How has changing your springs effected your car's handeling?

J

JDM_Pro5

Member
:
2002 Proteg5
Right now my Protege5 has stock suspension which in my opinion rides well. The car is stiff and handles corners at high speeds without tilting too much to either side. Although the springs are tight enough to hold me down through turns, I still have a smooth ride without too much vibration. I have never altered the suspension on any car before, and although I am happy with the ride quality, I am not happy with the height. I would like to upgrade fromm 16" wheels to 17" and drop it low enough to fill the hub gap. I'm currently looking at getting Tein S-Tech springs. From what I've seen, S-techs with 17" wheels gives the look I'm going for.
Will changing just the springs effect my ride quality much? I'm not looking for top performance out of my car's suspension, just about a 2" drop. I would like to achieve this height without losing suspension quality.

Let me know your thoughts and experiences.

Thanks all,
Cameron
 
if you want a 2" drop you would have to go with megans. but as far as handleing google the mp3 and msp and see what they did to competition handleing wise ;) although they use bigger sway bars but still. the handleing is beyond rediculous before my rear struts got weak not many cars could keep up on back roads
 
The Tein S-tech is a progressive spring set (basically,the more it is compressed the harder it is to compress) just like our stock springs. So the ride will be just a bit stiffer but not harsh. I don't know about your car but on mine, the wheel gap in the front is bigger than the rear gap. Spring heights are different on the rear springs for MSP and MP3 to the P5 from what I have found so I would not suggest using them. Megan springs are real stiff in comparison to the other brands, 2 times as stiff as stock in the front and more than twice as stiff for the rear. Not trying to bust your balls tweety, I am just sharing my research.
 
i didnt realise the drops were different in the p5 and sedan. but i was just throwing out that only the megans have a 2" drop while eibachs and stechs have around 1.5, also i thought eibachs were progressive while stechs are linear. or thats what i remeber reading
 
I just lowered my protege5 like 4 hours ago on tein s techs :)! I did get the 2 inch drop and the rides great! Ill post pics on here in a bit. I also have 17s on there so im running the setup you were describing lol. I would recommend 205/40 or 45/17 for the tires size so there's no rubbing and camber bolts for the rear.
 
I appreciate all the help thus far. The 2" comment I made wasn't an exact number I was shooting for. 1.5 - 2 is desirable. Like I said the look of 17's with Teins, from what I have seen, is what I'm looking for. The are I live in is Touge lol, all curves and mountain passes. I do need something that's not going to bounce or make me feel every pebble, cornering is also important.

Hat, I know what your are saying about difference in size gap, my P5's front is higher than the rear.

What springs do you guys currently have installed, and what model Megan spring are you speaking of in earlier posts?
 
I was told that S-tech was a linear spring also but their web site shows them as progressive.
My P5 is still on stock springs but I did change the springs on my 2006 3. I replaced the stock springs with Speed3 springs. The ride is a little stiffer but there is far less body roll and, there is less squating when I have people riding in the back seat.
 
megan racing springs are the biggest spring drop made for a protege. theyre like 130 bucks but rust quickly and are a bit of a harsh ride. i plan on getting stechs when i replace my struts
 
Megan spring have crazy stiff spring rates 280f/230r compared to 140f/106r for stock P5 springs. Most of the other springs are in the middle rate wise like 150-180f/130-155r. I would think the Megans would ride rough as hell.
 
socal5 said:
I just lowered my protege5 like 4 hours ago on tein s techs :)! I did get the 2 inch drop and the rides great! Ill post pics on here in a bit. I also have 17s on there so im running the setup you were describing lol. I would recommend 205/40 or 45/17 for the tires size so there's no rubbing and camber bolts for the rear.
Click to expand...
Sounds perfect. What is the offset of your wheels and the wheel width?
I'm going with a 17x7 XXR wheel from sportmax. The offset is +40

Still thinking about the S-Techs. From what I see, they are progressive and NOT linear.
Megans sound like a rough ride. From what I've heard, P5's like S-techs.

Socal, where did you purchase your Teins and for how much?
 
I am not sure but I think +40 will rub. I hope someone chimes in so we both know. I am going to replace my wheels also and do not want any rubbing issues.
 
The exact wheels I want I saw on a MSP. I believe they come stock with 17" so he must have had the 17's with this also. I know someone was saying a +40 will be close but can be pulled off with the right tire
 
Ya MSP's came with 17" wheels, I think they are the usual Mazda offset though +52.
 
His MSP has the set of wheels I want which only come in a +40 offset. I assume he has stock height though
 
I just saw a post of a P5 with 18x17.5 with a +40 offset. He said that he had to shave his rear fenders.
I know dropping it shouldn't be an issue. I'm going to drop it on the stock wheels first and get wheels later. If the +40 is rubbing, I guess I can go as much as +5mm wheel spacers. I believe it's safe to go as high as 8mm. I would buy spacers before shaving too much, as long as spacers are safe.
 
There are quite a few people using spacers in these forums. Not sure if you know but the lower the offset number the farther out (closer to the fender) the wheel will be. For example a +40 wheel sits 12mm farther out than a +52. If you already know this I appologize.
 
I figured it out after I posted and started heading home. I was thinking about the whole wheel setup and it confused me because I was thinking about it backwards. I got an offset calculator to due the math. When switching from a 16x6 +50 to a 17x7 +40 I'll lose 3mm on the inside and gain +23mm on the outside. +23mm is 0.9 inches which will be no problem.
 
I took a look down the side of the car to see how far the fenders stuck out and I figured hanging out an extra inch will make the wheel face flush with the fenders. The wheel also has a bit of a lip so it will definitely be interesting. I found out the Tein S-Techs for the P5 drop 1.8 in the front and 1.5 in the rear. I assume after dropping it the 1.5 in the rear, the 17" wheel height wont rub the fender wall. I can always play around with tires for the little difference.
 
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