BC Racing Coilovers for Mazda 5 - Unboxing

:) Hope to start cutting on the 5 today. Still have to get the S2k out of the garage. Kids' birthday parties take up a lot of time. :(
 
qcoffey said:
Cutting!? (eyeballs)
Click to expand...

Yeah, have to make room for the camber plates up front. :)

But alas, being a responsible adult = time suck. Feed kids, put kids to bed, stop daughter from crying... get to sleep so I can make my 8am meeting in the morning... at least the S2000 is back together again- I'll still get the 5 done this week. Tired of waiting to get the parts on.
 
phunky.buddha said:
Yeah, have to make room for the camber plates up front. :)

But alas, being a responsible adult = time suck. Feed kids, put kids to bed, stop daughter from crying... get to sleep so I can make my 8am meeting in the morning... at least the S2000 is back together again- I'll still get the 5 done this week. Tired of waiting to get the parts on.
Click to expand...

Sounds too familiar with the kids =P Can't wait to see the write-up...are you doing an install write-up?
 
If I can get the kids into bed early enough tonight, I'm going to try and do the cut/install all in one shot. I got the 5 into the garage last night, but with all the crap I have sitting around there's not much space to work in- maybe two feet of floor space all around the body of the car. I did the S2000 suspension in that same area, but I've never had the 5 apart before so I'm not as familiar with the parts underneath, and I won't be able to take any decent pictures with that little space. :(
 
I am definitely going to be investing in the BC setup in the future. I just installed a set in my buddy`s Holden Commodore and was absolutely amazed with the quality of the ride with it completely turned down. the ability to absorb bumps was astonishing. This type of setup just a few years ago could not be had at this price point.
 
Good to hear- I'm about halfway through the install... then wife got sick, kids teething. :( Will try to finish tonight after the stuporbowl.
 
good job with the install so far.. i need to relocate my brake fluid resivoir but we are in process of building a custom strut tower bar.. hence the clearance issues.. its a fuxin tight engine bay..
 
Silentnoise713 said:
phunky, any updates? we are all anxiously waiting for some good news!
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I'm actually trying to finish it up right now. Amazing what a sick wife and teething kids will do to your after-work schedule. :( Just glad they're all ok now. Plus I spilled the oil I was using for cutting the strut towers- amazing how a quart of oil pooling under your car will do to motivate you to get the car off jack stands so the oil can get cleaned up! Super :( :( :(

And I have to return the fender roller on Thursday, so have to finish the install and roll the fenders (if I need to) so I can roll the fenders on the S2k, plus Hallmark day BS tomorrow, plus departmental dinner for my new hire on Wednesday night, then tidy up for parents coming in Thursday. Gonna be a sleepless week. Back to the garage I go...

Trdkamuri51o said:
good job with the install so far.. i need to relocate my brake fluid resivoir but we are in process of building a custom strut tower bar.. hence the clearance issues.. its a fuxin tight engine bay..
Click to expand...

Well, haven't really posted up any pictures of the install yet- and technically don't have anything mounted as of right now. There's not much need for a strut brace either- the strut towers are practically welded right on to the firewall. I guess it can't hurt to add one.
 
Ok, so after all the mess that's been going on lately on the weekends, my lack of ability to work on a car after 10pm on weekdays after putting the kids to bed, and being out of town on business- I finally have things buttoned up.

Coilovers are installed
Ride height is set at 25.75" from fender to ground at all four corners
Stiffness is set at 6/32 front, 8/32 rear (1 is stiffest)
Top Speed rear camber arms are installed
Mazdaspeed 3 rear 26mm sway bar is installed

So while I process the 150-ish pictures that are left after deleting the trash and work on my install writeup, here's a side shot of the car with the levels all blown out in Photoshop so you can see the even wheel gap:

mz5_25_75_to_fenders.jpg


Writeup coming soon...
 
looks really nice at that height, almost stock-ish. waiting to hear your comments on ride quality next.

one question i have: you cut out the top of the front strut mount. was that only to facilitate camber adjustments?
 
njaremka said:
looks really nice at that height, almost stock-ish. waiting to hear your comments on ride quality next.

one question i have: you cut out the top of the front strut mount. was that only to facilitate camber adjustments?
Click to expand...

You must have gone through the pictures already if you saw the cut mount. :) And yup, just for camber adjustments.

Ride quality is firm, but not harsh- very German feeling (BMW, Benz). There's a lot more communication to the road through the chassis, but it's not busy. Large bumps can be noisy, I think because of reduced shock travel, but they're not bad. I have pictures to illustrate this issue.

Ride height is 1.25" down in front, 1.75" down in back, so still a good way from stock. I didn't want to go any lower- I'm not a fan of the slammed / tucked look on my own cars, at least not the ones I own right now.

Cut tower:

mz5_susp_inst_800_060.jpg
 
Welcome. :D Back to work, will finish write-up tonight. You can browse the directory I'm linking the pictures from if you want a sneak peek. ;)
 
Looks great! Are you going to lower the front a tad bit. I'm sure it's even but it would look better with a tiny bit of rake in front. It almost looks like a bit of butt sag.
 
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