P5 owners w/ 17 or 18 inch wheels

[Sveivo]

yea. idk what to do. it suxxx. lol. the only thing is, it would be so much easier to change them all at ones and not have to go through it twice.

Tokico 185/145-200 lb/in (progressive rate rear), 1.25" drop

what does the progressive rear mean? i can make them stiffer since the rear is heaver than the reg pro or what?

Progressive means the spring "stiffness" will increase the more you compress the spring.

If you google it (i.e. "progressive vs linear"), you'll find some pretty good articles on the topic.

Have you checked out the Spring Buyer's Guide?
http://www.mazdas247.com/forum/showthread.php?t=58798&highlight=spring+buyer's+guide

It answers a lot of questions.

 

[amsgator]

yea i looked at it last night after i posted that, someone else told me to check that out as well.

so will they help keep the back of the car the right height instead of sagging then since it weighs more than the pro and the kit is made for all porteges?

 

[JoshP5]

josh p5 told me it was this, but i cant find it anywhere either Tokico 185/145-200 lb/in (progressive rate rear), 1.25" drop

I got it from the Protege FAQ.

 

[Yaggie1]

I'm on stock struts and have had the Eibach's on for probably 50,000 miles. Thinking about changing soon, but at 39,000 you should be fine for a while. I just turned 83,000 miles on the car last week.

 

[JoshP5]

so will they help keep the back of the car the right height instead of sagging then since it weighs more than the pro and the kit is made for all porteges?

Not generally.

Manufacturers mostly provide two numbers for progressive rate springs. The low one is the rate when the spring is just starting to be compressed. The higher one is the rate when the spring is almost fully compressed. What happens in the middle is always a mystery, so it's hard to predict the rate at the equillibrium point (partially compressed by the static weight of the car).

Did I read somewhere that njaremka is running a Tokico handling kit? Maybe PM him about it?

 

[amsgator]

i just dont want to have the back lower than the front, and if at all possible i want to keep the little bit of rake that is there.

 

[amsgator]

I got it from the Protege FAQ.

cool thanks!

 

[Scooter_TO]

somebody should really move all of these posts about springs & struts to a new thread.

 

[Kansei]

Yeah, the work to change the struts is ALL of the work needed to change springs, so you will duplicate the work to do them separately (ask me how I know).

 

[Kansei]

i just dont want to have the back lower than the front, and if at all possible i want to keep the little bit of rake that is there.

It's a definite possibility.. I'm on goldlines which claimed to be for the P5 but as it turns out they just ship you the sedan s***.. and yeah, it lowered the rear way too much. A progressive rear spring not made for the P5 will exxagerate the increased rear rate more than a linear spring not made for the P5.

 

[FunkyBuddha]

You had fender shaved or no?

215/40/18's - no problem with clearing the fender lip even on the P5 (You should see when I load up at Costco ). 48mm offset on a 7.5" wheel. It is rather toight ...

 

[Bala]

You had fender shaved or no?

Nope. That's the factory fender lip.

 

[amsgator]

It's a definite possibility.. I'm on goldlines which claimed to be for the P5 but as it turns out they just ship you the sedan s***.. and yeah, it lowered the rear way too much. A progressive rear spring not made for the P5 will exxagerate the increased rear rate more than a linear spring not made for the P5.

well the rate on teins site for the protege 5 springs are 179/145 and the tokicos are 185/145-200 lb/in so it will be stiffer in the front and the same for the ones actually made for the protege 5, at least according to teins website. so i think it would be ok.

 

[Rosshole]

in sig and in avatar, 17's with Eibach prokit. 215/40/17 tires.

 

[Kansei]

ah good point, I forgot the tokico springs lowest springrate was equal to the tein P5 springs. good stuff.

and bala.. I still don't understand how you fit 215/40/18 tires on.. I could have sworn my wheels were 48mm offset, and with 215/40 on a 17 I could rub the fender if I tried (and I did rub once on both sides, enough to cause the fender lips to rust now). I had 1 or 2mm of clearance (diagonal) between my tire and fender at most.. maybe my wheels are +45, that could explain it.

plus when you are going 60mph your speedo says 57.3mph

 

[JoshP5]

215/40/18 doesn't tell the whole story. The section width could be different for different manufacturers/models even though the size is the same.

 

[amsgator]

ah good point, I forgot the tokico springs lowest springrate was equal to the tein P5 springs. good stuff.

yea, i just realized it myself. so i think it should be alrite going that route, and its about 100 cheaper too. is there a disadvantage to progressive rates?

 

[JoshP5]

You want the damping rate of the strut to be well-matched to the spring rate. With progressive-rate springs, the spring rate changes as the suspension is compressed, but the same is not true for the struts--damping rate is independent of compression. So the damping/springrate ratio is not constant.

This is why hardcores insist on linear springs--it makes tuning easier and the car will behave more predictably. For a street application, though, the Tokicos will be fine.

 

[Kansei]

progressive springs all around (goldlines for example) with tokico HPs = very uncomfortable. I think it's because the initial springrate is so low on them. I can't wait to move to stiffer shocks to make my ride more comfortable (yeah, weird, I know).

 

[amsgator]

yea. i think i'll just get the tokico kit when i get the money since its cheaper and will be easier to do it all at once. i wont be able to get the springs and struts all at once if i dont get the kit.