Coilovers / Suspension Options

[-cj-]

Hey gang,

Anyone running with full coilovers on their MS3? I need to close the gap on my stock ride now that I'm running 225/40 tires... Plus I'm going to be hitting a few lapping events with my cousin this year. I don't normally like jumping into a new setup before I've even tracked in stock form, but the wheel gap is killing me.

I was eying the Mazdaspeed coilovers for the MS3 ($1775 USD list), but noticed it only drops the car 25mm (about an 1") over stock height. They don't mention much about the spring rates, other than it's "Double the spring rate compared to stock"

The other option I was looking at was Tein, but noticed their suspension is only now in development plus it doesn't seem to be the pillow mount design (Maybe there's a good reason to not touch the upper mounts on this platform? On my previous car the stock mounts sucked...) I already own the EDFC module from my previous car and can just hold onto it and reuse it on my MS3 if they're releasing it any time soon...

So what are people riding on? Any suggestions? I'm even toying with the idea of just getting springs, but I'm worried about winter time. My 17" winter tires have a high sidewall and it fills up the wheel well very nicely... I'm worried if the car is lowered it will give me issues in the winter time with snow (Not only riding through the snow, but snow that goes up and into the well might be an issue). That's why coilovers really appeal to me....

[Thrizzl3]

SpelingChampian has Mazdaspeed coilovers PM him

[-cj-]

Thx Phil, I'll PM him for his thoughts

[Fobio]

I'd love a set of CO's but can't justify the harsh ride and prolly need to roll fenders to properly take advantage of them.

On MSF, the accepted standard is the BC coilover's. I was quoted $850USD + shipping right now. Great deal, but right now I'm on Cobb springs and sways, and running my 18x8.5" (and my RX8's last year), I had no rubbing issues what-so-ever. If I went any lower (Cobb lowers only about 1" as well), I'd have to roll my rear fenders for sure.

I'm still eyeing the BC's, but I don't think I'll get $1000 worth of lap times and performance out of it, and might even injure myself driving to/from work downtown...lol...

[Mty Mous]

Well, I certainly don't have Coilovers on the Mazda3 ... but my '02 Miata has had the Tein HA Coilovers since spring of '03.

Its the leather packaged Miata, so it didn't come with the Bilstein shocks (sport package) but everything else from the sport package was on the leather package (bracings, springs, swaybars).

My initial impression of the Teins was how smooth the ride was in full soft mode (I didn't have the EDFC installed until a couple of months later), but once I cranked it up more than halfway, you can tell how stiff things got, it was amazing around corners, but damn was it stiff ... I then cranked it up all the way, that only lasted a good 30 mins before I pulled over and dialed it back to halfway.

Full stiff was like driving with no shocks, everything comes right through, and the lousy roads we have here does NOT help, I was being thrown around in the car every which way.

But once I got the EDFC, I mostly drive on the street at full soft, its still great around corners, but its also definitely smoother than the stock suspension.

I won't hesitate getting Tein Coilovers for the Mazda3 except for the fact that I don't know how the threads would hold up to salt and winter conditions, so I don't wanna risk it.

That being said, I loved being able to tweak the suspension while lapping at Shannonville and not having to pull into the pits everytime I wanted to make the adjustments.

120K kms on the Teins and still no signs of issues or the need to get them rebuilt.

[Mty Mous]

If I went any lower (Cobb lowers only about 1" as well), I'd have to roll my rear fenders for sure.



Rolling the fenders was a piece of cake! :) Take it from someone that started the hardway (using heat gun and trying to hammer the lip inward) and soon saw the light. Just go rent the equipment from Tires23 for the weekend, and make sure you have a heat gun. I have a set of hammers and dollys (from Princess Auto ... meant for body work) if you wanna borrow it lemme know.
Oh, and allocate about 1~1.5hrs per corner when using the tool from Tires23.
The warmer the day, the easier your job will go.

If done slowly, the chances of chipping or cracking the paint is minimal, just take your time and you should be fine. The tool is pretty simple to use too. Oh, and don't forget a good hydralic jack and jack stands.

