figurefive
Member
- :
- 2010 Mazda 5 Grand Touring
My wife's '09 Mazda 5 GT had developed a clunk and a bit of an unusual shimmy/wiggle in the rear. With 60k miles on the odometer I figured it was a good time to put on some new shocks and sway bar bushings. Turned out I was right as upon removal I found the right rear shock had blown and was oozing grease onto the inner shaft.
I've been running FSDs on my VW R32 for 4 years and love them, so when my research showed that the FSDs for the Mazda 3 would work on our 5 I picked up a set (great price from THMotorsports here). Koni part number is 2100-4045.
The DIYs I found floating around the Internets combined with the similarity in design to my VW's Macpherson front suspension made the install a breeze. One thing I'd suggest for you Mazda guys that I didn't find in any of the DIYs is to fashion yourself a front strut spreader tool out of an 8-10 mm hex socket. Use a Dremel to grind it down into an oval and it will fit into the small gap just below where the strut sits in the steering knuckle. Give it a 90 degree twist with your socket wrench to open the knuckle and make pulling the strut out considerably easier. I had one from my VW install and it worked wonders.
The only hiccup I encountered was the threads on the rear shocks wouldn't take take the bolts from the Mazda's shock mounts. I had to run to Home Depot to pick up a couple of 8mm x 1.25 thread pitch nuts and lock washers.
With the FSDs the car rides so much smoother and flatter than it did stock. Even my wife (who is not a gear head or car girl in any way) could feel the improvement. The new sway bushings eliminated the clunks we had, so it rides like it's a new car once again.
If you're looking to replace your shocks/struts I really don't think you could do much better for this car than the Koni FSDs.
I've been running FSDs on my VW R32 for 4 years and love them, so when my research showed that the FSDs for the Mazda 3 would work on our 5 I picked up a set (great price from THMotorsports here). Koni part number is 2100-4045.
The DIYs I found floating around the Internets combined with the similarity in design to my VW's Macpherson front suspension made the install a breeze. One thing I'd suggest for you Mazda guys that I didn't find in any of the DIYs is to fashion yourself a front strut spreader tool out of an 8-10 mm hex socket. Use a Dremel to grind it down into an oval and it will fit into the small gap just below where the strut sits in the steering knuckle. Give it a 90 degree twist with your socket wrench to open the knuckle and make pulling the strut out considerably easier. I had one from my VW install and it worked wonders.
The only hiccup I encountered was the threads on the rear shocks wouldn't take take the bolts from the Mazda's shock mounts. I had to run to Home Depot to pick up a couple of 8mm x 1.25 thread pitch nuts and lock washers.
With the FSDs the car rides so much smoother and flatter than it did stock. Even my wife (who is not a gear head or car girl in any way) could feel the improvement. The new sway bushings eliminated the clunks we had, so it rides like it's a new car once again.
If you're looking to replace your shocks/struts I really don't think you could do much better for this car than the Koni FSDs.
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