dmc27

He's not saying Speed scammed him. He's also not saying Sprint didn't make springs for the 8. He is saying Sprint didn't make blue springs for the 8, and is trying to find out what happened.


Slightly heated sounding, but that's understandable. Mistakes happen, but I'm not sure this Springs thread is the right place for this. PM or some other private form of dispute is best, at least initially, for what sounds like an error of some sort.

speeddemon32

I dont have lot of time right htis second to post, so I will post more a little later. but I can assure you those ARE the exact spring that I installed on my RX-8. they are even in the same Sprint box that they came is (as you stated). It sounds to me tht the Mazda dealers do not know what they are talking about. I did not have to do anything special to get them on. they are a direct replacment..... I seriously dont know what to tell you.

they will fit stock shocks AND Koni shocks. (I first installed them on my stock shocks, then upgraded to Konis.)

......... jack up your car and look for yourself. I think you will find that th dealer is clueless. they WILL fit just like a factory spring. (only lower)

dmc27

rofl. I suppose it should have been the first guess that the mistake would be . . . .


a crappy dealership.

speeddemon32

Here are the Sprint spring I sold you on my stock 2004 Mazda RX-8 shocks.




Here are the same springs on my Koni Yellow shocks.






as you can tell.... the springs that were shipped to you are the same springs in the picture, which are clearly on an RX-8.


I understand your frustration. I would be frustrated as hell. but I think it should be directed at the spring installer, not me.

like i said. they fit like a glove. no cutting, no drilling. just a simple replacement spring.

I really hope the pictures help.

I also hope they are able to waive the fee, or at least install them. I hate to se you geting screwed like this.

shaunv74

Tell them the tall springs go on the BACK of the car.

It's a common mistake. The tapered coil fits on the rear perch but will not fit on the front shocks. I'm sure that's what they did.

speeddemon32

oh yeah.... and for the record. they were purchased by me in Jan of 2005. so they are now 4 year old springs.

maybe theya re not blue anymore. but in Jan of 2005 they were.

speeddemon32

you would think a MAZDA service shop would know better.... but yeah agree. it sounds like they are trying to install on the wrong shocks..... in which case they will not fit.

Jedi54

iTrader: (7)

Great minds...

speeddemon32

Michael, I know you have not had a chance to respond yet, but I would not pay a dime.

print the pictures, take them with you. show them that they ARE RX-8 springs.


alo, what is the part number on the Sprint box? post it here so we can look it up. (one more thing to take with you to the Mazda shop).

you really should not have to pay for their stupiidty.

shaunv74

Actually more like been there done that.

speeddemon32

Mazda RX-8 Sprint springs.... first 3 google searches.



http://www.racinglab.com/mazda-sprints-springs-012.html













http://www.autoanything.com/suspensi...&from_search=1








http://www.customcarscentral.com/sps7800-mazda-rx8.html

Michael's8

Exactly,

I think it's fair to say "heated" is an accurate word to describe things at this point.

Jedi54, I am definitely not accusing him of scamming me. But when the Sprint rep. told me what he did, combined with what the dealership said, it was obvious something wasn't right.

I just called Sprint back again and spoke to the same man who advised me he's been working there for 3 years, and that Sprint has never made a blue spring for the RX-8. He told me the Sprint springs they make for the RX-8 are red. I'm sure any number of folks on this forum who have Sprint springs can also confirm this.

The Mazda dealership I am using has been excellent in the past (Howard Wilson Mazda, in the Jackson, MS area), and it was a Mazda Master Mechanic (David) who was attempting to fit the springs.

Even if there was a way to fit the springs to the car somehow, they're not the ones that were made by Sprint for the RX-8.

Between Sprint telling me they don't make blue springs for the RX-8 and a Mazda Master Mechanic who tells me they don't fit the car, I think you can see why I have reached the conclusion I did.

Now I'm out some serious coin with nothing to show for it.

OK: Edit.

Hadn't read any of the latest posts by you guys. So, now I'm more confused than ever. Maybe 4 years ago, they were blue. Who knows??? This Sprint guy tells me that since he's been there (3 years), they have been red. Again, who knows? But, I'll take the pictures out to the dealership with this information which ought to hopefully get things moving in the right direction.

I apologize for adding to the confusion gentlemen. Thanks very much for everyone's advice on this matter.

I'll keep you posted.

Michael

Michael's8

Hey,

I didn't get the part #, but that's what the sprint guy told me too. He said that there is a part #, and that the springs go to SOME model of car, and that at least what I could do is pull the part #, and then look up on a PDF file on Sprint's site what car it went to, and resell the springs for the correct car.

The springs are still at the dealership so I can't say what the # is. I'll work on getting that tomorrow I guess.

Maybe this all comes down to misunderstanding between the front and rears on the install as has been said. Hope so. It will be interesting to see what the part # comes back to given what Sprint said. It's possible THEY will be in for a surprise as well.

