Mazda5 YellowSpeed Dynamic Pro Sport (DPS) Coilover Review

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2008 Mazda5 GT
This post is for you loosenut. Appreciate all your helpful insights/contributions and since you are the only other person here curious about the YS, figure I share give full disclosure. You can read their marketing materials for the highlights. Ill try and fill in the on the devil in the details tidbit.

The DSP (bound adjustment) is the entry line, followed by Premium Comp (bound and rebound adjustment), and Club Performance (bound and rebound adjustment +remote reservoir) being the top. AFAIK, only the DSP is spec for a Mazda5 but I bet they can build any of the other two for the Mazda5 -for a price.

Firstly, some background. Theres a LOT of internet rumors on low budget COs floating out there and the common perception is that they are all the same. Hey, they do sorta look alike, functions the same, and cost about the same. It is hard to filter out fact from fiction and I dont have the tools to measure technical details so my feedback is based solely on my experience (butt dyno) and opinions/observations. Im sure I do not have all my info straight or may be misled in other areas so take this review with a grain of salt. When in doubt, investigate further yourself.


These are made in Taiwan. The promo video leads me to believe their manufacturing is not shared with another brand (but still could be). Most any other CO brand likely use the same or similar manufacturing process so theres nothing revolutionary in the video. It helps to reaffirm that they are willing/able to share some snippets of their process. Its cool to watch, kinda like the How Its Made show but without the commentary.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6VAlwARIpmo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=koMDPAL6Sek


This is my first time using a true full coilover system type setup. Right off the bat my judgment will be flawed. I will say coilover system is just a fancy term for shock/strut and spring that sit on an adjustable sleeve AND is matched for a particular setup a kit. In the case of these DSP, the shock bodies offer 33 way rebound adjustment but Ive read this not be what you think. This adjustment, like all other adjustable shocks (including Koni Yellows) are not meant for comfort or sporty adjustments. They are meant to dial in to match whatever spring rate you are using it with. You want the compression rate to match the spring. But since we all have different butt dynos and tolerances, it could lead to a comfort vs sport affect. Also, the more adjustment range equals more margin of error/correction need to get a proper left <> right match. All this adjustability sounds cool but it is really not desirable, just marketing ploy or enables the manufacture to make a universal cartidige ZING! Apparently, the biggest problem with shocks (any shocks) is that it is very difficult to get to matching pairs valve to function the same (example: in reality left shock set to 10 clicks actually equals Right at 12 clicks). The adjustability is there to allow you to MATCH left and right shocks BUT this is moot if you dont put them on a shock dyno to measure each click. Sadly, these do NOT come with a shock dyno out the box (most cheap/entry dont) and is not a good indicator. I associate this to audio where a quality amp will come with a birth certificate that shows exactly what it is tested/rated to do.



I wanted to go full CO b/c it comes system b/c they do come as a complete kit and can be easily installed. This avoid the need to replace/upgrade individual components which can add up quickly (bump stops, boots, mounts, bushings, etc.). The caveat is that it takes a bit of effort to adjust (which is uninstalling, dismantling, and reinstalling EVERYTIME) to properly tune to your liking or it may just be out of your range of liking altogether.

The kit springs are 8km/mm for both front and rear. The manual suggest 16 clicks front and 10 clicks rear for comfortable street conditions. I rode the first 1,500 miles with 0 clicks front and 10 clicks rear. I wanted to test the theory that softer setting = softer ride, right? WRONG! When set to 0 clicks (softest), it rides terrible on anything but well paved roads; which it does ride extremely nice. But once you hit any ill-regularities, theres a bit of movement to absorb the impact. It is particularly bad going over large speed bump causes the front to crashes unless you go very slowly. This is b/c the fonts only offer 3.5 of piston travel!! Take the 3.5 to heart b/c this is all you have. I set them to 14 clicks front and kept the rears at 10. It rides much better but can still be a tad rough on deep pot holes, which I will discuss a bit more later.



