Bottoming out
 

My car bottoms out EVERYWHERE. Its horrible. I wasnt sure if it was because the car is so low or what. The littlist bump if I hit it wrong it will bottom out. Any suggestions or ideas of what I should do to fix this?

Thanks in advanced!
~Brandon

sounds like you need new shocks. They are what dampen the bumps you hit. You can rent all the tools you need to do this job. if you do it yourself be EXTREMLY careful when removing the springs they can take arms off if you dont use the proper tools. But all in all it is a very easy job to do. How many miles are on it?

Just hit 80,000 this morning :(

If you have never taken out springs, don't even think about doing it alone.
Ask someone who knows what he does, as a single mistake can end you (or someone near you).

I mostly do my work on my own, but one time at my local DIY-Garage some dipshit almost tore my head off with a flying spring. Since then I have a lot of respect for metal parts under pressure...

proper tools always help

Thats no good, I didn't plan on doing it my self anyway I'm far from good at doing anything to a car. I just kinda wanted to have a idea before I walked into the mazda dealer and was like this thingy is making a loud bang when I hit another thinger. But its super expensive to get anything done so as long as I have a idea im satisfied.

Any indie mechanic can do it as well.

If you're cash-short, OEM shocks and springs sell used here for not much money. They're often removed for upgrades, some with low miles, then sit in the garage until the owner gets tired of seeing them there. Search the Parts For Sale section.

Bought from the dealer, the OEM Tokiko shocks will cost a small fortune. Any of these would be a significant upgrade:

RX8: Suspension

What year is your car?

Since springs come out to get shocks out, this is a good opportunity to up grade both. I went with the TIEN H-Tech. It is progressive, still has a nice ride, and the front was lowered about 3/4 of an inch to remove the gap between the wheel and fender. The lower hood bumped highway MPG about 5%, I told my wife it would pay for the springs.....