MAZDA5 front sway bar?

MR6 said:

First, follow phunky's write up. I've been following it to install my very own BC coils this past week. I hope to finish up by the weekend...here's the link to his thread.
http://www.mazdas247.com/forum/show...BR-Type-Coilovers-Mazda-5-(Review-and-Install

BTW, Phunky, i didn't ask for them but mine also came with the camber plates up front. I followed your technique to the letter and it worked like a charm. 2 hours later and i had ONE hole cut. lol I start the other one tomorrow. OP, did yours come with camber plates???

So in addition to the BC coils, i also went with the SPC rear adjustable control arms to deal with the infamous rear camber issues while i had everything apart. Be wary though, the driver side is a b**** to install. If you do decide to do the arms, let me save you 5 hours and a bunch of cursing. Just drop the rear cross member on the driver side to clear the upper bolt to remove the control arm.[/URL]

I'm also converting the front brakes to MS3 spec....(breakn)

Click to expand...

I did ask for the camber plates, but was told that they were going to come with the coilovers anyway and that they weren't any different from the 3 configuration except for spring rates. In any case, it was no extra cost to include them.

I didn't want to drop the rear crossmember- I cut off the exhaust hanger that was in the way. 2 minutes with a cutter and done.

MS3 brakes are next for me too. Very soon.

Premacy5 said:

The most common problem is the spring adjuster collar became frozen. You need to take them apart and lube/put antiseize to prevent this. Some are made with low quality alloy that they are eaten by road salts that are widely used to prevent road icing.

I seen quite a few bargain coilover broke the spindle mount causing the wheel to collapse. Can you imagine what happen if that happen at highway speed.

I seen the seal got blown when used in really cold weather. Some bargain coil over use cheap fluid that thicken quite considerably during cold weather and you end up with blown shock.

Most coilover need to be rebuild a lot more often to maintain performance. Most needing rebuild every 24-36 k miles. They might still work but you would notice performance degrade quite a bit compared to new.

Hope that clears the confusion. I would never consider coil over for daily driver. Your experience might be different if you never encounter harsh winter condition.

Click to expand...

I actually needed to lock my adjusters with Loctite- they kept moving.

I've never had coilovers needing rebuilds THAT often, even when companies have told me that their hardware needed rebuilds every certain amount of miles. Maybe it's because I'm in Texas.

MR6 said:

I hope you're not saying BC is a "bargain" coilover. I did my research and guys are tracking BC's on S2000's and the like and giving them rave reviews. And I'd rank the build quality on these as good or better than anything i've run or installed. And I'm comparing them to Bilstein, KW, Tein, and H&R. Yeah their priced right at $1k but i've seen true bargain crap at $6-700. These BC coils seem top notch. I may change my tune after driving on them but for now, i'm very pleased.

Click to expand...

BC is definitely a bargain coilover. I'm happy with mine, but they're not going anywhere near my S2000. The S2000 wears ASTs. BC > Raceland etc, but most are better. For the price, BC is a solid buy, but it's still definitely a bargain coilover.

eyeballs said:

BC's are a low-midrange coilover. Just because guys track them and give good reviews doesn't mean it is high end. Certainly a step up from the bottom of the barrel raceland type stuff. FM tuned v-maxx coilovers are super cheap (600-700) but tons of miata folks are happy with them. Quality, well tuned systems usually start at around $2k (AST, Ohlins, etc). BC dampers use a universal cartridge just like most other inexpensive systems, and similar to megan racing systems. Damping and spring rates are not going to be balanced, but work fairly well for most people in the market for a mid-range setup.

And as far as coilover failures go...the strut housing of a tanabe sustec pro coilover sheared apart on the track in my WRX. I'd say that's pretty catastrophic.

Click to expand...

Ouch.

phunky.buddha said:

I did ask for the camber plates, but was told that they were going to come with the coilovers anyway and that they weren't any different from the 3 configuration except for spring rates. In any case, it was no extra cost to include them.

I didn't want to drop the rear crossmember- I cut off the exhaust hanger that was in the way. 2 minutes with a cutter and done.

I actually needed to lock my adjusters with Loctite- they kept moving.

Click to expand...

I beat the living s*** outta the exhaust hanger but no go. At least the beating allowed me to drop the cross member less than it would've been. But doesn't your exhaust can hang lower?

I went for test drive and had a LOUD clinky rattling sound coming RIGHT where both the rear shocks attach. But it was sporadic...Turned out to be the adjusters. Definitely blue loctite on'em once i get it all sorted out. I hate how they did the "dual" adjustment on the rears

MR6 said:

I beat the living s*** outta the exhaust hanger but no go. At least the beating allowed me to drop the cross member less than it would've been. But doesn't your exhaust can hang lower?

