Body Roll Remedy for CX-5: Sway bars, front strut bar, etc

Would not want a Mazda 3 because of wrong wheel drive and less interior volume. I'm happy with my AWD, interior space, and cornering ability that is pretty much limited by the grip of my tires at this stage. Someone mentioned over steer as if it's a bad thing; I'd prefer controllable/at will over steer than be stuck with "hold my hand" understeer and plowing. But I suppose it depends on how involved you are/want to be in the driving experience.
Also.. most raced Miatas are not stock. I'm sure you know that Mazda sells OEM performance parts for track cars as well. s*** I'd go as far to say its hard to even find a stock Miata around here.

I agree, oversteer allows you the correct your angle pretty intuitively if you know what you are doing. my RWD BMW really helped to teach me a lot about how to control the rear axle and keep the car stable in snow.

if FWD is wrong wheel drive, then so is AWD. RWD is gods intended drivetrain configuration.
 
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I disagree. There is no way stiffer springs don’t change ride comfort, and you need to properly match lowering springs to a more aggressively strut for it to work, so what you said doesn’t work...

It’s true that a rear sway bar will cause oversteer, but that’s simply not an issue with a stable vehicle like Mazdas. I am an experienced driver, and based on my findings from all my time driving I would happily rather control oversteer VS. understeer. Rear axle drifting is very easy to control VS. Full on understeer, and ultimately you have more control over the vehicles angle via throttle and steering input VS. Understeer, where you have to let go of the throttle and pray you don’t smack a curb.

If you are an experienced or confident driver, oversteer without a doubt is what you want. The idea with the rear LSD is a really good suggestion, and I highly recommend that.

But for $500 modifications, you’re best off buying front/rear sway bars and some camber plates rather than lowering springs.



Mazda uses a form of body roll mainly on purpose to give the driver a sense how how hard they are pushing the vehicle. It’s also partly because they have not advanced their chassis design to a point where the chassis itself can soak up bumps without the need of soft suspension, so body roll is minimal (etc Volkswagen or Acura) Personally, I’ve pushed my Mazda 6 sedan hard enough to see lots of body roll (although it was still very composed and controlled) so I can only imagine how much worse the roll is on the higher-up crossover... it does not corner flat despite the fact that it’s such a stable and fun to drive quickly.

Aftermarket suspension absolutely does not mean that you are going to suffer from a stiff or uncomfortable ride. Bilstein struts are not available for the CX-5 unfortunately, but they offer an excellent blend of street comfort and performance. when you strike the correct balance with a suspension suited to the chassis in your vehicle you will not have a car that rides stiff. The same goes for coilovers such as BC racing. They are fully adjustable, meaning that if you take them to a competent shop who can precisely adjust ride height, damping etc the coilovers might as well just start to ride BETTER than the OEM shocks you’ve had before.

Funny how you mentioned that the suspension in your ZR1 is too expensive to fit into a Mazda, but we’re talking about a Chevrolet here... the irony...

It wasn't my ZR1, to be precise, but a vehicle I rented. You do realize Ferrari licensed GM's suspension tech, and GM has the best suspension in the world, at least according to their Nurburing lap times...
 
It wasn't my ZR1, to be precise, but a vehicle I rented. You do realize Ferrari licensed GM's suspension tech, and GM has the best suspension in the world, at least according to their Nurburing lap times...

big difference between GM's own tech and tech that they took from someone else...
 
A bump for this thread is in order. [emoji16]

How about this body roll.
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I find it amusing that a Mazda fan wants to "reduce roll" in their vehicle.

I find this amusing because #1, the CX5 is already pretty "flat" for a vehicle with 8.5" of ground clearance. #2, the Miata is roll city, and is still the most raced car, and Mazda's claim to fame (aside from a few brief years where they had a decent rotary).

