I am compiling a list of what I what to do to my car and I'm working the springs now. My main requirement is that the lowing of the car not be too great. The two sets I found that meet that requirement are the racing beat or the Tein H techsprings.

My main goal with the car is to get it to be a very stable platform and have it look a bit better than, as many here say, the 4x4 look..

I don't know much about this stuff I want to keep the front end drop at 1 inch or below. I don't want to worry about hitting bottom at all (or at least not much of chance)

Trying to keep the price for the set below 250 or so.

 

mazdaspeed springs.

but between those 2, i'd go racing beat.

 

Racing Beat seems like a better choice for you probably. I have the h-techs and I love them but the front end drop is more than you are looking for. I don't know how the roads are where you live but I don't have any problems bottoming out or anything.

 

Racing Beat is stock so why change in the first place? lol if you want something low go with the tein h or tanabe gf210

 

Put h-tech on mine a month or so ago. Looks way better, ride is slightly firmer, and it doesnt dump over the coners under power as much...basically the same as everyone else says. Here's a picture of OEM shocks with h-tech's on my car:

 

Go with the S-Techs instead...

 

racing beat is not stock. its a .7" drop all around and they are stiffer springs.

 

revisit:

I'm looking at S techs now but I still fear they'll make it too low, specially in the front. 1.4 or whatever onches seems like a lot. I found a great price on them on ebay and I'm trying to decide now if I should just grab them or not. ($175 shipped for new ones)

Is the ride feel still ok with these or is it a lot stiffer than the OEM ones?

Are the S's also similar to the progress technology springs?

 

^.............not that it's all that significant and they do say approx.

RB RX-8 springs will provide a front and rear drop of approximately .5-inch drop both front and rear. A modest spring rate increase of approximately 20% will provide a performance improvement without sacrificing ride quality.

 

similar in spring rate...The progress technology street springs have a 1.2 inch drop front and a 0.8 inch drop rear...so a little more drop that H-techs in the front and not quite as much as the s-techs. I have them and love them.

 

Go with S-Techs.

 

Never had a problem with speedbumps or anything with my mazdaspeed springs (.8" all around). Still haven't had a problem now that I have coilovers and my front is considerably lower. I was scared to lower the car too much also, hence the MS springs. Now that I'm way lower, I'll never go back.

 

Look at Tanabe HF210s while yer at it.

 

um, he said not that low and S-techs slams the car, i would advise against them

 

S-techs do not "slam" the car.

 

I went with H-techs and although the ride is good, I now want something lower and stiffer, so just beware that it's possible you may not be satisfied.

 

S-techs on red car Tanabe's on Phantom Blue. Neither is "slammed". The Tanabe's are just a bit more tucked in the rear as they tend to settle more than the Teins.

 

yea the blue looks a bit low in the back for my taste but the red looks good. Red still has a decent looking amount of gap.

I don't like the really low down look.

I've read through one of thr DIYs for springs but is there anything I should really keep in mind when doing a spring change? I have never done one before. I know I should preload as I've read but all I know is from the DIY

Seem I can't beat the price on the S's.

 

Not really much to consider when doing springs if you have the tools and commons sense. The rears are harder than the front, just search for Robin Yang's coilover install, its the best DIY.

Keep in mind that the cars are unloaded but here is a better pic of the Teins. My car does not do good on speed bumps when I have male passengers. When loaded my car is tucked.


And the Tanabe's

 

get a spring compressor, you can usually rent them at AutoZone.

 

S-Techs. If you go H-techs you will want to go lower. I have the mazdaspeed bumper with S-Techs and i dont bottom out. Had them on for about a year.

S-Techs will be the way to go..

 

i personally like the tein but be careful where you get them from. i would beware of ebay on the tein website they said there have been a lot of imitators that have been making fake teins and selling them as authentic. go to www.tein.com and just order the real authentic ones. but IMO tein FTW!!