hihoslva

Okay, so I'm starting to get a handle on the different suspension setups available in the aftermarket, and here's my question:

How easy is it to adjust "coil-overs" or any adjustable setup? I use my P5 as a daily driver, with a bit of weight (150-200lbs of tools and parts) in the hatch. Because of this, the rear sits a little bit lower than stock.

I'm thinking about dropping the front a bit to match the loaded rear, as well as to "balance" the suspension. Of course, I'd change out the rear suspension also. However, I don't want the whole car to sit hella-low, because I drive over some nasty roads in Manhattan, Queens, The Bronx, etc. almost every day. And I also don't want to have a jacked-up *** end when I take the weight out of the car for a weekend or for a trip.

Are there any adjustable setups that can lower the front to match the rear (with the weight) and not drop the rear any more than it already is? How much hassle is it to adjust the rear if I take the weight out for a few days. Honestly, I don't want to spend a lot of time on it. I'd really consider something hydraulic or air-adjustable with the flip of a switch - that'd be the best, but I have no idea if it is available or reasonable ($$).

Any advice here?

Thanks

ARD MP5

I'm not sure how patient you are, but I am making some calls this week to try and find an air shock setup for our cars. I'll need to convince someone to produce it.

This however is about $2000.00 with the compressors and such. If I can get you a good deal would you be interested, as we have one willing to pay for the custom setup.

I can tell you this, the Ground control is very easy to adjust, but you will nee to unload the suspension everytime, i.e. jack up the car. However, a friend came by with his GC's at the highest setting in the P5 and it was sitting on his tire.

So I would suggest getting longer springs for the setup. Don't go with the lengths they reccommend. Spring rates are cool, but get longer springs.

If you can wait I can look into another coilover option, but may not have been produced yet.

Thanks, Rishie

mazdaspeedwest

thats the whole point of adjustability...they go up, they go down, back to low, raise it or drop the front......the hardest part is the balance between them all....side to side and front to back. side to side more-so than front to back, but you get the idea...

sure some set-ups have a more "ease of adjustability" but most can be done in just a few minutes... stay away from the weapon-r and look into ground control. There may be others out there starting to make em for the P5 too...

Protege5online

I talked to Ground Control the other day & they said they are starting to do all of their coil overs with the taller spring that would pretty much give you the highest setting being almost stock. This is easily doable. Even if they dont do it on all setups, you can ask for it. This way, you can set the rear at the highest setting (almost stock) and the front down to whereever you want. I would suggest the Ground Controls. Good system.

Bizob

Where's the best place to get the GCs if I'm in Canada? If there's a place in CAN that anyone knows about, or a place with good prices that'll ship them to Montreal, that's what I'm looking for. Thanks.

Protege5online

Bizob, if you can live with the duties (not sure how they are up there) shipping from me to you, isnt all that bad. Ground Controls only weight like 12 pounds or so so shipping may only be 15.00USD (just an estimate). And my prices on the GC's are normally low enough that the added shipping wont make a difference. Also, Im working on putting together an order for Ground Control & Eibach lowering springs in a couple of weeks which I will be trying to get a lower price (retail on GC is 399.00USD, my normal price is 369.00). If you can get in on that order, I can hopefully offer you a much better price than you can find in Canada.

Bizob

When you say Ground Control and Eibach lowering springs... Don't all GCs come with the Eibach lowering springs? Is'nt all that included in the price or is the Ground Control only the sleeve?? I'm obviously confused!

MP3-Owner

I'm pretty sure he is getting "both" the Eibach sport springs which are just replacements that fit on your stock struts and he is getting the Ground Control coil-overs as well w/ thier own springs that are included in the kit. Please correct me if I'm wrong Mitch.

Bruce95fmla

Well you live in new york as so do I , (Bronx) and I had the Weapon R's on my car and let me tell you it was living hell sometimes ,, but to be honest the handling is unmatched man , it is like going from a mp3 to a escort lx ,,, ughhh
but she rides much smoother now even in places like manhattan , and so forth ,.
So do you have any pics of your p5 , I hooked up with another protege guy here in new york , who had a 1st gen , it is on my site , Protosport Racing
I can be contacted by email at dbest1a@yahoo.com
thanks
Bruce

[QUOTE]Originally posted by hihoslva
Okay, so I'm starting to get a handle on the different suspension setups available in the aftermarket, and here's my question:

How easy is it to adjust "coil-overs" or any adjustable setup? I use my P5 as a daily driver, with a bit of weight (150-200lbs of tools and parts) in the hatch. Because of this, the rear sits a little bit lower than stock.

