Dummies guide to suspension question

J

JrSpeed6

Greenie N00B Member
Hello
i read plenty of thoughts and opinions on sites, but i am hoping to a final answer here.
MS6 Daily driver want to maintain stock ride but lower her about 1” to 1.5”. What is best spring/strut combo or coilover combo for these results?
CS springs with Bilsteins or swift springs?
ST Coilovers?
CS website say the springs drop 1.5 front and 1.6 rear. Anyome have experience with ride quality and actual drop dimension?
Thank you!
 
I have eibach, it lowers around 1.5 and the ride quality doesnt really change lol more like its still soft? sitting on stock shocks, but im deciding to go full coilover soon
 
Raider said:
CS adjustable struts and springs. I'm happy. Handles amazing. Better than oem, imo.
Click to expand...
@Raider still enjoying the corksport's after a year? I'm looking for coilovers that are liveable on the street, minimal drop in ride height, but able to handle track/autocross use. They seem to be the only coilovers specifically made for the speed3 and they seem to have way stiffer springs in the rear than anyone else. Does this help reduce understeer and improve handling as advertised?

And do the stiffer rears make it ride noticeably harsher?
Thanks
 
Mr.Gregg said:
@Raider still enjoying the corksport's after a year? I'm looking for coilovers that are liveable on the street, minimal drop in ride height, but able to handle track/autocross use. They seem to be the only coilovers specifically made for the speed3 and they seem to have way stiffer springs in the rear than anyone else. Does this help reduce understeer and improve handling as advertised?

And do the stiffer rears make it ride noticeably harsher?
Thanks
Click to expand...
Been on for a few years now. Very happy. Rear springs have more like 70k on em. I did do good rat shit like 15 bags of mulch in the back, loaded in stuff way often and rear sags a tad. It's 100% me. @Mauro_Penguin has gifted me Swift springs and I will be getting them installed Saturday,along with a pile of stuff I need to do but have no time.
 
Mr.Gregg said:
@Raider still enjoying the corksport's after a year? I'm looking for coilovers that are liveable on the street, minimal drop in ride height, but able to handle track/autocross use. They seem to be the only coilovers specifically made for the speed3 and they seem to have way stiffer springs in the rear than anyone else. Does this help reduce understeer and improve handling as advertised?

And do the stiffer rears make it ride noticeably harsher?
Thanks
Click to expand...

What coilovers are "made specifically for the ms3"? Are you referring to the Corksport coilovers?
 
The CS coilovers being asked about are the newly redone CS coils. “Setup for track use” or something like that. Yes they’re offering stiff springs, and a pretty stiff rear spring. Before I bought my coilovers I reached out to CS about these. They wouldn’t tell me much. I ended up going with my Bilsteins because I wanted a quality damper that would be rebuildable in the future but I have no doubt you’ll be happy with the CS setup if you’re just a slap it on and drive kinda guy.
 
gotovato said:
The CS coilovers being asked about are the newly redone CS coils. “Setup for track use” or something like that. Yes they’re offering stiff springs, and a pretty stiff rear spring.
Click to expand...

I may not end up going with the corksports, as I've heard some good and some bad regarding quality. Mostly just wondering if their spring rates (7k front, 8.5k rear) are reasonable and will handle well on track, as almost all other coilovers I've found use softer rear springs than up front.
 
Mr.Gregg said:
I may not end up going with the corksports, as I've heard some good and some bad regarding quality. Mostly just wondering if their spring rates (7k front, 8.5k rear) are reasonable and will handle well on track, as almost all other coilovers I've found use softer rear springs than up front.
Click to expand...
I did this homework for weeks, months even. They will feel ok on the street I’m sure but they will be firm. Ride quality comes more from how the damper controls the spring. CS wouldn’t give me any info on the damper so I’m going to assume, like every single other ~1000$ coilover, the dampers are China and just shimmed to get as close to those spring rates in terms of dampening rate. I settled on the Bilsteins since they are 7k front and rear and with a good rear sway bar you’ll get the handling you want for street/occasional track days. This said, in the future I will rebuild them and up the spring rates.
 
7k front and 8.5k rear will definitely make the rear a little bouncier. Thats over 100lb difference with more rear bias.

Corksport has never released info on who makes their coilovers, and given the price point I doubt they contracted a reputable company to valve their dampers.

If it were me I would look at other brands like Bilstein, or KW and get v3's so you can control compression.

Or just keep it simple and get Swift springs with Bilstein shocks and call it a day on that. There is plenty more on the suspension that you can fiddle with if you want to.
 
