Coilover kit
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These are the ones I mentioned earlier. The springs are bit soft and a bit short for Normal struts. What ever you do, DO NOT put them on standard struts, you will loose it on the first fast bend you take. The Tokico struts are about the best you are gona get for street use. KYBs are just a replacement for standard shocks, they provide no extra damping, better for luxury cars than sports cars.
What they dont tell you is that yo have to modify the struts in order to get the coil overs screw sleeve over the strut, because you have to grind off the bottom spring support. I have heard of a couple fo guys ruining a brand new pair of struts in this way. (boiling the oil, not to mention what happens with gas shocks)
Look at the options, 400 dollars for the coilovers, 100 odd for the struts, more than 300 for shipping, add on the import taxes, modify the coilovers and by the time you are done….....well
you are better going for something like the Ksport, these range around 800 euros (will confirm price) or any other full kit like AST. then you have adjustable ride height and fully adjustable damping just by turning the dial, and fully adjustable camber (needed to drop more than 8cms)
btw, on Ebay you will find these but for the MX
Unless you want to total you're car, please dont even consider.....these are nothing but really cheap copies made in Taiwan, we have seen the springs snap and the threads on the coils over just snag within the first two turns.
If you are not into performance, just looks then buy a set of lowering springs from Eibach or H&R. If you want performance street and track, then please please dont cut corners, it will just cost a hell of a lot more in the end.
just one last tip: loads of parts from the Ford Escort fit the mx3, like the brake disks, never tried the shocks but I'll bet that they will fit.
I was suing these for the escort for 2 years, and they worked a treat, but not for the track, (burned them out in one season) :wink:
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When you say FORD ESCORT do you actually mean we can use shocks/coilovers designed for it?
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Why has it got two springs?
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The brakes come from a 2000 escort as advertised on Ebay, these are exactlly the ones I bought and even on the box it was stamped Ford Escort. the A-arms are also the same but as I said the shocks I have never tried.Maybe some one can have a look around on the scrap yard and take some measurements. I mentioned it because I know how easy it is to get escort parts in the UK.
The AST have two springs, a pre-compresion spring and and a progresive spring. The pre-compresion takes all the play away no matter at height they are adjusted, these absorb all the soft bumps. The progresive spring is much stronger and only having this one would make the ride really hard. The beauty about the system is that its tailored made for every car.
The kit that I have has been specially made for me. I use the standard AST struts but have a different combination of springs to everybody else because I do a lot of track racing and because AST knows me personally well and knows that I kick the s**t out of it no matter where :-)
The orange button on top is to adjust the damping settings, you have 12 to choose from. For Heavy street use and Drag, I will set the front to 6 and the rear on 8. For track days the front goes to 8 and the rear on 10.
My car is lowered 8cm on the front and 10cm on the rear fro the street.
On the track I drop the front by another 2cms.here are some photos of us racing at Assen raceway.
http://www.racephoto.nl/main.php?g2_itemId=71701
http://www.racephoto.nl/main.php?g2_itemId=71651some photos here of us racing at Assen raceway
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im looking for something with adjustable hardness but i dont want to have to fark out 1500 for tien
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Mikee,
You obviously know alot about what your doing so…..
Lets suppose you are on a limited budget and you want to improve the handling of your MX3. What would you suggest if you had:
1. £400
2. £250
3. Cheap as possible solution
I know its alot to ask but it would really help out.
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Im in progress with a company to produce a custom built coilover kit made specific for the mx-3, i have sent them the mx3 struts so they have started progress, mines being measured for its axle weight and heights so it will be made EXACTELY for the mx3.
once it has been completed i will post pictures and details of the company so you guys can send all your enquirys to them.
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Cool,
Good to see you again, did you ever get round to fitting the megasquirt?
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Garfy thats dam good news, the more goodies for the mx the better.
@admin,
SUSPENSION:
if you are on a low budget and have a 1600, the try to find a second hand set of struts from the V6 and a set of H&R lowering springs.
My brother in law has this combination and on the track, he does ok.
Also fit the front strut bar from the V6, and look for a rear one:
http://www.senshispeed.nl/users/pics/pic3_74hx2569q28x.jpg?picid=90rn5036b56q
http://corksport.com/store/image/bd28/mx3-suspension_misc_CorkSport_Rear_Strut_Tower_Bar.jpgIf you have the V6, there's not a lot of choice for a tight budget. Obviously the springs are not of a prolem, the struts are.
The biggest problem here is the strut length. every company sells the struts in the standard length. Even though the new struts are stiffer once you lower it, you now have 6cms of the damper rod thats constantly inside the strut. if the car is force upward in a power corner, it will go up by 6cms plus 2 or 3cms more and this is where you usually stack it.If you are handy and have access to some tools then there is a way to take the old the old strut appart, remove the damper from inside and replace it with a KONI damper that fits inside the strut leg. This is a cheaper alternative than replacing the complete strut, but I dont advice this to people with two left hands.
http://www.koni-na.com/pdf/boltstrut.pdfThe Rear Strut bar will also make a lot of difference, as it stop the torsion from the rear.
