speeddemon32

I am confident that it will be good news.

yes, if he got them on, then he got them on right. (well... I wo uld think)
there is onl one way to put them on. so assuming he got all the bolts tight, yeah. your good to go.

dont forget to post before and after pics!

shaunv74

Good he got them on. Definitely take some pictures of the springs on the car with it jacked up. Also make sure to get some good shots of the spring perch and top mount and we can give our opinions on whether or not there is anything wrong with the install.

Jedi54

iTrader: (7)

last but not least: if the car does not appear 'low' enough, it might be because everything was tightened down while the car was up on the lift.
If so, I'll tell you how to preload the springs to help them settle. (it's a quick 10 minute job)

Michael's8

Wow, I'm overwhelmed by your offers to make sure all is well. You guys don't even know me. Thank you so much.

They are on, and she's home in the garage. Definitely dropped the car significantly. Looks excellent. My 18 year old probably popped wood when he saw it he was so excited.

I took it straight from the dealership to a Goodyear auto place. I had to buy a set of tires for my wife's car (and didn't have time to buy them from TireRack.com or equivalent, and paid more than I needed to from the Goodyear place last week. I called them and pretty much had them willing to do the alignment on my 8 for next to nothing (and it may have been free....sounded like it was going to be).

Thankfully, I walked through the garage and was watching as the "mechanic" attempted to drive my car up on the alignment machine. As he got to the halfway point between the front and rear wheels, the side skirt bottomed out big time, cracking the paint on the bottom of the skirt, and the fiberglass as well. (They're knock-off Mazdaspeed skirts). Needless to say, the alignment hasn't been done. I need to find a place that has a much lower angle of attack to get the car up off the ground (they recommended a place that could do it).

The manager on duty told me to go get an estimate for repairs on the skirt(s) and they'd work something out with me. (I'm not going to be paying a penny for the repair, trust me. Not worried about it. It will work out.)

So, no alignment yet. That means I'm not driving the 8 hard at all. I don't want the tires to rub in the wheel wells (they really are much closer to the ww now than ever, due to the drop), so I will wait till the alignment is done to really test things out.

There's your update on the continuing saga of the Sprint Springs.

Michael

speeddemon32

well other then the side skirts it sounds like a great update!

I ditn have the side skirts and it ALMOST didnt go on a regular laser alignment rack. so I could see how the side skirts would be a problem.

my miata is to low for a rack as well, one was the shop I take it to gets it on the rack is by adding pre ramps the rack. (look at picture below)


by doing this you are changing the steep angle to a more mild angle. because right when the car is about to bottom out, the rear tires are picked up (leveling out the car) by the longer ramps.
it works really well.


if the shop has not done this in the past I recomend they push the car up the ramp. if they drive it up and spint the rear tires on the ramp, it will shoot the pre ramps right out from under it. one its a danger to anyone behind, and two it will then drop the car right on the side skirts. if you push it up, you take that danger away. 4 guys should be able to push an RX-8 up a rack just fine.
Driving it down is not a problem since you really just let it roll off anyways.


I am glad it all worked out for you.

Michael's8

Yeah, that's a great idea. They're not going to go out and invest in those. That would make too much sense. You know for what they end up paying to fix my skirts, they could have bought some of those and had them for many years when needed.

If I can't find a shop that can do this without damaging my car, I'll recommend that to them. It's a perfect fix.

Thanks again. More as I get it!

Michael

TheBurkeMan

this is gonna sound like a really stupid question and don't yell at me or make fun of me for it, im just clarifying things. all i need is an answer not critism.

the prices listed on the springs are for a set of 4 and not for just one spring correct?

shaunv74

Yes. That should be for 4. Just verify when you purchase them that the price offered is for 4.

TheBurkeMan

thanks... i just thought that the prices where to good to be true, but apparentally not.

Jedi54

iTrader: (7)

yeah, surprising how inexpensive some of those springs are.

shaunv74

Springs are cheap, shocks are more expensive.

alz0rz

iTrader: (41)

install will probably be 75% of the purchase price.. here in nyc alot of local shops charge about $200 +/- to install springs on this car.

speeddemon32

if you buy a race spring, they are usually around $50 or so, and then you are paying for one. the reason they do this is so you can cutom order your springs. like in my Miata, I ordered 2.5" diamiter springs on all 4 corners, but the fronts are 6" tall (if I remember right) and 700 pounds. the rears on the other hand are 8" tall (if I remember right) and 375 pounds.

If I feel I want to go stiffer in the rear, its nothing more then a phone call and a $100 away.

in my dads circle track car, none of the springs match, circle track cars run real funky setups.


but in the case of your average street car, when you order replacment lowering spprings in the $200+ range, you are ordering 4 springs. (still only $50 each).





Michael. in our case, we just used the ramps from the trailer that we tow the car with. wood or aything else that is long and can support the weight of a car should work just fine.

kwescott

Michael.....if you read back a couple of posts from me, you'll notice that I made a statement about the sprint drop not being compatible with ANY body kit. MY suggestion, as you will damage your new side skirts very soon after you get them repaired by the shop, get an estimate for repairs, but DO NOT reinstall the sideskirts. You'll soon find out where the lowest point on your car is with that drop....you'll start rubbing on the frame rails. Anything lower than that point on the car will eventually get scraped as well....in the case of fiberglass sideskirts, they will take the abuse before they eventually snap.

I had the MS suspension setup, which was only a mild drop...and I was able to put on 19 inch wheels and the MS body kit without any problem.

The sprint springs will allow you to fit 18 inch wheels and NO body kit. Sacrifice you make for being that low...is no options for body kits. But the drop is super aggressive and great to look at.

