Credit goes to FreeFlyFreak for all of this. More suspension info can be found on m3f.
SPRINGS
General Spring info:
There is a spring rate converter here:
http://www.hraefn.net/projects/spring_rates.php
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AUTOEXE LOWDOWN SPRINGS
Advertising:
The roll is placed under control by the spring rate intensified within the range that has less impact on a ride quality, so that the vehicle height can be brought down by approx. 30 mm. For the riding taste, the car stability is improved by bringing its center of gravity down, which provides a desired tendency to the “person who enjoys driving.” Moreover, the clearance of tire house becomes reduced, which makes the whole car look low. As a result, a dynamic feeling is provided to the styling
Price $365
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COBB TUNING Sport Springs
Direct replacement for the factory springs, and designed to work with the factory struts, the COBB Sports Springs reduce the ride height by 1.0" Front and 1.0" Rear. The result is an aggressive stance that will reward you with little "squat" while under hard acceleration, eliminating any front wheel hop you might experience with the OEM suspension. The springs are powdercoated COBB Blue in a unique process for protection against the elements.
Precision CNC cold wound high quality Chrome Silicon steel construction. Spring rates are approximately +15% for the front and +25% for the rear over stock which, results in a sporty feel without being unnecessarily harsh or bouncy. Our final spring rates are the result of extensive real-world and road course testing.
Spring rates:
Front 216
Rear 214
Lowering:
1" front
1" rear
User comments:
Truredspeed3:
The Cobb springs do reduce the float, but they don't completely eliminate it.
I did the cobb springs and a 225/40/18 series tire on my 18x7.5 inch rim and the float is even less now on high speed highway runs even with uneven pavement and such. Love it!
WagonMan:
Since installing the cobb springs I have noticed a substantial decrease in front end float.
I think the Cobb springs are a better match to the stock shocks then the stock springs. Much better control over bigger bumps and the car feels far better planted.
daniyar79:
The drop is very noticable compared to stock. Even with sway bars I rubbed with stock tires once during AutoX and a few times going into dips at high speed. If you want a lower drop it needs to be a very stiff spring like on coilovers, otherwise you will rub if you drive aggressively. I now run 225/40 and no rub. But I love these springs, good balance of stiffness and comfort.
Changed my MS springs to Cobb (with sways) and feels a million times better, float is almost gone, and more importantly the car is neutral now, no more understeer.
Ploppity Drown
I'm noticing about a half inch drop in front and no measurable drop in the rear.
I'm riding on COBB sport springs with stock shocks right now, and yes, the ride has suffered. The shocks are not strong enough to properly dampen (esp. in rebound) the stiffer (+15% F / +25% R vs. stock IIRC) springs -- hell, they're not strong enough for the stock springs -- which results in a very unsettled ride over uneven pavement. And around here, that means most of the time the ride is unsettling. There's a lot of bouncing back and forth, left and right. So on the street, it's really hard to call it an improvement, because mid corner bumps can bounce the tires off the ground, breaking traction prematurely. Or at least that's how it feels. On a smoothly paved track you might not notice it.
In reality, I think the weakest link in the factory suspension is the shock absorbers -- not the springs. And their primary weakness is their durability -- their dampening ability takes a nose dive following a few thousand miles of exercise.
PirateKitty:
they do lower the car 1" in the front, but the rear doesn't budge
08speed3:
On smooth roads the Cobb springs are great, but the struts are too soft for these springs so I'm swapping to the MS coils
On I-95 there are many patches where the road 'dips' down and the car feels too bouncy there. So hopefully with the stiffer struts the ride will settle after bumps really well.
Truggs:
The ride is a tad stiffer then stock however the car feels alot more planted. They seem to match the stock shocks very well. Overall I would say it was a big improvement over the stock springs.
speedfreak89:
The cobb springs, however, I strongly recomend, I have installed 2 sets (will be 3 today) and everyone loves them, upon "checking for noises" ( ) I love the way they work with the stock struts, its amazing.
Snyeed:
The ride quality is excellent, I wanna say it almost rides stock but the stiffness is there. On the freeway it feels hunkered down, The floaty feeling isn't there so much just a nice ride.
Mumz:
i just took my cobb springs off ii couldent take it any more they were junk. infact i found sombody selling there oem spring on ebay and slapped them back on. i will never use another cobb product. the springs were to soft any time i turned the wheel left or right i could hear the springs compress and grind even going over any bumbs it was likes hell. i pulled them out 5-6 times check to see how there were seated in there and it was correct ever time, but even with the full waight of the car on them i could grab the springs and make them twist it was horrable.
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EIBACH SPRINGS Pro-Kit
MS3 Pro-Kit, PN# 5549.140 (prototype July 08)
front rates 160lbs-239lbs
rear rates 148lbs-228lbs
the lowering amount will be .8" in the front and .7" in the back. this is to minimize camber tire wear while offering the best performance possible with stock dampers.
Camber after springs with stock struts:
Front: -1.4 degrees
Rear: -2.1 degrees
User coments:
Turbo23:
So to the driving, I think the car should have come this way, meaning the car stock should have come with this spring rates. Its not harsh, but there is a noticeable difference over stock. Handling was improved, the car doesnt have the floaty nature it had before. I will comment on its handling futher this week, as I haven't had the time to really test the car yet.
