MAPerformance Pre sale on Swift Spec R springs for the Mazdaspeed 3!!!!!

[specvspeedfreak]

Originally Posted by mrmonk7663 Springs are in!!! Installing on Saturday.

Nice.. you can tell they are different in design from h&r's and CS. The rear springs seem closer in design to H&R but the active coils seem further apart. The fronts don't look like either h&R or CS. I like the design. Too me it seems the active coils are intended for 2 things: not be as bouncy since its shorter in length(and coils) and use only the range of the struts/shocks when lowered.. but im not an expert ..maybe we need @Nliiitend1 to tell us what he thinks .. crossing my fingers lol

[R3L3NTL3S]

@mrmonk7663
lucky mine should be here on friday.

[specvspeedfreak]

Swift springs installed
Here are some pics

Swift next to OEM

Swift when car is on load (on the ground) in the front. The "progressive" portion is just there to fill a void I guess (fully closes) and becomes only a linear rate spring.


Car is on a slight downhill on passenger side. Red MS3 is @R3L3NTL3S . Will be installing Swift springs on his car tomorrow






From our short drive. Car feels good. Smooth. Not bouncy. Took small bumps or imperfections on the road better/smoother. It actually rides smoother than stock. It doesn't have that jolt like the oem springs when going over small bumps/cracks or whatever. I will go for a longer drive later and get back with more. So far so good. Now I need 235/40 or 245/40's .. I hate how thin the stock tires are.

[specvspeedfreak]

Went to test out the handling a lil. and I'm impressed already. You can feel the difference. Flat around corners. It doesn't have that skipidy feeling like oem around corners/turns < and I didn't push it to the limit yet... It's better on the small bumps and imperfections for sure. Its not bouncy. around town it rides close to stock but just a lil less harsh< weird I know (but Swift is known for that).. but I like..Will get it aligned soon then once oem struts wear out. i'll switch to bilsteins. Swift FTW.

[mrmonk7663]

Anything special to note on the install? I didn't get to install mine today so I'm doing it tomorrow. Car looks great!!!

[specvspeedfreak]

it can be a bitch.. doing it all over again on @R3L3NTL3S car later today. I don't know what approach your going to use for removing the front struts out from the assembly itself, but that's the hardest part. We used the scissor jack method and it worked. Don't use the quarter trick; that shit will break and get crap in the hole and fuck up the thread. Just use a thin file or something else to get in that slot. My car was kinda a Guinea pig and we just went at it. It can be a bitch it things go your way. I had done the install before but it long ago it was like not ever doing it to being with.. Hopefully today's install goes better. Expect 4-6 hrs of work by yourself.

[mrmonk7663]

Ouch....sounds not fun lol. And its raining to boot. We will see if my balls drop more today and get me off my ass to tackle this job.

[specvspeedfreak]

@R3L3NTL3S is finishing up with the rears in my garage as we speak. Have to watch my son or else I would of helped finish it up. This time it took us less than 1hr and 20 mins to get the fronts done.Its not a hard install at all.. only part that can be a bitch it taking out or putting the front strut back in.

[mrmonk7663]

As soon as it stops storming i'm gonna try and install mine.

[specvspeedfreak]

done. Took 2.5 hrs this time around with a small snag. Will try to get it done in 2hrs for jkups car. Will post up pics a lil later.

[mrmonk7663]

@specvspeedfreak Dude, my front sway bar end link wont budge. I have the nut removed, that was fine. I even have the 17mm bolt removed from the brake assembly. But the end link does not just come out of the hole. How do you get the endlink out of the hole? I have tried jacking under the brake assembly, prying a little, and everything. wtf?

Originally Posted by specvspeedfreak done. Took 2.5 hrs this time around with a small snag. Will try to get it done in 2hrs for jkups car. Will post up pics a lil later.

