We're considering offering a DIY kit for the NA Bilstein. Everything but the shocks.

Bilstein specific sleeves that allow the spring collar to go below the snap ring, just above halfshaft. Precision fit, single collar with set screw
6" or 7" main springs, 2.5" 550/350
Washers
Bushings
MCU 45mm bumpstops
NB mounts
2.5" spring adapters, aluminum

Target price would be $400 shipped CONUS for everything listed above
Helper springs a $59.00 option, paired with 6" mains
Boots optional $36.00

Is this something the Miataverse is interested in?

What spring rates y'all want?
To bring the costs down, we would make our own private label springs so we have to pick one combo.

 

To pre-empt the inevitable question: Why would we do this, when we are finally releasing Tecna which is supposed to kill DIY Billies?

While Tecna is a better setup than DIY billies, we recognize there are folks out there who already have a set of billies laying around or have access to a lightly used set for super cheap and want an easy button. If you already have a set of Bilsteins this can turn them into a good-quality set of adjustable-height suspension for less than half of what Tecna cost.

Just trying to get a feel for demand for this type of setup. If there's little interest, we won't do it.

 

I just bought a used set of xidas, so no. But otherwise I was going to go down this road. a set of NB billies runs to 560 shipped to me from rock auto. So for the price of a set of BCs it's great.

Only thing I would throw out there, for the NA people, would be perhaps an extended option to run NB shocks in the rear?
https://www.maruhamotors.co.jp/parts...trokeupper.php like this

You appear to have stock dimension ones made (or at least stock style oranged as your own) but if there was a US source for an oem style extended mount I would expect for the tens of people DIY billying that would be a great option.

 

To be fair, in the decade since tecna was first advertised as a ~1k option, the price has crept, and they are now 15-1700 if you start whacking the options button. Not saying that is an unreasonable price, but for the notorious tightasses that are miata owners that is a significant delta. Moreso if you use 2nd hand shocks.

 

Our steel NB mounts are direct copies of OEM with about .5mm thicker steel.

Just an idea we're kicking around because the supply chain is already in place. The sleeves would be the major investment as we would design from scratch to be optimized just for this app. But it's a limited market and we have many other projects on deck that are a better use of resources.

 

Yes. Your biggest obstacle is convincing the tiktok crowd that this is a better option than tein/megan/bc/revwhatever/riceland that are invariably suggested in every "what coils should I buy" daily thread on FB, I would think.

 

Which is exactly what I explained in my post We recognize there's still a group of Miata owners who want a very, very inexpensive setup but who may be willing to assemble their own shocks if there's a readily available option from a trusted vendor.

Trying to gauge the size of that audience.

 

Yes, absolutely; at least the rubbers if not the sleeves. 5X racing hasnt restocked theirs all winter...
Good points made about it being niche and not being appealing to The Public at Large.
I didnt realize DIY billies were starting to become a thing of the past, but with the lack of aptitude coming from the new wave of miata owners, i can see it.
If they come up, sign me in.

 

I think this is a great idea. Short of xida/techna, billies are the next best thing. It wasn't "hard" per-say to put together my own DIY billie kit ~4 years ago when I did it, but I did spend hours reading that damn megathread and came up with my own solution based on the good ideas from various posts. A curated plug n play kit would be great. Throw in an option for those torrington bearings too, they are sweet. Maybe make some extended tophats available too, I think I'm running the ISC ones on my car and while they work.. they aren't the best.

Of course I'm not your buyer, I've been on my billies for years now and when I upgrade it will be to Xida. But I still think it's a sweet idea. Just my 0.02

 

I could potentially be interested in purchasing the spring setup (helper, main, and coupler). I've got most of these components already, but it is difficult to source helper/tender springs for a true dual rate suspension from US vendors.

I am surprised that no one stocks the Maruha extended top hats in the US either, that could be a good addition to your kit.

 

Not for me.

How many of the components of this package would be shared with your other suspension offerings? If the Billie sleeves are the only unique part and things like the bump stops and spring collars are shared with the Technas, I can see it being a valid thing, but the more unique parts the less opportunity. IMHO.

I fear you’d either be selling to penny-pinchers who will cross-shop eBay crap regardless of performance, or trying to convince the Instagram/TikTok crowd that performance is more important than the brand names they recognize. (The average “car enthusiast” will look at my Xidas and tell me I should get Megans or BC or whatever).

And to be honest, you might not want those asshats as customers. At least I wouldn’t, but then again, there are really good reasons I don’t deal with customers…

 

Extended top mounts are not being considered as that's new tooling and parts to carry. The NB replica mounts are something we already have, thus the efficiency of supply chain. Beyond that, extended hats on Bilsteins seems like a waste. Just buy Tecnas if you want the additional bump travel and don't mind spending a bit more to get it.

 

If you race to the bottom to hit lower and lower price points, your customers get dumber and cheaper. I think it would only increase headaches for you guys with support calls for assembly, buying the right shocks, and all that. I think Tecnas are a good lower threshold.

 

If I didn't already have the bilstein set up I have I would have be keen for this.

 

What spring rates would you folks want?
To bring the costs down, we would make our own private label springs so we have to pick one combo. I know some of you want full race 700/400 or 800/500 rates but frankly, they suck on stock valving Bilsteins. In our experience, the sweet spot is around 450/300 for <2400 lbs w/ driver, 550/350 above that.

If we make our own springs, we can bring the cost of the kit way down.

 

I’m not your target audience, but back in the day I ran 450/300 with a RB hollow front bar and no rear bar. It was very versatile and a friend who’s driven dozens of street setups over the years still raves about that setup (Koni yellows). He drove my car for a couple years like that while I was away; all street miles, mix of city and back roads (East coast). Great street setup that’ll handle the occasional beginner track day.

 

What's the word on these?

 

Decided not to pursue it. We're stretched thin with many other projects. Sorry!

 

Kinda boiled down to this.

It's one thing to build and sell a kit - that's the easy part. The support for something like this would be killer because folks will want a full walkthrough of everything.

Better to focus on Tecna, wheels, etc.

 

And probably want the kit for free because of their 20 TikTok followers...