JDM MazdaSpeed Touring Kit B-Spec. suspension install notes

[TheMAN]

after over 2 and a half years of putting this shit off, I finally said fuck it and ordered this shit.... the struts are only one of several sets still readily available in the US... the springs are only 1 of 3 known sets in north america.... there was tremendous difficulty in getting this shit because mazda motorsports can no longer get them from Japan.... had I not put this off for so long, it would've been easy to get this shit over a year ago.... all in all the springs and struts was around $1100, and that's below cost!

the suspension was originally meant for the ZL engined S-Wagons... because the S-Wagons weigh a bit more than the sedan and the non-US models have less bumper reinforcements, the US spec sedan has comparable weights with the BJ5W... in otherwords, the shit should work fine

[TheMAN]

after over 2 and a half years of putting this shit off, I finally said fuck it and ordered this shit.... the struts are only one of several sets still readily available in the US... the springs are only 1 of 3 known sets in north america.... there was tremendous difficulty in getting this shit because mazda motorsports can no longer get them from Japan.... had I not put this off for so long, it would've been easy to get this shit over a year ago.... all in all the springs and struts was around $1100, and that's below cost!

the suspension was originally meant for the ZL engined S-Wagons... because the S-Wagons weigh a bit more than the sedan and the non-US models have less bumper reinforcements, the US spec sedan has comparable weights with the BJ5W... in otherwords, the shit should work fine

[TheMAN]

custom made eibach linear rate springs
these are the stiffest commerically available springs for the BJ.... the next step up is the SCCA showroom stock trunk kit's springs which is not too significantly stiffer or any of the *real* coil over kits out there

the springs are NOT powdercoated black... they are powdercoated in a metallic gunmetal gray.... definately looks awesome!

for a properly matched setup, the A-Spec. adjustable struts will be used

[TheMAN]

custom made eibach linear rate springs
these are the stiffest commerically available springs for the BJ.... the next step up is the SCCA showroom stock trunk kit's springs which is not too significantly stiffer or any of the *real* coil over kits out there

the springs are NOT powdercoated black... they are powdercoated in a metallic gunmetal gray.... definately looks awesome!

for a properly matched setup, the A-Spec. adjustable struts will be used

[TheMAN]

front strut (made by KYB)
4 way adjustable at the top of the piston shaft

[TheMAN]

front strut (made by KYB)
4 way adjustable at the top of the piston shaft

[TheMAN]

rear strut
5 way adjustable at the side of the strut body which faces the back of the car once installed

[TheMAN]

rear strut
5 way adjustable at the side of the strut body which faces the back of the car once installed

[TheMAN]

lots of instructions, warranty card, and a nice set of stickers that are too nice to put on a car

[TheMAN]

lots of instructions, warranty card, and a nice set of stickers that are too nice to put on a car

[TheMAN]

finally to complement the suspension as a whole, MazdaSpeed front upper strut mounts, rear trailing links, and bump stops will be used

all other hardware (such as dust boots) related to putting together a strut/spring assembly will be new parts.... this will be done so that everything will be perfect as well as allowing me to keep my stock shit as readily installable backups (which is the main reason)

[TheMAN]

finally to complement the suspension as a whole, MazdaSpeed front upper strut mounts, rear trailing links, and bump stops will be used

all other hardware (such as dust boots) related to putting together a strut/spring assembly will be new parts.... this will be done so that everything will be perfect as well as allowing me to keep my stock shit as readily installable backups (which is the main reason)

[TheMAN]

assembled parts

[TheMAN]

assembled parts

[TheMAN]

MSP sway bars

[TheMAN]

MSP sway bars

[TheMAN]

after installation the suspension was clunking, so I figured out where the clunk was coming from.... it's the rear upper strut mounts... at first I thought I didn't tighten the strut piston nut tight enough, so I tried to blast it tighter with an impact wrench at max setting some more... it didn't budge... so obviously, it was tightened all the way... it sounded like blown struts at first and I thought that the struts are not dampening enough.... so I maxed the shit out (and surprisingly, the ride was just stiff but not bone jarring... just very well damped) and it didn't do it as much....

I had my friend ride in the back while the clunks were happening and he saw the whole strut float off the upper mounts! basically, there's a big lemon shaped washer that goes on top of the upper strut mount and of course a nut on top of it... whenever a fucked up bump happens, the whole thing just flies up for a few millimeters.... apparently, the rear sway bar is brute forcing the whole strut upwards when it's not supposed to and causing the strut to brute force the weak sauce upper mount's rubber

I don't know about you MP3/MSP guys, but I think getting more brute force upper strut mounts will fix this clunk problem

anyhow... I have the shit set to 3/3 right now and it rides only slightly stiffer than an MSP... basically the ride is not bad at all.... the car handles very neutral of course but even under throttle! and it's very easy to create oversteer too

[TheMAN]

after installation the suspension was clunking, so I figured out where the clunk was coming from.... it's the rear upper strut mounts... at first I thought I didn't tighten the strut piston nut tight enough, so I tried to blast it tighter with an impact wrench at max setting some more... it didn't budge... so obviously, it was tightened all the way... it sounded like blown struts at first and I thought that the struts are not dampening enough.... so I maxed the shit out (and surprisingly, the ride was just stiff but not bone jarring... just very well damped) and it didn't do it as much....