[specvspeedfreak]

17mm bolt is not on the brake assembly. its on the strut assembly, on the bottom. The end link is 14mm that has that lil bracket holding it. once you remove that it should just pull out. the endlink is a joint, you can move it. If that doesn't work try removing the 3 bolts up from the strut (in the engine bay) then the strut should be free. that should do it.

[mrmonk7663]

Yah my end link did not just slide right out. PIece of shit. I have the brake assembly about 1/2 slid down on the strut, and its not coming down anymore. This shit sucks. I'm about to have to quit as im soaking wet and its pouring rain...I have no clue how to get the brake assembly back on the strut. I tried jacking from the bottom and the spring just compresses.

[mrmonk7663]

Ok I quit. The rain is relentless and i'm getting no where fast. I need help getting the strut back aligned with the lower 17mm bolt. How do I get the assembly to slide the 1/2" back up the shaft?

[mrmonk7663]

Can someone plese help i'm seriously fucked. I can't get the brake assembly to slide up the strut.

[warlord]

Put a jack under the control arm and jack up with a little pressure. Tap the control arm with a hammer lightlyand repeatedly. The strut will pop in with a nice solid thud from the upward pressure. Done. Tighten 17mm bolt.

LOL. Just noticed the post right before me. Just one note ,the strut won't slide in if the strut isn't perpenducular to the hole in the control arm.

[SleeperHatch]

Hit it with a hammer after you jack up that a-arm a little bit at a time

Sent from my Epic Win Avatar

[mrmonk7663]

I got the strut back in a little while ago. I bolted back the strut end link, put on the wheel, lowered the car, and pushed a bit from the top of car and it "popped" and seated.

When I was talking about the brake assembly I meant everything that is sliding off the strut...not the actual calipers or rotors etc. My fail at terminology

Car is back on the road and normal again. I will attempt this again next weekend. The rain kicked my ass.

One problem I had and i'm not sure why was my Sway Bar End link. Unlike many on here, mine did not slide right off. I tried moving it, pushing it, prying it...I tried raising and lowering the height of the vehicle...it still didn't come out. Eventually it backed off a little and I knocked it out with a hammer....by doing so I mushroomed the allen head portion and now only a torx bit will hold it...no big deal. The threads are now marred a bit.

I want to replace the endlink, and i'm wondering if I should buy OEM or if I should take the money and upgrade to adjustable endlinks at this time since I have to spend money regardless? Thoughts?

Thanks yall. Sorry no feedback from the Swift Springs from me today. Next weekend fingers crossed.

[warlord]

oem are good quality . If there isn't alot of preload on the sway then it's hard to justify Powergrids that cost three times as much.

[R3L3NTL3S]

@mrmonk7663

Did you have the whole front end of the car on jack stands or just one side? If you only had one side jacked up the swaybar is still under load and that could have been the problem.

[mrmonk7663]

I just had one side....so that definitely was the issue. I ordered a stock replacement...$50 shipped from Rock Auto. Next weekend I will NOT make the same mistakes. Thanks!!!

[R3L3NTL3S]

Cool man. Now cancel that order because you dont need a new one. Save that money for something better

[mrmonk7663]

Haha, I do need a new one. I hit mine with a hammer, which forced it out of the hole and messed up the Allen head portion of the stud. The threads don't look to great anymore either since I forced it out of the hole. Its alright, live and learn

[R3L3NTL3S]

lol. good times man. I just got mine on today with the help of @specvspeedfreak (since we did his yesterday) and the car drives so much better.
Much flatter through corners and the car just feels more planted to the ground.

If you need any help hit me up man.

[mrmonk7663]

Congrats. I appreciate it. Only help I need at this point is how to get the strut assembly seperated. I used the "scissor jack" method and got it 1/2 off...then I saw that the jack was flexing the spring perch so I said screw that...even though the instructions said use scissor jack.

I then used a little short 2x4 and a regular nail hammer, and it didn't move at all. I'm wondering if the fact that I had only one side jacked up also affected my ability to remove the assembly...I bet it did...thinking about it I bet it was putting lateral pressure on the strut, making it harder to slide out.

