Coilovers

[midnightfxgt]

Hey Guys,

Thinking about coilovers. I want to lower my car a touch (Sorry Clem, I wont be dragging frame :p), but I want to be able to raise it back up in the winter, since I actually drive it a lot in the winter, and will have a GV lip soon.

I know of the different makes, but have some questions:

Where is the cheapest place to buy them?
At stock height would the ride be comparable to stock?
when lowered, say about 1.25-1.5\" will coilovers ride better than lowering springs?
Where is the cheapest place to buy them?
Where is the cheapest place to buy them? :P

Thanks
-John

[midnightfxgt]

So far the best: http://www.msprotege.com/forum/showthread.php?t=102524&highlight=ksport

-John

[Fuman]

tein basic damper kit is on sale for $750 on teins official website.
check tires23.com ?
I\'m interested too but won\'t finalize my decision until after april 06

edit: is D2 / ksport any good for durability/performance? I haven\'t heard of them before. And the spring rates for ksports seems kinda of low.

if you can afford it, get coilovers. That way u can put the stock ones back on when you sell your car and sell the coilovers seperately.

[midnightfxgt]

All of the brands mentioned are high quality and supposedly good kits :)

I will be getting coilovers for sure, as springs/shocks dont do it for me. I like the freedom to adjust height, dampening, and camber ;)


-John

[Fuman]

so i take it, u\'ll be gettin the rear pillow mounts as well...
if u get a price quote, send me a pm plz.
do u happen to know what our stock spring rates are?

04+ Mazda 3 =----------504ib/392ib 9kg/7kg
seems kinda of soft?

[whodilly]

Hey guys, if you\'re thinking of raising and lowering your car at will you may want to reconsider. Because of our shitty winters, the coilovers will probably seize and you will not be able to adjust the height. I\'ve heard that if you clean them regularly then you may be okay but for most it\'s gonna get stuck! Just giving you the heads up. Not sure what\'s gonna happen with mine.

I\'ve got the D2\'s and I wouldn\'t recommend them. I\'m not to sure about the quality and the design is not that well thought out at all (stay away from D2 and K-sport, same company so i hear). It is very difficult to adjust the height in the rear. I know that you get what you pay for but a buddy of mine got JIC coilovers and the shocks blew after a year and change!

If you want to keep your ride streetable (ie. not too harsh of a ride) then get a set with dampening control, it\'s really worth it IMHO.

[Fuman]

whats wrong with D2

D2/ksports are 2 different companies with the same manufacturing plant.

[BangHatch]

i have d2\'s myself on my mazda6... i wouldnt understand why the quality isnt good.. having owned coilovers before from other \"name-brands\", D2\'s would be somewhat at par. Especially for the value they can provide.... D2/Ksport also offers spring rates that are significantly stiffer than any of the other choices out there. They only have ONE product line of coilovers and they are more for track purposes only.... when you look at tein, tanabe, hks, etc, they have the street in mind so they make their suspension for both track and street... the D2/ksports on the other hand are \"streetable\" track coilovers.... also, the d2/ksports, can be ordered with CUSTOM spring rates at about $100 (or less) for the springs (front or rear) which some companies wont do....

i am not saying they are the best.... as they have their own drawbacks (soft dampening despite the adjustability)....

[midnightfxgt]

I am not worried about corrosion.... some people have had problems, but coating the threads is all that is needed. The K-Sport are supposed to have an AMAZING corrosion resistance rating, although I havent read it much, just some reviews.

whodilly - Isn\'t your dampening adjustable? I know it wont be a super easy switch to jack them for winter, but I dont plan on going up and down on a weekly basis. 3-4x per year MAX :D

BangHatch - WOW! Thanks dude. Its good to see a comparison to other makes. I didnt know that D2/K-Sports were a harsher ride. When at stock hieght would you say the ride is comparable to stock? when its lowered is it comparable to a set of Eibach/Tein springs?

Thanks guys!

-John

[midnightfxgt]

Oh, and FYI to everyone, Tires23 wants $2300 for KW Coilovers, tax in...... I am steering clear of that. Nice guys or not, thats a bit much for me!