If you are thinking of doing sprints with the car, then you have to eliminate the wheel hop when you launch or you will blow the Diff or one of the gears. Easiest way of doing this is to fill your engine mounts with Polyurethane and replace the control arm bushings:
http://www.jeroentje.nl/media/foto/4766.jpg
http://corksport.com/store/image/fen2/mx3-suspension_misc_SRD_Control_Arm_Bushing_Inserts_-Front.jpgBRAKES: change the disks for the vented and drilled set from the escort and use EBC Green Stuff brake pads, better than this combination you aint gona get for that money
TYRES: Toyos are a good choice but they are so soft that you will be changing them every 4 months.
a cheaper alternative are NANKANG, in the last 4 years on the track/road I have never found a better tyre for that price. I signed a deal with FAlKEN this year, and I regret it so much that My set is now for sale. They brillinant tyres for drifting but not for grip as the compound is far too hard.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/1-x-NANKANG-NS2-215-35-18-H-2153518-NEW-TYRE_W0QQitemZ180109168658QQihZ008QQcategoryZ9891QQcmdZViewItemThis is the best advice I have for now guys….hope it helps
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What springs would you use with the Koni Red Inserts?
The part numbers for the inserts are:
Koni Red Special inserts for a Mazda MX-3.Part Numbers:
86-2442 (front)
86-2443 (rear)
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Most of the springs on the market lower the car from 4cm to 5.5max but whats most important is the thickness of the spring, strength in the coil and it progressio. (going from a tight coil to a loose coil)
Eibach and H&R are about the same really, both have good progresive coil.
Intrax are for people wanting to lower but not stiffen the ride too much
AST springs we're specially made here in Holland for all the mx3 owners that kept bitching to them (including me) They have tried 3 different combinations unitl they found the right coils.If you can find Eibachs or H&Rs for less than 140 euros (doubtfull) go for these.
I dont want to keep pushing products from the JT range, thats not my intention but unless you can get whats mentioned above I would seriously advice you to go for the AST,s not because of the price but rather because they we're made to our requirements.
The koni cartridges have adjustable damping so with a bit playing around you should be able to get a nice ride height with just the right stiffness.
http://www.koni-na.com/comp.cfm
Always set the rear a little stiffer than the front, this will give you better warning before the back breaks out.
The reason for setting the front a bit softer is to reduce wheel hop and loss of traction, and eliminates a lot of under steer when powering into the corner.
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Jeroen is tryin to get get group buy going here in Holland for the Ksport kit.
Normally the set would cost 1050 euro, in the group buy they are costing 850 euro. The topic is on the dutch mx3 site, being in dutch dont help to go there. if anyone is intrested please let jeroen as soon as possible:http://www.jeroentje.nl/media/foto/4249.jpg
http://www.jeroentje.nl/media/foto/4251.jpg
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Wow, i didnt notice this thread!
Thats the Nitrous Fusion car off Youtube on the track! Lush
I want 330mm K-Sport Brakes and Coilovers later in the year. Im just making do with my Koni inserts and Dropzone kit at the moment.
What are the chances of a Group Buy on the Brake Kit also guys?
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Hi mate, you're right about the car :-)
we are trying to get the groupby brake kit right now, we need 10 sets and we have about 7 or 8, so we are still in need of a couple more…...if any one else intrested please please send an email to info@jeroentje.nl
I really want these myself, but because they are not in production, they wont make the set unless we order 10. We allready took all the measurements from my car so they have all the info.
More info:
http://www.jeroentje.nl/index.php?page=product_view&auto_id=0150&product_id=70100750
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@6a19934411=Mikee:
Hi mate, you're right about the car :-)
we are trying to get the groupby brake kit right now, we need 10 sets and we have about 7 or 8, so we are still in need of a couple more…...if any one else intrested please please send an email to info@jeroentje.nl
I really want these myself, but because they are not in production, they wont make the set unless we order 10. We allready took all the measurements from my car so they have all the info.
More info:
http://www.jeroentje.nl/index.php?page=product_view&auto_id=0150&product_id=70100750
Just sent your man an e-mail, can you check that he got it. Desperate to get ma car hooped! :lol:
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Just came across this website with cheap Intrax springs, only £115 quid, not sure on the quality tho…what d'you reckon?
If you search for MX3 you'll see em in the list…
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Good find, but by the time you have paid the shipping from the US and the import chargers, it will probably chepaper to get the AST set from JT.
all products from the US seem cheap, thats what I always thought but then you get bizaar shipping chargers thrown in, and what nobody tells you is that when the parcel is delivered to your door the postie wil ask you for some more money for Import.
everything that comes from Europe has no import chargers.
search on ebay.de….a bit hard as most of you dont understand german, me neither btw, but with patience and an online translator you do get results.http://fahrzeugteile.search.ebay.de/mx3_Auto-Motorrad-Teile_W0QQfromZR8QQfrtsZ200QQsacatZ131090
also try a company called FK, this is an online catalogue and has a lot of stuff, but you do have to find a dealer in the UK
http://www.fk-automotive.com/shop/product_info.php/info/p7380_FK-High-Tec-Tieferlegungsfedern-passend-f-r-Mazda-MX-3--Typ-EX---Bj--91---.html
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How much are these AST coil over kits going for from JT?
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hehehe like to let ya know i got my 35mm lower springs and 8pt adjustable dampers for
WAIT FOR IT
FREE
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and how you manage this one then ????
