We have measured dielectronic recombination (DR) and electron impact ionization (EII) for a range of astrophysically relevant atomic ions (Fe9+, Fe10+, O3+, and Mg6+). The experiments were performed in a merged beams setup at the heavy-ion storage ring TSR in Heidelberg, Germany. Here we discuss the importance of our data for astrophysical modelling and compare our experimental results with the previously recommended data and with modern theoretical calculations. We have parameterized our data using simple fiting formulae for convenient inclusion into astrophysical modelling codes.