Speed had the stock body kit, didn't even have any of the appearance package items....which, again, will be lower than your frame rails and would take the abuse until they snap. He added a wing to his car, but that is above the frame rails...so no problems

I would hate for you to go through the hassle of getting new side skirts on, onlyu to see them snap a day later on a driveway entry or exit point. You'll also kick yourself in the shin if you let a friends, or your son drive the car and they break them while driving your 8.

renesisking

iTrader: (1)

do you have pictures of your rx8 with the 2inch drop? and if you could let me know what kind of wheels and tire profiles you have on your car, it would be of great help. im trying to figure out which way i should go, im torn apart from going with a full set of coilovers or getting shocks and springs and having my own custom feel for my car. right now my car has regular tokicos on it, i guess the guy that had them before me just BSed the suspension cuz it did have bilsteins and now the ones on there just suck. im running the stock mazda 5spoke 18" wheels with a 245/45 falken fk452 tires. the 245/45's help me greatly in handling and the roads in ct arent all that great so i went with a higher sidewall for better ride. i was thinking about the 19" wheels that the new 09 has or rather that size but i do want to drop it also, im just a bit torn apart.

oh also, i do have the mazda front air dam, and side and rear aeroflares

kwescott

renesisking....you probably would be happy with coilovers as they give you some felixbility in ride height...you could always adjust as your needs change, or as you find out what works best for your area of CT.

California roads are horrible as well, not from the elements, just from big tgrucks chipping away at the surface and leaving nice potholes and junk.

I went with MS setup because I was lead to beleive, along with many others back in 04 and 05, that the springs were more aggressive than stock and I needed a stiffer spring and strut combo for the autocross racing I was doing with the car. Given I already had a body kit and wheels, the drop also was appropriate for my needs as a daily driver.

Pics show the MS suspension, MS body kit and 19x8.5 and 19x9.5 (staggered setup) wheels. I was running a 275 tire in the rear, and a 245 in the front. The MS bumper provides the same exact ground clearance in the front as the OEM apearance package front lip....I know, as i had that as well and did measurements. The only exception was on the sides where that little grey peice is with the MS bumper. At that point on the bumper, it was lowert than the appearance lip, by the thickness of that grey part....maybe 1/4 inch?

renesisking

iTrader: (1)

damn, thats hot, and thats with the 2" drop??? i really like it. i was on a different thread and a lot of people who autocross/track race say staggered doesnt do much other than appearance, whats your take? i've been asking around everybody as to what would be a good setup for everday use (spirited driving around towns and open roads) and that is also good for tracks, i've been getting headaches as to what to use. a really good friend of mine in his FD (who has plenty of $) went thru about 5 different types before he decided on one

speeddemon32

a stagared setup is not the best on an RX-8. why take a ballanced car and unbalance the traction? cars that show up to the track (auto X at least) with a stagared setup will have an understeer problem.

we are getting off the subject f springs, so I wont make this too long.

the RX-8 REALLY likes the Enkei RPF1's that are 9.5" wide. yeah, thats right, 9.5" on all 4 corners. now thats a lot of meat on the ground!

I know Kwescott will agree, we used to race each other in our 8's. at the track he was not on his stagared volks, he was on his Enkeis. (and race tires)











245's vs 285's (just for the fun of it)

kwescott

I would recommend the MS suspension because it seems to have much of the feeling of stock, but with the slight drop in ride height. The suspension on the 8 is really well balanced and good for a multiple use car. Given that this is what you want, a car with a suspension for multiple uses, that is what i would recommend.

I would also recommend the Enkie RPF1s in the custom Mazda offset that Enkie has made available. 18x9.5 on all four corners.....most guys who do daily driving, and some track time, go with the 265 or 275 Falken tires mounted on the Enkie RPF1. There are many more aggressive tires and suspensions available, but for what it sounds like you want, I think you'd be happy.

In retrospect, the MS suspension set up decision I made was based on information that was available when I bought, which made it seem that the suspension was a lot stiffer than stock. However, it ended up being the same exact spring rates as stock, so what you basically get with the MS setup, is lower ride height, slightly stiffer valving in the strut, and slightly stiffer sway bars.

kwescott

as a side note...love the way my car looked with those Enkei's and the temporary graphics. I loved race days, for a brief period of time...I could transform the look and then return it back to street setup.

speeddemon32

sexy sexy.

Jedi54

iTrader: (7)

very sexy

kwescott

god, I miss my car

renesisking

iTrader: (1)

wow, ur cars my new background now, thats really really hot.
so i shouldnt bother slamming my car to the ground then, i was reading up on the MSpeed suspensions and like you said they're not that much better than stock. as far as sway bars go i went kind of crazy and bought some hotchkiss racing front and rear sways, and idk if you guys know anything about them (im sure you do) but i leave it on the middle setting all the time its not too stiff but not too soft, its just perfect i think for the roads i drive on (the only complaint is the poly-u bushings) so i dont mind going aggressive. When i used to autox in the summer i went around and talked to every driver i could and i just got more confused with all of the info but they all said no to staggered set up, and a lot of them went aggressive on the suspension setups, and i was curious how their daily driving was and if it bugged them with the stiffness and their answers were a really blunt "no". my town has farms just about everywhere, so the roads are covered with ****, so i try to avoid those, cracked roads/pot holes/road deformations, but a lot of curvy roads, a lot of undulations (a stretch of road 100ft long will have dips and stuff), and a few open straights that arent necessarily the smoothest, also there are a lot of kids with civics, stangs, camaros, evos, wrx/sti's, VW's, audis, and they either slam them to the ground or make them go as fast as possible, problem is they cant corner or u hit some rough spots and forget it, ur car is shot. with teh stock set up and my swaybars i've been holding my own but as always, there is room for improvment

renesisking

iTrader: (1)

both ur cars are sick tho in all honesty some of the cleanest i've seen