Heighlights: [u/]
PROS: My gut feeling is that YellowSpeed appear to be a genuine small shop that is trying to make a name for themselves. The build, cut, fit/finish of the product looks and feels really good. The gauge and heft of the individual components (metals/finishing) are above my expectations (not that my expectations has any bearing for anyone else). Looking at the end link attachment, this tab CANNOT be any beefier. Gauge is almost as thick as my Curt hitch! The welds are very clean and everything is oversized or over specd IMHO. Little things like using silicon dust boots, more robust bushing design, pillow ball top mount, needle roller thrust bearings (top) + thrust sheets (bottom), and box shaped camber adjustment for max camber range. REARS: YS decided to use 3 Y barreled springs for the rear. This means a thicker coil spring but less coils. The YS springs fits into the OE spring perch, unlike BC Racing which uses 2.5 springs and comes with an insert (3/4 thick??) that converts the 3 perch to 2.5. Ultimately this means the YS can drop lower. If you want slam your ride (and still ride nice), this has your name on it.

CONS: On the flip side, Im guessing these are indeed universal cartridges that can be used on many applications. It also seems they are using some generic parts such as the shock mount, which lacks the alignment plate/notch that goes into the knuckle and they do not include the ABS line mount: specific attributes to the Model car. BC took the time to add these. Their solution for the brake line mount is an after though (I didnt use it), and the end link mounting tab is wrong, comes out at a 45deg with a round end instead of vertical with a flat end. I have come across some suspension tuning posts explaining how some shock body designs omit some of these clips/tabs -on purpose-, you decide. I dont buy it. The front needle roller bearings are FANTASTIC when new and for a track user but 1001% impractical for winters. They will freeze up bank on it. Unless you like to take it apart and clean or change it every year, these are NOT a practical long term solution. Not an issue for the Arizonian/Dan Diego-ian. Ill discuss more on how I work around this. Front shocks only offer 3.5 of travel before hitting bump. Take this too heart. There really isnt much travel to work with. On relatively smooth roads, this is MORE than enough and paired with the 8K kit springs is perfectly street able except when you hit a bad pothole. When you hit a deep bump (not hump) at slow speed OR a moderately deep pot hole at hwy speed (drag pulls car down so you have even less bump travel), it generates too much force for the spring/shock to transition with only 3.5 travel. The kit setup seem to strive for 50% bump / 50% droop. Rears off 4.5 which is more than enough for this application. I changed mine to ~60% bump/ 40% (every little bit helps!) droop and it rides nicer and more likely avoids crashing unless I hit the deepest of the deep potholes. More on this later.

Final Thoughts on buying YS:
It will be a very hard endeavor for them to make a name of themselves considering all the established/recognized names out there. All the misinformation and generalization doesnt help. Additionally, there are other (undercut) priced competitive alternatives out there as well. Coincidently, I couldnt find much, if any, technical detail on YellowSpeeds US site but stumbled across their EU site, which has MUCH details and product offering. I think this is due to their EU site being the sole sales distribution channel, unlike the US which goes through a distributor. Another poor rating is their lack of support. Tired emailing them 5 times to different accounts but only got a response once which only directly me to the distributor... I think this goes directly with their lack of presence in the US or lack of English?. Heck, I had to dig into their Europe site to get the parts diagram and other helpful info. Never looked to see if they have a Taiwan site (google translate?). On the flip side, Taiwan is one of the few places where therere LOTs of Mazda 5s! :D

I change out the roller bearings to eibach thrust sheets (also have swift sheets), swapped the 8 @ 450 lbs front springs to 9 @ 550 lbs eibach ERS springs. 9 springs has more travel than the shocks so need to preload it more but end result is a better ride to me. Left the rears alone. This is not something for soccer moms and dads but if you have sporty driving intentions, you will like these. If you want to slam, you will LOVE these. I would say the ride is taught, not stiff. Think of it as though you are riding in an M3/M5. Kids dont mind it (actually my son loves it) and SO likes the taught handling car so this works out well :). Ive detached the FSB (no bar up front), using MS3 RSB, and using 5mm spacers up front. My alignment is posted in another thread and so far the car tracks great and is very streetable (do have to look out for the big ones). THIS IS ONLY MY EXPERIENCE/OPINOIN. Your butt may differ.


