Suspension revamp

**joeyf0487** · 7-7-09, 19:50

Hey all who read so I want to revamp my suspension.
I plan to get new bushings I have been looking at the set offered from energy suspension and ball joints.
Shocks and Springs in the near future looking to lower the car a little. Which reminds me does any remember the title of the thread from a few months ago where some one was asking what a good shock and spring combination would be?

Okay and my question is should I change any thing else other then bushings and ball joints I had my driver side axle changed about a year ago when I had my clutch changed so I might changed the passenger side just to ease my mind

**Looby** · 7-7-09, 20:01

as far as strut spring combo everyone usually goes with tokico blues and eibach springs. i have a kit with illuminas from a 2nd gen in front blues in the rear with ground control coilovers on all 4 corners and i really like the setup. maybe a little ruff for some but i could care less it handles really well. i think the camber plates have gone bad but they are cusco and nice.

as far as bushings go replace swaybar buchings and endlinks with the energy suspensions and you will be a happy dude.

also the ball joints in this car are non replacable as described by mazda. you can replace them but if you dont press them in and out dead strait you can screw them up royally... honestly id just replace the whole control arm that way you get new control arm bushings and new ball joints at the same time. i replaced just my ball joints and wish i hadnt i wish i had just replaced the whole arm like i was told to by guys on here.

just my opinions im sure if you did a search for suspension mods youd find a load of stuff to read.

hope that helps

**joeyf0487** · 7-7-09, 20:19

Sway bar and End link bushings
Both front lower control arms and I assume ill need new bushings for that as well as ball joints?
oh and please keep in mind i have never worked on suspension before so i now what control arms are but not sure if when if you buy them what they come with or if they have kits for this.

**Ribbie** · 7-7-09, 20:21

The ball joint press in/out isn't that hard. If you do replace just the ball joint then you could offset the cost of new poly control arm bushing with the money you saved.

Gavin has done most if not all the leg work on this in his thread for auto cross.

This probably the direction I will go. My only concern is the lead time from one of the companies. I can't remember which but one of them is in Aus...

**Ragnarock01** · 7-7-09, 20:34

If you want you can also use stock 2nd gen struts. Performance wise they aren't as good, but they make the car feel really nice. And yes, you can use them in the rear too but they do need a little modification to work, as in spreading or grinding the rear forks a little:

majhost.com Gallery

If you go with 2nd gen anything, I wouldn't really recommend using lowering springs, since it will make the car SUPER low, and the stock 2nd struts/springs look pretty good I think without being silly:

**Ribbie** · 7-7-09, 20:43

So what do you have in that photo? Stock 2nd gen springs? Looks good...

**Ragnarock01** · 7-8-09, 2:35

Stock 2nd gen KYB struts and Eibach springs with 16" wheels (don't know the tire size off the top of my head). And thanks!

**Ribbie** · 7-8-09, 5:10

Nice clean drop, not over done. Looks good.

**joeyf0487** · 7-8-09, 16:08

that's a nice looking drop that's actually the look I'm after

How much lower does that sit?

**Ragnarock01** · 7-8-09, 16:52

In this pic you can see that before I could get almost my whole hand between the front fender and tire:

But now I can only get two fingers between them, so it dropped the car about 2 inches all around.

**joeyf0487** · 7-9-09, 13:47

so you had stock replacement shocks and stock height eibach springs?

**Ragnarock01** · 7-9-09, 13:49

Yes to both. But be warned, if your wheel/tire combo is too big you WILL need spacers in the back. I was lucky in that the combination I have is just right, but it's very close in the rear:

There is literally 1/4 to 1/3 of an inch of clearance, but the tires do clear the struts.

**joeyf0487** · 7-9-09, 14:18

cool well I'm still running stock 14's I want to drop the car before I get my rims I have known to many people who buy there rims and then drop their car only to find the rims wont work. How does the ride feel does it have a stock feel still or better?

**Ragnarock01** · 7-9-09, 15:42

The 2nd gen struts should work with 14's, so I wouldn't worry too much about that. As for the ride, if you've ever been in a 2nd gen MX-6 with good struts you'll have a good idea. If not, then I would have to say it's pretty similar to the 1st gen electronic struts on the sport setting, except since it sits lower the handling is considerably better. The ride isn't bone-jarringly stiff, but you can definitely feel when you're on a rough road without it being super bouncy. Overall I'd say it's a good setup for a daily driver.

**concealer404** · 7-9-09, 17:12

This thread is exactly what i was looking for.

Beautiful car, Ragnarok.

If i'm lucky, someday mine will look that good. Have a race car to finish building first.

<EDIT>

Where do you find the stock height Eibachs, or just new stock springs in general? I'm not real interested in pulling a set out of the junkyard. Nor do i want to pay the stupid prices at the dealership. I know.... i'm difficult. I like Megan Racing stuff (have their full suspension on the track car) but i think the 1.8" drop on top of the 2nd gen struts would be huge overkill on a DD.