I had my friend ride in the back while the clunks were happening and he saw the whole strut float off the upper mounts! basically, there's a big lemon shaped washer that goes on top of the upper strut mount and of course a nut on top of it... whenever a fucked up bump happens, the whole thing just flies up for a few millimeters.... apparently, the rear sway bar is brute forcing the whole strut upwards when it's not supposed to and causing the strut to brute force the weak sauce upper mount's rubber

I don't know about you MP3/MSP guys, but I think getting more brute force upper strut mounts will fix this clunk problem

anyhow... I have the shit set to 3/3 right now and it rides only slightly stiffer than an MSP... basically the ride is not bad at all.... the car handles very neutral of course but even under throttle! and it's very easy to create oversteer too

[TheMAN]

eventually I did try the washer trick on the rear strut mounts, but that didn't do much

[TheMAN]

eventually I did try the washer trick on the rear strut mounts, but that didn't do much

[TheMAN]

after about a month of the ghetto washer "fix", the clunk was back to where it was again... insanely annoying

so I said fuck it and gambled on the P5 rear strut mounts.... I got that shit installed today and now the clunk is 99% gone.... the whole car feels a lot more solid now... road vibrations are now more pronounced (but not annoying).... going over bumps feels solid now from the rear... if it clunks it's barely audible and only "tinks" 1 time instead of the shit rattling like crazy before... clunk is basically now non-existant during stopping and it only barely clunks on some VERY fucked up bumps.... this is DEFINATELY better than even the first day I had the suspension installed

all of this is very livable
the downside is, they bring the rear end up about 1cm... oh well... having the front lower than the back is better for FWD handling anyway

as for the lemon shaped washers, the keyway stub that's in the hole got completely pwned... it got mashed up by either the fucked up clunking or from me using an impact wrench to blast the nut onto the strut..... either way, I don't recommend this installation method and DEFINATELY use a torque wrench to tighten it!.... I installed the shit again using an impact because I didn't have a choice... I was reusing the OEM nuts and didn't have any locktite on hand... nor could I get the new lemon shaped washers... so since they were already pwned, I did my best to position them where they were supposed to be and blasted the shit out of the nut... well it's on and it's quite installed... still using the ghetto washer trick of course, just in case

the sedan strut mounts that I just took off are quite fucked up... the bottom side of the rubber bushing got spun a bit and a piece of it got ripped off... and since some paint overspray was on the rubber bushing at the top side, you could see major bushing deformation took place just by looking at the paint cracks that are on the rubber

well I learned my lesson and luckily it wasn't expensive.... if you're using springs meant for the wagon, USE the wagon/P5 rear strut mounts! if you have brute force springs or shocks, USE the wagon/P5 rear strut mounts! the wagon/P5 rear strut mounts have a significantly stiffer bushing but to what percentage of stiffness versus the sedan shit, I have no idea
they can be identified by 2 longer mounting studs out of the total 3 compared to the sedan shit which are all the same short (1 1/4" or so length)

but for people who have problems with the front end too high and the rear end too low with their lowering springs (other than what I have), then definately give the P5 rear strut mounts a try also

as far as handling difference so far, I haven't had a real chance of taking corners hard yet... but I'm sure the handling has improved or became more responsive... it'll be a few days before I'm sure

glad the gamble paid off, yet again!

[TheMAN]

after about a month of the ghetto washer "fix", the clunk was back to where it was again... insanely annoying

so I said fuck it and gambled on the P5 rear strut mounts.... I got that shit installed today and now the clunk is 99% gone.... the whole car feels a lot more solid now... road vibrations are now more pronounced (but not annoying).... going over bumps feels solid now from the rear... if it clunks it's barely audible and only "tinks" 1 time instead of the shit rattling like crazy before... clunk is basically now non-existant during stopping and it only barely clunks on some VERY fucked up bumps.... this is DEFINATELY better than even the first day I had the suspension installed

all of this is very livable
the downside is, they bring the rear end up about 1cm... oh well... having the front lower than the back is better for FWD handling anyway

as for the lemon shaped washers, the keyway stub that's in the hole got completely pwned... it got mashed up by either the fucked up clunking or from me using an impact wrench to blast the nut onto the strut..... either way, I don't recommend this installation method and DEFINATELY use a torque wrench to tighten it!.... I installed the shit again using an impact because I didn't have a choice... I was reusing the OEM nuts and didn't have any locktite on hand... nor could I get the new lemon shaped washers... so since they were already pwned, I did my best to position them where they were supposed to be and blasted the shit out of the nut... well it's on and it's quite installed... still using the ghetto washer trick of course, just in case

the sedan strut mounts that I just took off are quite fucked up... the bottom side of the rubber bushing got spun a bit and a piece of it got ripped off... and since some paint overspray was on the rubber bushing at the top side, you could see major bushing deformation took place just by looking at the paint cracks that are on the rubber

