Tackling the suspension overhaul....

[whidbey88]

I like my 2006 Mazda5, but I'm not in love with it. I used to love it, then the suspension issues started. Rapid tire wear, out of camber, lots of noise from the rear, bouncing up the freeway when its bumpy. Blah, blah, blah....same thing many others have experienced. Strangely, my dealer says he's "never heard of any issues with the Mazda 5 suspension". Must be an internal TSB that tells them to say that.

I made the executive decision to tackle fixing the suspension, and breathing new life in to this car. I'm not interested in performance tuning, or anything special. I just want this thing to provide a QUIET, comfortable ride, and have tires last 36,000 miles.

So far, I've purchased a replacement adjustable camber kit. Appears to be the same one that Megan Racing, SPC, and several others offer as their own brand.

Now, I am looking in to the shocks/struts. I'm considering Koni FSD. Overkill? I don't mind spending a few bucks extra if it means a quieter ride, and better longevity in the parts. I am planning to both front and rear.

What else....? I've read about Prothane bushings being an improvement. Honestly, I don't know much about sway bars, sway bar links, and bushings. Any advice here would be greatly appreciated. What about the CorkSport sway bar for the Mazda5? Is this purely a performance enhancement, or does it offer a better ride for average use. I'll spend a few bucks if it helps my ride.

Doing all of the work myself (except for the alignment). Slowly but surely. Rear first, then front. I'm doing brake pads at the same time as shocks/camber upgrades.

Thanks,
Ken

 

[red headz]

Tires, Tires, Tires.

Kuhmo Ecsta LX Platinum made all the difference in cabin noise, grip, and road noise.

Our M5 is lowered, and on 18 RX8 rims... man was it noisy. So when the tires need replacement, I found the best/quietest tires within my budget.

Note: I run these tires 3 of the 4 seasons in Washington State, as we swap off wheels/tires for a set of studless snow tires for winter passes & skiing.

michael.

 

[Premacy5]

Shock would have very little impact on vehicle quietness. Rubber bushing are a lot quieter than Poly Urethane. Stay with rubber as much as you can.
I would just recommend KYB GR2, quality rubber bushing and maybe Mazdaspeed3 rear swaybar with stock rubber bushing. Thicker swaybar would reduce ride quality but stock one could be stiffened a bit without reducing ride comfort thus the recommendation for Mazdaspeed 3 rear swaybar. I have tripoint engineering 32 mm swaybar and its too stiff even at softest setting. The rear end could slide under you if you tailbrake with this setup.

Tires does affect vehicle quietness a lot. Get some quite tire.

One other thing is quality window tint does help quiten noise coming from glass a little bit.

 

[the_saint]

One other thing is quality window tint does help quiten noise coming from glass a little bit.

Seriously? Tint can cut down on noise through the glass??

Sounds a bit far fetched to me...but I have been wrong before.

 

[phunky.buddha]

Seriously? Tint can cut down on noise through the glass??

Sounds a bit far fetched to me...but I have been wrong before.

On the technical side- it IS another layer on top of the glass, and since it adds mass- it can help soak up some vibration, and since it's a softer material than the glass itself- it can reflect sounds differently too. Whether or not you'll notice any interior noise improvement from all those factors is another thing entirely. I do know that if I close the sunroof shield in the roof of my truck (same soft material as the headliner) the soundstage from the stereo changes a LOT since audio isn't reflecting directly off the glass anymore.

 

[Silentnoise713]

Seriously? Tint can cut down on noise through the glass??

Sounds a bit far fetched to me...but I have been wrong before.

Yes. Sound barrier. Thicker the barrier, the more noise is suppresses. Auto glass is one of those "invisible" (pardon the pun) attributes that entry luxury and luxury cars use to reduce/lower NVH. Economy cars have cheap thin glass all around.

 

[Robotazky]

The FSDs are well worth the money. I bought mine for ~$590. Couldn't be happier.

