When fitting the front shock absorbers it is necessary to cut out the centre bridge of the top wishbones to gain clearance. This depends on the diameter of your chosen shock body. Banana shaped 6mm thick plates are provided to bolt to the wishbones in order to return the level of stiffness they had before you cut out the bridge. 2 bolts are required 8mm each side, flip them over if they do not clear your shocks.

On early chassis the stock wishbones may clear the suspension units, depending on the specific 'coilover' units and whether any suspension lift spacers are used. It is probably a sensible policy with any chassis to offer up the intended suspension and then make the call on whether the top wishbone has sufficient clearance.

When necessary some builders choose to completely remove the bridge, others trim it back, here is an example of it completely removed.

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You may need to trim the edge of your front subframe for clearance of the wishbones. You may prefer aftermarket shocks with adjustable damping and ride height or lowering springs on the standard MX5 shocks.

When assembling the front top suspension arm, please make sure to install the bolt from the rear to the front, so the nut is on the front face. Failure to follow this means that in any future disassembly the bolt will foul the anti-roll bar mounting on the chassis will require the frame removed or the bolt cut.

Many builders take this opportunity to change out the original Mazda bushes, as most are 20+ years old. Depending on the desired suspension firmness you may also opt for polyurethane, this gives a much firmer ride than the original rubber and is actually cost effective compared to the cost of new OEM rubber.

A few common choices for bushes are:

• OEM Mazda
• IL Motorsport bushes (Basically upgraded OEM but still rubber)
• SuperPro
• Energy Suspension

Please note there are many different sizes of Anti Roll bars, make sure you have the correct one in your kit.

This should bolt direct to the frame using the mounting points, however depending on the bar you have from the donor you may need to notch the metal collar along or remove it completely to solve the problem shown below. Please note when fitting new bushes there are *many* sizes of anti roll bars across the years and factory specification.

If using aftermarket coilovers and you have a MK2 donor then it's advisable to use MK1 top mounts. These will provide a lift to the overall height. You may need to slightly modify them depending on your coilover setup. You can see the difference below along with a small guide from a suspension manufacturer.

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The ideal ride height is one that sees the front and rear lower control arms parallel with the ground.