well I learned my lesson and luckily it wasn't expensive.... if you're using springs meant for the wagon, USE the wagon/P5 rear strut mounts! if you have brute force springs or shocks, USE the wagon/P5 rear strut mounts! the wagon/P5 rear strut mounts have a significantly stiffer bushing but to what percentage of stiffness versus the sedan shit, I have no idea
they can be identified by 2 longer mounting studs out of the total 3 compared to the sedan shit which are all the same short (1 1/4" or so length)

but for people who have problems with the front end too high and the rear end too low with their lowering springs (other than what I have), then definately give the P5 rear strut mounts a try also

as far as handling difference so far, I haven't had a real chance of taking corners hard yet... but I'm sure the handling has improved or became more responsive... it'll be a few days before I'm sure

glad the gamble paid off, yet again!

[TheMAN]

the damn clunk was never really fixed until very recently.... I had a theory in the past 3 months that the clunk was coming from the dead coils of the springs during slight weight unloading from the rear (duiring braking and some minor bumps), and thus causing the spring coils to just bounce against each other... the clunk was almost non-existant when there is a full tank of gas, and completely non-existant when there is load in the back (such as a passenger)... and it gets gets worse progressively as the rear's weight goes down...... it was still better than with the stock rear strut mounts however....

I found out that tein sells a set of spring coil wraps during one of my FAQ research/update days, and knowing the level of quality that tein puts out, I decided to give them a try...

after 2 months of waiting for tein USA to get their collective asses together because their "silence rubbers" were NOT in stock in the US, I said fuck it and got it straight from japan.... from a super autobacs hahahah

I plunked down 33 bucks for 3 sets of "L" size tein silence rubbers, the shit is actually made of urethane and was VERY difficult to push onto the spring coil... installation was not hard however as all it required was the (back of) car to be jacked up with the wheels still on!.... during installation, I mispositioned the coil wrap and when I pulled it off, I pulled a string of glue with it! wow! this shit actually has a bead of glue INSIDE it so that when you put it on, it'll stick to the spring coil!

this shit is VERY high quality, it is on par with the OEM shit you see on some cars' stock springs... and on OEM applications, that shit is also glued on

so now the clunk in the back is GONE for good... I drove through all sorts of fucked up bumps (that I know of causes clunks) on purpose... and it just never happened

COMBINE the better P5 rear strut mounts with 3 sets of these tein coil wraps, and you're good to go! now I can drive in comfort like stock!

I'd DEFINATELY recommend these coil wraps over other brands.... it was well worth the money

http://www.tein.co.jp/img/sr.jpg

[TheMAN]

the damn clunk was never really fixed until very recently.... I had a theory in the past 3 months that the clunk was coming from the dead coils of the springs during slight weight unloading from the rear (duiring braking and some minor bumps), and thus causing the spring coils to just bounce against each other... the clunk was almost non-existant when there is a full tank of gas, and completely non-existant when there is load in the back (such as a passenger)... and it gets gets worse progressively as the rear's weight goes down...... it was still better than with the stock rear strut mounts however....

I found out that tein sells a set of spring coil wraps during one of my FAQ research/update days, and knowing the level of quality that tein puts out, I decided to give them a try...

after 2 months of waiting for tein USA to get their collective asses together because their "silence rubbers" were NOT in stock in the US, I said fuck it and got it straight from japan.... from a super autobacs hahahah

I plunked down 33 bucks for 3 sets of "L" size tein silence rubbers, the shit is actually made of urethane and was VERY difficult to push onto the spring coil... installation was not hard however as all it required was the (back of) car to be jacked up with the wheels still on!.... during installation, I mispositioned the coil wrap and when I pulled it off, I pulled a string of glue with it! wow! this shit actually has a bead of glue INSIDE it so that when you put it on, it'll stick to the spring coil!

this shit is VERY high quality, it is on par with the OEM shit you see on some cars' stock springs... and on OEM applications, that shit is also glued on

so now the clunk in the back is GONE for good... I drove through all sorts of fucked up bumps (that I know of causes clunks) on purpose... and it just never happened

COMBINE the better P5 rear strut mounts with 3 sets of these tein coil wraps, and you're good to go! now I can drive in comfort like stock!

I'd DEFINATELY recommend these coil wraps over other brands.... it was well worth the money

http://www.tein.co.jp/img/sr.jpg

[pdhaudio83]

wow!! very nice write up and pics!

[pdhaudio83]

wow!! very nice write up and pics!

[BRIAN MP5T]

Sweet, I had seen the Spring Silencers on the JPN websites. They sound like they impressed you. I don't clunk at all anymore, My car is stiff and loud form the AWR mounts etc... but if the suspenion made any noise It would drive me nuts.

Thanks for the "Story"

[BRIAN MP5T]

Sweet, I had seen the Spring Silencers on the JPN websites. They sound like they impressed you. I don't clunk at all anymore, My car is stiff and loud form the AWR mounts etc... but if the suspenion made any noise It would drive me nuts.

Thanks for the "Story"