To be honest, my fronts barely fell at all. Maybe a half inch...maybe my old springs were beaten in, who knows. The back is in the weeds, can't get any fingers in the wheel well. It may also make a difference that I'm running 245/40R18 all the way around.

And Greg, good luck with the rear. They are waaaaay harder than the front. All I removed was the lower control arm so I didn't have to get another alignment, and I must have scraped half the yellow paint off the spring onto the driveshaft...sigh. Going to have to take the wheels off and paint the scuffs to keep the rust off. If you need any tips for the rear let me know. I know that a lot of rotating of the sealed unit can help you clear some obstacles. IMO, your better off taking off more parts and getting an alignment after...I ended up with all sorts of cuts and bruises trying to wedge the unit out and back in.

My profile has an album of some pics from the swap for reference on the scrapes and tight fit in the rear.

 

A wise man once showed me to simply mark the position of the alignment bolt before taking it out.

 

Dude, its alright to put my name in there.

 

Lol...ya, I painted every single nut and bolt I took off with a marking pen. Even if it had nothing to do with the alignment I painted it and returned it to the original position. I also used the proper torque specs included in this online manual:

http://foxed.ca/rx7manual/2003mazdarx8/

 

ya, ive already done a rear shock on an rx8. a few weeks back we had a customer come in with a blown shock. Thats why i was anxious to do the fronts firts. i knew what to expect in the back. Plus i work on a hoist, so its much easier than on the ground. also, my sway bar end links in the back are toast anyways, so ill be taking those off and then unbolting the rear most arm only from the knuckle (the alignment part of it is on the inside only, so unbolting it from the knuckle doesnt change anything). That way you are able to sneak the strut out without having to take alot of other crap off. By the way, all your efforts to avoid needing an alignment are for not. you really have to do an alignment after you drop the car or even change any major suspension component. When the car gets lower, all the angles change.

paquin, are you coming on the niagara cruise?

 

Niagara cruise? I'm going to have to investigate, I must have missed the thread. I would probably be up for it, love driving.

And ya, I think I'm going to go for an alignment anyways, mainly because I have brand new tires and I want them to stay nice.