I went for test drive and had a LOUD clinky rattling sound coming RIGHT where both the rear shocks attach. But it was sporadic...Turned out to be the adjusters. Definitely blue loctite on'em once i get it all sorted out. I hate how they did the "dual" adjustment on the rears

Click to expand...

Nope, there's something like one exhaust hanger every foot in the rear of the car, so the exhaust doesn't hang any lower than it did before- not that mine looked all that great stock. There is at least one more hanger aft of the upper control arm after cutting one of them loose.

I don't like the double adjustment either, but there's not really any way to do it in one spot on the rear since the spring/shock are separate.

Nice rides bro...

All done! BC coilovers, James Barone rear sway, K&N CAI... WOW! I have fallen in love all over again. Notes of a novice:

I feel a little clunking up front. Not sure what it is.
The ride feels much tighter, which takes a little getting used too.
CAI makes a big difference after 40mph
BC RACING on softest setting, still rather stiff, but the wagon has so much more grip it's scary.
No more bouncing after dips.

Next up, RX8 18" oem's, upgraded exhaust (not loud, like at all)
Roof rack and luggage basket
Then upgrading interior.

Thank you all so much for your input.

Congrats! Im running mine at +4 from full soft and it feels great. hadn't had a real chance to really drive her since I'm waiting for sway bar parts to finish up before I get an alignment.

the clunk is most likely the front sway bushings. if you want to test it, disconnect the end links and zip tie the bar to the van. there's two small holes in the area that to slide zip ties through. then drive it with bar disconnected and I bet you, like mine, the clunk will be gone. Bushings are one of the parts I'm waiting for.

Mind taking pics/measurements of the rear setup. I'm curious to know what heights you used on the shock and rear spring perch. I get an odd clunk in the rear when going over large speed bumps. I think I set my shocks too short and they feel like they run out of travel on the down stroke.

btw, eBay has a bunch of the 5 spoke rx8 wheels...

nellynell said:

all done! Bc coilovers, james barone rear sway, k&n cai... Wow! I have fallen in love all over again. Notes of a novice:

I feel a little clunking up front. Not sure what it is.
The ride feels much tighter, which takes a little getting used too.
Cai makes a big difference after 40mph
bc racing on softest setting, still rather stiff, but the wagon has so much more grip it's scary.
No more bouncing after dips.

Next up, rx8 18" oem's, upgraded exhaust (not loud, like at all)
roof rack and luggage basket
then upgrading interior.

Thank you all so much for your input.

Click to expand...

Pics!

Well, been 5 months since I installed the BC CO's and they are cool as sh*t! My wagon performs incredibly well. Totally in love. Ride is significantly stiffer, especially over those really harsh speed bumps, but all in all happy with the upgrades. She sits about 1.75" lower than before and everything works great, thanks everyone!

MR6 said:

Congrats! Im running mine at +4 from full soft and it feels great. hadn't had a real chance to really drive her since I'm waiting for sway bar parts to finish up before I get an alignment.

the clunk is most likely the front sway bushings. if you want to test it, disconnect the end links and zip tie the bar to the van. there's two small holes in the area that to slide zip ties through. then drive it with bar disconnected and I bet you, like mine, the clunk will be gone. Bushings are one of the parts I'm waiting for.

Mind taking pics/measurements of the rear setup. I'm curious to know what heights you used on the shock and rear spring perch. I get an odd clunk in the rear when going over large speed bumps. I think I set my shocks too short and they feel like they run out of travel on the down stroke.

btw, eBay has a bunch of the 5 spoke rx8 wheels...

Click to expand...

Me too, pics! What about the CAI. Did you upgrade any F/RSB?

I wanted to throw in here that I have just installed the CorkSport Mazda3 front sway bar on my 2013 Mazda5. As far as I can tell, no one else has written about it, as I could find nothing in months of searching. Had already done the RSB, but wanted things to be flatter in corners, especially with a family's worth of bikes on the top.

Install was pretty straightforward, only issue was that the billet brackets that Corksport provides were not drilled correctly for my bolt spacing - had to take off an extra 5mm in the bolt hole slot for the bracket to fit the 5. Was kind of annoyed, as this was about hour 2 1/2 of install and I was tired.

The ride is exactly what I wanted. I mount snow tires in the winter and didn't want to lower the 5 (though it does look goofy with the summer tires on 17s), but I wanted more predicatbility on the highway and turns. I had the Corksport RSB installed for about a year and that did give a nice amount of snappy oversteer, which the stiffer FSB negates, but overall, the handling is pretty great now. Next: ditch the Toyo Proxes!