J-Protege

Thanks for the advice everyone. Ended up going with the RacingBeat ones from the MSP, along with the MSP front and rear sway bars. Got a good deal on the whole set.

Go dealership garage sales! $325 bucks for the bars + springs.

Mr.Ames

wow thats not a bad deal at all. are they actual racing beat ones or the mazda speed version?

J-Protege

Er, as far as I know, the Mazdaspeed ones are just racing beat ones with new stickers, but these are racingbeat branded. Got em from a mazda dealership. They were selling off surplus parts.

Guess that had MSP parts laying around unsold.

Mr.Ames

they are NOT the same

The difference between MSP and Racing Beat springs. Pics.

J-Protege

Hmm, well then. Anyways, bought from a dealer as OEM, so I'd assume they are the direct MSP replacements, not aftermarket racingbeats.

yunwawa

Yeah!!! I got my tom motorsports (ebay buy), on friday and put them on the same day. I'm extremely happy with them. When I was putting them on a couple people asked me if they were teins. Their linear so I don't have any play just a nice solid ride. PLUS they lowered my car 2" in the front and 1 3/4 in the rear!! I just got back from a 400 mile road trip and they were well worth the price. I couldn't be happier. They even have some play in them so their not too rough over railroad tracks, potholes ad things of that nature.

J-Protege

Hmm, right on. How much those go for after shipping?

yunwawa

80 overall~ There are more expensive ones available. Took a drive today tooand they are still running strong~ I have a military base by me too so I got a free alignment after, the true mechanic pointed out that I should re-grease the shocks too. It's alot quieter now.....

JoshP5

J-Pro, those MSP springs were designed for use with the MSP struts. If you install them with stock struts, HPs, or Illuminas, it'll look like you have two bodies in your trunk. FYI.

J-Protege

You mean it'll look too low in the back? I don't mind if the whole thing look lower.

Shouldn't it be even if all the struts are the same?

JoshP5

All struts aren't the same. The spring perch on the rear MSP struts is located higher on the strut body to accomodate the shorter MSP springs (see the link ames posted). Thus if you use MSP springs with non-MSP rear struts, the rear will appear almost an inch too low.

You'd get an even 3/4" drop using your stuff with MSP struts, which are a bit spendy--$460 at onlinemazdaparts.com.

I also bought a set of MSP springs, but fortunately learned about this discrepancy before I installed them. No harm done, my set was $15 on eBay.

JoshP5

The problem with progressive springs is that they are not matched to the strut's damping characteristics at all points through the suspension travel.

With a progressive-rate spring, the spring rate increases as the suspension is compressed. However, the strut's damping is independent of the amount the suspension is compressed. Thus, when the suspension is nearly fully extended, you have overdamping; when the suspension is more nearly fully compressed, you have underdamping.

Linear springs are easier to work with since they can be matched to the strut damping throughout the suspension travel, which makes handling more predictable (this is more critical for the front suspension).

At 158/117 lb/in (f/r), MSP springs are about 15/10% (f/r) stiffer than stock ES springs.

J-Protege

Guess it makes sence. Are there any alternatives besides the MSP ones? I'd figure most performance struts would be build expecting performance springs (which are usually shorter).

Also, does the front matter as much, or is this issue mainly for the back?

JoshP5

Nope. MSP and MP3 springs are oddballs. In terms of setting up your suspension properly, you're better off getting a different set of springs and a set of HPs or Illuminas to match.

Only the back.

J-Protege

Wierd... Oh well, already bought the springs, and I'm still on stock struts from about 60000 miles ago.

Couldn't hurt to get them changed.

So, would I be able to just install the springs on the stock ones for now and do the struts later? I don't have the cash to go and buy some struts right now.