Alignment with H&R sport springs

[paris1]

See what I deal with.

The price you pay for being a brilliant mechanical engineer Chris.

 

[paris1]

These are not the camber arms. These are at the bottom and they are called lateral links. Toe adjusters are at the rear of the wheel and these are at the front of the wheel.
The camber arm, is at the top of the wheel.

So why did you modify the lateral links when everyone else in the known universe is selling adjustable camber arms for this purpose?

 

[Chris_Top_Her]

So why did you modify the lateral links when everyone else in the known universe is selling adjustable camber arms for this purpose?

(uhm)At the time they weren't, actually. Camber arms for the cx5 have only been available for a few months now. And there are really only about 3 or so vebdors selling them, 1 of which is of cheaper construction. I remeber him mentioning this probably over 1.5 year ago, before he even had his C/S springs back when Maz style had modified the JBR mazda 3 camber arm for his cx5 (which might have been 2 yrs even) . And with Tibi working in metal fab and having access to a low price welder, he chose to take the cheaper route to achieve what he wanted. He obviously has a little know how to be able to have something like that made with that quality. People do it all the time in the car scene. Some people buy everything, others build. The "rear upper arm" as its called by the OEM is one way, not the only way to adjust camber.

 

[paris1]

Fair enough.

 

[PatrickGSR94]

Amen! Although he modified aftermarket, not OEM parts, the same holds true.

JBR has camber arms? I didn't know that.
I have modified the original lateral links, adding adjusters to them. It cost me half, then those camber arms.

 

[PatrickGSR94]

The arms are OEM. What I have put in there, are much stronger then the tube itself.
Believe me, I turn hard as hell and I did not have any issues yet. I push the gas, after I have reached half of the corner, not braking. I have also 20" wheels.
I have drove the car for well over a year now, since I have made the modification and no issues yet.

But you haven't done any sort of stress-failure testing. How do you KNOW that what you put in is stronger? You took solid welded pieces, added a bunch of rotational points being held by friction basically, and replaced the middle part of a tubular steel arm with a smaller, solid, threaded arm. Tubes are stronger than solid bars, especially larger tubes compared to smaller bars. So how exactly do you KNOW that what you added is stronger than the original arms?

I mean maybe it doesn't even matter on street use. Maybe it would only be an issue in a race-type environment, subjected to race car level forces. But without proper testing, there's really no way to know.

 

[tibimakai]

You are right, I don't know, I just assume. I have been in the machining business for many years and I can guestimate something like this.
These adjusters & bungs are made for all kind of purposes, most likely for racing and I will be using them on the street. In my opinion I should be fine.
I was a bit scared in the beginning, but the more I ride the more confident I became. I take really hard turns, once I have even hit the sidewalk.

 

[Chris_Top_Her]

I take really hard turns, once I have even hit the sidewalk.

(cryhard) sounds like you need to work on your suspension lol time to get rid of those corksport and grab a fsb

 

[PatrickGSR94]

Theoretically, a smaller FSB or even none at all will impart more tire grip. More body roll, but more tire grip before the tires break loose. I know AutoX guys do it all the time, disconnect the FSB, before an event.

 

[marc1111]

Thanks! Ordered them from Amazon along with the H&R springs. Prices seemed to be within a couple bucks from most sources. Will install them in the next 2 weeks. I think the car looks awful with the stock suspension height and non-flush track width. I don't like the stock rims either so will swap them out as soon as I find some cool, reasonably priced rims.

Will continue to watch this thread to see if there is anything else I should do, but so far seems like it's okay to leave everything else as is.

20mm front & 25mm rear

http://www.mazdas247.com/forum/show...ock-19in-wheels-sizes&highlight=wheel+spacers

 

[marc1111]

Okay guys, I just got a quote from a mechanic to do my H&R springs and wheel spacers. He estimated it would be 2 hours per corner at $110/hr, so $900 just for this work.

Seems exorbitant to me, is that quote reasonable?

 

[paris1]

If he knows what he's doing, shouldn't take more than 4 hours.

 

[Chris_Top_Her]

Wtf $900.... $300 at best, 200 is better.. if those spacers require bolting to the hub yea thats extra work but it requires the same parts to be removed. I would say $400 is a high price, with a low of $200. You just gotta call around. Try performance shops, and shops that sell aftermarket whels, often they do springs and lift kits etc

 

[tibimakai]

You don't have wheels yet, why would you want to put those spacers up now. I would hold off buying them for now. Aftermarket wheels, will have a lower offset and then you won't be able to use those spacers.
$900??? $350 with alignment. I have done mine in the garage, in less then 5:30 hours, did not rush at all. No special air tools, or anything like that.

 

[Mondo]

Spacers are cheap and take 5 minutes each to install, tops. $200-$400 sounds reasonable for swapping out springs & alignment.

 

[marc1111]

Okay, thanks guys. I knew that sounded ridiculous. I also have an E46 M3 which I am doing the same thing on, and I called shops known for doing bimmers, so I could do both cars, but I don't think that level of 'service' is required for this little bit of work. I will call around for a better price.

Tibimaki, I just bought the CX5 used, only has 8000 miles and the tires look like they will last a long time, and I haven't found wheels I like yet. Am in no rush to get the new wheels unless I find exactly what I want at right price (I'm cheap, looking for something like Vossen CV5 imitation posted by another member), so I am okay with the stock rims for a while. They don't look too bad, just boring. I can sell the spacers on here when I'm done, I imagine.

 

[paris1]

If your getting rear camber get these Hardrace. Much better construction (forged and milled, vs mandrel bent and welded) and have already read about problems with the exposed spherical joint on the jbr. http://www.buyhardrace.com/product/hardrace-rear-camber-arms-harden-rubber-12-14-cx-5_324.html

It appears that Megan camber bars are exactly the same as Hardrace, are more widely sold and at lower prices.

 

[Chris_Top_Her]

It appears that Megan camber bars are exactly the same as Hardrace, are more widely sold and at lower prices.

Yes, Megan Racing imports directly from Hardrace. I think they are out of California. But they don't offer everything that Hardrace does. In this case, the Megan part may be cheaper, but buyhardrace.com is just a vendor (velocity speedshop in florida), so price may be cheaper elsewhere.

 

[paris1]

Yes, Megan Racing imports directly from Hardrace. I think they are out of California. But they don't offer everything that Hardrace does. In this case, the Megan part may be cheaper, but buyhardrace.com is just a vendor (velocity speedshop in florida), so price may be cheaper elsewhere.

So Megan (and presumably Hardrace) offer the camber arms and toe control arms as a set. If I'm only lowered 1.5" (actually 1.75" in the rear w/H&R), am I going to be able to get adequate rear toe with the OE adjusters if I only use the camber arms to regain proper camber settings? 2WD Touring on stock 17s. No other mods.

 

[Chris_Top_Her]

You can get factory toe with stock toe hardware. I get factory toe spec with my coilovers.