No rear sway bar for 2014+?

xpstons

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2015 Mazda5 Grand Touring
Hello all,

New member here. After enjoying an RX-8 for several years even though I have two children (it's ok, the wife has a Lexus ES300 for family hauling), I've recently replaced it with a 2015 Mazda5. After 11k miles I now notice the understeer quite a bit and I think I'm ready to explore suspension upgrades.

After some exhaustive research, I really want a rear sway bar upgrade. However, after searching these forums and the Interwebs, I have found that there is no ready made solution for my year Mazda5 Grand Touring. Corksport says their RSB will not fit my M5 :(

It looks like I'll just go with the H&R/Koni route, but would really like to uprade the RSB. Is there something I'm missing?
 
UPDATE: Just for everybody's edification, Corksport responded saying they've just never tried to install it on a 2015, so couldn't say for sure. So I called my local Mazda dealer. They said that the part number for the rear sway bar on a 2015 M5 is the same as the 2013 M5, so I should be ok with Corksport's rear sway bar.
 
It’s not model year, it’s about platform sharing. Look up the platform the Mazda5 uses and you’ll get an idea of all the cars and model years where parts are *likely* interchangeable. Example, Focus, Mazda3/MS3, Mazda 5 – all the same (note the MS3 RSBs have a larger diameter opening so uses different end link – hence *likely*). Your 2015 Mazda 5 is fundamentally identical to a 2006 Mazda 5 with some minor updates. A lot of us sporty minded Mz5 owners run the stock MS3 RSB (from mix generations). Happy shopping.



Do you plan on doing this soon? Would you be willing to take some basic tape measurements of the H&R spring and Koni shock before you install them? I'm looking for some hard numbers to see if I can do some calc/est.

https://www.mazdas247.com/forum/showthread.php?123857031-H-amp-R-Owner’s-Feedback-Wanted
 
Its not model year, its about platform sharing. Look up the platform the Mazda5 uses and youll get an idea of all the cars and model years where parts are *likely* interchangeable. Example, Focus, Mazda3/MS3, Mazda 5 all the same (note the MS3 RSBs have a larger diameter opening so uses different end link hence *likely*). Your 2015 Mazda 5 is fundamentally identical to a 2006 Mazda 5 with some minor updates. A lot of us sporty minded Mz5 owners run the stock MS3 RSB (from mix generations). Happy shopping.



Do you plan on doing this soon? Would you be willing to take some basic tape measurements of the H&R spring and Koni shock before you install them? I'm looking for some hard numbers to see if I can do some calc/est.

https://www.mazdas247.com/forum/showthread.php?123857031-H-amp-R-Owners-Feedback-Wanted

Installed the Corksport bar. I'm so happy. Understeer has been greatly reduced. I can take cloverleafs at 40+ mph!!! And that's on stock shocks/wheels/tires!

Sure. What type of measurements do you want? H&R gives specs on how much lower they make the car, so help me understand what you need.
 

Nice body kits! I'd be wary of purchasing any suspension parts because doesn't the Japanese market have a smaller and lighter engine? I'm not sure. As much as I like the kits, almost every car I see with a body kit ends up looking torn up after some use due to the wear and tear of daily use, so I'm wary of them. I might be getting old, but I also think 18s are too large, unless the car is lowered enough (or with body kit to match). Given this, I believe the wheels, especially the rear, are positioned far too inboard for their own good. I had Ichiba wheel spacers on my RX8 (25 rear, 15 front) on eibach springs and stock wheels, and they were the bee's knees! They didn't cause any problems at all so I think I'll do something similar this time around, also on stock wheels
 
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Installed the Corksport bar. I'm so happy. Understeer has been greatly reduced. I can take cloverleafs at 40+ mph!!! And that's on stock shocks/wheels/tires!

Sure. What type of measurements do you want? H&R gives specs on how much lower they make the car, so help me understand what you need.
Awesome. Thanks for offering to take measurements as this will benefits everyone.


For the H&R springs, what I'm lookin for are 1-3:
1) Pic of the springs showing where the two ends of the coils start/end
2) Total length of the spring from top to bottom (end to end)
3) This might be a little difficult without a dial caliper but I would like to know the thickness of each coil. You can use an "L" ruler + L bracket to square it off.
4) Totally optional and assuming you have ~300lbs dead weights/dumbbells. put springs on flat surface and a piece of wood board on top - be safe with balancing. The total height is same as #2 above. Stack weights until the top of the spring compresses 1" from #2. This will get an "idea" of spring rate measured in inch/lb. Note that this spring is likely progressive (not linear like most coilover/race springs) so the first inch or two is likely soft to compress b/c the spring stiffen towards the end. It is prob not a good idea to stack hundreds of lbs b/c not safe. The progressive nature is the very reason why most spring manufactures won't list the springs rate bc it all depends on that bump/hump you take! They can only put a number on linear springs bc/, well, the spring rates are linear, as in doesn't change. If you really want to find out, after getting the number for 1-3, we can find out how much spring travel is available. Then find the mid-point and add weights until the spring compresses to that mid point. Take total weight added and dived by number of inches compressed, again this is only an avg value.

For Koni shocks:
1) Measure the total length of the shocks from top to bottom (end to end)
2) Compress the shock piston completely, now measure the shock from top to bottom (end to end).
 
Installed the Corksport bar. I'm so happy. Understeer has been greatly reduced. I can take cloverleafs at 40+ mph!!! And that's on stock shocks/wheels/tires!

Sure. What type of measurements do you want? H&R gives specs on how much lower they make the car, so help me understand what you need.

Hi,
I have a 2015 Mazda5 Sport. Just to validate, you bought this item. https://corksport.com/corksport-mazda-3-rear-adjustable-swaybar.html
Did you change the end links or keep the OEM ones?
 
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