H&R Coil-Over Kit: MAZDASPEED 3

[SHAGwagn]

Saw this on street unit and wondered if anyone knew about it, had it or had any thoughts about H&R. I had teins on my P5 and they were great however i dont see anything on the horizon yet and i need this thing lowered a tad before the 19s are seated.

http://www.***************/H_R_Coilover_Kit_MS3_07_p/29197-6.htm

 

[SwampAss]

holy ish! That URL has my password in it.

 

[sok07]

I've got them. I bought their first batch and installed it back in early April. I think they are on backorder now, they've been on backorder ever since late April.

And here is a pic of the speed3 sitting on Rx8 wheels (225/40/18 rubber). The white mazda3 is on Tein Basic coilovers. It was my previous car, now owned by my little brother.

 

[nypest]

nice my rx8's on the way ....... did you install them ? (h&R)

 

[sok07]

Yes, I installed them myself...both the H&R and Teins. Both setups reuse the stock upper strut mount. The H&Rs up front have a slimmer damper body when compared w/ the Teins, so you can run the wide rx8 w/o any clearance issues between the tire and damper body. Also the fact that the rx8s on 225/40/18 tires are about 0.5" smaller in rolling diameter helps too.

 

[SHAGwagn]

Damn Soko7...that ish is swwweeeeetttttt. How does it ride? road noise? ease of asjustability...do you recommend? Wow man...the last pic is hot...way too low to drive but awesome none the less..thanks for the pics

 

[sok07]

Rides reasonably well for the drop. The drop amount is only about -1.8" front/-1.5" rear. Relatively, the sedan is dropped more from stock than the speed3. The sedan is dropped approx -2.1" front/-1.8" rear, and on springs w/ a linear spring rate. The spring rates on the H&R setup are progressive, so that helps the ride a bit.

Both setups are height adjustable (duh!), and have no dampening adjustability. Height adjustments up front are easy, but for the rear it becomes a bit more involved if you drop it more than 0.75". The more drop you go w/ the rear springs, the adjustment collar starts to tuck up into the crossmember spring cup. Therefore if you want to adjust the rear more than 0.75", you will have to remove the spring from the vehicle ... set the collars ... reinstall.

Oh and that's the daily driven ride height, I'm just extra careful

 

[SHAGwagn]

remove the spring from the vehicle? everytime you adjust if its more than 0.75? Is that a design flaw...sounds kinda rediculous doesnt it?

 

[sok07]

It's like that on almost every coilover setup on the Mz3. Take a look at the Mz3 rear spring/crossmember config next time you're down there. You'll see that if the adjustment collars sit on the top of the spring, you can't fit the spanner wrenches there to adjust the ride height on the vehicle.

Also add to the fact that removing the rear spring on the Mz3/speed3 only takes about 5minutes, once the rear swaybar endlinks are disconnected.

 

[SHAGwagn]

OOOO....ic....so i guess its a one time thing then cuz i wont be doing that install more than once...im putting on 19s so i think an 1"-1.25" should do. Thanks again for the pics it really put it all in perspective for me. Would you buy them again if you had to or would you wait for Teins? I guess i know why the mazdaspeed coilover setup has only a 25mm drop...that about an inch...prob cuz of the clearance issue youre talkin about.

 

[nypest]

OOOO....ic....so i guess its a one time thing then cuz i wont be doing that install more than once...im putting on 19s so i think an 1"-1.25" should do. Thanks again for the pics it really put it all in perspective for me. Would you buy them again if you had to or would you wait for Teins? I guess i know why the mazdaspeed coilover setup has only a 25mm drop...that about an inch...prob cuz of the clearance issue youre talkin about.

i believe its the ms springs that have the 25 mm dorp the coilover kit from mazda drops alot lower and has a bazillion diff set ups podssible

 

[SwampAss]

MS springs list a 15mm drop.

 

[SHAGwagn]

trust me the coilovers are 25mm drop and there are no options other than u spinnnin the nut up and down....a whole 25mm.

 

[mazpro]

i love the way your ride sits sok07, nice!

 

[nypest]

trust me the coilovers are 25mm drop and there are no options other than u spinnnin the nut up and down....a whole 25mm.

ok

 

[SwampAss]

the MS springs are 15mm. Not the coilover kit. The spring kit with factory shocks.

 

[maestro]

I've got them. I bought their first batch and installed it back in early April. I think they are on backorder now, they've been on backorder ever since late April.

And here is a pic of the speed3 sitting on Rx8 wheels (225/40/18 rubber).

I still wish I had gotten the cosmic blue.
Here are a pair of reference pics against the MS coil overs with RX8 wheels and 225/40/18 tires. Second pic shows the offset better.
The car is almost all the way down in front and has about 10mm to go in the rear. Not sure how much lower the H&R's go but the two cars look to be at almost the same height. Also love the separate compression and rebound adjustments.

 

[sok07]

As pictured, the fronts had quite a bit more to go ... about another 1" worth of threaded body to max drop. I haven't built up the courage to go that far down yet and drive it, I might do it when I start to run the Rx8 wheels fulltime. Currently I rub the front tires on the inner plastic fender linings but only on very sharp turns low speed turns. Since the rx8 wheels are a bit shorter, it may be possible to roll it out of the garage...but I don't think I can exit the driveway. :lol: The rear has about another 0.25" worth before it is maxed out. Price that I got the H&Rs for was around $1100.

Here are some more shots that come close to Maestro's perspective....

 

[SHAGwagn]

Looks the same to me too! Awesome comparison...truthfully i wanted to go with the MS coilovers to keep the entire car OEM but i was worried it would be too high...but that ish looks good! Hows the ride quality? Do you have the same rear adjustment issue that Soko mentioned? (below)

"It's like that on almost every coilover setup on the Mz3. Take a look at the Mz3 rear spring/crossmember config next time you're down there. You'll see that if the adjustment collars sit on the top of the spring, you can't fit the spanner wrenches there to adjust the ride height on the vehicle."

I noticed you said separate compression and rebound adjustments...on the MS Setup? They are adjustable? Do you have anymore pics Maestro?

 

[sok07]

Oh btw...how's the corksport exhaust coming? I'm interested in it w/ it's pricetag around $450.