i want do do suspension upgrades to my 90 gxl.... i was thinking of doin an energy polyurethane bushing kit, eibach sway bar kit ( since i havent found ne one else that makes a sway bar kit), tein springs, tokico adjustable struts.... and maybe a front and rear strut bar... ne one have ne suggestions or ne thing better thats not to expensive??? or is this good?

 

did you read that out of a magazine cause it sounds like you are building a race car you are gonna dump about 3G's on all that stuff yeah?

 

SEARCH.... there are lots of other brands that make swaybars for the fc3s. mazdaspeed, racingbeat, and tananbe are to name a few...

 

go with coilovers. Stance GR+Pros for the money you cannot find anything better.

 

Sigh....

What do you want to do with the car is the first question. Then search here and in the Suspension section to see what others have done/used. Putting these cars back to stock will surprise you, a few minor upgrades can add to that fun.

My 88 Vert - handles great for the abuse I give it on a completely stock worn out orig suspension.

My 91 Turbo I put Tanabe springs, KYB/AGX shocks, bushings, Cusco OS front and rear strut bars and has all I need for several HPDEs, back road runs, mountain sillyness....and 1 autocross.

 

i want just for daily drivin to school and work and to mash like evryday i drive mountain roads the twisties so ya ne thing suggestions and it wont cost 3gs not even close like maybe 1 for wat i said

 

Theres a sway bar kit on www.cardomain.com/store Suspension Techniques 52175 $324.95 for front and rear.

 

good luck on the low budget build

 

you can get the RB susp. package for 440.00, you'll still need to get struts but that puts it in your price range.

 

if you're driving on mountain roads and the street, then many of the coil-overs will be too stiff, not just for comfort, but for grip on rough or uneven pavement. They'll make the car skip around and lose traction when cornering hard if you hit a bump, grating, expansion joint etc. I've got eibach springs on adjustable tokicos, still using the stock sway bars on my vert, and I really like it. The good thing about the eibachs is that they are progressive rate springs, so for small disturbances on the highway, they're relatively soft (comparable to stock), but under heavier loading such as braking or cornering, they stiffen up with suspension deflection. I really like this combo on my vert. Id also recommend holding off on changing the sway bars until you have the springs and shocks in and adjusted to where you want, because the sway bars are a pretty easy way of setting the car's balance between under and oversteer. Play with the shock settings first, take her to an auto-x or something, and then decide if, for your driving style, more under or oversteer is necessary. Then choose the sway bars.

Remember, if you stiffen one end of the car, that end will have less grip respective of the other end. So, if you stiffen the front springs, struts, or sway bars, the front will lose grip sooner than the rear, causing some understeer. If you stiffen the rear, you'll get some oversteer.

Also, look at ride heights. The higher one end is riding, the higher it's roll center will be, which affects the transient balance when entering a corner. As a guide, raising a roll-center will give that end slightly less grip in transients (while not really affecting the overall balance much), so keeping the rear a little above the front in general will produce better turn in as weight shifts.

Like most things, suspension is about finding a balance, and doing things in moderation. Stiffer is better, but only to a point, as is lower etc.

 

racingbeat swaybars ftw

 

In reply to topless on ride height. A much simpler way of describing that (much much simpler) is "the lowest end steers the car." I used to race R/C on a clay track, and it always looked funny when the track was real loose because everyone would basically have a soft saggy rear suspension on and like 100+wt oil in the front shocks.

 

Quoted for great truth.

I have KYB AGX adjustible shocks and struts, Eibach pro set springs, and Racing Beat front sway bar and I like it very much. And some one mentioned the Racing Beat suspension kit....for the price it is a very good deal.

 

Smokin if you put heavier swaybars in I recommend 2 things since you have an S5;


-Racing Beats heavy duty adjustable endlinks -the oem plastic ones will not hold up for long
- new bracket for each lower control arm that they connect to - the 18 year old welds on those brackets aren't going to hold for long, don't worry they're $17 a peice from Mazda

I speak from experince


I have the whole Racing Beat suspension package (plus the HD adj endlinks) with Tokico Illuminas from shox.com, and Corksport's strut tower brace front and back.
And I'm happy with the results, I autocross and TT the hell out of her.
Did everything myself in my gravel driveway for under a grand but you will need toolz.

 

Is Mazdatrix or a Mazda dealer the only place to get those lower control are brackets?

 

i bought my **** use lol, hey better than the original ones that is been 17 years old, go cheap sometimes. make sure the parts are still in good shape

 

do not listen to the noobs, buying used parts will only bring you more headaches and a much lighter wallet, do things right the first time