So, I have a 2009 5 and wanted to have it outhandle most anything on the road. My plans for every car I've owned is to upgrade the weak swaybar (rear in all my fwd's, front in my Miatas), then either a spring/damper setup or a height and damping adjustable coilover, depending on the purpose, and then tweak the alignment for its intended purpose. I'm pretty set on the H&R springs on Koni Yellows, some kind of MS3 front brake upgrade with rear pads to match, and better tires.
So, on to the review, eh?
I purchased a first gen Mazdaspeed 3 rear swaybar made by Progress. I wanted something totally ridiculous for my first modification. I ordered up a set of AWR Mazda 3 hiem joint endlinks at the same time, but received them a month later due to the proximity to Christmas.
Install of the swaybar was one of the easiest I've done as it was very straight forward. I bolted it up to oem endlinks ... And it worked ok.
Initial driving impression: the 5 can be steered with the throttle?! I came into a windy road and wanted to chuck her around to get a feel for the bar. Turn in was much sharper and instant. The car settled into a steady-state lean which was much less than before, and the car felt much more composed and confident. Flooring it out of the turns resulted in acceleration and a smooth exit out if the corner.
I decided to see how stupid I could get before she would kick me in the ass, so I went to an empty, void, and large parking lot and unleashed my inner dumbass. I would trail brake into the apex and the rear would step out quickly but controllably. The same happened for throttle lift. My only complaint is in these "auto-x" scenarios that the car was just a touch lazy on turn in initiation and was a bit twitchy under power out of the apex.
After installing the endlinks, I went back out and the car is much more eager on turnin and is even more stable through and out of the turns. The rear end is much more planted and stable, all extra noises from the stock endlinks is gone, and I grin every time I leave somebody on an onramp or pass them through a twisty section of road. I can't wait for the other suspension, brake, and tire upgrades are on!
Install: 1/5
Product quality: Progress 5/5, AWR 5/5
Handling impression: (dance) feels like a solid start to a fun corner carver
So, on to the review, eh?
I purchased a first gen Mazdaspeed 3 rear swaybar made by Progress. I wanted something totally ridiculous for my first modification. I ordered up a set of AWR Mazda 3 hiem joint endlinks at the same time, but received them a month later due to the proximity to Christmas.
Install of the swaybar was one of the easiest I've done as it was very straight forward. I bolted it up to oem endlinks ... And it worked ok.
Initial driving impression: the 5 can be steered with the throttle?! I came into a windy road and wanted to chuck her around to get a feel for the bar. Turn in was much sharper and instant. The car settled into a steady-state lean which was much less than before, and the car felt much more composed and confident. Flooring it out of the turns resulted in acceleration and a smooth exit out if the corner.
I decided to see how stupid I could get before she would kick me in the ass, so I went to an empty, void, and large parking lot and unleashed my inner dumbass. I would trail brake into the apex and the rear would step out quickly but controllably. The same happened for throttle lift. My only complaint is in these "auto-x" scenarios that the car was just a touch lazy on turn in initiation and was a bit twitchy under power out of the apex.
After installing the endlinks, I went back out and the car is much more eager on turnin and is even more stable through and out of the turns. The rear end is much more planted and stable, all extra noises from the stock endlinks is gone, and I grin every time I leave somebody on an onramp or pass them through a twisty section of road. I can't wait for the other suspension, brake, and tire upgrades are on!
Install: 1/5
Product quality: Progress 5/5, AWR 5/5
Handling impression: (dance) feels like a solid start to a fun corner carver