Enough blabber. Money shots to come. I need some time to steal Phunkys pics to do a compare so you can see differences.



http://www.yellow-speed.com/index.php

http://www.yellowspeedeurope.com/
 
Enough objective crap man! :p Tell us if you think the cost savings outweigh the negative aspects you have highlighted above. Do you feel you saved enough money to overcome the shortcomings of the system? Where did the Eibach springs come from? Did you use springs from an Eibach C/O, or are they straight springs that any one of us could source from Ebay/Craigslist? Lastly, what are the actual costs involved here, versus a Bilstein PSS10, Tein Basic, or a the like. I'm not ever going to C/O mine but these are questions I'm sure will get asked...
 
Enough objective crap man! :p Tell us if you think the cost savings outweigh the negative aspects you have highlighted above. Do you feel you saved enough money to overcome the shortcomings of the system?
No. If you are going CO for savings, you are going at it wrong. You go CO if you want the ability to setup the car’s dynamics to personal liking OR if you like the slammed ride. My motivation is getting the adjustable front camber plate (this alone is expensive AND you have to cut a hole on the shock mount to use them), ability to set my ride height (just enough to clear my DD obstacles), and want of a hander yet DD’able ride. The shortcoming of YS are mostly nuisances, IMO, except for the limited 3.5” stroke on the front.

Where did the Eibach springs come from? Did you use springs from an Eibach C/O, or are they straight springs that any one of us could source from Ebay/Craigslist?
Forgot to add that fronts use standard 2.5” ID springs. This is the MOST common diameter spring that can be had from various suppliers in various length, springs rate, and barrel design. You can find them anywhere and in various price ranges. You just need to know what you are looking for and sure it is appropriate for your application. I bought a pair of “famous” Swift and Eibach springs and thrust sheets so I can compare weight/design to see which I like. I don’t have a spring tester (see youtube) but the Eibach ERS was my pick because of the slight S barrel design, which is a characters of a progressive springs. I didn’t actually mount the Swift and returned them so can’t say how they perform. Note that Eibach has two lines of 2.5” springs (three if you count different colors). There’s the entry line that is straight cylindrical and then there’s the ERS (>$20/ea) on top. I would highly recommend the ERS.

Lastly, what are the actual costs involved here, versus a Bilstein PSS10, Tein Basic, or a the like.
Can’t say. I don’t’ know the construct or cost of these brands. There are characters to each that affects their cost and how they work. I will say the money is in the build or quality of the internals and how well the shock can control motion. I drove through the notorious BQE (Brooklyn Queens Expressway) and hit some MASSIVE expansion joints, pot holes, and everything you can throw at it (way beyond bad). It crashed like hell and made me go #*&(%#@^ with every massive hit. I was on the verge of eBaying them but considering they endured these roads well (as in not blow a seal and leak) it kept my faith. Hence, I took the time to spec them out best I could and build it up to me liking. Now, I like it but it is not for everyone and still not recommended on the DD’ing on the BQE! :)

Here’s another golden number. The shock cartridge threading is 2” diameter x 1.5 M pitch . With this, you can shop for any other spring perch (like them fancy ones with integrated $ealed roller bearing$ :D!) OR use any shock mount from a different manufacturer that suites your fancy (one that comes with clips/mounts perhaps).
 
Wow, thanks for the detailed review Silentnoise713! The yellowspeeds are very appealing and my wants are basically the same as yours. The adjustability is what I really like about coilovers but being a rust belt vehicle added maintenance is required to keep them functional. I'm torn between doing the coilovers or the turbo as a winter project. The way I'm thinking right now is the coilovers would be very beneficial for tracking my 5, even more so than the turbo, but I feel I would benefit more from the turbo on a daily basis. I really appreciate this information as I make the tough decision in the coming months. This post will be something I come back to often.
 
