ok i have a question for the forum here, i have an 07 gt stock suspension.
im planning to buy an apex lowering springs (if anyone wants to comment on the quality of these brand pls feel free to do so)

so i called some shops to ask for installation price,
mazda dealer said that i have to change the struts in the front if i lower the car since they will blow after a few bumps on the road.

did some of you change ur struts? or had them blown when it wasnt changed?

thanks

 

its not that they will blow right away, but the chance of them going is much higher once u lower, it puts more stress on a strut not designed for being 2" lower,

you could drive it 5 years and no issues or make it 2 weeks and it goes. not really a firm answer but hope it will help u

 

Thanks

 

Save your money and install them yourself it's not that hard.

 

I haven't dropped my 8 yet, because I'm still saving up to buy some nice coilovers.

That said, I've had a 328is, an M3 and a 540i/6 that I dropped.

and I found that on average, if I was too lazy/cheap to buy new shocks before the drop, the stockies lasted between 3-6 months with moderately aggressive driving. My drops have all been about 1.5" but that should give you some idea.

Now, you're probably doing your math now and noticing that adding new struts/shocks to the mix brings your total around $750~ish ... and coilovers start around $800...

So you have to ask yourself this: Are you dropping it for looks or for handling?

For my money, after doing this with a few previous cars, the extra little bit for coilovers is worth it. Do a little reading up, there are a lot of helpful threads even on this forum that can help you make an educated decision.

 

agreed^^^ save you money

 

Coilovers.

 

Don't want to start a fight over certain coilovers, but generally the sub $1500 coilovers will not perform better on a track than a good spring/shock combination. Here are a couple good brands of springs/shocks that will perform better than cheap coilovers:

Springs:
Progress Technology Sport Springs
Mazdaspeed
Sprint
Tein H Tech
Tein S Tech


Shocks:
Tokico D-Specs (adjustable damping)
Mazdaspeed
Koni Yellows (also adjustable, but need to be removed to adjust)


Again, not looking to bad mouth cheap coilovers, but don't be fooled into thinking that they will handle better than a good spring/shock combo mearly because they are "coilovers". Cheap coilovers are fine if you don't track your car and are looking for adjustability. If you never want to adjust ride height, then just get a spring/shock combo.

Like some others have said, it all depends on what you want to do with your car. If you want track performance, get a spring/shock combo or spend $1500+ on a good coilover setup.