I'm thinking about dropping the front a bit to match the loaded rear, as well as to "balance" the suspension. Of course, I'd change out the rear suspension also. However, I don't want the whole car to sit hella-low, because I drive over some nasty roads in Manhattan, Queens, The Bronx, etc. almost every day. And I also don't want to have a jacked-up *** end when I take the weight out of the car for a weekend or for a trip.

Are there any adjustable setups that can lower the front to match the rear (with the weight) and not drop the rear any more than it already is? How much hassle is it to adjust the rear if I take the weight out for a few days. Honestly, I don't want to spend a lot of time on it. I'd really consider something hydraulic or air-adjustable with the flip of a switch - that'd be the best, but I have no idea if it is available or reasonable ($$).

Any advice here?

Thanks [

Bruce95fmla

Yeah it is ,, the car will look sweet as hell but it is not ideal for new york , cause they are not dual rate springs and therefore they can't handle new york roads , If you live somewhere like florida or Texas then you can slam the **** out your car, ... cause the roads are smooth as hell ,..
Bruce

hihoslva

Hey, wassup neighbor? I gotta agree with you - buying a new car has really made me notice how horrible some of our roads are in NY! My P5 was two weeks old when a ******** dumptruck dropped a stone that hit my windshield on the LIE. Did the Safelite fix-it crap - I'll replace the glass in a year or two maybe.

I think I'm about to give up on any suspension mods for now. I just drive too much, and on too many shitty roads, to warrant lowering or stiffening the ride. All I really wanted to do was find an easy way of matching the front to the weighed-down rear, and be able to adjust it back when the hatch is empty. It's far too much hassle for me to go jacking up my car to adjust coil-overs. This is my daily driver, and she's already getting plenty beat up from the miles, the roads, and the ******* parking guys in Manhattan! 6 nicks (three sets of two each from license plate screws) in the back bumper, two door dings.....my lady works at a body shop, so they'll fix it all at a nice price soon. Then I'll try to get something to protect the bumpers - but not those crappy rubber things on the cabs!

Oh, of course I've got pix! But I'm waiting to post any until I do some more mods - mainly the intake, exhaust, and red hoses. I'll get some to ya' if you're still interested.

BTW- I noticed in some of your pix on your site that you cleaned up your valve cover real nice. In some pix it was dirty, and then in others it was really clean - almost looked chromed. What did you do to make it look so good? Did you have it chromed, or just cleaned it up some? That's a familiar looking motor, too - same 1.6L I had in my '93 Miata, facing the RIGHT way, of course (lol)

Happy New Year to you, and to all.

Bruce95fmla

yeah I know what you mean , when I had the coilovers on my car at first it was cool and all good cause they were really good and the ride was not to bouncy , I had the helper springs on and they were really noisy and wer just a plain old pain in the ***, so I took them off,. then the car droped more without the helper springs ,, or actually I had them off in the front and on in the back and then the seperaters for the rears broke , and then I took them off ,... bottom line any trip to manhattan could not be over 40mph , especially on the FDR ,, On the FDR my friends said that my car was a go cart , cause at 70 mph it would change lanes without leaning or any fuss ,,, wich was true as hell , but you had to brace yourself when you hit a bump ,. lol ,. with my valve cover I had it painted I used some chrome paint to paint it , I have a can in the closet I will send you a pic when I get back from work ,. send me a blank email at dbest1a@yahoo.com and I can email it directly to you . after 1 good winter that whole paint job was gone lol ,,, I am going to do it over though with primer first this time though ,.. I found another protege guy around Yonkers that you willl see on the bottom of my site (black 1st gen ) . I am gonna see if maybe we all can hook up sometime and go get some drinks and talk ptalk lol ,, ok I gotta go to work ,.
btw my car is sitting on the bg springs now wich is a much better ride , but I may be making a change to stiffer shocks really soon ,after I drop the clutch in my car, .. and my engine it is a 1.5L that is why it looks familiar to your 1.6L miata ,,, i often wonder if the cams from a miata 1.6 would work in here
aight
later
Bruce