What have you done to your Mazda5 today?

Yes, those are first gen Mazdaspeed 3 wheels. I finally got the part number for the center caps: G22C-37-190A.
Looks complete now :)
 

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Installed the KSport coilovers, preload was way too low but looked good slammed. :ROFLMAO:
I raised the car about an inch all around after the first fit and rolled the rear fenders. Front fenders were already rolled so they weren't having a rubbing issue. But I think for my next set of tires I need to go from a 225 to maybe a 215.

eXtsl4o.jpg
 
Ok, so since I have picked it up, I have taken care of some of the stock parts that were broken and cracked. I have added a new windshield, new tires, added Tint, added an Android head unit, bought a new grill and Mazda emblem, and lastly bought the VIP spoiler. Looking for suspension parts now as well as talking to a local person to Wrap the vehicle.
 
Looks fun! Would love to see more pics of the obstacle you built, as well as how you mounted everything to the Mazda5 to tow it. (y)
 
Installed the KSport coilovers, preload was way too low but looked good slammed. :ROFLMAO:
I raised the car about an inch all around after the first fit and rolled the rear fenders. Front fenders were already rolled so they weren't having a rubbing issue. But I think for my next set of tires I need to go from a 225 to maybe a 215.

eXtsl4o.jpg

These look nice! Were they originally for the MZ3? I need to get a new suspension kit; plenty of banging around when I go over bumps 😬
 
Looks fun! Would love to see more pics of the obstacle you built, as well as how you mounted everything to the Mazda5 to tow it. (y)
There was the "Noodle Forest", which was basically a pergola of 2x4's between the outside header frames, supported by 4x4 posts for legs that we hung 140 pool noodles from for the kids to run through. The bottom of the headers was a few inches taller than the top of a wooden frame I had made to fit the roof racks for holding camping supplies, bikes, or other things, and can build off of (like to hold the background set pieces on the previous page). In this case I screwed a couple of 2x4's together like |=| (seen from above) with a gap between the two bars of the equals sign for a solid bar of steel to fit down into. This solid bar was pounded into a hole drilled in the end of a piece of 4x4 that was screwed to the center of one of the header beams pointing downwards, so that the towing-end of the frame could be lifted up, the van driven underneath, and then it would be lowered to drop the bar down into the gap. Maybe not the most secure way of doing it, but we were only doing about 10 mph on neighborhood streets for about 1/2 mile to get to the school.

There were also two 5' tall rectangular pyramids strung with ropes for climbing on/through (in the background there), folded up, but those fit into the back of a friend's pick-up for the trip over.
 
Looks good! Did you get the third row done as well?

I had the seats in my Focus reupholstered by Katzkin and I really liked how those turned out. The extra cost the third row might incur is keeping the wallet safe for now lol...
No, that was an additional $500 for something that gets used maybe once a year.
 
These look nice! Were they originally for the MZ3? I need to get a new suspension kit; plenty of banging around when I go over bumps 😬
Sorry for the late reply, I bought these off Redline360 and they were listed for a 2006 Mazda5. I am not sure how much crossover from the Mazda3 to the Mazda5 suspension wise. I havent worked on a Mazda3 or looked at them closely underneath. Pretty sure there is some crossover but maybe not 100%.

KSport has these listed on their site, although the stock image is totally wrong.
 
You can usually tell if the coil overs are "designed" for the Mazda5 vs the Mazda3 by the spring rates. Mazda5 coil overs will have slightly higher spring rates due to the extra weight of the car. That being said, the two models are interchangeable, and the dampers included are probably the same regardless the springs rates included.
 
Sorry for the late reply, I bought these off Redline360 and they were listed for a 2006 Mazda5. I am not sure how much crossover from the Mazda3 to the Mazda5 suspension wise. I havent worked on a Mazda3 or looked at them closely underneath. Pretty sure there is some crossover but maybe not 100%.

KSport has these listed on their site, although the stock image is totally wrong.
No worries, thanks for the link! I'll check them out.

I was looking at the BC Racing coilovers, but its nice to see how the van looks with something similar on there.


You can usually tell if the coil overs are "designed" for the Mazda5 vs the Mazda3 by the spring rates. Mazda5 coil overs will have slightly higher spring rates due to the extra weight of the car. That being said, the two models are interchangeable, and the dampers included are probably the same regardless the springs rates included.
Thanks for the info!
 
Man, I wish Bilstein/KW/Öhlins etc. made kits for this platform.

Not to yuck anyone's yums, but of the options I've seen for this platform, the only one I'd even consider is the Fortune Auto 500. And even that is a big maybe. Anything at the BC tier and below, I've seen far too many mediocrities and nasty surprises on various platforms to go near it. Good suspension development is hard, and BC and the cheaper brands basically don't even try.

If Mazda(speed) 3 stuff can be used on our vehicles, the Bilstein and KW catalogs have some options. Though in those cases I'd be worried about a possible lack of travel, spring rate, and/or damping in the rear, as I would with any kit that had parts in common with a much lighter vehicle.

Also... how eager should we really be to lower these cars with their strut front suspensions? Those geometries tend not to take lowering very well...
 
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Man, I wish Bilstein/KW/Öhlins etc. made kits for this platform.

Not to yuck anyone's yums, but of the options I've seen for this platform, the only one I'd even consider is the Fortune Auto 500. And even that is a big maybe. Anything at the BC tier and below, I've seen far too many mediocrities and nasty surprises on various platforms to go near it. Good suspension development is hard, and BC and the cheaper brands basically don't even try.

If Mazda(speed) 3 stuff can be used on our vehicles, the Bilstein and KW catalogs have some options. Though in those cases I'd be worried about a possible lack of travel in the rear, as I would with any kit that had parts in common with the Mazda3. One has to assume we have longer rear dampers for a reason, yeah? Someone please correct me if I'm wrong.

Also... how eager should we really be to lower these cars with their strut front suspensions? Those geometries tend not to take lowering very well...

Always good to have a counterpoint to keep over-eager minds in check lol. I hadn't considered something like this, and I've never upgraded a suspension system before.

Might take some investigating, which I am all for.
 
Always good to have a counterpoint to keep over-eager minds in check lol. I hadn't considered something like this, and I've never upgraded a suspension system before.

Might take some investigating, which I am all for.
Every time I think I know how complicated suspension is, I learn something else and realize it's way more complicated than I had thought.
 
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