So I just picked up a set of Tein Flex-Z coil overs for my FD and started to install them. Removal of the original dampers & springs (Tokico Illumina 5-ways & unknown spec Tein springs) was pretty much straight forward and for the most part done per the FSM - (1) Remove the wheel, (2) remove the brake line clip & ABS sensor & clip bolts, (3) remove the lower damper bolt & nut, (4) remove the 2 upper arm pivot bolts & nuts, (5) then remove all the nuts up top side on the tower. In order to get it out though, I found that I also had to remove the bolt & nut that secures the sway bar end link to the lower control arm, and that got me the extra clearance I needed the get the old spring & damper assembly out.

Getting the new Flex-Z coil overs installed was a "installation is the reverse of removal" simple process but there were a couple of points that concerned me that I'm looking for advice on:

1. After bench adjusting the Flex-Z's to their recommended setting for OEM FD ride height per the instructions that came with them, I needed to use a jack to raise the hanging lower control arm up a few inches to get the holes lined up so I can get lower damper bolt & nut installed - is this normal?

2. I had to do a similar thing to get my disconnected stabilizer bar end link to line up with its lower control arm bolt holes as well - this time using the jack on the end of the stabilizer bar. If it matters, the FD has an aftermarket sway bar, looks like the Racing Beat piece, has a bar diameter of 1-1/4 inches. Again, is this normal?

 

the primary feature of any coilover is its ability to raise and lower the ride height to basically an infinite number of points. one of the side effects of this feature is the overall length of the component will change based on the the desired ride height. because of this change in overall length of the part, the rest of the suspension parts will need to be raised or lowered on reinstallation or removal to meet the altered dimension of the shock body.

in addition to that, suspension parts that are not attached to anything other than their mount points have the tendency to change position from their "fully installed" state since now gravity is free to do with them as it wishes. also bear in mind that if the lower control arm DID NOT change position after removal of the old part, how would you get the new one in?

so in summary...... *YES,* your point 1 and 2 are normal of any coilover installation or ANY shock installation for that matter.

 

I recently installed Flex Z's as well and I second cr-rex's response above (Yes to both). Needed to jack up the lower control arm/sway bar to be able to line up the bolts. Years ago when I replaced with new OEM shocks I don't remember having to do this but my memory is fading...

Very happy with the ride quality on the recommended settings. Please do post back with your initial impressions.

 

Thanks guys, answers were kind of what I expected but it's my 1st time doing this job on the FD, so I wanted to verify before torquing all the bolts back to spec & putting the wheels back on. Now on to do the rears!

 

The rear should be a breeze, I found the front to be more annoying due to the ABS sensor.

 

the rear is more difficult for me. dealing with the sway bar has proven to be annoying 1100% of the time. i dont like the way that lower mount is set up. it makes sense but i dont like it

 

Howdy Pete!

Yeah you do have to use a jack to bring the A-arm up to the bottom of the coil over. No biggie there.

I don't recall having to disconnect the front sway bar at all. Basically remove the 3 nuts up top, the one bolt down below, unbolt the upper A-arm from the body and wiggle it out.

I think in the rear you may run into some of the sliding bushings. The aluminum arms have steel bushings pressed in and when you go to re-isntall things you have to push those bushings out a bit to get the part in. The alternator has a similar deal. Sometimes you have to use a socket and a bolt/nut to push that bushing back out to make room.

Once you get it on the ground, go around the block then measure ride height from the fender to the ground. I think the manual has recommendations for ride height, they may list the height from fender lip to center of wheel since the height to ground changes with tire and wheel size. Anyhow, get it all consistent, I had to adjust mine a little bit. If it's a half inch too low or high, jack up the car and remove the wheel. Measure the coil over threads, adjust it to add a half inch, measure again to make sure you got it, and verify once on the ground. The adjustment and ride height have a 1-1 ratio. And, yes, you can adjust the height without removing the coil overs.

Finally, don't forget to get the car aligned when done. Doing that much of a change will have your alignment all wonky. I just use stock specs, it's not worth doing some exotic alignment unless it's a dedicated track or autocross car. If it's a mostly street car just do stock.

Dale

 

Mazda likes a lot of droop in the suspension. if like you put the suspension at ride height, and measure the travel up in the bump direction and then down in the droop direction, Mazda uses a lot of droop. a little bit of droop helps keep the inside tire on the ground with lots of body roll, so when you stiffen it up, its probably not needed, some cars limit body roll by limiting droop. the Rx8 is really silly, its got feet of droop, you need a good jack to even get it off the ground. oddly the NC miata, which is on the same chassis is droop limited....

 

perhaps this will be helpful...Tein Flex Z instructions

 

I found the rears a bit easier than the fronts, even with the sway bar link. Mainly because you don't have to drop the strut damper down to clear the tower bolts THEN wrestle the whole thing upwards out of the upper A-arm like you do on the fronts. On the fronts, I also couldn't get my ABS sensor out, but with the cable bracket removed, there was plenty of wire slack to be able to do the job without breaking anything.

Hey Dale, the job went pretty easy - hardest part was getting the old ones out! Going by Tein's specs I should be pretty close to stock ride height now, maybe a tad higher. For now I'm going to leave it as is and see if I have rubbing anywhere. Doubt it will rub, as its obvious there's much more space now in the fender wells. If no rubbing, I'll lower it it small increments & test again for rubbing each time. Then when I reach the lowest safe no rub height, I'll get it aligned. As I mentioned at DGRR, and confirmed while doing this job, my front driver's side was sitting WAY too low and my alignment must have been jacked up too - the new fender liner took a beating at Deals!

Thanks! That's PDF is much easier to read than the tiny and now filthy pamphlet that came with them!

I always wondered why it seems I have to lift my Mazda's to the moon to get the tires off the ground - that explains it! Experienced this with my FD, FC, FB, an '03 Protege5 and my '14 Mazda3.