For previous car, I had honda civic 2002. I had eibach spring kit which lowered my car about only 1 inch.. thats where I got really pissed off.. i asked my mechanic that i wanted to lower my car about 1.75 and 1.5, but he just got me EIBACH PROKIT.. instead of EIBACH RACIN' SPORTLINE. damn it.. anyways.. all i wanted to say is that I wouldnt get eibach myself.. its got really smooth handling and not stiff at all.. since it lowered civic about 1 inch, i couldnt find any difference from stock springs.. so.. if you wanna make your car look tight.. get somethin like H&R or other company's .. not eibach... ok??? I can't wait until i drop my Mazda3 hatch BLUE.. anyways, do you guys like Hatch better than sedan??/ I really wish to know cuz im havin this thought.. that sedans actually do look better than HB... lets vote!!!
I wouldnt get EIBACH
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Why do you want to "drop" your Mazda3? Just to make it look better? But at what expense? The Mazda3 is not a car to be riced. It doesn't deserve it. It doesn't come from the factory with a too-weak engine or too-soft suspension. Zero to sixty in mid-seven seconds is more than competitive in this class of vehicles, and the .87g of lateral acceleration is indicative of first-rate suspension designs and tuning. The ride is firm but not rough. Steering response is precise and confident. The fender gap is kept to a minimum while maintaining real world practicality.
Why would you want to lose all that, give up the refinement, throw a monkey wrench into the finely balanced handling equation. Because you want to Mazda3 to look slammed?
Your mechanic did you a service by recommending Eibach ProKits instead of Sportlines. He saved you from hastened tire wear, the need for a camber kit, premature shock failures, and the embarassment of scraping your car on every speed bump, incline, and parking bar.
Why would you want to lose all that, give up the refinement, throw a monkey wrench into the finely balanced handling equation. Because you want to Mazda3 to look slammed?
Your mechanic did you a service by recommending Eibach ProKits instead of Sportlines. He saved you from hastened tire wear, the need for a camber kit, premature shock failures, and the embarassment of scraping your car on every speed bump, incline, and parking bar.
Lee: Once again, you said it all 
There's no handling/ride benefit in dropping the 3 - the car is "tight" and comfy at the same time.
As for dropping, in many cases (like pointed out above) it actually hinders handling and makes you look like an idiot when you enter/leave parking lots.
There's no handling/ride benefit in dropping the 3 - the car is "tight" and comfy at the same time.
As for dropping, in many cases (like pointed out above) it actually hinders handling and makes you look like an idiot when you enter/leave parking lots.
You won't catch me saying that a lowered Mazda3 doesn't look good. I'll just say that a car in a brochure has exactly one purpose: look good. A car driven on the street, however, has very different priorities to tend to.
I am not even saying you shouldn't modify your suspension. If you do it right with a purpose in mind then that's great. I am just asking the question if it is a good idea to sacrifice handling and practicality of a street-driven car in the name of better looks.
I am not even saying you shouldn't modify your suspension. If you do it right with a purpose in mind then that's great. I am just asking the question if it is a good idea to sacrifice handling and practicality of a street-driven car in the name of better looks.
Handling will not be sacrificed, maybe the ride quality (very little). Aftermarket springs will improve cornering speed, and you'll have less body roll. There should still be plenty of clearance left after the 1.3" drop. Steep driveways shouldn't be a problem.LeeLee said:
But man does it look sweet lowered.
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Instead of lowering it, why not just wait for the tight body kits to come out?? The body kits will give you the lowered "stylish" look without sacrificing performance.
You figure a good pair of lowering springs is between $250-$400.00. Add about $150-$200.00 labor and your looking about $600.00 or so. I know most "nice" painted kits are about $200.00 more, but I think it's worth it.
There are too many "mishaps" that can occur with dropping the MZ3 1-1.5 inches. You got the speed bumps, pothole factor. You have mounds of road snow to contend with, etc.
Lowering a car is either strictly for looks (show car) or for performance with a race car. Don't see the point for us everyday drivers. Rice or no rice.
You figure a good pair of lowering springs is between $250-$400.00. Add about $150-$200.00 labor and your looking about $600.00 or so. I know most "nice" painted kits are about $200.00 more, but I think it's worth it.
