BC Racing Coilovers for Mazda 5 - Unboxing

[phunky.buddha]

a) Does any Mazda 3 coil-over will direct install onto a 2006 Mazda 5 sport or do I need to buy newer Coil-overs made for the Mazda 5 to have proper fitment? If coil overs are not a direct fit, what has to be done for a correct installation?

b) Does it matter if I bought Mazda 3 or Mazdaspeed 3 coil-overs for my 2006 Mazda 6 sport.

c) Since we have a mini van, does it matter if we get Raceland Coil-overs or better spending a lot on a set of track ready set-up coil-over? I just want stance and able to driver around slammed, please advise.

Hey krew, welcome to M247.

a: Yeah, pretty much any Mazda 3 suspension setup will swap over to the 5. The 5 is built on the 3's bones- the drivetrain, suspension, and brakes are all interchangeable. Physically anyway. The 3 is lighter, so the spring rates and damping rates won't work 100% correctly on the 5. The main part that will be messed up is the rear springs and shocks, since the 5 drops in at 800 pounds heavier on curb weight. That's partly why the shocks on the 5 from the factory give up so quickly. Stuff spec'd for the MazdaSPEED 3 will work better since the Speed3 is heavier. Koni makes MazdaSpeed 3 specific shocks in addition to the "normal" Mazda 3 fitment- they have higher damping rates to handle higher loads.

b: Assuming you mean Mazda 5 sport. See above. Get MazdaSpeed spec stuff when you can. Coilovers with adjustable damping will hopefully have enough range to cover the higher loads of the 5 vs the normal 3.

c: All depends on what you want. I'd at a minimum go with BC or Yellowspeed- they're available under $1k and are proven. Not so sure about Raceland or anything cheaper. The H&R springs and Koni Yellows or Koni FSDs are a good bet for a perfect even gap (I may switch), but they won't allow you to roll slammed. Most of the cheapo universal cartridge coilovers (I lump BC into this category) like to pitch that they have adjustable length bodies so you don't have to mess with the spring preload to raise/lower, but this is really to hide the fact that the shocks themselves are really too short to perform at their best... BUT this also means it'll be easy to "slam" the car on these kinds of coilovers. A true track ready setup won't be geared towards riding super low since it's not ideal for handling, and if you're considering Racelands, then "track ready" is likely way outside your price range.

 

[06mazda5krew]

Wow i am so happy for the great response. Yea my 2001 mazda mpv is rolling on tien super wagon coilovers w edfc.

My 1999 miata is currently on a set of raceland coilovers and currently slammed but handling is awesome.

My 2006 mazda 5 is the stock virgin now. I have so much to buy for this van of mine.

 

[phunky.buddha]

Welcome. I guess you've read through this thread- give the Yellowspeeds a shot. The torrington bearing up front makes a world of difference for getting rid of spring twist bind. The BC's plastic crap spacer is horrible for this. My wife hates the creaking sound, but it doesn't hurt anything. It just sounds terrible.

As for me, the S2000 is riding on AST 4100s with Sprint/HyperCo springs (actual track ready setup, not cheap), the Frontier is on Bilstein HDs with factory springs and a mini lift up front to level out, and the old Civic used to be on custom spec Tein FLEXes. None slammed. Awesome handling on all. CRX will get a seriously custom crackhead setup, but nothing about it will be sane...