One side of my car sits higher than the other...need help
 

I was in an accident in February with my 2004 Ti Grey RX-8. I was hit in the passenger front. The car was in the shop for about 6 weeks. I just got it back and noticed that the passenger side of the car sits higher than the driver side. The body shop assured me that there was no damage to the frame. I measured from the lip of the wheel to the lip of the fender well on all 4 four wheels and these are the measurements I got:

Driver front: 5 3/4 in.
Passenger Front: 6 1/4 in.

Driver Rear: 4 1/2 in.
Passenger Rear: 5 1/4 in.

My question would be, is this a normal variance? I have brand new tires (less than 100miles) on all 4. Any help or advice would be appreciated.

it sounds like they might have had to pull the passenger side suspension apart, and when they put it back together, they didnt pre load the suspension before tightening everything up.

sounds like it.

I have the same problem, but Ive never had any suspension work done. I have an 04 TiGrey as well with 44K miles...can it be from just the driver sitting in the car for the majority of the miles? I am 6'1 and weigh about 190lbs.

Thanks for all the help. I'm taking it in to the dealer today. Maybe it could be just all the weight on one side. I'm 6'4" and weigh about 220. Maybe some new shocks are all I need. Nevertheless, I'll report back with the results from the Mazda Dealer.

That might mean coilovers for me!

That low of a weight shouldn't be an issue if the suspension is working as intended. It sounds like what Lurch said.

Very likely the pre-load issue. I had the same problem when I installed Konis on mine. The front was jacked up because I torqued the lower A-arm mount points while it was still on jackstands. Easy mistake to make when not familiar with the car I imagine.

As said, preload issue. I have had the same thing to me. Loosen the bolts on the control arms on either side and drive around a little bit(not over 20) then retighten.

The preload takes care of the front issue, but what about the rear?

OK. I just got the car back from Mazda. They said the front had a difference of 1/4 inch, which, according to Mazda, is within spec. They did find that the rear driver side shock was bad and needed to be replaced (covered under warranty). So now the car sits nice and level. Next is to install the side aero flares, the clear corners, and the fender strakes I purchased over the weekend. Thanks everyone who gave advice on my issue. :yelrotflm

OK I changed the shock but its still low?

Was pushing the brake pedal and started making a puffing noise when when I push down on the accelerator on park. what could be causing that?

I replaced the the spring and the shock and its still low :(

That makes no sense at all and is really kind of impossible unless you used worn out parts. Or unless if you have 1000lb of stuff in the car. but as stated in the other thread, old suspension components should not be replaced separately, you should do it all at once or at least do the rear as a pair.

There's nothing in the car that's taking space on one side of the car. if i needed to replace anything on the left side what should i replace, the shock, spring, or both?