There are too many "mishaps" that can occur with dropping the MZ3 1-1.5 inches. You got the speed bumps, pothole factor. You have mounds of road snow to contend with, etc.
Lowering a car is either strictly for looks (show car) or for performance with a race car. Don't see the point for us everyday drivers. Rice or no rice.
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oops
The non-lowered cars with bodykit are the ones that look the worst. It brings out the wheel gap worse than a car without a kit.ImportLuva4Life said:Instead of lowering it, why not just wait for the tight body kits to come out?? The body kits will give you the lowered "stylish" look without sacrificing performance.
You figure a good pair of lowering springs is between $250-$400.00. Add about $150-$200.00 labor and your looking about $600.00 or so. I know most "nice" painted kits are about $200.00 more, but I think it's worth it.
There are too many "mishaps" that can occur with dropping the MZ3 1-1.5 inches. You got the speed bumps, pothole factor. You have mounds of road snow to contend with, etc.
Lowering a car is either strictly for looks (show car) or for performance with a race car. Don't see the point for us everyday drivers. Rice or no rice.
You can get a set of H&Rs for $198 from Tirerack. Installation does not cost anywhere near $200 and most of us can do it ourselves. If you want the Kenstyle body kit, you are looking at $2k (I rather get a turbo for another $2k).
I don't know if speed bumps and potholes are going to be a factor but I seriously doubt it as I have lowered many cars before and never had a problem. As far as road snow goes, it doesn't snow in this part of Alabama.
Well, guess we'll see what the aftermarket have to offer.
My personal take on this is that the Mazda3 handles so well that I don't want to do anything to it that could potentially jeopardize it. Eibach and H&R, while high quality companies, take a one-formula-for-all approach. They make their springs 15% to 30% stiffer than stock, lower the cars by 1 to 2 inches, and test drive the cars to make sure nothing horrible has resulted. Then they sell it as if it was a custom solution.
If this was a Civic I wouldn't sweat it because that car's suspension has much more room for improvement in stock form. But on something like the Mazda3, I'd wait for a more customized solution, which may very well involve new shocks as well. For example, if I owned an S2000, I would look to Comptech Sport for springs, sways, and other suspension upgrades, because Comptech Sport puts in a lot of time at the track to test out their equipment. It is a truely custom solution. Consequently, the springs are $700 and sways are $400. But that's what it takes to improve on an already impressive suspension design.
The same can be said for other cars that come from the factory with great handling, such as Toyota MR-S, some Audis, and most BMWs.
My personal take on this is that the Mazda3 handles so well that I don't want to do anything to it that could potentially jeopardize it. Eibach and H&R, while high quality companies, take a one-formula-for-all approach. They make their springs 15% to 30% stiffer than stock, lower the cars by 1 to 2 inches, and test drive the cars to make sure nothing horrible has resulted. Then they sell it as if it was a custom solution.
If this was a Civic I wouldn't sweat it because that car's suspension has much more room for improvement in stock form. But on something like the Mazda3, I'd wait for a more customized solution, which may very well involve new shocks as well. For example, if I owned an S2000, I would look to Comptech Sport for springs, sways, and other suspension upgrades, because Comptech Sport puts in a lot of time at the track to test out their equipment. It is a truely custom solution. Consequently, the springs are $700 and sways are $400. But that's what it takes to improve on an already impressive suspension design.
The same can be said for other cars that come from the factory with great handling, such as Toyota MR-S, some Audis, and most BMWs.
Because it just doesn't have "bling", y0. I say we drop em as low as possible, then cram some "dubs" in there.LeeLee said:
By the way: you'll notice that brochures have cars with completely tinted windshields, too... but that's not exactly practical for the real world, either. Oh ya... "reality" TV has very little to do with reality.... but at least it looks good...
I meant it as a reference point as to how a Mazda3 would look like lowered you moron. 8)Kirk said:Because it just doesn't have "bling", y0. I say we drop em as low as possible, then cram some "dubs" in there.LeeLee said:
By the way: you'll notice that brochures have cars with completely tinted windshields, too... but that's not exactly practical for the real world, either. Oh ya... "reality" TV has very little to do with reality.... but at least it looks good...
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vaBooM said:
when are u expecting those to come out ?
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