Had the mazdaspeed springs and struts installed by a local shop yesterday. Expected the car to drop the posted .8 inches. The original stock wheel gap in back was just under 3 fingers, now its between 3-4 fingers. Does this sound right? Should it initially appear to sit higher?

I also snapped a picture of the front spring, should it be bunched so tightly?

 

sth doens't look right...

 

Coil binding...Not something you want.

 

Any reasons why this would happen? Is it possible the front and rear were switched?

 

Is this the best explanation? Flip flopped springs? Will this have damaged the springs sitting like this for a few days?

 

Referenced the part # on the spring and they are installed accurately front to back. Anything else that would cause the coil bind? I've heard of preloading and trimming bump stops. Would ignoring either of these cause the problem? I'm a complete noob when it comes to the suspension.

 

I have the MS springs, and the top 4 coils do get pretty close together. However, the rest of the spring is properly spaced out, so I don't think that qualifies as binding. You should double-check if the entire spring is binded, or if just the top 4 are together.

Also, the springs should drop the car. I'm running it with Koni Yellows, and it's dropped quite a bit. Some of that is from the Koni Yellows, but it definitely drops the car. Now, pre-loading can be the reason why your car is sitting so high - if it wasn't pre-loaded before everything was tightened up, the car is not compressing the spring correctly. The bump stop has nothing to do with the height.

 

Poorly made springs...

 

^dunno bout that, but anyways -

A picture of a MS spring (and shock) from another thread. The top few rings are pretty close together, and the rest are spaced apart. Your picture looks a little too tight, but a few more pics of the entire piece would be helpful.

Another pic (found Tiltmode's old post) -

 

make sure they are seated properly, when i installed my ms springs it did raise the car at first. just drive normally for about 2 weeks to let them settle then u should see some movement.

 

Your suspension is fine. This topic has been discussed before actually.

With the double A-arm setup on the RX8 we run into issues when the the control arms are tightened into place while the suspension is drooping.

What they needed to do was preload the suspension to maintain proper geometry for the control arms, then tighten them back in. It's been so long since I've done springs and shocks but I vaguely recall just loosening the control arm to chasis bolts just enough, put the wheels on, then drop the car on the ground. Roll it a little forward and back so it can settle. Maybe wait 15 to 20 minutes or have a couple of HEAVY Friends bounce around in the car, lol.

Then turn your steering wheel to full clock either way and tighten the control arms back up. As for the rear, probably the same thing. If you had a 4 post lift it would make this A LOT easier.

If the shop installing the coilovers isn't experienced with the 8 then this was an oversight. The 8 is one of the only cars I've ever had this problem with.

Rishie

 

Oh an the MS Springs must be progressive, hence the design of the spring. I surely would have hoped that questions like this would have been simple to answer. Misinformation can be the death of all good things on these internet forums. It's obvious that he's only snapped a picture of the first few inches of the spring. You can see the top of the tire.

Also to OP's with photos should make sure they take good photos or be prepared for a bunch of hypothetical answers which may cause you too worry unnecessarily.

Rishie

 

^yep, just make sure the car is pre-loaded before tightening the suspension. That would be the main cause of incorrect height.

And yes, MS springs are progressive.

 

I took care of the bolts and preloaded the front, and that solved the height problem up front (either I used the wrong tools or need to hit the gym but those bolts were a PITA).

However I've searched for info on the back and the consensus I'm hearing is that the back settles on its own. Are there no bushings to be damaged in back?

 

The back settles - there is no pre-loading back there. If it doesn't settle, then something else is wrong.

 

Also gotta remember that .8 inches aint a whole lot.... my rear tein S-Techs drop is .7 inches and it is barely noticable compared to stock, however the front is a different story

 

Another nice easy way to preload in my opinion is to place a floor jack under the ball joint of the wheel hub and start raising the jack. Once you feel the car start to lift up that should give you enough preload to tighten the arms.