Hardrace LCA's, anyone else try em yet?

T

tap'n'die

Member
All i could find about them (Hardrace part number 6261) on this forum is this;

http://www.mazdas247.com/forum/showthread.php?123736363-Hardrace

So either they are not very popular or the search engine isn't working for me.

Anyway, I installed a pair on my daily driven P5 and I am very pleased with them so far, but I haven't had the chance to try them with sticky rubber yet so I don't know how good they will feel with summer tires.


They come in pairs, got mine from dohcgarage on ebay.

Here's how they arrived, neatly packed with plenty of bubble wrap inside;


Seen from the top;


seen from below;



As you can see in the pictures, they look quite similar to stock units, the rubber does feel considerably stiffer to me though, and my car has never felt better.

One thing worries me though, and this is why I care to hear from other users; I am surprised to find no perceivable harshness I typically experienced when going to polyurethane bushings in the past. (I know these are rubber, but said to be harder) Only when I mount my sticky tires next summer will I know how much better they are over stock.

So... Anyone try them, and how do you like them?
 
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hmm...your actually the first i've heard to have them lol
not alot of people run any hard race stuff because i guess its hard to find?
not sure, looks to be pretty decent quality

how much did you pay if you dont mind me asking?
 
justanothermp5 said:
hmm...your actually the first i've heard to have them lol
not alot of people run any hard race stuff because i guess its hard to find?
not sure, looks to be pretty decent quality

how much did you pay if you dont mind me asking?
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$266 (USD) shipped to Montreal Quebec (Canada) probably a bit less for USA buyers.

I got mine from Dohcgarage on ebay; he sells a lot of hardrace stuff but didn't have a listing for the 6261's so I messaged him and asked him to create a listing for me which he did.

I emailed him today asking to create a new link so that I may post it here and on the Canadian forum as if these things keep performing as good as I think they will, they will be selling like hotcakes.
 
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pw~mp5 said:
Are the ball joints replaceable?
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They always are replaceable (stock ones too) but you need a bearing press to get the old ones out and the new ones in.

Still, since these come with perfectly good ball joints, and are priced competitively; when my ball joints get worn you can be sure I'll order full LCA's to get fresh bushings at the same time, wouldn't you?
 
still loving my LCA's... They feel so nice and tight, car hasn't felt this good since I own it.

Of course I am still on my winter tires so I still haven't been able to find enough grip to really load up the bushings but so far so good.


I can't help but wonder though; when I got the car it had good OEM LCA's, but it's been so long... when they got worn I replaced them with aftermarket "oem like" cheap crap. This was a small improvement over the worn out OEM's but was 1) not as stiff as i'd have liked and 2) very short lived (became mushy in a couple of days)

Because of this, it's hard for me to know for sure if the hardrace ones are really much better than brand new mazda OEM's or, just the same... Either way installing them was the best improvement my car got in a long time and i'm inclined to thinking that they are in fact better than stock.

still i'd like more of you guy's feedback on them to see if I'm just imagining things or if they really are better than brand new mazda originals, so if/when you do try them, please report back and tell me what you think of them!
 
Hah, another Quebecer!

tap'n'die, what was the first aftermarket brand that you bought? I got a set of Beck/Arnley ones that I recently returned because they were complete garbage. Now I'm considering getting these over the Raybestos ones just because I don't trust the Raybestos ones...

Also, did it say on the package where they're made?
 
CheeseHelmet said:
Hah, another Quebecer!

tap'n'die, what was the first aftermarket brand that you bought? I got a set of Beck/Arnley ones that I recently returned because they were complete garbage. Now I'm considering getting these over the Raybestos ones just because I don't trust the Raybestos ones...

Also, did it say on the package where they're made?
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Hey fellow Montrealer, merry Christmas! You might know me as aflipz in the CMQ forum if you're a member there too.

