want to lower ride!

jason5151 · Post by **jason5151** » November 19th, 2007, 4:09 am

what sort of options do i have,i just want to lower my car with eibach spring s but i know if i do this my current struts will get beat,what struts should i use?any part #s would be appreciated,iguess what im asking is,i need to know the A to Zs of properly lowering my ride! any educated responses would be helpful ?:roll:

rekognize · Post by **rekognize** » November 19th, 2007, 10:07 am

http://www.mx-3.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=36490

http://www.mx-3.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=62140

jason5151 · Post by **jason5151** » November 19th, 2007, 12:33 pm

so that s all ill need are kyb gr2s with my eibachs ! is there a need to have camber bolts with this set up?and does anyone know which parts on the suspension are a good idea to replace while having my suspension apart? and does kyb sell these struts with everything such as boots ,bump stops ,all hardware and or top mounts or do i need to buy all this separately,
can t afford to modify the ford zx-2s...

wytbishop · Post by **wytbishop** » November 19th, 2007, 2:09 pm

You don't need to do any modifications if you use the escort parts like I did. If you can get KYB's cheaper than Tokico's I think either would be just as good...although the Tokico struts are made specifically for the Eibach Escort springs which is why I chose to use them.

How far you want to lower is also key. The escort springs only lower 1"/1.2" whereas the MX3 Eiback springs lower a bit more, 1.2"/1.75". If you really want to slam it, I have some used Dropzone coilovers on totally worn out KYB's you can have. (j/k, don't do it!!) The lower you go, the less likely it is that the camber will be able to be corrected without camber plates. This is another reason I chose the Escort springs. It's like any other mod. The wilder you go, the more it effects other things and the harder it gets to make everything work nicely together.

The ride quality of the ZX2's is really good. Just a little stiffer than stock. The car looks better with the slight lowering, but not ricey. The wheels are nicely centered in the wheel openings.

for what it's worth.

rekognize · Post by **rekognize** » November 19th, 2007, 2:32 pm

Correct me if I'm wrong but I've read here somewhere that KYB's are only good for 1-1.2" drop because they were not designed for lowering but as a direct replacement to OEM struts..

ZX-2 struts are stiff but can withstand lower drops around 1.5" or more.. I currently have Evotion 2" drop springs with ZX-2 struts but I'll wait for spring since I will be driving my car during winter

Vanished wrote:Strut of choice will always varie, but I'm gonna tell you now, a spring that drops the car 2.2 +inches is NOT a spring for the KYB-gr2 struts. Those are factory replacement (10% better tho) and are not MEANT for stiffer and lower springs. They work ok for eibach and other mild springs, but not 2.2" drops. They will wear out, and its better to spend your money on something better.

The tokico (zx2) ($220 shipped CND)struts have better valving and are meant for the low and stiffer eibach springs, so they woudl probably be your second best choice of strut. If you want to wait and spend the money, go with mazdaspeed, they are the strut of choice but very expensive (200 per strut or more).

Also, you can buy the tokico mx-3 strut or dropzone, but dropzone sucks, and tokico for the mx-3 aren't designed for aftermarket springs.

http://www.mx-3.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=48972

Kirk95gs · Post by **Kirk95gs** » November 19th, 2007, 6:24 pm

I presonaly went with H&R springs and the zx2 s/r struts.. hole package cost me about 500.00... took me about 4hrs to do them all.. they are very stiff springs.. great for lauching hard... minimum body role.. I would highly recommend them.. great bang for the buck.

wytbishop · Post by **wytbishop** » November 19th, 2007, 6:27 pm

A note on terminology...

Springs are stiffer or softer. The shocks or struts in our case, are only there to dampen the action of the spring. One strut cannot be said to be stiffer than another and will not make the ride of your car stiffer than another. Different struts dampen differently depending on valving and other internal design elements.

