2012 Mazda5 Lowered On H&R's!

Well I Went Ahead And Purchased The H&R's For The Mazda5, And It Is A Really Nice Ride With The Stock Struts.
I Haven't Bottomed Out, It's Not Bouncey Or To Harsh. It Feels Pretty Close To A Stock Mazdaspeed3, I Went And Test Drove One
After I Put The Springs On Just To Feel The Difference Between The Two. If I Had The Mazdaspeed3 Wheels And Tires It Would
Ride Alot Better, The Stock 16's Sidewalls Give, But Provide a Quieter Ride!

Got The H&R's From CorkSport And Purchased Their Black Extended LugNuts!

Also Showing The Difference In Stock Front Spring To H&R!

My Son Helped So He Got In The Pic Showing Off The Rear Springs After Install!

Looks great; nicely done!!

Looks great. Im thinking about picking up the H&R also.

Very nice. I would like to do this as well but never tried to install springs on my own. What tools would you say I need other than the spring compression tool? Did you have to get it re-aligned after the install? I am really not looking to lower the height of the vehicle on mine as I am looking for better handling only so I wonder if there's a H&R set that will comform to the factory height.

dieseldriver said:

Very nice. I would like to do this as well but never tried to install springs on my own. What tools would you say I need other than the spring compression tool? Did you have to get it re-aligned after the install? I am really not looking to lower the height of the vehicle on mine as I am looking for better handling only so I wonder if there's a H&R set that will comform to the factory height.

Click to expand...

Shouldn't have to realign the rears but the fronts will need it. Did you install the adjustable end links?

dieseldriver said:

Very nice. I would like to do this as well but never tried to install springs on my own. What tools would you say I need other than the spring compression tool? Did you have to get it re-aligned after the install? I am really not looking to lower the height of the vehicle on mine as I am looking for better handling only so I wonder if there's a H&R set that will comform to the factory height.

Click to expand...

This might help- it's for a 1G 5, but the overall suspension configuration is similar.
http://www.mazdas247.com/forum/show...R-Type-Coilovers-Mazda-5-(Review-and-Install)

chandlerGTi said:

Shouldn't have to realign the rears but the fronts will need it. Did you install the adjustable end links?

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You'll need to realign the whole car, not just the front.

Make sure you get the 52685 PN H&R springs. These are for the 2012-up Mazda 5s. The 2006-2010 have a different PN.

I am getting ready to put my H&Rs on my Mazda 5. I may just take off the front struts and have Pep Boys put the springs on for me. I just did this with my SRT-4 and they charged me $43 to swap the lowering springs on to my front struts. I really don't like messing with spring compressors. I think on the rears, once the rear is jacked up, if I unbolt the shock and swing the arm down the rears I believe will just come right out.

$43 isn't bad at all for labor to do a spring swap!

I just finished up installing the PN 52685 H&Rs on my 2012 Mazda 5.

I thought I'd write up some install tips because in searching for some before install I didn't find much. So some tips on the install.

FRONTS
- To get the front end up in the air safely, I first drove it up on my ramps. Then I was able to jack it from the center of the k-frame into the air and put the jack stands under the k-frame right inside where the inner control arm bushings reside at the edges of the k-frame.
- Once the front wheels are off, to get the struts off, disconnect the brake line from the strut (pull out clip, slide line down and out of the way). Disconnect stabilizer bar (15 mm) and move out of the way. Unplug ABS sensor. Remove bolt in pinch sleeve in bottom of strut. Take something large (like a jack handle) and place in the indentation in the knuckle right in front of the pinch sleeve. Pound on the jack handle and drive the knuckle pinch sleeve off the strut bottom. Then disconnect the top 3 strut bolts (NOTE - on the driver side you will need to take off 2 10mm nuts and swing the reservoir out of the way) and drop the strut out.
- The front springs are not bad to get off using spring compressors. I bought a set of Powerbuilt spring compressors for $30. These have u-bolts with threaded ends that secure to the spring. I felt much more comfortable using these. As always, BE VERY CAREFUL using spring compressors. Put them on opposite sides of the springs. Make sure the u-bolts are tightened down. Do a few turns on one side, and a few turns on the other, trying to keep them equal.
- When reassembling, the H&R lowering spring does not need to be compressed. Just put it on the strut and you can put the mount on. Make sure you get the upper strut mount on correctly. It has a little tab at the back of strut mount that goes towards the back.
- The bottom of the strut goes back into the aforementioned pinch sleeve. It is a TIGHT fit. What I found works best is some WD-40 or silicone lubricant on the strut and inside of the sleeve. Put one of the upper strut bolts in. Put the strut bottom in the pinch sleeve. Work the knuckle back and forth some and get the strut about a 1/4 inch in. Make sure the back tang on the strut is sliding through the opening in the pinch sleeve. Then put the other upper strut mount bolts in and tighten them down snug. Put a floor jack under the control arm and jack up on the arm until it starts to come up. The tap LIGHTLY on the knuckle. The strut should start dropping little by little into the pinch sleeve.

