MS6 Suspension - Sway bars, strut bars, chassis stiffeniig

[DRIV4K16]

I tried doing a search and could not find what i was looking for so dont flame me is this is a repost.

I see a lot of people installing springs but nothing else really. I think the suspension is fairly good on the MS6 but it def has a lot of body roll. Anyone put in the auto exe sway bars, any of the strut bars, chassis kits??? Coil over suspension?

Thanks guys

 

[tunersteve]

I know a common upgrade for people after springs is the rear sway and a strut tower brace. Whiteline makes an adj. rear sway, and there are several STB's out there.

 

[coyfish]

I drove a friends speed 6 with swar bars and springs. The car stuck lower and body roll was reduced significantly but the ride was also pretty rough.

Unless you plan on racing your car on tracks I wouldn't really spend money on coilovers. They are pretty expensive.

Swar bars help the body roll quite a bit.

 

[TXspeed6]

I'm looking at buying some lowering springs as well as a front strut bar.
I've seen this on ebay, It is pretty cheap, but I have a feeling it is a bad product that it wont really help. Any thoughts?
-Ross


http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/MAZD...ptZMotorsQ5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories

 

[tunersteve]

I'm looking at buying some lowering springs as well as a front strut bar.
I've seen this on ebay, It is pretty cheap, but I have a feeling it is a bad product that it wont really help. Any thoughts?
-Ross


http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/MAZDA-6-MAZDA6-03-08-MAZDASPEED-6-FRONT-STRUT-TOWER-BAR_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trkparmsZ72Q3a1205Q7c66Q3a2Q7c65Q3a12Q7c39Q3a1Q7c240Q3a1318QQ_trksidZp3286Q2ec0Q2em14QQhashZitem260304126420QQitemZ260304126420QQptZMotorsQ5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories

Personally, I'm not a fan of eBay performance stuff, because I wonder how safe it really is, and you won't ever have a warranty with it..

That STB might work, but you have to remember, if it fits the regular 6, it may not clear the TMIC (if installed) on your MS6. The only one that fits for sure with the TMIC is the Corksport or the AutoEXE model.

 

[freekwonder]

Honesty STB are pointless on our cars. Our strut towers are so close to the firewall that they don't really do as much as say a car like my Datsun where the strut towers are halfway between the firewall and the front of the car.

 

[tunersteve]

Honesty STB are pointless on our cars. Our strut towers are so close to the firewall that they don't really do as much as say a car like my Datsun where the strut towers are halfway between the firewall and the front of the car.

I wouldn't say pointless is the right word, just not as efficient. Tying the strut towers together will improve the handling, but I wouldn't expect it to dramatically change the way your car drives. The chassis is already stiff enough as it is.

 

[DRIV4K16]

another question, i was thinkin about the sway bars b/c body roll seems to be the worst thing on this car. Do you do just the rear (whitelines) or both front and rear (auto exe)??

I had a 2000 eclipse before and everyone said to do just the rear because the rear was the first thing to break loose when cornering hard. It's gonna be a little bit different with this car b/c its AWD and its got a little more weight in the rear.

Has anyone installed a full coil over system? The rpm store sells the tein basic's. They also sell bilstein and koni shocks? Has anyone tried replacing the shocks so the car doesn't dive and squat as much?? I think that's a cheaper alternative to coil overs and probably wouldn't make the car as harsh as say lowering springs.

 

[tunersteve]

another question, i was thinkin about the sway bars b/c body roll seems to be the worst thing on this car. Do you do just the rear (whitelines) or both front and rear (auto exe)??

I had a 2000 eclipse before and everyone said to do just the rear because the rear was the first thing to break loose when cornering hard. It's gonna be a little bit different with this car b/c its AWD and its got a little more weight in the rear.

Has anyone installed a full coil over system? The rpm store sells the tein basic's. They also sell bilstein and koni shocks? Has anyone tried replacing the shocks so the car doesn't dive and squat as much?? I think that's a cheaper alternative to coil overs and probably wouldn't make the car as harsh as say lowering springs.

I've read the H&R springs actually don't make the ride any more harsh. There are also a few options for coilovers, H&R, BC, AutoEXE ($$$$$), etc. which would do just fine.

For the sways, the rear is a pretty easy install, but the front is a much more challenging one.

One other thing worth mentioning would be the SPC adj. ball joints. From reading about them i've heard nothing but good things about the improvments they make.

 

[chiefmg]

I have a set of RPM pre-production springs installed (not sure if those equate to their current street or sport set-up), along with a Whiteline adjustable rear sway bar. The springs take care of the majority of the squat and roll, while the sway bar does the rest. Keep in mind this is a heavy car so you will always have some movement of the body relative to the road. It is all going to come down to what you plan to do with the car, along with the depth of your pockets. For the normal road use I do (with occasional backroad fun) the parts I have do me well.

 

[TXspeed6]

Personally, I'm not a fan of eBay performance stuff, because I wonder how safe it really is, and you won't ever have a warranty with it..

That STB might work, but you have to remember, if it fits the regular 6, it may not clear the TMIC (if installed) on your MS6. The only one that fits for sure with the TMIC is the Corksport or the AutoEXE model.

Thanks for the input. I'll just have to wait for some money to buy the real deal!

 

[US Atenza]

Has anybody tried this STB for their MS6?

Personally, I'm not a fan of eBay performance stuff, because I wonder how safe it really is, and you won't ever have a warranty with it..

