ZX2 Struts blowen in under 2 years (1992 MX-3 GS)

quicksliver · Post by **quicksliver** » March 30th, 2005, 12:39 am

MarkMoore wrote:
quicksliver wrote:Just thought i would mention that in March 2003 I bought some ZX2 Struts, Upper Thrust Bearings, and Dust Boots. Brought them to a very reputable mechanic and told em' to put them on my car...no problem.

It's now March 2005 and both of my front ZX2 Struts are blowen. There is oil on the strut mounts. A buddy of mine who is a mechanic pointed this out to me the other weekend when he was replaceing an out of the box faulty axle.

Here is my setup...
1992 Mazda MX-3 GS 1.8L
Suspension Technique Lowering Springs
205/40/17 tires in summer and 205/60/15 in winter
didn't u have a heated debate w/ sam baker a while back about how great these struts were? kinda ironic i think...

I did lol. I side with him now though...i take back my words lol.

jschrauwen · Post by **jschrauwen** » March 30th, 2005, 1:29 am

They call that "Eating Crow"

Wonder where that came from?

MrMX3 · Post by **MrMX3** » March 30th, 2005, 10:12 am

I put them in 2 summers ago. Within 2 months the rears were blown, bought a replacement set and now the right rear is blown again, and I've barely put any mileage on since getting them. They drive good but just don't last long enough for me so this time I think i'm going KYB.

babyblueMX3 · Post by **babyblueMX3** » March 30th, 2005, 10:24 am

what spring you got ?

MrMX3 · Post by **MrMX3** » March 30th, 2005, 10:29 am

intrax

MarkMoore · Post by **MarkMoore** » March 30th, 2005, 12:01 pm

MrMX3 wrote:intrax

there seems to be a plethora of evidence suggesting that maybe i shouldn't use Tokico's... now i'm just confused

... glad i'm hearing all this before i got the chance to do my suspension

mazdubber · Post by **mazdubber** » March 31st, 2005, 6:30 pm

If your going to put ZX2's on a GS you MUST use Eibachs or similar for the GS. Intrax are a bling bling spring. You just need the proper spring rate.

quicksliver · Post by **quicksliver** » March 31st, 2005, 11:35 pm

So it's offical...
Suspention Technique lowering springs + ZX2 Struts + 1.8L GS = Blowen Struts

You know it's funny. Back in March 2004 when i did sooooo much research into the ZX2 struts and even wrote the ZX2 FAQ (Yes, im' Zytariuk), almost everyone recommened Suspension Technique lowering springs. Even the performance shop i went to recommended them for the setup i had. Now here i am needing needing my entire suspension re-done. Lesson learned.

mazdubber · Post by **mazdubber** » March 31st, 2005, 11:44 pm

Just sell the springs to a 4 banger guy. Pick up a set of Eibachs or GC's at the Performance Improvements midnight madness in a couple of weeks. You could also grab a set of Koni's there if you don't want ZX2's any more. All will be better.

quicksliver · Post by **quicksliver** » April 1st, 2005, 2:34 am

I was happy with the ZX2's when they were new, so i'll stick with em'. Just going to wait for someone to put some H&R's on ebay or something.

projectmx · Post by **projectmx** » April 4th, 2005, 11:27 am

so will the zx2 struts work well and last with h&r springs? cause i have a set of h&r's that i will be installing as soon as i can afford new struts and strut mounts

millaj01 · Post by **millaj01** » April 4th, 2005, 10:03 pm

I've got this exact combo (ZX2 struts + H&Rs) on my GS. I put them in around October of '03, and they're still doing fine so far as I can tell. The roads around here are really bad, too....so if mine are surviving I think anyone would have good luck with it.

I'll let you know if any of mine are blown when I put my summer wheels back on.

quicksliver · Post by **quicksliver** » June 2nd, 2005, 1:32 pm

So we got two combos are that blowing ZX2 STRUTS.

1. Intrax lowering spring + ZX2 Struts
2. Suspension Technique Lowering Springs + ZX2 Struts

I should also mention that EVERY SINGLE strut (Front and Back) is blown on my 1992 MX-3 GS. Even though the ST springs were designed for the RS...the back struts on the GS take pretty much exactly the same weight and abuse as they would on the RS.

Gro Harlem · Post by **Gro Harlem** » June 2nd, 2005, 8:44 pm

uhhh...no offense, but I don't think you know what a "blown strut" would even do, hence why you think you keep blowing any strut you install.

What do you think the symptoms of a blown shock/strut are? (just curious)

I have seen a lot of people claim that "if it bottoms out, its blown". Untrue...if your car is too fuggin low for its own good it'll bottom out with any strut

Also seen people say "if it bounces up and down more than once its blown". Again untrue, the general rule of thumb is to push your cars corners down (on the bumper or somehwere similar) and release. If it takes more than 2 complete strokes for your suspension to stop moving then the shock might need replacing.

quicksliver · Post by **quicksliver** » June 3rd, 2005, 12:07 am

I have oil on the top of my strut mounts around the center mounting bolt on both the passenger and driver side. I was told that means my struts are blowen...

MX-3.com

ZX2 Struts blowen in under 2 years (1992 MX-3 GS)

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