matthew

im thinking of lowering my car

or getting coil overs

so i can lower in summer and higher it in winter...



my budget is like 300 cnd


are there out there...


i got the oem struts in the front
and performance struts on the back.

Davard

Figure about $400 for coil-overs. There was a Weapon-R kit for about $250-275, but the spring rates were too high for anything but keeping a slammed ride off the bump stops (but stock struts were hopeless to control the springs).

The other problem is that the Ground Controls (the only company that offers coil-overs specifically) are designed to be used with camber plates (another $225-300).

You might be able to build your own with sleeves/perches and springs, but the springs are about $50-60 ea, and the sleeves are about $25 ea (on up), with a little more for the spring hats (upper perches). Unless you find a great deal, figure on spending as much or more on assembling the individual pieces.

That said, I love my front coil-overs. I upped the rate 20% and the car rides better (because it isn't always on the bumpstops). I also got camber plates at the same time (since I autocross), and these also contributed to the ride by allowing a little more suspension travel.

If you go with the Ground Control, you may want to specify different spring lengths than the 7" that they spec (I haven't confirmed the dimensions, but that's what I was told). Too short in my opinion. But you also don't have to remove the lower spring perches from your struts. Another thing about using the 7" springs. You only have about 3" of suspension travel, despite having 5" front, and 7" rear (approx) of travel in the struts.

With your budget, you may want to go with standard springs. If winter clearance is an issue, use the Eibach or ST springs, and don't get the ST front bar (which hangs down quite a bit).

WeaDD

How low do you want to go??? I have the Weapon-R coilovers on my pro and they're as hell!! I'm thinking about going to Sprint spring and just do something with the coilvers. :chainsaw:

mazdaspeedwest

David has been using them for years and likes them, but i'm sure he can comment in more detail.

If you have the $$$ to get them, great, go for it. Although the adjustability is pretty usuless if you don't race and would be better off with the wallet friendly ZX2 struts.

Davard

Are those the standard Tokico HD shocks? My experience with them was less than favorable. If these are the ones you are talking about, go get the Tokico ZX2 S/R struts instead. $160. Southwest Ford sells them, but they recent undesigned their website and it's really slow.

The Mazdaspeeds are really nice, but at over $200 a piece, kinda pricey. If I had to replace them, I'd probably get Koni inserts, although not the ones listed for the 1g Protege.

As Darryl pointed out, unless you are planning on autocrossing, you don't really need the adjustability. Save your money and buy the S/Rs.

And WeaDD, the reason the Weapon-Rs are bouncy is that they are too much spring for just about any strut (somewhere around 400 lbs). And they are a different size than the standard 2.5 I.D. spring, so you can't even replace the springs with lighter ones.

TXprotege

wanna sell your coilovers?

Elchulo

Buy my springs!