That STB might work, but you have to remember, if it fits the regular 6, it may not clear the TMIC (if installed) on your MS6. The only one that fits for sure with the TMIC is the Corksport or the AutoEXE model.

So I am also still wondering if anyone has tried this e-bay strut tower brace on the Mazdaspeed6? I believe that the company that sells this piece also has a brick and morter location here in Stanton California. The s&h on e-bay is almost as expensive as the item itself?

 

[sunshineFC]

You need to do these upgrades in order of priority.
1) alignment
2) tires
3) springs w/ matched shocks
4) anti-roll bar
5) other (tower bars, chassis reinforcement)

These upgrades all build on each other, and going out of order is pretty pointless (note: another alignment is required after spring/shock swap). I will bet that 99% of the ppl on this forum do not drive their cars hard enough to realize the need for a tower bar.

As far as the ebay crap - save your cash. The point of a tower bar is to reduce flex between the towers. Those bars dont do anything to reduce flex b/x they are not rigid enough themselves. If buying a three-peice bar (bar bolts to mounts) then you need a real brand name b/c they are the only ones that have tight enough tolerances at the mounting points to make the bar stiff. If buying a one peice bar (like the autoexe), then you can do a slightly cheaper brand.
-a

 

[Booster]

sway bars

another question, i was thinkin about the sway bars b/c body roll seems to be the worst thing on this car. Do you do just the rear (whitelines) or both front and rear (auto exe)??

I had a 2000 eclipse before and everyone said to do just the rear because the rear was the first thing to break loose when cornering hard. It's gonna be a little bit different with this car b/c its AWD and its got a little more weight in the rear.

Has anyone installed a full coil over system? The rpm store sells the tein basic's. They also sell bilstein and koni shocks? Has anyone tried replacing the shocks so the car doesn't dive and squat as much?? I think that's a cheaper alternative to coil overs and probably wouldn't make the car as harsh as say lowering springs.

I have front Racing Beat 28.5 swaybar and white line rear sway bars, with bilstein shocks and no spring upgrade just the factory spring.

I have to tell that the front sway bar is worth every cent, you will notice instantly better handling in the corners. The bilsteins are a bit underdamped for my taste so tha's why i did not install the RPM sport springs that are in a corner of my garage.

JC

 

[tunersteve]

You need to do these upgrades in order of priority.
1) alignment
2) tires
3) springs w/ matched shocks
4) anti-roll bar
5) other (tower bars, chassis reinforcement)

These upgrades all build on each other, and going out of order is pretty pointless (note: another alignment is required after spring/shock swap). I will bet that 99% of the ppl on this forum do not drive their cars hard enough to realize the need for a tower bar.

As far as the ebay crap - save your cash. The point of a tower bar is to reduce flex between the towers. Those bars dont do anything to reduce flex b/x they are not rigid enough themselves. If buying a three-peice bar (bar bolts to mounts) then you need a real brand name b/c they are the only ones that have tight enough tolerances at the mounting points to make the bar stiff. If buying a one peice bar (like the autoexe), then you can do a slightly cheaper brand.
-a

I agree with you mostly, but your order of install is wrong. If you choose not to do the springs or shocks/struts, then you'd be ok. Tires are the first step, but if you put springs in, it's best to get an alignment after completion to make sure everything is back where it should be.

My suggestion to you would be to buy all your suspension components however you can, then do one install/alignment, and go from there.

 

[sunshineFC]

My suggestion to you would be to buy all your suspension components however you can, then do one install/alignment, and go from there.

I see what your saying, but I disagree. Good tires are worthless without a proper alingment. Thats why they are ranked 1 and 2. I do mention in my post that you need another alignment after shock/spring install.

Most importantly tho, I totally disagree in the "one install" approach. The best/only way to make performance modifications is to do only one at a time. If you don't do that, there is no way for you to know whats doing what, and what approach is working and what is not. Example, you experience severe oversteer with your car, so you upgrade the shocks/struts, and sway bars at once. Oversteer is now replaced by understeer, do you know which component is doing that? I'd say no.
-a

 

[tunersteve]

One thing I'm sure we can both agree on is that you should get your alignment checked before going down the path of suspension modification.

My comment on the one stop install approach was for someone who wanted to save the extra money on alignments by doing it all at once.

Personally, I'll be doing the springs and the rear sway at the same time, along with the rear diff brace, only because it'll save me time in the long run.

 

[sunshineFC]

One thing I'm sure we can both agree on is that you should get your alignment checked before going down the path of suspension modification.

Absolutely. Before and after.

My comment on the one stop install approach was for someone who wanted to save the extra money on alignments by doing it all at once.

Personally, I'll be doing the springs and the rear sway at the same time, along with the rear diff brace, only because it'll save me time in the long run.

I totally agree with the practical side of it, and I am guilty of it as well. But its not really the right way to make mods.
-a

 

[US Atenza]

E-Bay STB

So I am also still wondering if anyone has tried this e-bay strut tower brace on the Mazdaspeed6? I believe that the company that sells this piece also has a brick and morter location here in Stanton California. The s&h on e-bay is almost as expensive as the item itself?

OK guys and gals, I didn't mean to start a modification order/process debate. (nana) I can see both points of view. However, my question remains, has anyone used this e-bay STB???

 

[sunshineFC]

However, my question remains, has anyone used this e-bay STB???

Nope, your questions has been answered. Save your money.