Which rear shocks for the Mazda5

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hawksface

Member
:
Mazda 5 TS2 Petrol
So there's an excellent guide on here for how to replace the rear shock absorbers on the Mazda5, but I'm torn as to which parts to get as my driver-side rear appears to have blown. With fear of it failing the imminent MOT, I better get on with replacing them, so any pointers would be most welcome.

In the UK I appear to be limited to some Anschler rear shocks, or Sachs. The Anschlers are cheaper, where I believe Sachs are likely to have been the stock parts in the car.

Does anyone have experience with Anschler? I'm on a budget, but I don't want to fork out for something that's going to fail on me straight away.

Many thanks!
 
Are you able to purchase internationally off Amazon? They sell KYB GR-2 for something like $40 each, which is what, less than GBP30? You can do the rear shocks yourself with a jack, some blocks and a couple of spanners.
 
I bought Koni sports for the Mazda speed3 and love them. I also did 2012 OEM rear springs at the same time and it transformed how the rear end behaved, highly recommend.
 
DougNuts said:
I bought Koni sports for the Mazda speed3 and love them. I also did 2012 OEM rear springs at the same time and it transformed how the rear end behaved, highly recommend.
Click to expand...

To clairify: On your '10 Mazda5, you installed Koni Sport shocks/struts for a MS3 and you installed MY '12+ OE rear springs as well?
What was your cost?
 
thaxman said:
To clairify: On your '10 Mazda5, you installed Koni Sport shocks/struts for a MS3 and you installed MY '12+ OE rear springs as well?
What was your cost?
Click to expand...

Yes, first Gen MS3 Koni shocks. I think the springs were about $110 and the rear shocks maybe $240, but they are no longer on discount. They are around $300 for the pair now, from tire rack.
 
hey Doug, does the back of your '10 sag lower than the front? Did you swap for a newer rubber mount at the top of the coil too?...also, are you using a ms3 swaybar? Thanks!
 
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thaxman said:
Are you able to purchase internationally off Amazon? They sell KYB GR-2 for something like $40 each, which is what, less than GBP30? You can do the rear shocks yourself with a jack, some blocks and a couple of spanners.
Click to expand...

Doesn't look like it and the KYBs that are available in the UK come out more than the two I mentioned (if they were even in stock). 30 would be a bargain though, shame...
 
hibern8r said:
hey Doug, does the back of your '10 sag lower than the front? Did you swap for a newer rubber mount at the top of the coil too?...also, are you using a ms3 swaybar? Thanks!
Click to expand...

The rear does not sag, if anything it is a little taller than before. I used the same upper rubbers and have not upgraded to a MS3 swaybar. I may do so in the future, after my current list of projects are complete (radio and additional sound deadening).
 
hawksface said:
Doesn't look like it and the KYBs that are available in the UK come out more than the two I mentioned (if they were even in stock). 30 would be a bargain though, shame...
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What's your parcel customs like? Maybe you could Paypal someone here to have some KYBs sent to you. I bet you could work a trade, since there are some nice OE Mazda5 products in the UK/EU that can't be bought here.
 
I'm curious who is still on their original shocks. I have about 119k on my 08 and have not changed them out. The car still rides good and I don't hear any noises. Last time I did a tire rotation, I noticed a little grease mark/oil on the sides of the shock but I couldn't tell if it was actually coming from them. It wasn't really wet and the shocks perform as they did new. I keep hearing stories on the forum about people changing out their shocks way before my current mileage and am wondering if I'm missing something or if my car was built on a Wednesday :).
 
5zoom said:
I'm curious who is still on their original shocks. I have about 119k on my 08 and have not changed them out. The car still rides good and I don't hear any noises. Last time I did a tire rotation, I noticed a little grease mark/oil on the sides of the shock but I couldn't tell if it was actually coming from them. It wasn't really wet and the shocks perform as they did new. I keep hearing stories on the forum about people changing out their shocks way before my current mileage and am wondering if I'm missing something or if my car was built on a Wednesday :).
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You have had them on so long, you don't notice that they are worn. Go test drive a brand new Mazda5, taking some nice sweeping curves or doing wheel-lock turns in a parking lot, and after you hop back in your Mazda5, you'll be ready to rip those out before you even get home.
 
thaxman said:
You have had them on so long, you don't notice that they are worn. Go test drive a brand new Mazda5, taking some nice sweeping curves or doing wheel-lock turns in a parking lot, and after you hop back in your Mazda5, you'll be ready to rip those out before you even get home.
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Yup. Ours (primarily the wife drives it) has about 70k miles on it. The shop that did our rear brakes recommended swapping them out. I did a push test on it, and seemed ok. Then something told me to order them anyways. Replaced them with Koni yellows adjusted 1.5 turns from full firm. Wow, what a difference. Oh, and when they pulled them out it was clear they were indeed shot. Probably just living in ignorance for 50k miles.
 
Today I went to my dealer for an oil filter special. I was told I had a leaking rear shock. They gave me a price of $324 for the pair. I told them if my Mazda shocks failed at 19700 mi, why would I buy another Mazda shock from them. I'll push these for awhile. I feel no problems. No heavy loads. Two old folks going for rides.
Anyway what's a decent brand, nothing fancy, for when the time comes. 2010 Sport.
Marty
 
I put KYB Gas-A-Just monotube shocks on the rear of our 2008 Mazda5 in August. The ride is quite nice. These KYB were a step up from OEM shocks and the price was about $48 each from Rockauto.com.
 
SonicBoy said:
KYB.

Better than OEM and most commonly used to replace the factory shocks.
Click to expand...

Doubt they would want the monotubes that KYB matches to the 2012+. IDK if they can do the GR2 that KYB lists for pre-facelift cars, and if not, maybe the Monroes? I haven't heard anything from the couple of members that got them reporting about how bad a decision it was.
 
thaxman said:
Doubt they would want the monotubes that KYB matches to the 2012+. IDK if they can do the GR2 that KYB lists for pre-facelift cars, and if not, maybe the Monroes? I haven't heard anything from the couple of members that got them reporting about how bad a decision it was.
Click to expand...
Why not? Monotube = good thing.
 
thaxman said:
Not for Gramma who expects the car to act like an El Dorado though. Poster mentioned they drive it very conservatively.
Click to expand...
Thank you all for the suggestions. Don't want an El Dorado ride, just a shock that can go beyond 20000 mi. ARRP model of the KYB seems to be the best choice for me. Saw the how to install thread and I think my son and I can do this. As always good response here from members.
Marty
 
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