i opened my front door this morning to two, rather large boxes with Mazdatrix stickers on them.

Inside were my front shocks (tokcio "Blues") and my tokico lowering springs. (.75 drop) I've had the rear shocks for a while, just been waiting for $$$ to get the rest.

A couple quick questions. Rate the difficulty of installing shocks 1 -TO- 10, also, what tools will i need, and can this be done in a few hours?

-Markus

"Damn, havnt asked a question in a wihle.. Just been post whoring" CHEERS!

 

Oh, and i'll get pix tomorrow or sunday

-Markus

"Gotta love a suspension "install" WITH PICS! CHEERS!

 

tools you will need: if you have oem stuff on now, you will need a spring compressor in addition to a wratchet/wrench set and an impact wrench.

it really isn't that difficult of a job if you have the tools for it. spring compressors can be rented or loaned out from some auto parts stores. the impact wrench is needed for the top nut on the rear struts. using just a wratchet will cause the nut to just spin the whole shaft on the shock, it needs the hitting force of the impact wrench to break it free...unless you want to maybe try some vice grips or something and chew the threads on the shock to hell.

for reinstalling, often lower springs do not require the compressor as they will fit between the spring seat on the strut and the strut top without having to be compressed.

with the right tools and doing this by yourself it shouldn't take you more than a couple of hours.

also, sometimes the brake lines can make this a pain since they are clipped to the body of the shock. be sure to take care when you work around them so you don't damage any of them.

 

should take you a few (2-4) hours if you've never done this, and are taking your time. Autozone usually also has a gun you can use, but at their facility.

 

difficulty is a 2. only because the bolts may be frozen if you live where it gets wet.

 

How much did your Front and rear shocks cost you? im deciding between the HP and the Illumina myself

 

Double poster

 

All in all the rear shocks were 55 ea. And the fronts were 110 ea.
The springs were the most expensive. But the cheapest i could find were from corksport for 215$ a set. I didnt want to go any lower than .75 because our cars are allready pretty low (stock). So i figure .75 would be a nice performance/looks tradeoff

-Markus

"Alright, i guess i'll tackle this job on my day off. I'll get pics as well maybe make a nice write-up. Who knows" CHEERS!

 

With those springs you probably won't notice a ride height difference since your stock springs have most likely settled/sagged that far already. I put Eibach Prokit springs on my car and didn't get any lower than it was before I did it.