 

[the_saint]

On the technical side- it IS another layer on top of the glass, and since it adds mass- it can help soak up some vibration, and since it's a softer material than the glass itself- it can reflect sounds differently too. Whether or not you'll notice any interior noise improvement from all those factors is another thing entirely. I do know that if I close the sunroof shield in the roof of my truck (same soft material as the headliner) the soundstage from the stereo changes a LOT since audio isn't reflecting directly off the glass anymore.

I understand the science behind it, I just didn't think that there would be a film out there that would be thick/heavy/soft enough to make a noticeable difference. The sunroof shield I can totally see, since that is a much softer and acoustically absorbant material.

Yes. Sound barrier. Thicker the barrier, the more noise is suppresses. Auto glass is one of those "invisible" (pardon the pun) attributes that entry luxury and luxury cars use to reduce/lower NVH. Economy cars have cheap thin glass all around.

This I can see as well. I have heard about MB "S" class sedans having dual pane windows in them. I can imaging rolling those windows up & down and mimicking the Ace Ventura patio door scene.

Anyways, back on topic...does anybody know if the Mazdaspeed 3 swaybar links are interchangeable with Mz5? And if they are, are they heavier duty?
I've looked around the web, but I haven't found any place that shows the actual dimensions on the links or anybody stating whether or not they work and/or work better.

 

[phunky.buddha]

I understand the science behind it, I just didn't think that there would be a film out there that would be thick/heavy/soft enough to make a noticeable difference. The sunroof shield I can totally see, since that is a much softer and acoustically absorbant material.

This I can see as well. I have heard about MB "S" class sedans having dual pane windows in them. I can imaging rolling those windows up & down and mimicking the Ace Ventura patio door scene.

Anyways, back on topic...does anybody know if the Mazdaspeed 3 swaybar links are interchangeable with Mz5? And if they are, are they heavier duty?
I've looked around the web, but I haven't found any place that shows the actual dimensions on the links or anybody stating whether or not they work and/or work better.

Well, never know until you try.

And yes, the Mazdaspeed3 rear bars work. I have a gen 2 MS3 rear bar on my 5. You might have to make some minor alterations since the collars on the bar are too wide for the 5's mount brackets (I cut my collars off), but otherwise bolts right up.

 

[the_saint]

Well, never know until you try.

And yes, the Mazdaspeed3 rear bars work. I have a gen 2 MS3 rear bar on my 5. You might have to make some minor alterations since the collars on the bar are too wide for the 5's mount brackets (I cut my collars off), but otherwise bolts right up.

I have a 1st Gen MS3 rear swaybar (without endlinks) sitting in the garage, I'm just wondering if the end links already on the 5 are interchangeable with the factory MS3 links.
I've looked up both parts online and they are different part#s (MS3 rear = K750069, Mz5 rear = K80867). I'm just wondering if the MS3 links are (1) interchangeable and (2) stronger.


Also, I measured the MS3 swaybar itself and it's 25mm.
...just incase anybody else is thinking about picking up polyurathane bushings.

 

[phunky.buddha]

I have a 1st Gen MS3 rear swaybar (without endlinks) sitting in the garage, I'm just wondering if the end links already on the 5 are interchangeable with the factory MS3 links.
I've looked up both parts online and they are different part#s (MS3 rear = K750069, Mz5 rear = K80867). I'm just wondering if the MS3 links are (1) interchangeable and (2) stronger.


Also, I measured the MS3 swaybar itself and it's 25mm.
...just incase anybody else is thinking about picking up polyurathane bushings.

I don't think the bolts going into the sway bar are the same size between the Mazdaspeed3 and the Mazda5, but I don't recall 100%. I left them in place because I couldn't remove them, and my "new" bar came with the end links already attached. They do look different than the 5's (a little beefier), but are the same length and bolt into the control arms the same way. Then again, my bar was from a 2nd gen Mazdaspeed3 (or so the seller claimed).

I haven't done the writeup for the sway bar yet, but I'll go ahead and link a few of the pictures here for you in case it might help:

Hopefully that'll explain it well enough for your to duplicate, assuming the 1st gen MS3 bar is similar to the 2nd gen.