-John

[BangHatch]

there are SMALL differences between the ksport and D2 however...
if im not mistaken, ksport has zinc eletroplating while D2 use teflon for rust protection.. or something like that... its also been reported (for the mazda6 at least) that the D2\'s are 36-way adjustable dampening as the ksports have 24-way... although, adjustability using a \"knob\" is technically infinite anyway.. it\'s just how you want to break down the increments on the knob.

with regards to ride quality... regardless of height, stiffer spring rates would equal a harsher ride... although, coilovers (should) have matched valving on their shocks for the appropriate spring rates which makes the movement natural and not too stiff... tein has \"softer\" spring rates than d2, however, they do have better dampening and appear to be stiffer.. body roll will be the tell-tale sign..

keep in mind that if you want to retain a stock ride, but lower the car, then get the springs closest to your stock spring rates.

[Fuman]

i thought spring rates of 9/7kgs are soft?

forgot that 2300 deal, lol.

[Fuman]

edit: wat are the rates for d2s?

[BangHatch]

who said D2 rates were soft? hehe

D2\'s are 9kg/mm front and 7kg/mm rear.. IF i am not mistaken...

tein basics are 6kg/mm front and 7kg/mm rear... from doing a quick search..

... what is interesting though... is that tein opted for a stiffer rear rate which should give better turn in... although they only have one model, this could possible have been done due to the heavier weight for the mazda3 hatch(?) chassis code was \"BK3P\" so im not too too familiar with the 3 chassis codes.

[whodilly]

I\'m not saying the quality is bad but the design is not the best nor is their customer service so I hear. I sent them an email regarding the spring rates ages ago and haven\'t heard from them.

Hey don\'t get me wrong I love my suspension, like rails! but the little things matter. The damn brake line brackets don\'t fit and as I said earlier the rear suspension is a pain to adjust. The spring perch is on the bottom but when you want to adjust the height lower, the spring seat gets in the way. With the teins (just as an example, not because they\'re better) the spring perch is on top so the seat doesn\'t get in the way. (hope you guys get it maybe I will take pics)

As for durability the jury is still out cause I\'ve only had them for 5 months, we\'ll see next year! I hope they last.

Someone should get the Tein SS with EDFC! :D

[Fuman]

thanks

[BangHatch]

yup.. word of warning just to confirm what whodilly said.. D2 customer service sucks lol...

[billyfo]

I\'m thinking coilover also, same reason as John. Martin from Tires23 quote me about $1450 for Tein basic while ago, also said cause his distrubutor charge him higher than CVR or other US site, he couldn\'t do better than that. I think I might get spring only setup or back to coilover next Spring, if we can arrange GB for that time, we might get better price:p

[mEtH]

I love my coilovers...but if someone wants to keep the stock smoothness then coilovers are not the way to go. The front springs are a lot narrower so their losing alot of their comfort ride. That may matter to some and wont to others. As for adjusting it I can jack one side at a time and wrap my hands around the wheel to do so. I never really adjusted the rears though so I am not positive on what whodilly is saying. I\'ll try and take another look but If I recall correctly the perch is on the top.

My main reasoning for going coilovers is so that I can adjust the lowering height to be perfect over each wheel. I dont have to be too high in one point or to low in the other. and well of course, it rides on rails.

[midnightfxgt]

Originally posted by Fuman


tein basic damper kit is on sale for $750 on teins official website.


Where ya looking dude? Best I can see is $990 :(

Thanks
JOHN

[CelestSpeed3]

As far as the annoying rear adjustment goes. I think that\'s the norm now for most new cars. For example the koni yellows in the rear of the mazda6. In order to adjust the shocks you have to unhook the shock from the car, compress the shock fully and then adjust. Now if you are doing this every weekend for racing or whatnot then this can get annoying. If you only do it once a year for summer and winter then all I can say is live with it. Also to prevent the threads on the coilovers from getting all stuck during the winter months, try some loctite anti-seize - copper based one. I\'ve used it to prevent wheels from becoming stuck to the brakes during the winter and have had great results. A little anti-seize goes a long way.

[mEtH]

great tip, Thanks!