Had my 2008 MS3 a week now, time to change the shocks

[JonShar]

It's just a bit too low for my taste, the ride quality isn't great. The shocks are aftermarket, but I'm not sure what kind - there's about 1/2" gap between the front wheels and body, and no gap at all between the back wheels and body.

Any recommendations on what kind to get? I want it a little higher - stock height isn't even too bad I don't think.

Appreciate any help!

 

[celticfc]

Sounds to me as though you may have a coil over set-up if it is sitting that low. If it is you should be able to adjust it to get back some height and maybe smooth out the ride a little. However, if you have the factory style shocks then changing just the springs would bring it back to stock, shocks alone wont change the ride height. If you do decide on changing the shocks I would recommend the Koni Yellows, they ride nice and are adjustable should you decide to do Autox or track events. Hope this helps.

 

[WillD]

Koni Yellows with stock springs will put you at stock height. That's what I'm on right now:

The back might look a bit lower than stock because I cut down the OE bumpstops so I'm no longer riding on them.

I'm actually thinking about upgrading to coilovers if the right deal comes along

 

[JonShar]

Sounds to me as though you may have a coil over set-up if it is sitting that low. If it is you should be able to adjust it to get back some height and maybe smooth out the ride a little. However, if you have the factory style shocks then changing just the springs would bring it back to stock, shocks alone wont change the ride height. If you do decide on changing the shocks I would recommend the Koni Yellows, they ride nice and are adjustable should you decide to do Autox or track events. Hope this helps.

That's great info, thanks - good to see a footy fan on here too! I'll have to get it raised soon and see what the setup is, it sounds like coil overs from how you described it. How hard are they to adjust?

Koni Yellows with stock springs will put you at stock height. That's what I'm on right now:

The back might look a bit lower than stock because I cut down the OE bumpstops so I'm no longer riding on them.

I'm actually thinking about upgrading to coilovers if the right deal comes along

That looks good! If I've got coil overs, I'll get in touch!

 

[WillD]

Coilovers are easy to adjust. There are the ones I have on the Miata so the MS3 ones will be a little different looking but it will get the point across...

You can see there is a threaded sleeve all you have to do is move the threaded sleeve up to raise the car up. And you don't have to take them off the car to adjust them. I had these off the car to do something else.

 

[JonShar]

So I went to jack my car up today to check out the spring/coil over situation, and there's no jack or tire iron in the trunk! Glad I found out now rather than stuck on the side of the road, but that's ridiculous. Grrr.

So I'll check it Monday, one of my work friends is bringing a jack to check it out. Here's a pic in the meantime of the height.

 

[JonShar]

Also, I stuck my head underneath the car and got as good a shot as I could of the springs - don't look like coil overs to me, but I could be wrong:

 

[rsvinylgraphics]

Looks like you have COBB springs, they are the only ones that I know of that are blue.

 

[WillD]

Nice looking car!

The MS3 has a multilink rear suspension so it isn't possible to have "coilovers" in the rear of the car. Coilover kits usually have an adjustable perch that sits underneath the spring so that the ride height can be raised or lowered. When you get the car jacked up take off the front wheel and snap a picture of the setup. Any markings you can find on the springs or struts would be helpful in identifying what you have going on as well.

I want to agree with rs on those springs being Cobb. But the Cobb springs are supposed to be a dark blue and those look faded which I guess is possible. In any case, I really like the ride height you have!

 

[JonShar]

Looks like you have COBB springs, they are the only ones that I know of that are blue.

Thanks - you could be right, they do look a bit darker in person, the flash lightened them up a bit.

Nice looking car!

The MS3 has a multilink rear suspension so it isn't possible to have "coilovers" in the rear of the car. Coilover kits usually have an adjustable perch that sits underneath the spring so that the ride height can be raised or lowered. When you get the car jacked up take off the front wheel and snap a picture of the setup. Any markings you can find on the springs or struts would be helpful in identifying what you have going on as well.

I want to agree with rs on those springs being Cobb. But the Cobb springs are supposed to be a dark blue and those look faded which I guess is possible. In any case, I really like the ride height you have!

Thanks Will!

Good info on the difference between rear and front suspension, thanks for that... I have a lot to learn! I'll get it jacked up hopefully Monday and will take a front wheel off to see what's going on, then update on here. Thanks for all the help... and the compliment on the car!

 

[JonShar]

Ordered a jack, was too high to jack it up. Ordered another one, it didn't work. Ordered ANOTHER one, and finally bingo!

Front spring pics:

 

[WillD]

Looks like you have OEM front shocks and aftermarket springs. The springs are different in the front than the rear it looks like.

 

[JonShar]

Yeah the springs in the rear are much lower too. The ones in the front are crap, they don't absorb anything at all. Time for new springs for sure...

 

[WillD]

How many miles do you have? I'd be curious to see what shocks you have in the rear of the car.

 

[JonShar]

66,000. I'm replacing rotors next week so when I get it all the way up I'll let you know about the rear ones. Or if I get time I'll jack it up this weekend!

 

[boosted1]

It looks like Eibach or MS springs in front. Is it me, or do the rear springs look short as if they were cut?

 

[JonShar]

It looks like Eibach or MS springs in front. Is it me, or do the rear springs look short as if they were cut?

You could be right, they're really low. I'm going to get them off next week and look at them, that's a good suggestion to look for. How do you like your koni's?

 

[boosted1]

You could be right, they're really low. I'm going to get them off next week and look at them, that's a good suggestion to look for. How do you like your koni's?

I like Koni's a lot. They give a firm ride without the harshness. They also help with the handling, offering better control. if you are not interested in lowering, the Koni FSD would be the best choice.

 

[saxmanbrad]

I have been running SenSen Mazda5 shocks on Cobb springs for a bit now, they work great (even if they are cheap Chinese made). They are a little firmer than OEM and not much $$$. There is a thread about them on here, the vendor is APX auto.

 

[saxmanbrad]

also, those blue rear springs are a little lighter blue than my cobbs, they might be roadmagnets, if i remember right, the roadmagnets drop the car a little lower in the rear.