[R3L3NTL3S]

You are right about the sway bar problems.
heres how @specvspeedfreak and I did it.

1. Jack the front of the car off the ground and place the front on jackstands.

2. remove the wheels, disconnect the ABS sensor plug thing, remove the brake line from the strut and unbolt the end link 14mm.

3. remove the 17mm bolt holding the strut to the lower control arm.
4. unbolt the top three bolts holding the strut to the strut tower (in engine bay)

5. SUPER HARD PART!!!! lol. now you need to figure out a way to slightly open the part that is holding the strut (where the strut sits in the lower control arm) We cut a wrench that was roughly the thickness of 1 quarter (you need to make sure what ever you use is really strong because we bent 2 quarters trying to figure out ow to do it right).

6. slide your newly cut wrench or whatever you chose into the opening (the opening is behind the strut. You can see it if you poke your head back there) Now take the 17mm bolt you removed and thread it in from the opposite end (hard to explain but you will know what I mean when you see it.) Once it starts to spread apart and the strut is able to move a little spray some pb blaster in the opening to get things all lubed up. now remove the bolt and your fancy tool.

7. Now just wiggle the strut out and you are done.

Sorry I dont have pics but if you read this while doing it it will make soo much more sense and this will save you roughly 2 hours. lol

[mrmonk7663]

Holy shit...dude, that idea is freakin mega. Genius. Now I 100% will do this AGAIN next weekend. THANKS.

[R3L3NTL3S]

Sure thing man. BFH's (Big Fucking Hammer) are for Hondas only. lol Doing it this way will make things much smoother.

[Remspeed3]

I had this left over from when I owned Vw's, it makes life easy when changing out your struts. Volkswagen Golf IV 1.8T > Tools > Suspension > ES&#353894 Spindle Housing Spreader Tool - SCW3435

[mrmonk7663]

Good call on the tool. Sears also sells this I just found out.

[maperformance]

Glad everyone is enjoying these..

[Remspeed3]

Originally Posted by maperformance Glad everyone is enjoying these..

MAP, did you guys sale all 10 sets? if so when do you expect to get more of them??

[specvspeedfreak]

Swift replied to a question I had about the progressive portion. This was what their reply:

"yes the progressive portion of the spring acts like a helper spring. It is fully collapsed at static height. And yes it is a linear rate."

he also mentioned that Bilstein sport would be the best way to go. I guess he was getting a lot of people calling to see what higher performing shocks/struts would be best. He contacted Bilstein and found out GREAT news. You can get it custom valved for FREE when you order them new. I contacted AJUSA.COM (probably Bilstein biggest distributors and cheapest price actually) to confirm, and indeed it is true. I asked what info they need. He said: spring rate (we have), curb weight (we know already) and corner weight (i emailed swift to get this info). With this info we can have custom valved high performance struts/shocks for our cars!

Now I need to find a way to buy these< ran out of money! lol

[specvspeedfreak]

Fromf Swift:

As for the corner weights we recorded an average of about 980lbs per corner in the front
645lbs in the rear per corner.

[mrmonk7663]

Sweet, so we have all the info we need for the custom valving...this will be the route I am going...good job bro!!! Way to stay on it What are the published spring rates for these springs?

[specvspeedfreak]

4.5 kg/mm all around .. its on the first page of this thread lol

[mrmonk7663]

Yah...I knew that....lol thanks

[Stwok240]

You all are doing the lords work, thanks...

[maperformance]

PM me to get your order placed today!!!

[specvspeedfreak]

damn.. It seems what I said about valving bilstein's with no charge to the springs is not accurate. It's only true on non application strut/shocks. Bilstein said if it comes with valving pre-set then it would cost more to custom valve them. You can get it valved to your specs when new still with cost but I think OTS valving will suffice most likely...I guess it was too good to be true.