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Thread: Springs...

  1. #1
    Suspension Modder
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    Default Springs...

    I've been poking around the ads on various Mazda3 forums looking for some used springs... I figure there's plenty of guys out there who buy lowering springs, decide that's not low enough to match the 47" subwoofer in the back, and then buy coilovers and dump the springs.

    Aaaaaaaaanyway... anyone know anything about Vogtland springs? I've heard of Eibachs, Racing Beat, etc, but these are new to me. Of course, the whole "car modification" thing is pretty new to me too.

    I found a set pretty cheap, the right ones for a Mz3, and they don't look like they've ever been on a car.

    Thanks!

  2. #2

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    So your not going to take the advice to not mod. For a serious Autocross car off the shelf sport springs are WAY to soft you will want springs that are 200-300% stiffer that stock, but then you will need serious shocks to handle that high of spring rate. Plan on changing spring rates a few time before you get it right unless you can copy someone else that has already done it. Is your driving up to the point that you can tell if the cars wrong, or are you going to be chasing your setup when driving is the problem?

    Drive the car for a year, maybe add some big sway bars and call it a day. I am a big fan of big sway bars.

  3. #3

  4. #4
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    Default

    The advice was duly noted. I'm going to be getting plenty of seat time in the next year, including a bunch of autocrossing and a couple track days. But as I learn, why be handicapped by a car that is CLEARLY not competitive in its current setup? I've now got wheels/tires that are appropriate for use on the track (thanks OZMDD!), which is a start. Next steps for this winter are sway bars and a moderate upgrade to the springs. THEN leave it alone for a year and decide what (if anything) to do with it next.

    The problem with 200-300% stiffer springs and the shocks to match is two-fold. First, the expense; and second, there's no way I can do that and meet my (non-competitive) requirements. This is my daily driver and will remain so for the next 4-6 years. And my wife rides in it, and she prefers her dental work intact, potholes and crappy highways be damned. So while I really enjoyed my first autocross experience, and I look forward to many more, I'm not in a position to have a dedicated competition vehicle.

    EDIT, @ wrx74: Done. Falken Azenis 255/40R17, on 17x7.5 wheels. I'm really looking forward to getting those on the car and seeing how it does.
    Last edited by cwemyss; 12-03-2010 at 12:16 PM.

  5. #5

    Default

    At this point it's not the car. An all out ST build is worth maybe 1-2 sec on a 60 sec course. What you are planing is worth maybe .5 sec on a 60 sec course and if done badly could slow you down and just make the car hard to drive.



    It's your choice good luck with the build and have fun with it.

  6. #6

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    My advice to him related to getting the car to a point where it handled more predictably and with less body roll. A stiff set of lowering springs on stock or upgraded dampers WILL provide a lower COG, tighter handling and less body roll. Combined with sway bar upgrades, good alignment and the autox wheel/tire combo, he can get enough feedback from the car to hone his driving skills for a season as a novice, then consider more upgrades once he's figured out what he wants/needs. I did the same thing with my much-too-squishy Yaris and had some success before moving up the autoX foodchain. I seem to recall that more than a few experienced drivers got beat by that Yaris...

    Of course, he could just run it in Tire class with an HS pax, but that would only create more pax-hate from the TES guys... :)
    Polished Turd Racing

    Mick wrote: "I think Jerrett is the best autocrosser I have ever seen naked."

  7. #7

  8. #8
    Obnoxious at any speed altiain's Avatar
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    Default

    Never heard of Vogtland. Even moderate lowering springs are best paired with an adjustable shock like Koni Yellows or Tokicos. Problem with this is that it's usually just an intermediate step - in a year or two when you decide you want more you'll need stiffer springs, which will mean either revalved shocks or shocks designed to work with the higher spring rates. I did the same thing - I ran my current car in Stock for a couple of years, used it as a track car for a couple of years with Koni shocks and Racing Beat springs, then upped the ante to dedicated coilovers.

    As for spring rates - my RX-8 has front springs that are over 3X stiffer than stock (and shocks designed to handle those spring rates). I daily drive it. My wife tolerates it (we usually take her car if we're both going somewhere), but my 7-month old son loves it.
    Iain

    "We don't stop playing because we grow old, we grow old because we stop playing." - George Bernard Shaw

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