The hardrace are made in Taiwan, I suspect they are the same company that produces the stuff that megan racing relabels as their own (all their other products appear to be identical)

The LCA's I've had on the P5 before these were stock mazda oem (already somewhat weakened when I got them) followed by "chassis pro" which were GARBAGE right out of the box.

Honestly, so far I think these hardrace LCA's are the best we can get at the moment (springtime will confirm this I am sure of it now) If any of my friends were in need of replacement LCA's I'd recommend these over the others I've tried without hesitating. The more I drive them the more I like them, it's just the soft sidewalls and limited grip prevents me from being able to push them to the limit and see where their limit actually is, but the feeling I get from them at this point has me convinced they will be great. Certainly better than anything else we have access to. Let's be realistic; AWR's pillowball all reinforced LCA's look great for racing on a surface smooth as a pool table but daily driven year round in Montreal? All your teeth would get knocked loose and your wristwatch mechanisms would keep breaking lol
 
tap'n'die said:
Hey fellow Montrealer, merry Christmas! You might know me as aflipz in the CMQ forum if you're a member there too.

The hardrace are made in Taiwan, I suspect they are the same company that produces the stuff that megan racing relabels as their own (all their other products appear to be identical)

The LCA's I've had on the P5 before these were stock mazda oem (already somewhat weakened when I got them) followed by "chassis pro" which were GARBAGE right out of the box.

Honestly, so far I think these hardrace LCA's are the best we can get at the moment (springtime will confirm this I am sure of it now) If any of my friends were in need of replacement LCA's I'd recommend these over the others I've tried without hesitating. The more I drive them the more I like them, it's just the soft sidewalls and limited grip prevents me from being able to push them to the limit and see where their limit actually is, but the feeling I get from them at this point has me convinced they will be great. Certainly better than anything else we have access to. Let's be realistic; AWR's pillowball all reinforced LCA's look great for racing on a surface smooth as a pool table but daily driven year round in Montreal? All your teeth would get knocked loose and your wristwatch mechanisms would keep breaking lol
Click to expand...

I'm not an active CMQ member, but I went and took a look at your thread (lol - "les rotules sont lousses et les bushings sont mous comme du kraft dinner trop cuit").

I'm still debating what to do, rockauto still doesn't have the raybestos LCAs in stock and Hardrace hasn't gotten back to me about where I can buy their parts (besides ebay). There's also the option of buying new bushings from Mazda and having them pressed into my existing LCAs. However, at close to 170,000KM my ball joints are probably a few potholes away from needing replacement.

I'm not looking for "performance" parts, I want to buy from a company with a bit of quality control without having to shell out $200+tax per arm at Mazda. Hardrace seems to be the best option if they're as good as you say they are, I just don't want to have to be changing them out after 6 months of use because of some bad ball joints. Especially since the ones I have now still work (albeit in need of new bushings).
 
CheeseHelmet said:
I'm not an active CMQ member, but I went and took a look at your thread (lol - "les rotules sont lousses et les bushings sont mous comme du kraft dinner trop cuit").

I'm still debating what to do, rockauto still doesn't have the raybestos LCAs in stock and Hardrace hasn't gotten back to me about where I can buy their parts (besides ebay). There's also the option of buying new bushings from Mazda and having them pressed into my existing LCAs. However, at close to 170,000KM my ball joints are probably a few potholes away from needing replacement.

I'm not looking for "performance" parts, I want to buy from a company with a bit of quality control without having to shell out $200+tax per arm at Mazda. Hardrace seems to be the best option if they're as good as you say they are, I just don't want to have to be changing them out after 6 months of use because of some bad ball joints. Especially since the ones I have now still work (albeit in need of new bushings).
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I found another member here that installed his (hardrace) LCA's over a year ago and seemed to love them then, he seems like a pretty discerning fellow, runs 95 durometer engine mounts which in my book gives him some cred :) I PM'd him about how he likes them now, maybe that'll help you decision (and increase my long term confidence in my so far great experience with them)
 
tap'n'die said:
he seems like a pretty discerning fellow, runs 95 durometer engine mounts which in my book gives him some cred :)
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That only tells me that he's a bit of a masochist :p

I really have a low threshold for any weird vibrations/noises, I'm more interested in having a reliable daily driver. Adding performance parts to an N/A P5 seems silly to me, the reason I'm interested in the LCAs is because you say they're of good quality and comparable to the feel of OEM parts (and almost half the price).
 
