RX-8Passion

I installed the Ebaich Pro-Kit this weekend and I was a little disappointed with the numbers. Here is a summary of how much the front and rear dropped. Keep in Mind the published numbers from Eibach are 1.2 for the front and 0.8 for the rear!

Rear Front
Before 4.9375 5.375
Before Alignment 4.1875 5.09375
After Alignment 3.9375 5.0625

Before-After 1.000 0.3125

Anyone else install these and disappointed like myself?

RX-8Passion

A little more clearer.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Rear
Before 4.9375
Before Alignment 4.1875
After Alignment 3.9375

Before-After 1.000
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Front
Before 5.375
Before Alignment 5.09375
After Alignment 5.0625

Before-After 0.3125
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mazda-Rati

im not too impressed with the drop either. i installed mine 3 weeks ago and the car still seems like its settling in. about .5 inches all around for the first week and now it's around .8/ .9in around. hopefully it'll drop to the 1.2in spec. did you happen to pre-load the springs before tightening down the sway bar?

Hercules

Well, I wouldn't be suprised because Eibach makes springs that are used for handling, not for looks

Though the 1.2 inch drop as opposed to the .4 you got is fishy...

qwkphkr

I have used Eibach ERS's in the past and found that they will "sag" or "settle" within 6 mos. I would imagine that the Pro Kit would have similar results. I think this is a good thing honestly as it gives you a little time to learn to drive it lower :D

RX-8Passion

Madza-Rati: did you happen to pre-load the springs before tightening down the sway bar?

Which Sway bar are you refering to? I did not remove any sway bars except the upper front end sway bar. The other sway bars were not removed, only the linkage to the control rod were removed. I did not make any adjustments after lowering the car except the alignment I got at the shop.
I'll keep posting the numbers on a weekly basis (or when I remember to go out an measure them), then we'll see how much is settles....

Mazda-Rati

yeah, i pre-loaded them. on the fronts there are 2 14mm bolts holding the sway bar to the chassis. i kept them loose , put the tire back on and set the car down. you can fit your hand under the car to the 14mm bolts while its on the ground. i have the apperance package and i could still reach it. i had .5 pretty much right after i set the car down. your numbers seem off for the back. i noticed that we have tokico struts stock and were very hard to compress. i can see the final drop numbers taking quite some time with that stiffness. i'm with gwkphkr with the 6 month settle peroid. keep me up to date on progress.

RX-8Passion

Issue Resolved
After talking with some folks at work and eibach I needed to preload the springs before tightening down the control arm bolts (#10 in picture).

I'm down 1.125 inches in the front and as soon as my buddy gets here to sit on the front end I'll re-loosen and re-tighten them again for a lower appearence.

Thanks for all the help!

Karl

qwkphkr

Mazda-Rati - do you have problems with constantly hitting the bump stops? The stops on my Mitsu had to be cut down to give some more room, but even then...there were some bumps that would tag it pretty good .

RX-8Passion

not yet, but I just did this yesterday so I'll let you know if I do. I cut about an inch off my stops so hopefully I won't see any problems.

Mazda-Rati

i didn't cut the bumbstops because i thought the stock struts were stiff enough to reduce a lot of suspension travel and from doing a search it seems as if not too many people do it. wouldn't hurt though. i've had eibachs on a few of my old cars (probe and a mazda6) and i never had issues with hitting the bumpstops. i do though hear a suttle squishing sound from the front when i push it down. this isn't the bumbstop is it!?!? you have me worried now.

qwkphkr

The "squishing" would be the struts compressing and rebounding. The bump-stops are a piece of soft material at the top of the suspension travel (the strut rod for lack of the real technical term). When you bottom out the suspension (compressed fully) it stops the travel. When you lower the car, you reduce the amount of travel you have by decreasing the space between the rod and the bump stop. By trimming the bump stop, you can recapture some of that travel. If you lower your car an inch, you lose an inch of the say 3" of travel, cutting the stop down an inch reclaims this.

Mazda-Rati

wouldn't most after market springs be stiffer so the total amount of suspension travel be less. say you have 3 inches of travel to the bumbstop on the stock spring. lowering with a stiffer spring would take more force to reach the bumpstop even if you only have 2 inches of travel. with some lowering spring rates i would think the stock and aftermarket travel numbers may even out when reaching the bumpstop.