The thing with the struts, if you leave them compressed for a long time, like with a very firm, deeply lowered vehicle which doesn't stroke much and sits in a compressed position, any gas strut will crap out quickly. Very low, very firm springs are not intended for street use and you'll go through gas struts quickly. 2.2" drop is pretty low and they will be very stiff, so the strut won't get to move through it's stroke very much. If you want a long lasting setup, you need to spend a little dough on a strut that's designed for racing and has a shorter stroke by design. The MazdaSpeed would proabably be the best you could do for an MX3.

I went with Tokico cuz I couldn't afford MS...but I also only wanted a slightly lower, slightly stiffer ride.

Whisper · Post by **Whisper** » November 20th, 2007, 3:35 am

wytbishop wrote:A note on terminology...

Springs are stiffer or softer. The shocks or struts in our case, are only there to dampen the action of the spring. One strut cannot be said to be stiffer than another and will not make the ride of your car stiffer than another. Different struts dampen differently depending on valving and other internal design elements.

Differently valved struts can affect the ride quality and make it softer or harsher.

jason5151 · Post by **jason5151** » November 20th, 2007, 4:30 am

do you just go to the mazda dealer to get ms struts that are designed for the mx-3?
thanks for the help e1!

wytbishop · Post by **wytbishop** » November 20th, 2007, 2:26 pm

Whisper wrote:
wytbishop wrote:A note on terminology...

Springs are stiffer or softer. The shocks or struts in our case, are only there to dampen the action of the spring. One strut cannot be said to be stiffer than another and will not make the ride of your car stiffer than another. Different struts dampen differently depending on valving and other internal design elements.
Differently valved struts can affect the ride quality and make it softer or harsher.

In practice yes...I was just making sure he understood the distinction, because it sounded like he didn't.

Vanished · Post by **Vanished** » November 20th, 2007, 6:46 pm

jason5151 wrote:do you just go to the mazda dealer to get ms struts that are designed for the mx-3?
thanks for the help e1!

Score. I just got quoted.

Anyway as for the mazdaspeed struts, I'm not 100% sure if they even exist anymore...try corksport, if they don't have them, ask who does...they're rare and expensive. Try the dealer, but they probably won't have them.

jason5151 · Post by **jason5151** » November 21st, 2007, 4:02 am

which model year of escort zx-2 struts do you use for our cars ,because i want to be prepared when i go to the ford dealer,and not look like im from outer space,and is it just the strut im buying from ford?
because my plan is im going to buy the eibachs designed for our cars then install them on the zx-2 strut with my old hardwre that is still good,and thats it ?slammed! any one feel free to aid me in my learning curve for lowering my 96 mx-3,i just want to do it right the first time and not go back and have to throw my money away,any more tip s and suggestions would greatly be appreciated ! and if anyone could walk me through the install process step by step that could help me understand this set-up,if you have the same set-up of course!!!
peace out!!

wytbishop · Post by **wytbishop** » November 21st, 2007, 9:59 am

The Escort was available in ZX2 trim from 97' - 01' (I think). Yes you can use the ZX2 struts with the MX3 Eibach springs and strut parts, but the upper spring perches on the front struts have a smaller hole on the MX3 so to put them on the Escort strut, you'll have to enlarge the hole. Other than that, everything is identical. The dust boots are slightly different design but I tried them both on my new ZX2's and they both worked.

This thread shows how I assembled the struts and I will get to writing the install this week.

http://www.mx-3.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=62140

rekognize · Post by **rekognize** » November 21st, 2007, 10:03 am

jason5151 wrote:which model year of escort zx-2 struts do you use for our cars

I believe they're from 1997-2004

PART NUMBER: M-18000-Z2

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Tokico-F ... enameZWDVW

jason5151 · Post by **jason5151** » November 22nd, 2007, 1:10 am

thanks for the install lesson was very helpful,hope to get all the right stuff myself at a junk yard!save $ s i like!

how much bigger did you have to modify the perch mount over stock, and how did you go about it?
once again ty for responding to my questions,very cool!