Lowering

[protastain]

hey guys in interested in lowering my car. im just not sure if its a good decision though. mostly, im worried that any sort of lowering would be hard on the suspension. does anyone know if this is something i should be concerned about?

thanks
stain

 

[blynzoo]

hey guys in interested in lowering my car. im just not sure if its a good decision though. mostly, im worried that any sort of lowering would be hard on the suspension. does anyone know if this is something i should be concerned about?

thanks
stain

First of all, stain, welcome to the site as a formal member. I'll give you a word of advice before everyone else, there's a search button at the top of the page, it's your best friend. Search for "lowered" or "coilovers" or "springs."

That said, I'll answer your question.
Lowering your car isnt any "harder" on your suspension, as it's the suspension that you're replacing when you lower it.
You can buy shocks/struts, coilovers, or just regular springs to lower your car. I'd say at least a quarter of the people on here, and about half those who post regularly, have their cars lowered. If you see a set of springs listed in their mods (at the bottom of their posts), pm them (button under the post) and ask them. These are ALL friendly people here. Lowering may make your ride stiffer (for the passenger), and some springs can be detrimental to handling. However, many quality coilover and spring replacements can both lower the car and improve handling. The most extreme way to go is to get adjustable shocks/struts (there are mazdaspeed and eibach, to name two) and adjustable coilovers to give your ride a drop AND greatly improve the ability to customize and improve the handling to match the driver.

For springs and coilovers, look around the site (and you can search these too) for eibach, skunk2, GC (ground control), mazdaspeed, and more.

There's even a place (vendor/parts review) to look at evaulations of various parts.

Send a PM (on your user CP page) to Sir_Nuke and tell him I told you to say hi to him as a new member, he can give you a better welcome.

Hope you like it here!

 

[Sir Nuke]

DAMN!!! YOU BEAT ME TO IT!!!! LOL

protastain, Welcome to our happy little corner of the net, and to our Club. There are TWO BIG fridge'S in the corner with anything you can think of in them...help yourself...of course only take what you can LEGALLY have.

(stash)

make yourself at home on one of the big fluffy couches, kick your shoes off, put your feet up on one of the tables, yes we are allowed to do that, mom don't care....and take it easy.

oh...btw....every once in a while a food fight breaks out...so you may not want to wear nice clothes here.

Welcome!! (stash)

 

[BK's black P5]

Stain,

Go for it. You'll love the look and appreciate the handling improvement. I think that those who regret lowering their ride are few and far between, unless they took the shortcut and cut or heated their oem springs.

 

[BigBlue]

When done right(IE spending the actual cash to do it properly), lowering of your car can be one of the mosty visually improving effects on your car with the added bonus of having actual handling improvements.

One of the best things you can do for your car. Check out the aftermarket guide for some ideas of manufacturers.

 

[ChopstickHero]

lowering your car will cause your suspension to wear out a bit faster than your stock setup, but that all depends on your driving style and habits. however, one problem i've had after lowering my car with eibach springs is that the front sway bar end links become loose or bent. i've already replaced one under warranty. has anybody else had bent or loose front sway bar end links? i've talked with some the Dave Wood Mazda racing team in Toronto and they said that this is a very weak part of the suspension.

 

[Concept P5]

front sway bar link?
how can u tell it broke?
any signs u can tell me just in case.
but with my coilovers i have been getting alot of banging noises.....

 

[ChopstickHero]

i noticed that the steering wasn't as tight as before and it was almost my regular scheduled maintenance, so i told them to look at my front suspension. they found that the sway bar end links were bent and loose. they replaced it no questions asked. if you turn your wheel full R or L, then you can see the sway bar end link bolted to the inner fender wall.

 

[protastain]

thanks everyone so much for the replies. the thing is my dad was the one that actually told me that the springs would make the suspension wear out faster. and if you say it might damage the sway bar, that might be something i want to stay away from. has anyone else had any bad experiences with coilovers or the eibach kit?

 

[ChopstickHero]

thanks everyone so much for the replies. the thing is my dad was the one that actually told me that the springs would make the suspension wear out faster. and if you say it might damage the sway bar, that might be something i want to stay away from. has anyone else had any bad experiences with coilovers or the eibach kit?

i didn't say it would damage the sway bar, i said it MIGHT damage the sway bar END LINKS. these are weak little rods that help support the sway bars. anyways, coilovers would wear out your stock struts faster than springs. however, if you're going for springs or coilovers, an upgrade in struts wouldn't be a bad idea either.

 

[WaatDaHell]

lowering your car will cause your suspension to wear out a bit faster than your stock setup, but that all depends on your driving style and habits. however, one problem i've had after lowering my car with eibach springs is that the front sway bar end links become loose or bent. i've already replaced one under warranty. has anybody else had bent or loose front sway bar end links? i've talked with some the Dave Wood Mazda racing team in Toronto and they said that this is a very weak part of the suspension.

Is that your Silver P5 ChopstickHero? I have a silver P5 too and totally dig that front lip. Where can I get that and how much?

 

[Gro Harlem]

get performance struts with the springs, otherwise you'll wear your stock struts out and will eventually need to replace them anyways (why pay for the install twice? do it right the first time )

and yes it could wear your endlinks faster, but they are cheap to replace (which will be 8 years down the road, no biggie)

 

[jdm_mp5]

what is everyones preference on how low it should be lowered? before, i was apprehensive about it, but now i've reconsidered!!! Not too low because my drive way is really steep, and with a lip and a lowering...hmmm...its gonna be taking a beating...opinions?(thought)

 

[protege5zoom]

defaintly lower it the only bad thing is the damn suspension will squeak with the gc coilovers like i have...by the way can anybody tell me how to make it stop doing it if its even possible they are lowered down all the way so i raised it up still did it so i lowered it back down it only does it it parking lots and stuff when turning really slo i know ive seen this talked about before but any help is apprecaited

 

[BK's black P5]

p5zoom,

I think there has been a previous post about squeeking suspension because of a mylar or teflon bushing or gasket that should be located between the strut/spring and the housing. Could be yours were not replaced when the coilovers were installed.