Yes you will get a drop. You can get the kit with matched springs in both the Illumina and HP strut (called the ILK and HPK). THe Illumina's are nice if you Auto-X as they are adjustable, but the HP's are the same strut as the Illumina but non-adjustable
Here is a link to the HPK...
What shop are you talking about? Would be nice to know so others can avoid them, I wouldn't worry about protecting their identity as they already tried to rip you off.
$500 is gonna be tough without going used and I wouldn't recommended it. A set of aftermarket tokico hp's are $400 and regular protege lowering springs (eibach, Tein...) are gonna be about $200-$250. This will even out the drop to about 1.5 - 2 fingers.
I just ordered new Tokico HP's, and...
I had the same problem about 3 years ago with an ABS sensor, it was fixed under warranty so I dont know how much the total cost would have been.
That seems really high, was that a quote from a Mazda dealership?
Also, there are a few things that can cause the ABS and ebrake light to come on...
Check out Tri Point, all the brake components they sell are good.
Thats where I got my centric coated rotors and ceramic pads, works great!
Skip slotted or drilled rotors and buy better pads.
I got 5 years out of my Philips HID kit, and had to turf it about a month ago. I miss the extra light and might get another HID kit or maybe a fog light kit off a P5.
best bang for buck upgrades with reliability unless you drive like an idiot
1. ssafc
2. atp wga (8 psi)
3. 1 step colder spark plugs
I run a similar setup with an upgraded smic, hard pipes and 2.5" high flow cat mid pipe and am happy with the performance.
Im going to replace my springs and struts next spring and was gonna go with Tokico HP's & Eibach Pro Kit.
Considered coilovers but I dont wanna spend $1500+, I know there are some in the $1000 range but I am not convinced on their quality.
What other components are you replacing while doing...