[Pereira11]

I have Bilstein coilovers on my own car (04 325i) and i love them, the ride isnt bad at all certainly not harsh. i have the PSS coilovers so its a more comfortable ride. i didnt see a listing from Bilstein for the speed3 but i know H & R has them as well. if you are going to use them through the winter you want to make sure that they are stainless steel otherwise they have a good chance of seizing which means you wont be able to adjust them. Cheaper coilovers arent made from stainless thats why they arent as expensive but they are not recommended for winter use.

[Unoriginalusername]

i think vlad and roy both have the tien coil's ... BC coilovers are well priced and get good reviews and shouldn't cost more because of the currency changes since they are based out of vancouver

[Mty Mous]

if you are going to use them through the winter you want to make sure that they are stainless steel otherwise they have a good chance of seizing which means you wont be able to adjust them.

At the time when I got the Coilovers, I remember speaking to Steve @ JRP about possibility of driving in the winters, and he told me to use some kind of grease (sorry, don't remember which type) and grease up the exposed threads on the collar, and once winter was over, thoroughly wipe it off and you should be good to go. But I never needed to try it out as it was a summer only car.

[Fobio]

Rolling the fenders was a piece of cake! :)

you mean like this?

http://ll.speedhunters.com/u/f/eagames/NFS/speedhunters.com/Images/Rod09/drivers%20guests/Roadster%20Life/DSC_0216.jpg


At the time when I got the Coilovers, I remember speaking to Steve @ JRP about possibility of driving in the winters, and he told me to use some kind of grease (sorry, don't remember which type) and grease up the exposed threads on the collar, and once winter was over, thoroughly wipe it off and you should be good to go. But I never needed to try it out as it was a summer only car.

Vaseline?! :chuckle

I think axle grease would be alright...leave the KY in the bedroom...hehe

[Mty Mous]

lol, that's One way of rolling the fender. :chuckle

Or you can try this for fun. :pop
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JvjQqjLa09U&feature=related


This is sorta how I tried doing it at first, after about an hour of bangin away, and pissin off my neighbours I only covered like 25% of the fender, so I said fug it and rented the roller from Tire23 for the next weekend. The paint got chipped a tiny bit cause of all the hammering, but with the roller, everything was purrrrfect! :)
So ya, old school and painful way is
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DDTK9IjKIYU

Using roller tool is as easy as this
http://www.eastwoodco.com/shopping/product/detailmain.jsp?itemID=6159&itemType=PRODUCT&RS=1&keyword=fender%2Croller

As for the collar, yeah, axle grease should do the trick, but I think he said some kinda teflon grease, but yeah, either one works, just as long as you can keep the salt and crap from getting to the collar, that's what really matters.

[///M]

H&R has coilovers for the Mazdaspeed3.

I've had H&R coilovers on my BMW and Audi and I've been quite happy with them, especially for the price. On my Mazda3 I had Tein Basic coilovers, but the ride quality and dampening was so-so.

[royroy]

as UOU stated, i have tein SS + EDFC, i used to have the prokit+Koni FSD combo on my old 3 and then i transferred it to my speed3, i find that the FSD + prokit was too soft for the car. I have played with different settings on the EDFC on the tein SS, and i find it way better then fsd + prokit. I am running medium setting on my suspension rite now.. and it is already pretty stiff =)

[Fobio]

roy, how much are you lowered?

[royroy]

roy, how much are you lowered?

i think abt 1inch-1.2

[-cj-]

I think I'm leaning towards just getting springs this season. It'll allow me to get my CAI / Inlet / maybe-DP this season. Although the BC being $850 is very tempting... At that price they probably aren't SS tho and I'd have to protect them in the winter. My Teins never saw a winter, so I never had to worry about that...

Fobio: Are you happy with your Cobb springs? $250 doesn't seem bad at all... They also seem to drop your car 1" front and 1" rear.. My rear is already low as it is, I'm betting my winter setup will totally be an issue...

