Coil overs vs Springs and Struts?

Mtnbker3531

Mtnbker3531

Greenie N00B Member
So I plan to lower the car this summer and I'd like to hear from anyone running either of these setups.

My original plan was to run Swift Springs on Bilstein B8s as that seems to be a very popular choice. My other option would be the Bilstein B14 setup which looks to be a little cheaper.

The car is street driven only and once I set ride height with the coils I'll probably never mess with them again.

Does anyone have impressions between the setups or any positives/negatives to report?

Mods, if you feel this should be in suspension please move I was just hoping to get more traffic here.
 
I would wager you'll get a less comfortable ride from the B14s, or any coils really. Since your goal is daily driving, choose a solid combo like the one you referenced above, or you can go with a Koni combo for a little cheaper as a lot have done on these forums.
 
I have B16's & coilovers springs set at minimum drop. It's about a inch both ends lower than stock. I have another completely stock 08 MS3 bought new and the difference is huge in ride stiffness.
Even if I run minimum damping it is still much greater. I'm not complaining at all..
I knew going in that was a expected behavior. Since this is my go cart instead of stock one or my B8 stock springs MS6..
Ride is stiff, but I wanted a firm ride to play with handling and compliance for comfort was never a requirement.
If you have the ability to get a ride from any one with springs you want to gauge "the ride" is best that I could recommend.
 
Cfoldone, I saw your post on the B16s, right now the car is on OEM springs with Koni Active struts. I am not super concerned with a stiffer ride within reason as the car is no longer my DD and is now my nice weather/weekend toy.

Obviously the car looks better with less fender gap but also part of the motivation for this is to increase performance. There exists a balance for a street car though which is what I was getting at when I mentioned I don't ever think I will track the car.

EB, do you know who is trying to get rid of NIB Swift Springs? I scanned through classifieds real quick and didn't see anything?
 
I have this same question. I've had KW V3 on my car since 2014 and Im kinda tired of it.

The COMPLETELY CLUELESS staff and horrible instructions and setup support is the icing on the cake. No one at KW ever knows anything. Its like a bunch of high school kids answering the phones.

I definitely want the car lower and with zero float but I dont want the 400 lbs/in front springs (I think that's 7.1 kg/mm), or pillow ball harshness. I want a street only set up. Roads here are terrible and speed bumps are everywhere.

I think I will loose suspension travel with simple lowering springs and Koni Yellows which I don't want to do.

Compression and rebound adjustability are nice but I need a more compliant setup. The Bilstein b14 coilover looks promising, does anyone have any experience using it?

Or maybe BC Racing https://shop.bcracing-na.com/products/04-13-mazda-3?rq=yr_2007~mk_mazda~md_3-series~xv_coilovers

or

Corksport but they both have pillow ball mounts for the camber plates and I dont want the harshness.

I appreciate any feedback.
 
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Lex2007 said:
I have this same question. I've had KW V3 on my car since 2014 and Im kinda tired of it.

The COMPLETELY CLUELESS staff and horrible instructions and setup support is the icing on the cake. No one at KW ever knows anything. Its like a bunch of high school kids answering the phones.

I definitely want the car lower and with zero float but I dont want the 400 lbs/in front springs (I think that's 7.1 kg/mm), or pillow ball harshness. I want a street only set up. Roads here are terrible and speed bumps are everywhere.

I think I will loose suspension travel with simple lowering springs and Koni Yellows which I don't want to do.

Compression and rebound adjustability are nice but I need a more compliant setup. The Bilstein b14 coilover looks promising, does anyone have any experience using it?

Or maybe BC Racing https://shop.bcracing-na.com/products/04-13-mazda-3?rq=yr_2007~mk_mazda~md_3-series~xv_coilovers

or

Corksport but their both have pillow ball mounts for the camber plates and I dont want the harshness.

I appreciate any feedback.
Click to expand...

I believe @DubC is running the B14 coil overs. I bought my Swift springs from him. He can probably provide some feedback.

Lex I'm pretty much in the same boat as you. Speed isn't my DD and I wanted an improvement over stock without it being overly stuff/harsh.

I decided on Swift with B8s and I'll have them on the car this Spring. I know I'll never adjust coil overs once they are set so for myself I know it's pointless. I had a fully adjustable setup in a different car back in the day and never once touched them after initial setup.
 
Speaking of SWIFT springs, Corksport offers them as an option but I dont know what the benefit is. They dont say anything about it.

Just to show you how clueless the idiots at KW customer service are, I asked them for softer springs, and they told me they have 2 additional options. I installed the softest option and the car is bottoming out like crazy. Scary. Rebound adjustment has no effect. I call them back and another guys tells me, oh ya they weren't meant for your setup because the struts aren't valved for such soft springs. WhyTF didnt they tell me that beforehand?

Anyway, adjustability is nice but if the spring rate is to hard or too soft you can forget it.

Does anyone know the if the b14 vs b16 Bilstein coilovers have different intended uses/spring rates?
 
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Direct from Bilstein:

Part # 48-121262 B16 (PSS9) can be used for track and street use which has 9 positions for dampening with 9th position being comfort and 1st position being sport. Here are the spring rates as follows, thanks and have a great day.

Front Main spring 377 in lbs/inch (6.8k)
Rear main spring 378 (6.8k)
 
Any chance they list the actual amount it lowers a gen 2? Since the kit fits a few different cars I see numbers all over the place
 
B14: Front Lowered Height: 10-25mm, up to 1100kg Axle Load; Rear Lowered Height: 5-25mm,
B16 Front Lowered Height: 10-25mm, up to 1100kg Axle Load; Rear Lowered Height: 5-25mm,
 
I find it hard to believe that max lowering is less than an inch based on how much of the stuff was threaded
 
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