The drop is as Eibach advertises. .8 drop in the front .7 drop rear. I would say give or take .2 for each of those measurements. My driver side side a tad bit lower then my passenger side.
Overall I am happy with the purchase, I didnt want a super low set of springs, and I wanted something that was stiffer, and gave me the feel I wanted. I feel these springs had met my expectations. Im excited to see the results at the next autox. I would recommend these to anyone looking for a more aggressive setup using stock shocks.
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H&R Sport Springs: MAZDASPEED 3 (07+)
List Price: $329.00
Advertising:
The most popular spring in H&R's line-up, Sport Springs will lower your vehicle an average of 1.5 - 2 inches (depending upon the make and model of your vehicle) for a lower center of gravity, improved handling and a more aggressive appearance. Sport springs feature more control than that of the OE Sport spring, but is still comfortable for daily use. Sport springs are an excellent choice for street and occasional track use.
Specs:
Spring rates:
Drop: 1.3"F, 1.2"R
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MAZDASPEED SPORT SPRINGS Made by Eibach?
0.59" drop
30% increase in spring rate front and rear over stock
front rates 244
rear rates 222
See the Mix and Match section before you write these off they seem to work well with koni struts/shocks/dampers.
daniyar79:
Used Mazdaspeed springs for a couple of months and hated them, too bouncy.
tbone13:
but the main thing that sucks ass is that the float is still there.
i hate the float.
daniyar79:
I put about 1500 miles on the MS spring kit and at first I kind of liked it, but after my trip to Grand Canyon I was very disappointed. I17 from Phoenix to Flagstaff has some very nice high speed mountain sections so it was a good stress test for MS springs. I was following a Porsche Cayenne at 100+ mph when I discovered a major flaw in the suspension, but not necessarily in the springs themselves. At these speeds the shocks completely failed to absorb the spring bounce which made the whole car very bouncy and unstable. It was so unstable that I had to slow down because keeping up with the Porsche was just dangerous. I don't want to blame the springs as I am sure they are fine with certain shocks, but I am blaming Mazda for selling a spring kit that does not match the characteristics of the stock shocks at all. The rebound is not even close to where it is suppose to be for these springs. This just shows that Mazda and/or Eibach did not do any homework on their part.
(replaced with Cobb matched set springs and sways read review in matched set section)
I installed MS spring kit with stock shocks and car bounces all over the place. It's like if I go over a bump it takes 2 or even 3 strokes for the stock shock to dampen the oscillation. It's fine in the city, but when I took my car up to 100 in the canyons it didn't feel all that great. Kinda scary actually.
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ROADMAGNET SPRINGS
road magnet springs (1.1" all around).
buttdart:
seems slightly bouncy over some bumps, but not bad!
AzMs3:
definately an improvement over stock, the floaty feeling is not as bad anymore.
I still think I should add the Koni's to make them better.
I would say the drop is between 1.5" - 2.0"
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STOCK/OEM SPRINGS
front rates 188
rear rates 171
Stretch: "stock spring frequencies are roughly 1.5hz front, 1.3hz rear (rounding slightly). Ideally the rear would be more like 1.6 or 1.65hz to match the front"
User Comments:
Jouncy, Floaty
WagonMan:
On the stock suspension I noticed some front suspension float, but I don't think that was due to aero. It was mainly over bumps and based on the testing Cobb did, it appears to be due to soft springs in the rear.
Stretch:
However, even a cursory look at the stock spring rates shows that the spring frequencies are quite out of whack on a stock Speed3, and I see this as something that should be corrected. A stock Mazdaspeed3 is much softer in the rear than front, but we want the rear to be slightly firmer than the front for what's called a "flat" ride quality. I'm not aware of any spring set that does this as it requires a far stiffer rear spring than front (due to the vehicle's motion ratios).
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TEIN SPRINGS
In development
http://www.tein.com/price/mazda.html
Specs:
Rates
Front 163
Rear 241
VOGTLAND springs
http://vogtlandsuspension.com/Mazda/c17/index.html?page=5
Advertising:
Vogtland Sport Lowering Springs:
VOGTLAND Lowering Sport Springs made in Germany gives your car improved dynamic handling, better cornering and a dynamic appearance.
This means better appearance with maximum driving comfort in normal operation and sporty, progressive tuning on the track.
The Vogtland Suspension Springs features the company's extensive line up of performance springs, shocks and suspension kits for hundreds of applications. Sport Springs and Sport Suspension Kits are available with lowering from 30 to 60 mm.
Vogtland springs are TUV tested OEM quality and carry a limited lifetime warranty. Springs are produced using special oil tempered spring steels of high tensile strength chrome-silicon and chrome-silicon-vanadium alloys using the cold coiling process. This achieves low spring weight with high material strength and the desired effect of uniformly reducing the un-spring weight of the vehicle - thereby optimizing the handling characteristics.
Specs:
Lowering Springs | 958028A | Drop 1.2 [in] 30 [mm]
Spring Rate: Not Published