Pictures

See phuky’s drop @ 25.75” fender to ground vs my 25.25” fender to ground? Now compare the available perch gap between the spring seat and lower shock mount. The BC’s look like they have an additional 1.25-1.5” to drop. The YS have an additional [edit: 2.5 -> 2.25, reading fail] 2.25” to drop.
BC_zps0m3hljhy.jpg

YS_zpsavbkxtej.jpg



FRONT: YS vs OEM and BC vs OEM. Spot the difference? See (err, not see) some parts? It seems BC’s end link mount also comes out 45* and not horizontal, like OEM.
YS%20vs%20BC_zpscc2k2fa6.jpg



Front exploded view. You can find the parts list on their euro site.
YS%20exploded%20view_zpsq3iagezx.jpg

YS%20Parts%20List_zpsqubbeec0.jpg



REAR: YS vs BC. Spot the difference? Toothpick bushings on the BC while massive ones on the YS. Also, the YS use OEM upper spring seats while BC replaces that with a rubber block that converts it to 2.5” ID springs; lower perch is also smaller. BC uses S barrel springs in the rear, YS uses more of a customer wounded Y barrel. II believe the OE rear springs are 3” ID. For those who feel OE rear springs are too soft, just stick in a pair of higher rated springs. However, YOU need to double check OE spring ID. FWIW, another reason why I did not like the YS at first was b/c NO ONE made 3” ID springs are that not shorter than 12” (too long). Earlier this year Eibach expanded their 3” spring to various length and rate. AFAIK, they are the only one who offer this without having to get customer springs made, which isn’t terribly expensive but why go there.
YS%20vs%20BC%20rear_zpsnjtob8y6.jpg



The little things that matter.[/b]
I prefer the cosmetics of BC’s round plate. Without measuring, it appears the YS have more camber range bc the lock bolt can go under the shock tower opening. This would make sense b/c the YS can drop pretty darn low so you’d need extreme camber range to offset it.
YS%20vs%20BC%20camber%20plate_zpshngndl60.jpg



YS uses silicone dust boots! They are nice, flexible, and THICK. BC are rubber. I tore my boots but goddamn YS won’t rely to my email. Try looking for 2.5” ID replacement dust boots for Cos and you’ll find that there aren’t many options (not without ridiculous S&H fees). It dawn upon me to check BC (pretend my Mazda5 BC boots are torn ;)) since they have US presence and phone#. Upon receiving them, I was disappoint to find they are rubber (feels cheap) and too long. About those long boots, this leads me to believe BC 'may' have more suspension travel – very import if you want more of a DD setup! Someone needs to open theirs up and measure it and confirm this.
YS%20vs%20BC%20dust%20boots_zpsuzsou6lz.jpg




Additional Tidbit:
IF you do get YS, first thing you want to do is take out the roller bearings (unless you are in sunny climate)! I measured and compared Eibach vs swift vs YS thrust sheets and I can whole heartily say the YS felt superior! If you can get a hold of them, try to use their sheets. I’m using the Eibach but also have he swift and may double them up if I get spring bind after winter.
ThrustSheets_Eibach_Swift_YS_zpshbrgnhld.jpg



You would need to widen the shock tower opening to make use of the camber plate. You can cut from the top-down if you removed the cowl. There’s actually two panels that you need to cut through and if you go top-down and apply good control/pressure, you can just leave it at cutting off the upper ring (most closed) if you are concern with strength/integrity. Cobb or someone did an engineer study and even with the opening widen, it should be fully capable.
Cut%20shock%20tower_zpswsm1bu1v.jpg



My revised setup.[/b] Replaced the frozen roller bearing with Eibach thrust sheets+washer and Eibach 9” ERS springs, reused the torn (eh) YS boots but trim them shorter.
YS%20with%20Eibach_zpsusqcckci.jpg
 
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Summer is coming, anyone looking to lower their Mz5? Ill be packing this up for resale since Ive been back to stock and they are taking up space. Taking a feeler if anyone might be interested @ $360.76 (b/c PayPal fees suck = $350). Note: the Eibach ERS springs are NOT included. Will come with original springs.

