Should I lower it?

[zoomies100]

Now that I have 18" RX-8 wheels and 225/40 tires on, I'm wondering if I should lower it. The gap in the front looks larger than the gap in the back. Obviously all around coil-overs is awesome, but I don't have the $ for that. What do y'all think of lowering springs?

 

[sm1ke]

I have CorkSport lowering springs on OEM dampers on my CX-9. They would have been perfectly fine if I didn't have to deal with all the potholes and road imperfections. After 2-3 years of hitting potholes a few times a year, I had to replace both front shocks, but the rears are still good.

 

[SparkYellow]

Back in 2011 I considered putting H&R lowering springs on my 2009 Mazda5 Touring. That was after replacing the rear sway bar with a thick one from Cobb Tuning, which substantially reduced the bodyroll. In your case, is it mainly for the looks? And how much drop do the coilovers give?

I had coilovers on my MINI for a few months and hated all the scraping.

 

[sm1ke]

Back in 2011 I considered putting H&R lowering springs on my 2009 Mazda5 Touring. That was after replacing the rear sway bar with a thick one from Cobb Tuning, which substantially reduced the bodyroll. In your case, is it mainly for the looks? And how much drop do the coilovers give?

I had coilovers on my MINI for a few months and hated all the scraping.

In my case, yes it was primarily for looks. The slight improvement to handling was just a bonus.

I've had coilovers on my two previous cars, a 1999 Honda Accord and a 2008 Lexus IS250. I did coilovers on both of those cars, and both sets of coilovers offered a max drop of 4" from the stock height. That was way more than I would have ever needed.. I think in both cases I lowered the car between 2.0" to 2.5", depending on the wheel setup, camber, and additional mods I did. I love being low, but with such small clearances the ride has to be pretty stiff to reduce all the scraping. I didn't want to put the wife and kids through all that lol.

On the Mazda5 coilovers, I would think the same adjustment range (up to 4") would be offered.

 

[CTt3P5]

Looks great! I have always been a fan of the RX-8 18" wheels.

You mentioned just doing lowering springs, how many miles are on your 5? Ask as it may make more sense to buy/install struts at the same time since you'll have everything apart anyway. If so, then you can compare prices to struts/springs vs. coilovers and see that a nice set of coilovers may not be much more. Bonus is that the install will be easier as there is no need to use that pesky spring compressor.

 

[SparkYellow]

I understand! In my area there's a group of full size minivans on bags, mostly Siennas and Odysseys. Love how they show up at car meets and just sit down.

I looked into getting a used Mazda5 now that I am into campers, overlanding, off-grid and etc. Used 5s are hard to come by and not cheap.

 

[zedebra]

If you are going to do lowering springs, I suggest looking at the condition of your current struts. People have put lowering springs on cars past and the lowering springs work great, but the first thing that goes is the old struts. I would suggest if you are going to do lowering springs you may want to look into some new quality struts, or at least plan to get some later on.

For my Mazda 5 I got a set of coilovers from K-Sport.

 

[zoomies100]

If you are going to do lowering springs, I suggest looking at the condition of your current struts. People have put lowering springs on cars past and the lowering springs work great, but the first thing that goes is the old struts. I would suggest if you are going to do lowering springs you may want to look into some new quality struts, or at least plan to get some later on.

For my Mazda 5 I got a set of coilovers from K-Sport.

Thanks! I'm just realizing how many responses I've received. Now that I think of it, I'm really not into stiffening my ride. Considering that this is for aesthetic reasons, I might hold off on it. When I have $ for fancy coil overs that might be different

 

[zoomies100]

I have CorkSport lowering springs on OEM dampers on my CX-9. They would have been perfectly fine if I didn't have to deal with all the potholes and road imperfections. After 2-3 years of hitting potholes a few times a year, I had to replace both front shocks, but the rears are still good.

Thanks! I'm too old for potholes... I'm going to hold off...

 

[zoomies100]

Looks great! I have always been a fan of the RX-8 18" wheels.

You mentioned just doing lowering springs, how many miles are on your 5? Ask as it may make more sense to buy/install struts at the same time since you'll have everything apart anyway. If so, then you can compare prices to struts/springs vs. coilovers and see that a nice set of coilovers may not be much more. Bonus is that the install will be easier as there is no need to use that pesky spring compressor.

Great advice! This forum is awesome. Now that I think of it, I'm really not into stiffening my ride (too old for that sh$t).

 

[zedebra]

Thanks! I'm just realizing how many responses I've received. Now that I think of it, I'm really not into stiffening my ride. Considering that this is for aesthetic reasons, I might hold off on it. When I have $ for fancy coil overs that might be different

Lowering springs with some KYB struts wouldn't be annoying stiff. Probably be the most comfortable set up for a slight drop of the car. It will all come down to which set of spring you get and the spring load. With the 18's on I am sure you are already feeling more bumps on the road.
My coilovers are a bit stiff but they at least have adjustable dampers.

Another thing would be rubbing. When I was one 225/40/17 I was having rubbing issues on the rear and had to roll the fenders. Granted the tire set up was a bit too aggressive for my 17x8 wheels. They were perfect for having sidewall and no stretch, but it rubbed like crazy on bumps. I have since gone down to 214/40/17 and they have slight stretch and no clearance issues

 

[zoomies100]

Lowering springs with some KYB struts wouldn't be annoying stiff. Probably be the most comfortable set up for a slight drop of the car. It will all come down to which set of spring you get and the spring load. With the 18's on I am sure you are already feeling more bumps on the road.
My coilovers are a bit stiff but they at least have adjustable dampers.

Another thing would be rubbing. When I was one 225/40/17 I was having rubbing issues on the rear and had to roll the fenders. Granted the tire set up was a bit too aggressive for my 17x8 wheels. They were perfect for having sidewall and no stretch, but it rubbed like crazy on bumps. I have since gone down to 214/40/17 and they have slight stretch and no clearance issues

That's excellent advice Thanks @zedebra! Maybe I should just lower it in the front? The gap in the back is not as big and also I sometimes put heavy stuff in the car and that will compress the rear anyways so I don't want it too low

 

[Maikel]

For the original question "Should I lower it?" -> Yes, absolutely!

But in honest opinion, the image what I have gotten from your writings, you don't want to have Fast&Furios ride, but rather OEM+ style.

So I would say that lowering spring just for the front is the best option.
Getting front end just like 20-30mm lower would make it more in balance looking than rear heavy.

And getting quality springs, ie. Eibach, they are usually progressive springs.
So they are "soft" without load, could evevn feel like original spring. When compressing they will get stiffer.

 

[zoomies100]

For the original question "Should I lower it?" -> Yes, absolutely!

But in honest opinion, the image what I have gotten from your writings, you don't want to have Fast&Furios ride, but rather OEM+ style.

So I would say that lowering spring just for the front is the best option.
Getting front end just like 20-30mm lower would make it more in balance looking than rear heavy.

And getting quality springs, ie. Eibach, they are usually progressive springs.
So they are "soft" without load, could evevn feel like original spring. When compressing they will get stiffer.

@Maikel thank you thank you thank you! I appreciate all your advice! Any advice on how I find springs that would fit the car? Something like these? Mazdaspeed 3 Lowering Springs