobby, its always good to experiment and explore. That I did! I have some good news. From what I can see, the various coilover kits are identical. I ordered a set of Celica labeled kits after reading from a truck forum that their inner diameter is 2 inches. From what I've found, Celica, Accord and Civic ones are listed the cheapest. Please note, there are different coilover kits on Ebay. It is picture and vendor dependent, not car model listed dependent. You can check on various car forums too. One thing is for sure though, the Celica ones are the same size as the Miata ones.

Why would they label them differently? Well, as you may already have guessed, people probably aren't going to spend money on universal kits. Especially if they were already skeptical about the low price. People who are "car guys" as opposed to "track junkies" or racers really care a lot about their cars and want to buy only what is best for them. Kind of like spending a lot of money for gourmet cat food. Plus, it allows them to price discriminate beautifully. Perfect example of this at work is our Miata situation. We started picking up these kits fast, so the Miata labeled ones sell for over 30% more. Actually, they aren't even labeled. The listing title is the only difference.


Dimensions (Sleeve, perch, and locking ring): 
Length - Front 130mm, Rear 80mm
Inner Diameter: 50.5mm 
Weight: Front 330g Rear 245g (approx)


Truth 1 - Material
These coilovers are claimed to have been made from the same materials as most other kits. T6 series aluminum. 


Truth 2 - Threads and Machining

The machining is decent. Threads on the sleeve are pretty clean. The only part where the machining was scrappy are the holes on the bottom of the sleeves for threading in small screws to secure the sleeves. By the way, I don't think these screws and holes need to be used. This was my main area of concern; are the threads on the shock body well made? See for yourself. Good enough for me. 


Truth 3 - Fitment
If you have any 50mm diamater shock, it will fit very nicely. There is a slight amount of play, probably resulting from the approx 0.5-0.8mm difference. If it worries you so much, put a piece of paper in there. The supplied O-rings will probably work just fine with smaller shocks.


Installation steps
First, remove the C-clip from the top groove of the shock. Just spread out the ends with a pair of small screwdrivers, and then carefully slide it off the shock. Then pull out the hardware for the bumpstop/accordion shaft guard assembly. That way, you can take off the Bilstein spring perch, which is sitting on the lower C-clip on the bottom groove. Put your threaded sleeve on this groove. If this worries you, leave the spring perch and put the sleeve on top of this. You'll lose out a little bit of range though. You should be fine with it sitting on the C-clip. You will have to cut off the bit of the sleeve that is exposed over the end of the shock, or else you'll lose out in that much suspension travel. Oh precious suspension travel. Better cut that off. Just use a hacksaw. 

Thats it! If you have 50mm shocks, no adaptors, rings or anything of that sort needed. If you have an AFCO, Ground Control, Bilstein, or Koni kit that you will be willing to ship to me, please let me know. I would love to do a visual comparison of these kits.

Spring lengths

If you use the setup above, you need to use 6" springs. The more expensive springs are your only option. I took my shocks to a local motorcycle shop and had them machine a groove 50mm below the lower groove, and I was able to use 7" QA1 springs to get the ride height desired.

Here is a list of updates related to the E-bay coilover setup

Rod's update: NB Bilstein HD and Ebay Coilovers

Minor Updates (machining grooves to get correct ride height on 94 R package shocks)

Choosing a coilover setup