Installed on Sept 15 @ 84K and removed on Jan 17 @ 97 K so used for ~13K miles in 16 month period. If theres interest, I can add full disclosure + pic in a for sale post nothing to hide.
 
Why did you go back to stock? Wish you posted these before I bought my FSD's and H&R Springs. Will a 2010 speed 3 front S waybar fit a 2010 5?
 
Only one reason… I now need to more frequently use the 3rd row. The car handles GREAT and is mostly streetable for a family for four. To this day, I want to put them back on b/c it makes the driving extremely enjoyable (my bias opinion) and puts a huge grin on my face (even thinking about it) when taking high speed sweepers and moderate speed U-turns; I can literally feel the chassis dancing, in a controlled manner, around turns and more tire (using AS HP) would make it even more extreme. A big part of CO is the ability to set alignment just right. That said, the 3rd row is on/behind the rear axle and is not a comfortable place. I now need to shuffler (good and bad). Also, after driving with YS, stock setup feels terribly inadequate. I’m debating H&R or just staying stock and accept my place in time. Few more years and I’ll get to build my toy car.

I took a long road trip (4 ppl + loaded cargo) from Phila to top of Mt. Washington, NH to Quebec City to Montreal to Phila. Bumpy at times on really bad roads but other than that, it was fine. BTW, Canadian roads give NYC roads a run for the money for crappiest ever…

Here she is at the top of Mt. Washington. I’m not a stance guy but this setup can drop another ~2” inches and still ride the same – that would be massive tuckage requiring fender pulling and liner removal for clearance if that is your thing.
20160627_170536_zpswqfrf7jn.jpg
 
quick question: I haven't seen enough specs even on the YS english site, but can I RAISE the car by 1" with YS CO kit? Mexico has these crazy topes speed bump things...

also, these don't fit '10 + , do they?
 
Should fit 10+ no problem. Don't know about raising the car more- the YS might not have enough threading on the shock bodies to go up. These universal cartridge type coilovers typically come setup in the box for a drop no matter what, so you'd be extending them just to get back to normal OEM ride height. To go higher than that, you might not have enough threads left to lift the car.
 
^ thanks for the clarification... that rules out both BC/YS, etc.

I was planning on more road tripping into MX w/ the Maz5, but seeing there's only 5.5" of ground clearance, I might have to rethink this... (previous gen) RAV4 has a V6 and 3rd row and a lot more ride height..
 
Tony, I'll check and see how much room is on the threaded body when I remove mine. I'll compare to the pictures in my install thread to see how much thread was showing out of the box.
 
quick question: I haven't seen enough specs even on the YS english site, but can I RAISE the car by 1" with YS CO kit? Mexico has these crazy topes speed bump things...

also, these don't fit '10 + , do they?
I'm pretty sure the cartridge and mount does not have enough threading to 'raise' the car above OE height. Even if it can, you prob don't want to use sporty driving oriented C/O for that purpose. You want full travel, dual spring, off-roading C/O. If you are looking for modest height gain, the path of least resistance might be coil spacers. Can't recall the name of the company but I can across a company that sells spring spacer inserts (their design/approach was a little more unique), which make up for the height lost when the car is resting on the soft end of the OE progressive spring. Gives the car a slight ~.5" raise but car will ride stiffer.


Tony, I'll check and see how much room is on the threaded body when I remove mine. I'll compare to the pictures in my install thread to see how much thread was showing out of the box.
Hey Phunky - are you able to measure the thread/pitch/diameter of both front and rear cartridges? I'm wonder if the BC and YS interchangeable.
 
Hey Phunky - are you able to measure the thread/pitch/diameter of both front and rear cartridges? I'm wonder if the BC and YS interchangeable.

They probably are, that's just a hunch. I'll bet they ultimately come from the same cartridge manufacturer. ;) I'll put that on my list of stuff to check when I do get them out. S2000 return to stock has now trumped MZ5 return to stock on the schedule.
 
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