Anyway, you're not going to kill roll in a CX5 without either 1) Lowering it (shoulda bought a wagon/hatch...) or 2) making it so stiff it's terrible to go anywhere in. People can talk about valving and timing and high-speed this and that, but I've never been in a car that managed to limit roll without adding harshness to the ride. Not the M3, not the 370Z, not the Z06, nothing. The ONLY exception was the ZR1 I tracked, with the MRC suspension, but installing MRC in a Mazda would probably cost more than the car is worth once you factor in fabbing/tuning/etc.

You need to compare an MX-5 with Ohlins suspension to a stock one. Mine has about 3x the spring rate, giving dramatically less body roll and is less harsh. I adjusted it to about 1/2" lower than stock. Not a bad rule of thumb, but depending on the roll centers and CG height, lowering may not reduce body roll.

As usual, chester the molester knows NOTHING of what he speaks.
 
Just installed the strut tower brace from Ultra Racing and noticed some dramatic results. I've always thought that the 1st gen CX5 had a bit too much body roll. After installing the bar, the car corners much flatter, especially during sudden lane changes. The steering also felt a bit "heavier".

Did run into a few issues when installing the bar. The tower nuts are only half threaded so when adding the thickness of the bar, only a few threads catch when tightening the bar. When tightening the nuts to 40lbs, I stripped one of the bolts. Good thing I had a chaser to fix the problem. Found 4 new washers and nuts and tightened them down this way instead of using the stock tower nuts. If you're going to reuse the stock tower nuts, I recommend just hand tightening them (an extra 1/8 turn should do it).
 
Just installed the strut tower brace from Ultra Racing and noticed some dramatic results. I've always thought that the 1st gen CX5 had a bit too much body roll. After installing the bar, the car corners much flatter, especially during sudden lane changes. The steering also felt a bit "heavier".

Did run into a few issues when installing the bar. The tower nuts are only half threaded so when adding the thickness of the bar, only a few threads catch when tightening the bar. When tightening the nuts to 40lbs, I stripped one of the bolts. Good thing I had a chaser to fix the problem. Found 4 new washers and nuts and tightened them down this way instead of using the stock tower nuts. If you're going to reuse the stock tower nuts, I recommend just hand tightening them (an extra 1/8 turn should do it).

How would a strut tower brace decrease body roll, which is a function of spring rates, roll bar characteristics and center of gravity?(scratch)
 
How would a strut tower brace decrease body roll, which is a function of spring rates, roll bar characteristics and center of gravity?(scratch)

It *could* by reducing the chassis flex between the tower. On some cars it's bad enough to where it affects alignment during hard/highspeed cornering. In the end it's subjective and dependent on the vehicle. The bar is useful over time for metal reducing fatigue and stress from potholes etc. regardless of your driving style. I can tell the difference in the smallest suspension and engine performance changes on my car.
 
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It *could* by reducing the chassis flex between the tower. On some cars it's bad enough to where it affects alignment during hard/highspeed cornering. In the end it's subjective and dependent on the vehicle. The bar is useful over time for metal reducing fatigue and stress from potholes etc. regardless of your driving style. I can tell the difference in the smallest suspension and engine performance changes on my car.
Yeah. Ordered me a front strutbar and thicker rear stabilizer / anti sway bar from Ultra Racing. I am hoping the added thickness and better metallurgy would give better results as there is too much understeer.
 
Yeah. Ordered me a front strutbar and thicker rear stabilizer / anti sway bar from Ultra Racing. I am hoping the added thickness and better metallurgy would give better results as there is too much understeer.

Any update about your purchase? Did gen 1 parts fit your gen 2 vehicle?
 
Rear Sway Bar Availability/Size for AWD

Ride is rough on Cs springs. You need good roads for that. Luckily, where I live it's not to bad.
I have the CS rear sway bar installed, at the stiffest setting(there are two) and I can turn really fast. Many times, I have to reposition myself in the seat, after a turn.
Basically, it feels like a gokart. My previous car, was a 08' VW Rabbit on H&R Sport springs(1.5/1.6" drop) and this car feels much sportier.


Where did you buy the CS Rear Sway Bar? I'd like to get one for my car. Which bars are thicker/stiffer? Is the stock bar 19mm?

Thanks!
 
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