Last edited:
Yeah, I might just end up going with the KW v3's; every coilover option that gets suggested seems to have avid fans, as well as people who hate them and think they're trash. The exception being the KW's, other than their price I have not run across a negative review for them. One guy on a local 'Speed facebook page got over 100k miles on them, so they must be pretty reliable, and I like that compression and rebound are separate adjustments so I can get it perfectly dialed in. If I had a garage where I could frequently work on my car, I would go with custom shocks/springs and experiment until I found a good damper/spring rate for me, but for now I think I'll bite the financial bullet, throw some KW's in there, and be done with it.
 
What about supporting parts for coilovers? Seems like I'll need adjustable sway bar endlinks front and rear, camber plate up front, and adjustable camber arm in the rear. Is there more, or anything else that should be replaced while I'm at it? (Already have a rear sway bar)

Any suggestions on good brands for those parts?
 
Mr.Gregg said:
What about supporting parts for coilovers? Seems like I'll need adjustable sway bar endlinks front and rear, camber plate up front, and adjustable camber arm in the rear. Is there more, or anything else that should be replaced while I'm at it? (Already have a rear sway bar)

Any suggestions on good brands for those parts?
Click to expand...
Corksport camber plates upfront have been fantastic, spc rear camber arms are great also. I run oem endlinks, white line rsb, and just did power flex front control arm bushings. This was all done when my Bilsteins went on and it feels great. Highly recommend the CS camber plates and spc rear camber arms.

I’ve been on track with this setup multiple times.
 
Using a coilover like the KW's you only need shorter front endlinks, roughly 1" shorter. OEM rear endlinks are fine.

Camber plates are optional, and not required. I ended up raising my ride height a lot (I'm almost stock height), so i bought camber plates to dial in more negative camber at my raised height.

Whiteline sells some steering rack spacers (bumpsteer kit), that will help reduce awful bumpsteer that these cars get when lowered.

You will need some adjustable rear camber arms. Any brand will do. I had JBR's for a long time (old design with poly bushings), and switched to SPC for finer tuning. Only trade off was that the SPC's have a softer rubber bushing than stock.

I am not sure about the bilstein coilovers, no experience with them but everything bilstein is great quality too.

I speak from experience with KW v3's. They reuse the OEM top hats for the front end, and you will need to just barely overbore the rear shock top hats. I used a hand drill, its aluminum so it doesnt take much time at all.

With the KW's they use a linear 400lb spring in the front, and a progressive spring in the rear. The front is firm, while the rear is a little soft. But the rear progressive spring recovers very quickly from bumps. Overall the ride is a little soft but very VERY controlled. Once you get the hang of the compression/rebound adjustments it is super easy to firm up the whole car on track days.
 
Thanks for the help fellas, you're all very knowledgeable! I've already got a set of re71r's (stock wheels) and some hawk hp+ pads. In addition to the suspension, I also plan on getting a koyo radiator and an oil cooler so my engine can live a long and happy life. Beyond that, my lack of experience will be the limiting factor, so the car shouldn't need anything for a while... which is good because I'll be broke by the time this is all said and done
 
Mr.Gregg said:
Thanks for the help fellas, you're all very knowledgeable! I've already got a set of re71r's (stock wheels) and some hawk hp+ pads. In addition to the suspension, I also plan on getting a koyo radiator and an oil cooler so my engine can live a long and happy life. Beyond that, my lack of experience will be the limiting factor, so the car shouldn't need anything for a while... which is good because I'll be broke by the time this is all said and done
Click to expand...
Ran re71’s and hawk HP+ for many seasons. You should really take a look at my thread. Everything you’re doing...I’ve been there lol. Take a look maybe something helpful for you.

https://mazdaspeeds.org/index.php?threads/street-car-gone-road-race.6861/
 
Hey,

I'm also wondering what's the best setup for my MS3.. for less than 1000$ (eq 800€)

ST-X
Bilstein B14
BC Racing
Tein Street Advance Z
Koni...

Is there any global topic here or on the old Mazdaspeedforums (archive) that could be helpful ? Didn't find that much information, like a big thread / guide including all the references for coilovers available for Mazdaspeed 3 / 6

That's clearly missing.. who did compare any of those coilovers ?

Bilstein PSS B14 seems the best according to european mazdaspeed 3 owners. Is it different in USA/Canada ?
 
MPS_France said:
Hey,

I'm also wondering what's the best setup for my MS3.. for less than 1000$ (eq 800€)

ST-X
Bilstein B14
BC Racing
Tein Street Advance Z
Koni...

Is there any global topic here or on the old Mazdaspeedforums (archive) that could be helpful ? Didn't find that much information, like a big thread / guide including all the references for coilovers available for Mazdaspeed 3 / 6

That's clearly missing.. who did compare any of those coilovers ?

Bilstein PSS B14 seems the best according to european mazdaspeed 3 owners. Is it different in USA/Canada ?
Click to expand...
Of the options you listed I’d do the Bilsteins but I’m a little bias as I have the b16’s and they are amazing.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top