REAR SPRINGS
- There is a plate under the rear that I put the floor jack on. Once in the air, I put the jack stands under the cross member. You want the rear end up reasonably high to get the springs out. I used large 6 TON jack stands for this with them raised up one notch. I like these bigger jack stands for jobs like this because I think they are much more stable than the regular size stands raised several notches.
- After the rear wheels are off, disconnect the rear stabilizer bar from both rear trailing arms at the top. It will spin after you first loosen it. To get it off, a metric allen socket can be used to hold the stud so you can get the nut off. Push the sway bar down and forward towards the front of the car.
- Put a jack under the rear trailing arm where it connects to the knuckle, raise it just enough so it makes contact. Take the 17 mm bolt out. Then drop the jack slowly and it will get low enough so the spring just falls out.
- When you install the rear H&Rs, the dead coils (the ones that are really close together) go on the TOP.
- To get trailing arm back into where it mounts, you will probably have to push the jack forward a bit as you jack the arm back into place. The arm, once out of the knuckle, pushes back a bit and won't line up without a bit of pressure pushing it forward as you raise it.

Hopefully this is of help. I've attached a pic of the finished product.

H&R coils

Very nice job to all that ventured into the fray of compressing springs on a Sunday afternoon and lived to tell about it, I myself will have my local shop do it for me due to time constraints plus I know the owner he's a friend of the family. However, this is what I was thinking and I wanted an honest opinion, on my Mazda5 Touring the 17 inchers look fine as far as stock looks, but I was thinking, if I were to get larger, wider tires with a lower profile, would that be about the same as lowering the vehicle with let's say these H&R coils?? I know that getting wider tires is the faster, cheaper thing to do to get a vehicle to stick to the road a bit more, if I get these springs installed the labor isn't very cheap, but I can always order a set of aftermarket wheels with tires in the mail for cheap and bolt on myself. Any idea? Opinions? Honestly I saw the one pic of the guy that lowered his 5 but kept the stock wheels, and I have to say it's missing something man, i'm afraid that if I lower my 5 then I will be restricted to stock sized wheels due to possible wheel rub in the front. My purpose: to eliminate most (hopefully all if possible) of the body roll.

ukulele said:

Very nice job to all that ventured into the fray of compressing springs on a Sunday afternoon and lived to tell about it, I myself will have my local shop do it for me due to time constraints plus I know the owner he's a friend of the family. However, this is what I was thinking and I wanted an honest opinion, on my Mazda5 Touring the 17 inchers look fine as far as stock looks, but I was thinking, if I were to get larger, wider tires with a lower profile, would that be about the same as lowering the vehicle with let's say these H&R coils?? I know that getting wider tires is the faster, cheaper thing to do to get a vehicle to stick to the road a bit more, if I get these springs installed the labor isn't very cheap, but I can always order a set of aftermarket wheels with tires in the mail for cheap and bolt on myself. Any idea? Opinions? Honestly I saw the one pic of the guy that lowered his 5 but kept the stock wheels, and I have to say it's missing something man, i'm afraid that if I lower my 5 then I will be restricted to stock sized wheels due to possible wheel rub in the front. My purpose: to eliminate most (hopefully all if possible) of the body roll.

