Bilstein PSS-10 Ride height

G

George Patches

Member
:
2013 Mazda2 Touring
Just had bilsteins installed on the car yesterday, quite a difference. I'm loving the performance, but ride will take adjusting too. Lowering the tire pressures back to near stock definitely helped a bit. However, I have a question about the ride height and what other people have experienced.

So I set the equipment to the max specified in the Bilstein papers. The shop that turned out the rears to the end of the threads, so it looked lowered in the front and near stock in the back. I lowered the rear to max height recommended by Bilstein and now it looks a lot better. Stock it seemed about 25 3/8 all around, but the front is now about 23 3/4 and the rear 24 3/4. So it seems like to get the car balanced like it was stock I'm gonna have to crank the rear all the way to the end of it's adjustment. Was this other people's experience? Is there something I'm overlooking to get the height more balanced? Right now I can only explain this by the fact that the kit was really designed for the Fiesta, which is heavier and 4 inches longer.
 
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From what I remember mine is at 23.75 in the front and I think 24 in the rear. The big thing I did was cut the 1.5" off the rear bump stop. This helped with the ride quality a lot. Luckily for me I use my stock wheels for my autocross tires, and I DD on my Miata's 14" wheels and that extra sidewall helps a lot as well. From what I remember in the front the spring purches are near the top of the shock, and the rears are about 1/2" or maybe an inch from the top of the adjuster.

I have a bunch of information about how I set me car up here in my build thread. Post 23 is a good starting point since that is when I got the coilovers.

http://www.mazdas247.com/forum/showthread.php?123830138-ZPS-Build-Thread/page2
 
If the rear was was 1/2" from the top of the adjuster, then I still have a ways to go to get to where you are. There's an inch and a quarter now on my car. Also, if my measurements are right, you're at or near the lowest point Bilstein recommends. Did you have to loosen the torsion beam bushings or anything?
 
Your numbers make sense. Your car is 3/4" taller in the rear which is why yours is 1.25". I am at 1/2" so mine is 3/4" lower which is reflected in the height difference.

I doubt I am at the bottom end of their specs since my fronts are basically adjusted as high as they can go. You don't need to change anything to go lower. The suspension goes lower when it moves over bumps and such. If anything it moves more probably with the stock suspension since it is so soft.
 
Well I mean that Bilstein specs a height adjustment range and it's not right to the end of the threads with the rear. They spec 30mm from the body sheet metal to the underside of the adjustment nut, which is about the 1/2" gap you have (and I have on the drivers side and will soon have on the passenger side).
 
If you lower it you will be on the bump stops though which is why I cut mine. That is what helped with the ride.
 
I would offer to measure the B-Spec 2 (I drove it to work for fun today) but they run different springs with the kit so the comparison would not be very good.

-Derrick
 
zps2004 said:
If you lower it you will be on the bump stops though which is why I cut mine. That is what helped with the ride.
Click to expand...
I suppose that explains the extreme firmness in the rear when I went over a 1/2" concrete drop in my driveway. :p Thanks for the tip with the bump stops, I'll get to that as soon as I can.
 
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The Bilsteins will also loosen up a bit after 50 miles or so. The first couple miles were interesting....<LOL >

John
 
Racebrewer said:
The Bilsteins will also loosen up a bit after 50 miles or so. The first couple miles were interesting....LOL

John
Click to expand...
I covered 70 miles the night I picked it up. Highway miles on rough I-66 so it was getting a good cycle work out.

I definitely see what you mean ZPS about it resting on the bump stops, it's just completely sitting on them. I see from your thread that these things are freaking enormous as far as bump stops go, any idea what their spring rate is? I like the idea of shortening them, but I'm hesitant to cut them as I want to retain the stock suspension components in case I want to return to stock some day. Any idea what the minimum length for the bump stop would have to be to not damage the shock? I'm looking at trying FCM 76mm bump stops.
 
Whelp, looks like the ABS sensor wires got attached incorrectly and were eaten by the tires. My dash has lit up like a christmas tree, hopefully new sensors won't be too hard to source. I just need to figure out how I'm going to attach them.
 
George Patches said:
I suppose that explains the extreme firmness in the rear when I went over a 1/2" concrete drop in my driveway. :p Thanks for the tip with the bump stops, I'll get to that as soon as I can.
Click to expand...

You basically have to take the entire "marshmallow" off leaving only the stock ridge for the rear shock dust boot to mount.

My ride height is rear comlete bottomed out on rear adjuster, and front lowered enough to even it out minus a 1/4" for rake. Measures 23 3/4" front and 24" rear with the stock wheel and tires mounted.
 
George Patches said:
Whelp, looks like the ABS sensor wires got attached incorrectly and were eaten by the tires. My dash has lit up like a christmas tree, hopefully new sensors won't be too hard to source. I just need to figure out how I'm going to attach them.
Click to expand...

The clips that came with the kit are quite good, just need to route the wires tighter to the strut.

The 225 Rivals ate though my front also. They are an easy fix..Just solder and shrink tube them. The wiring loom shrink tubing is available from most electrical and automotive stores. Get the 1/8" sleeves. Hrbor Freight has them also.
 
I'm more inclined to simply replace them with new sensors. I'll attempt to repair them as a last resort as I need the car working tomorrow for work.
 
one of mine split too, when you attach them put the area of wire with the thicker rubber around it inside the zip-tie. On the stock strut there is a little groove that the wire fits into, at that point the abs wire has a really thick rubber boot on it, just under the thickest point right before it expands out is where you wanna mount it.

I'm not sure if this makes sense, so i drew a picture, make it look like this:

http://i.imgur.com/KcvJT7E.png
 
molex7 said:
one of mine split too, when you attach them put the area of wire with the thicker rubber around it inside the zip-tie. On the stock strut there is a little groove that the wire fits into, at that point the abs wire has a really thick rubber boot on it, just under the thickest point right before it expands out is where you wanna mount it.

I'm not sure if this makes sense, so i drew a picture, make it look like this:

http://i.imgur.com/KcvJT7E.png
Click to expand...

That's the way they attached it, but it the clip seems to have rotated until the wire above was rubbing on the tire. I think I'm gonna snip it out and zip tie it to the post directly and then put two more zip ties top and bottom to hold it sort of parallel to the strut.
 
George Patches said:
That's the way they attached it, but it the clip seems to have rotated until the wire above was rubbing on the tire. I think I'm gonna snip it out and zip tie it to the post directly and then put two more zip ties top and bottom to hold it sort of parallel to the strut.
Click to expand...

that sounds like it would work, as long as there is enough slack for it to handle road force.
 
I just measured my car. The front are at 23.25" and the rear is at 24" from the ground to the top of the fender arch.
 
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