protetype

Right now I have the H&R's on my '00 DX with the corksport strut bar. I was wondering if anyone else has dropped their 3rd gen, and what struts they were using? Any suggestions on what type I should go for?

mlight13

I have B+G springs on my car. Nice drop of 1.75 inches (supposed to be 1.4 inches) I actually want to go a little lower. I am using stock struts and I must say, it's not mucher stiffer than stock. The ride is pretty comfortable. I also have the Corksport (RaceTech) strut tower bar. I'm just going to wait a while for Tokico or KYB struts.

Mark
'01 ES

Eric F

I have the MazdaSpeed adjustable struts and Eibach Pro Kit springs. They work well together. I'm very pleased with their performance so far. The Eibachs lower the car about 1.25". The MazdaSpeed struts have the same strut body length as the stock struts. The problem you run into when you lower a car much more than 1.5" to 2" is compression travel. To retain enough compression travel for a decent ride AND good handling with that much drop, you need a shortened strut housing. Otherwise the struts hit the bumpstops frequently, which hurts ride and handling. If you remove the bumpstops completely, or trim them too much, the struts will be damaged when you bottom out, making them useless. The AWR (Joe Jordan) full coil overs incorporate shortened strut bodies. When Tri-Point releases their coil overs, they will likely be shorter than stock height also. Those are the best way to go if you want to lower your car that much and still drive it, rather than just for show.

Eric F

Ahh, but there are so many spring rates available. I think they can be ordered with the spring rate you want.

Eric F

I'm sure they are, they use standard 2.25" inner diameter springs, so there are many spring rate available. I'm not sure if they can be ordered from Mazda Motorsports with the spring rate you want though.

Eric F

Have you looked at the price of MazdaSpeeds? They aren't cheap either. They're worth it in my opinion but the MazdaSpeeds plus springs, you could make a case for spending a bit more and getting true coil overs. I really like the adjustability of the MazdaSpeeds though.

mlight13

I am considering upgrading to the Mazdaspeed adjustables, but I won't have that kind of money until my next tax return. When I got my B+G's installed, I had them cut just less than half of my bump stops just to be safe from bottoming out. On big bumps, I can feel the bump stops a little bit, so I guess it'll be ok until tax time!

Mark
'01 ES

Eric F

$200ea? Ouch, mine were a little less expensive through Mazda Motorsports. Still not cheap though. I forget we're talking about different generations sometimes. 1st gens don't have true coil overs available yet do they?

Eric F

Paul was using the Mazda Motorsports trunk kit, full coil overs, but that was a 3rd gen wasn't it?

gujustud

i've got a 3rd gen, and always wanted to lower my car... but not a HUGE amount, maybe only a 1" ... Whats the best/cheapest/good way to go around doing this? Just getting new springs??

I think a 1" drop will look good, (I know this cuz I once had my car loaded with stuff (helping a friend move) and my car was lowered at least a 1", and it looked pretty sweet...

Protege5online

H&R offers about a 1.3" drop for your car. Eibach is about 1.4" in the front & 1.8" in the back. Both good quality springs (Eibach are some of the best if not the best in the industry) Retail on the H&R's are 289.00 & I sell them for 239.00. I think Retail on the Eibachs are 299.00 & which would mean I sell them for 249.00. I think if you go with either of those, you will be good. Your next bet is to get a set of Ground Control coil overs & ask for taller springs. This will allow you to have an adjustable height from about stock to about 1.5" or so (maybe lower). A normal set of ground control coil overs would give you about a 2" to a 3.5" drop. I asked them about sets that would alow you to raise it back to around stock height & they sail you just need to ask for stiffer springs. Ground Control uses Eibach springs so they are very good quality. GC's retail for 399.00 & I sell them for 369.00. There may be a 30.00 added fee for changing the springs though.

Eric F

Mitch, the Eibachs are available through Mazda Motorsports for $213.10. Can't you get a better price from them? http://www.mazdamotorsports.com/

99proES

i know this is an old thread but i wanna know what the three different things to suspension does. (ie: the coil overs, the struts and the springs.) this is one of the (a million) things i know nothing about

Eric F

http://www.tirerack.com/suspension/tech/bounce.html
http://www.tirerack.com/suspension/tech/adjustment.html