Click to expand...

Spring installation really isn't that big of a deal... if you can change your oil, you can stretch to swap your springs.

Wider tires with a lower profile won't do anything to lower your car unless you get something in an overall diameter that's too small. Ordering pre-mounted wheels/tires is pretty easy to do- I do it all the time.

If your purpose is to reduce body roll, putting on stickier tires without modifying your suspension to match will only INCREASE your body roll. You'll have more grip, so you'll be able to turn harder, which means your car will lean more. The only way to reduce lean is to work on the suspension itself, and not just the springs.

Having driven mine for a bit now with the lowering springs, there is a definite noticeable difference in ride and handling. The ride is definitely stiffer and choppier. I don't find it uncomfortable though. The handling though is much improved, even with the stock 205 55 16s I have on my car. If you already have 205 50 17s on your car I would think the handling with lowering springs would be that much better. Are the stock 205 50 17s the touring pkg comes with V or Z rated?

If you are uncomfortable about doing the springs, my local Pep Boys did the springs on my SRT-4 front struts for $42. On the SRT-4, there were not enough coils on each side to really compress it well. I did not have this problem using the Powerbuilt spring compressor on the Mazda 5 front springs. Again, the Powerbuilt had u-bolts that bolted to the springs, I felt much safer using this kind of spring compressor.

ScottSXT said:

Having driven mine for a bit now with the lowering springs, there is a definite noticeable difference in ride and handling. The ride is definitely stiffer and choppier. I don't find it uncomfortable though. The handling though is much improved, even with the stock 205 55 16s I have on my car. If you already have 205 50 17s on your car I would think the handling with lowering springs would be that much better. Are the stock 205 50 17s the touring pkg comes with V or Z rated?

If you are uncomfortable about doing the springs, my local Pep Boys did the springs on my SRT-4 front struts for $42. On the SRT-4, there were not enough coils on each side to really compress it well. I did not have this problem using the Powerbuilt spring compressor on the Mazda 5 front springs. Again, the Powerbuilt had u-bolts that bolted to the springs, I felt much safer using this kind of spring compressor.

Click to expand...

I will have to check the tires, honestly I would say they are rated as "YOU CRAZY IF YOU THINK YOU CAN GO OVER 65MPH WITH THESE RECYCLED PENCIL ERASERS" but I don't think that's an actual rating. As far as Pep Boys, I trust them as much as my local politicians. I have had very bad experiences at Pep Boys as well as Autozone, sometimes you get lucky, sometimes you get the kid that likes to screw up people's cars for fun. I'd rather have someone that has worked on cars all their life as a career do it. I would do it myself but have seen too many YouTube videos of what happens when you improperly compress a spring and it goes flying across the shop, I need my head and not looking to lose it for a car, have 2 kids to feed man, LoL.

But my point is I need diff wheels the stock wheels are fine for winter but there is a guy on here who slapped MS3 wheels on his 5 and it is OFF DA HOOOOOK! You've probably seen it. But was wondering what happens when you lower the 5 and also put on then MS3 wheels I mean I'm not looking to blow probably almost 2 grand on 4 new MS3 wheels only to find out there are issues with the fronts, i.e., when turning the wheels all the way they hit the splash panels.

How's the original shocks holding on these H&R springs so far guys?

No issue but I don't have many miles on my install.

After Driving On Them For More Then 5K Miles, I Think They Ride Perfect. The Stock Shocks Are Holding Up Well.

Getting Ready To Put On KSport Coilovers, Corksport Rear SwayBar And A Set Of 18x8" Wheels, Then We Will See How It Rides Then.

Have you had a chance to carry a load and see how it feels then?

Oh Yes, I've Had Tons Of Heavy Loads With Them. My Heaviest Load Was When I Took A Trip To Gainsville For A UF Game With The Back Stacked To The Roof, And the Ride Was Good.

SPORK

Any reason you upgraded from the H&R to the coilovers?