Yeah with cobbs, you don't need the camber plates but you might need them with H&Rs, which is what UHATEIT was asking about.
How-To: Install Cobb Springs + Impressions afterwards.
- Thread starter Sacrilicious
- Start date
Yeah with cobbs, you don't need the camber plates but you might need them with H&Rs, which is what UHATEIT was asking about.
I have also heard of people quickly blowing stock struts with H&R because of the additional drop.... so be careful!
BTW, I want to throw cobbs on my MS3, but I am worried about getting too low and scraping things. I lowered my Integra 2.0 in the front and 1.75 in the rear and I had to creep over speed bumps etc... especially when I put my 14 inch steelies back on for winter. Almost took the bumper completely off in the snow!! (hand)
Anyone with a lowered MS3 have speed bump woes?
Sacrilicious
boom boom!
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- Cosmic Blue MS3 of hawtness!
haha...i don't have speed bump woes, but there are definitely driveways that i have trouble getting onto because they dip down heavily as they meet the street...(argh)
...one of them is the one that leads to my new apt...=/
...one of them is the one that leads to my new apt...=/
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- 2007 MS3
Cobb appears to have the least drop of all the major players. They are for function more than form and as such focus on improving handling by better balancing the spring rates front to rear. The drop is only an inch.
you got it! Yeah I like the H&R drop the best as it is the biggest difference in height but not too much. I don't want to sacrifice comfort in the ride if it's too low or sacrifice my tires with bad camber. I want the best drop for the least amount of hassle and pain in the long run (i.e. poor ride, blown shocks, bad tire wear, and camber kit necessity).
As I mentioned in another thread I would shoot myself before spending $400 or more on Mazdaspeed springs and get the poorest drop of all! If I'm spending the cash I want some drop for it!
Mine have been installed for about two weeks now and I cross three speed bumps ever day I pull into work. Havent had a problem yet and I've taken a few of them at some decent speed. I wouldn't worry about it.
Damn str8,
Even though our cars are dropped in comparison to the base 3s, you have to park next to one to be able to see it. I really need to get out and see some other MS3s with Cobbs and H&Rs.
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- 2007 MS3
You can also have it take all day just for the fronts if you're an a-hole who does it in 102 degree heat and passes out. I'm lucky my stepson was paying attention and let my wife know something was wrong.
It appears to me that if you don't intall camber-correcting links, you never unbolt anything that would affect the alignment of the car (excepting the inevitable camber change from a different ride height).
Has anybody measured before/after the toe/thrust of their car with a spring install?
Has anybody measured before/after the toe/thrust of their car with a spring install?
Sacrilicious
boom boom!
- :
- Cosmic Blue MS3 of hawtness!
dang...that sounds rough, man...+_+; i guess doing the install in the spring/fall would be best...
Sacrilicious
boom boom!
- :
- Cosmic Blue MS3 of hawtness!
i didn't do a before alignment, but the one i did a month after the install showed that my toe was very much in spec. i forget the exact numbers, but i was damn near the middle of the spec range.
I take it your front camber was not affected by the unbolting of the struttop and strut housing from the control arm?
I'm doing this myself and since the car has minimal adjustment for camber (and I'm actually doing the MS Sport kit which includes their links) I will have to adjust Toe in the rear, at least.
I'm doing this myself and since the car has minimal adjustment for camber (and I'm actually doing the MS Sport kit which includes their links) I will have to adjust Toe in the rear, at least.
Sacrilicious
boom boom!
- :
- Cosmic Blue MS3 of hawtness!
ya, none of what i did seems to have really affected things. when i went in for an alignment, they said that they didn't really have to do anything to it.
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- 2007 MS3
I don't see swapping the front springs affecting toe, but the way the top of the strut bolts in could throw off both camber and caster. I have never been entirely sure how an alignment machine checks caster, since they attach the fittings to the tire and not the strut.
Well, the reason I asked is that with most any strut suspension, when you remove/replace the strut, you end up with a slightly different camber adjustment than when you started. This is important because a different camber == altered toe.
It is a fact of vehicle geometry that when camber is altered (whether by intentional adjustment or by slight change in orientation of bolts/etc when you put it back together), toe is changed as well. Specifically, putting the car back together with more negative camber will cause toe-out while putting it back together with less negative camber will cause toe-in. This is if the tie-rod connects to the wheel upright in the usual fashion, in front of the axle. If the tie-rod connects to the upright to the rear of the axle, the effects are reversed.
Since the Mazdaspeed3 has a no-camber-adjustment bottom strut attachment, the only room for camber change when reinstalling is if things go together in very slightly different orienation... like if you loosen bolts and wiggle things a bit then re-tighten.
No car I have ever seen requires loosening the tie-rods (which directly adjust the toe) for a spring install but you will have to re-align if the camber gets the slightest change.
Regarding caster, the proper way to check it is to take camber readings at varying steering angles. This allows you to calculate caster based on how the wheel changes camber just from steering.
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- 2007 MS3
As for the toe changing, I knew that, but considering that the top of the strut is what is being moved, I figured any effect would be so minimal as to not count.
I did not know about the caster calculation, though. Thanks, always a good day when I get to learn something new.
I would still get an alignment, it's only like $50-$60 to get one. I was wondering tho, on the front springs... when I did them on my wife's Jetta which has the stupid spindle type front shocks like the MS3, we had to lower the front support stuff to even get enough play/travel in the spindle to get the shock out. Is that not needed on this car? Because ehr alignment was ****** up major when I had to do that so an alignment was absolutely needed afterwards.
I would probably just put on the springs, let them settle for a week or so and then if it pulls or drifts, get an alignment. Most of the time alignment is off anyways if you've ever wheel hopped before, that always seems to throw it off.
I would probably just put on the springs, let them settle for a week or so and then if it pulls or drifts, get an alignment. Most of the time alignment is off anyways if you've ever wheel hopped before, that always seems to throw it off.
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- 2007 MS3
My alignment in the way people usually think of it (pulling to one side or the other) is still perfect. Under moderate acceleration I can go through the gears with no hands on the wheel and the car tracks in a straight line. This leads me to believe that I may have inadvertently increased the caster, which would enhance the vehicle's straight line tracking, but diminish how responsive it feels to changes in steering wheel input (sudden lane changes become sluggish). I am concerned about camber, and after a week or so, I will get a proper four wheel alignment done. I didn't buy Summer tires to ruin them and not get the most fun out of them because I cheaped out and didn't get an alignment.
SO to install the front springs you did not have to drop the front supports any lower to get enough play/travel to get the shock out of the spindle? Just wanted to make sure as that was what turned my instal time into an extra few hours for my wife's jetta. Plus since it is a 2001 it was in there tight, I am hoping on a 2008 it will simply come out much smoother as it will not have been worked in there for a while
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- 2007 MS3
There was no subframe disassembly or removal of any major components (other than the strut itself, obviously) required. The write up on the first page is quite thorough and accurate. He doesn't leave anything out.