CheeseHelmet said:
That only tells me that he's a bit of a masochist :p

I really have a low threshold for any weird vibrations/noises, I'm more interested in having a reliable daily driver. Adding performance parts to an N/A P5 seems silly to me, the reason I'm interested in the LCAs is because you say they're of good quality and comparable to the feel of OEM parts (and almost half the price).
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I actually am now quite certain that they are a good bit firmer than OEM's (after throwing around a couple of corners with irregular Montreal grade tarmac over the last couple of days I can now say that with a bit more confidence)


But, I think you'd be quite pleased with them; no harshness at all, just benefits with no undesirable side effects (unlike 88+ duro engine mounts... don't get me wrong I dig the harshness, I just know it's not everyone's cup of tea)

Hey don't be dissin' NA's... my severely weight reduced P5 goes like stink below highway speeds, and it's getting an FS-ZE in the spring which should put it well in front of most mild boosted P5's out there running full interiors and sound systems...
 
lol i think you over-estimate the power the fs-ze will get you, remember, its 170 crank hp
mildly boosted protege's running 8-9 psi on the stock t25 will be making 180-190 whp, so you'll have a hard time keeping up

unless your interior is completly gutted...which i dont think would make much of a difference
 
tap n' die sorry for not getting back to your PM, yeah I have had them for a while and are working out well. As for the 95 duro they really are not that bad, i had them with my 1.6 in the old protege, and transferred them to the 1.8 in the new protege and the rear one and transmission inserts stayed with the 2.5l and have 95 duro mx6 front ones now too. the v6 is by far the smoothest with them. As for the the guy saying he is more interested in a reliable daily driver. I drive my v6 swapped protege with 95duro mounts every day and since may have put on nearly 17k miles with no issues. If anything the mounts are going to make the car more reliable, since the stock mounts suck, and tear. This can cause cracking of the transmission casing, unneeded shifter movement, broken exhaust systems, cracked intake tubes(rubber ones of course). Just my .02 on the mounts. Im not saying its perfectly smooth and quiet but you get used to it and im sure the less stiff awr and similar mounts are better with vibrations and are a huge upgrade over stock.
 
tap'n'die said:
Hey don't be dissin' NA's... my severely weight reduced P5 goes like stink below highway speeds, and it's getting an FS-ZE in the spring which should put it well in front of most mild boosted P5's out there running full interiors and sound systems...
Click to expand...

Sorry, I was referring to a typical N/A P5 :)

I think you'd like my car, it lightens itself...what with all the metal that's rusting and falling off.
 
justanothermp5 said:
...
unless your interior is completly gutted...which i dont think would make much of a difference
Click to expand...


I meant stock MSP.

this is getting pretty far off topic, first off, the laws of physics DO apply to cars... Too many people neglect what a GIGANTIC difference taking 15% of the weigth off a car makes. (my car is totally gutted, and then some...)

Right off the bat I am smoking things I shouldn't be keeping up with. (there's a reason almost all categories of racing have weight limits, or weight penalties for overpowered cars)

Secondly, I was referring to a stock MSP, not even a mildly tuned one (though we'll see what's what around a short track...)

And finally, numbers lie... If I say one car makes 200hp and the other makes 170hp, the 200hp is faster right?

Depends how and where they make the power... if the 200hp car makes it at 5500 rpm and the 170hp car makes it at 6800 and both weigh the same and have the same gear ratios the outcome may be surprising when the 200hp car shifts into second dividing it's torque while the 170hp car keeps going in first for another 1300rpm.
 
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