Again, thanks to all. Very sorry to have threadjacked, but hopefully, there's someone out there who may learn a lesson from this re: front/rears on the install who will be saved some grief!

I can delete my posts if that will help clean things up as well. Just let me know.

Michael

Jedi54

iTrader: (7)

Michael, no problem at all. I hope you're able to shed some light on this for us tomorrow when you have the springs in hand.
I can do some looking around tonight to see if I can find others here who have Sprint Springs. (to try and confirm the color discrepency that Sprint is referring to)

Michael's8

Jedi,

Thanks, but please don't put a lot of time into this. I just realized (and you probably weren't thinking through it at the time either), that tomorrow, I won't be placing my hands on the parts at the dealership. Thanksgiving! So, I'll be thinking through the many things I have to be thankful for tomorrow (and won't be stressing over this matter...in the big scheme, it's not the end of the world at all). I guess I'll try to get things moving again Friday then.

Everyone have a great day tomorrow.

Michael

speeddemon32

well I hope (KNOW) it will work out for you.

keep us updated. I really want to know what they say.




and yes, does anyone else have current OR 4 year old sprint springs?

Jedi54

iTrader: (7)

I have contacted a member who has Sprint springs on his car. Hopefully he can post pictures that sprint's springs are in fact BLUE. (or were at one point)

Michael's8

Good deal. I'm sure that speeddemon32 isn't the only one who had blue sprint springs out there. It's just an issue of finding someone who happens to catch this thread. Anyway, it'll work out. They fit speeddemon32's 8. They're going to fit mine too.

Thanks!

Michael

speeddemon32

just for the record.... what year is your car?

Michael's8

It's in my sig. 2004

swoope

iTrader: (5)

i am very sure you mazda techs got some spainin to do..

that is so sad. hope they did not change your oil..

beers

speeddemon32

.....soooo...... ?

Michael's8

Hey. Sorry. No definitive update yet on these.

I pointed the master mechanic to this thread and he saw the pictures. He also called Swift who told him that it sounded like the springs were to a Mazda 6. Not sure what's up with that, but that didn't help convince the mechanic that these would fit the 8 at all. The engineer with Swift was supposed to call the mechanic back (not sure what he was checking on without seeing pictures of the springs or anything, because the mechanic wanted to send pics to him, but somehow, they couldn't between the two of them). Anyway, I kept insisting that those very springs were on YOUR 8, and that I was positive they'd fit. He mentioned that perhaps our suspensions were set up differently. I told him that regardless of the suspension set-up (he said maybe my GT suspension was different than what you had), the Swift springs were made for the 8 period. (Not an 8 with a particular suspension set-up).

I then pointed him to the information you guys provided that indicated what might have happened with him not being able to get the springs installed and that it was a common mistake, etc. He mentioned that when he did get one of the springs over the strut, there was quite a bit of "play" in it, and that it didn't seem like the spring "seated" correctly. I told him perhaps it was because the strut wasn't "under load" at that point, and that when there was weight on it, everything would settle in just fine. I pointed him to the pics again and told him that it seemed that the springs seated just fine from what I could see in the picture. He didn't want to install them but I kept trying to convince him that they'd go on the car. Finally he said he'd do it, but wouldn't be responsible for the result basically, because he still doubted that they were the right spring for the car.

The part # on the box was 7800, which he verified with Sprint was for the 8. Not sure then why he was "also" told that they seemed like they were for a Mazda 6. That part was definitely confusing.

This was all yesterday. I haven't heard back from the dealership since then, because I'm still waiting on a part to come in to fix something else on the car (unrelated to springs). I just wanted to get the springs done while the car was there getting worked on.

So, who knows?

Michael

shaunv74

Hm. What does he mean by play?

As in the spring doesn't sit on the perch properly? Like it's too big? Again he may have the wrong spring on the wrong end. Or is there something weird with the shock perches? The springs should sit on the perches the same way the OEMs do.

I'd recommend he lift up one side and pull out both the front and back at the same time and set up both shocks and springs side by side so he can see for himself which one's go on which and make sure they are both right.

Tall ones with the tapered coil go on the back (taper on the bottom shock perch)

Shorter ones go on the front. (I think they have a slight taper than should also go on the bottom perch)

If they are not sitting on the perch correctly they may be flipped over too.

Michael's8

Thanks. Good advice. Though I'm not sure he's willing to completely disassemble everything yet again. I'm pretty sure he's done with this now, and they're going to be on there the way they are. I'm sure he did the best he could given that he doesn't feel like they are the right fit. I will try to check out what you've said when I get the car back, if nothing else, to see that they're on the way you described. If I get the car on a lift, will I be able to see that sort of thing, or will all the wheels have to come off? (Can you tell I haven't done anything like this before?)

Thanks again to you all for helping me through this!

Michael