Lowering it
 

I want to lower my 3 and was thinking about getting Tien S-Techs. I don't know too much about lowering springs, but do i need to get a camber kit. If i was to avoid getting a camber kit how quick will my tires wear out? I will be getting 17's soon but for now i will be lowering on stock steelies...can you say SLEEPER!!:)

RE: Lowering it
 

S-Tech's. Too low to be practical for thestreet, imo. And YES, you would definitelyNEED camber links or your tires will wear out in... like a week. Your shocks and struts will hate you too. Mods to the front to bring it back in may alsobe required.
I like the look, but wouldn't do it myself. There's a limit to what makes sense for your DD.
'Sides, the ride would be awful... worse w/coil-over's, but awful none-the-less.
If you're worried about drilling a few holes, then S-Tech's are not for you.
If you use your car more for back and forth to work or school, then S-Tech's are a bad choice.
If the car is your DD, but you AutoX, Rally or Road Raceevery w/e, then S-Tech's are for you.

Stick w/a Pro kit, or H&R's, or Progress, or....?for your DD.

RE: Lowering it
 

thats prob the best response i got so far....i thought the same too. I don't want to go that low any how so basically if i was to go with the s-techs it'd be sort of dumb and i would need to put a lot more money in my suspension just keep everything balanced. If i was to get megan racing springs that do a 1 inch dorp all around would those be good for a daily driver? So i should go for eibach pro kit, H&R, or progress?...never heard of progress but what is the cheapest and best route to go with without worrying about the car not being a daily driver enabled vehicle or needing camber links really bad.

RE: Lowering it
 

From what I know, a Pro Kit (or equivalent) is gonna put you right on the edge of the rear camber spec (-2.1*.) That's too much for me and I would stilldo the rear camber kit/upper control arms. In a front driver, I like a lot less neg cam than even what comes out of the factory. A little pos toe doesn't hurt either, imo.
I want the rear to come around in anything but completely F'ked up weather... but that's me.

RB's (Racing Beat, look 'em up) might be a good choice for you, or H-Tech's, if you don't wanna have to play w/it too much. Very mild drop, but improved handling too.

RE: Lowering it
 

yea well i can always add rear anti sway bar to make handling better i pretty much just want it lowered a bit with out having to mess with the camber. I can get some used megan racing springs for about 100$ with shipping, they were used for about 1k...

RE: Lowering it
 

also how long does your average suspension system last on our cars...if i was to put the eibach pro kit would it result in premature wear on the suspension..would i need to change my suspension and struts later on? I am trying to avoid changing other parts out or having other parts wear out quickly from one little thing like dropping it.

RE: Lowering it
 

They're WORSE than the S-Tech's!!!Did you look them up? Did you do any research at all on these?

2"/1.9" drop!! 250/230 spring rates!!! On a Mazda3 that's also a DD??
It took me 3 secs to find out about these springs.

And dropping is not a little thing.It involves serious changes in the geometry of the entire suspension.
Remember please, ANYTHING you do to a car, or any mechanical thing has consequences. As in life, push here, you get pulled there. Action/reaction. It's everywhere.

RE: Lowering it
 

...i was looking on another forum and saw them for sale and said that they gave a 1 inch drop not 2 but he/she could be wrong i was just reading what the other person stated about the springs. I did do research on the S-techs and H-techs and the pro kit and h&r i will most likely go with the pro kit or h-techs.

RE: Lowering it
 

Read, especially the part about "racecar handling." Racecar handling does not come w/o a price, my friend, no matter what they say about "a smooth and comfortable ride." Hell, if that were the case, the NASCAR guys would be taking a Sunday stroll in a Cadillac, but they are getting paidfor the abuse and the chances they take w/their bodies.
And if you don't understand something, look it up and read some more.

http://www.meganracing.com/products/...&input.y=7

RE: Lowering it
 

Hm, interesting to hear about the Eilbach system. There's a 3 on campus with a complete Eilbach susp. system, and it's waayy too low, especially for our streets (anyone ever drive on a NYC street?). Any time I see him leaving campus, he always leaves with a loud SCRAPE of his splash guard over the mini-speed bump.

Lowering is a terrible idea for a DD, especially for a car that will be driven in an urban/semi-urban environment.