[Fobio]

No complaints about the Cobb springs and sways... they are stiff tho, going over some rough downtown roads slowly sometimes feels like you're going over boulders...but other than that, handling and ride quality is superb...no more bouncy jolts like stock.

When I first got the car, I first all gung-ho about getting Teins w/ EDFC...I'm not so sure anymore, but would definitely chk it out...if I ever get the BC's it'd be for track work, but if my shocks go this yr and I need replacement, then I'd strongly consider it, but not right now.

[-cj-]

So much for not modifying my car this year... About to execute on some Cobb gear... Just waiting to see if CTA has them instock or can get them faster than buying from Cobb directly...

I'm tempted to get the springs + sway bar package, but I'm not ready to throw on the sway bars yet, but I could save some money by buying them together...

[Fobio]

I'm tempted to get the springs + sway bar package, but I'm not ready to throw on the sway bars yet, but I could save some money by buying them together...

when I got my springs, if we were offered the Stage 2 suspension as a pkg (springs + sways) I would've went for it to save $$$, instead of doing it separately. Besides, you can get both and only install the springs for now and decide on the sways after.

Wanna join us on the track this yr? :bana

[-cj-]

I'm def interested, but I'm not sure I'm ready for the big leagues yet lol. I was planning on hitting a few open track days to get the feel of the car...

Where do you guys track?

[Fobio]

yeah...personally I go with the Prelude Club...a couple of guys here pointed me to them, and they're a great bunch, and not all preludes, just all drivers... =) they usually do Mosport DDT....there are others too, some promote Dunnville which is a good first timer track, but will waste your tires and brakes (great if you need a reason to swap those out too)...I went there a few times last yr to try the car out, but quickly outgrew it...

We also do Time Attack w/ CSCS @ Cayuga...none of these are "racing" events...it's all in good fun, no door-to-door 3-wide into turn one madness...lol...

Plus, we like to shoot videos...so it'd be nice to get all 5 MS3 colours out!

[-cj-]

LOL nice nice... I'm interested. I'm actually thinking of picking up a HD camera for our wedding this summer, I think you just gave me another use for it.. How do you guys mount it in the car? (Wow, sometimes I think I have ADD...)

Let me get my track wheels + rubber and I'm definitely down. =) Thinking of getting 17s with Toyos or something along those lines... Any suggestions? (Don't want to spend a ton of money since I don't know how often I'll end up going)

[Lance Knight]

I was going to roll on a custom set of AMR Engineering coilovers, but I'm having some financial problems. Is there a classifieds on here, cause I can't seem to sell them locally. I paid 1650 to have these made for me, and in red anodizing.

[KenYork]

I was going to roll on a custom set of AMR Engineering coilovers, but I'm having some financial problems. Is there a classifieds on here, cause I can't seem to sell them locally. I paid 1650 to have these made for me, and in red anodizing.

We do have a classifieds section but we do not just allow people to join our forum to sell goods. We have a mininum 50 post count before being allowed to post in our classifieds as to allow people into our community.

[-cj-]

Hey guys,

I'm going with Cobb springs in the end... I decided to get the 'Stage2' kit which is basically the springs + sway bars. Before I install the sway bars, I just wanted to know what setting people are running on their rear sway bar... "Stiff" (50% stiffer vs stock)) or "stiffer" (90% stiffer) setting?

I know it's personal preference, but I wanted to see what other people suggest.

[Fobio]

it's not just personal preference...when you go with the stiffer front, you should balance it out also with the stiffer setting in the RSB...but if you only do the RSB, leaving the front OEM FSB, then you should use the softer RSB setting.

[CanadaGTO]

I have the Hotchkis, and use the stiffer setting:)

[-cj-]

Exxxxcellent. Okay, I'll ride with the stiffer setting... Thx guys.

On a side note, I was looking at some of the Cobb parts for the STI's and their RSB have 3 settings and on the third it's like 160% stiffer than stock... Either it's a bad ass design or the Subaru's have horrible stock SB's to begin with lol.