Just ordered some Koni SA's and am about to pick up a set of the MS springs. I like them because they only have a .8" drop on both ends (car is my daily driver also) but the spring rates seem to be up substantially which should help in autocross.

I'm wondering if anyone has real world experience with the MS springs and any aftermarket or stock shock. Is the 280/190 spring rate unbearable or are the other springs for this car just super soft. Any advice is much appreciated

 

I have no experience with the Koni, but I have the MS springs/strut/sway setup, and I love it. While they are noticeably stiffer than the stock 8 I test drove earlier, it's still quite comfortable as my daily driver. Not as comfortable as say, our lowered IS, but I have no problems with it. It does require a bit more diligence scanning the roadways though, and if you're not real slow in parking lots, speed bumps > you.

 

Keep in mind if you upgrade your sway not to get too stiff of sways (ie RB) because the springs are stiffer than the Racing Beat springs they will not be well suited together. Racing Beat's approach is more cush of a ride and killing the lean in turns with the sways.

MS setup is stiffer springs softer sways. Both will be an apparent upgrade but the MS will be a stiffer ride and a touch lower.

 

I have the full MS suspension and autocross as well. I am considering upgrading the struts, as they seem to be too soft for me on track days. I put about 28k miles on the car every year, and I find nothing wrong with the daily ride. With 19 inch wheels and small rubber, things can get rough on freeway transitions and pot holes, but with the stock wheel/tire size, it would be fine.

I'm not sure what the valving is like on the struts that you are considering, but it sounds like you're going in the right direction with the MS components as a portion of your upgrade. Keep in mind what 4-years is talking about...make sure you try and keep components matched as much as possible, and then adjust from their.

 

Thanks for the advise, I don't plan on changing the front or rear sways for the time being. If I do I will probably try for something mild but I'm hoping using the MS springs (stiffest of the bunch) and having the Konis turned up should be plenty of dampening and body roll control.

Also wanted to ask what you guys thought of the drop. I see it was listed at .8" on all 4 corners, does that seem true on your cars? I know a lot of people advertise a 1.25 and it ends up being almost 2" sometimes. Any pics of the MS spring/shock combo?

 

Mazdaspeed suspension - daily driver - about 23k miles a year - I guess it is stiff but I am used to it. I am told riding in the back seats can be bumpy.

 

Thanks for the pic, it looks like the drop is definetely more than .8" though. I remember seeing some threads with the Tein S tech's and it seemed like the drop is about the same. Do you scrape on any speed bumps and hard dips in the road?

 

Here is the Front BEFORE the MS Springs and shocks:


AFTER the MS Springs and MS Shocks:


I have pics of the rear but can post later here is the total package with the MS suspension.

 

Cool, it doesn't look like as big of a drop in those pictures. Especially the front.

 

yes, it is deceptive with the 19 inch wheels....the drop is perfect. I have the MS body kit as well, which lowers the front end a bit...scrape sometimes, going straight into driveways, but don't scrape on speed bumps at all.

Here's some pics of mine...with 19's (the black wheels) and 18's (the silver wheels)....as well as one showing body roll with the full MS setup.

 

Just got everything put in with a big help from Altian, the drop looks pretty nice. The front is not so noticable looks about .5" but the rear looks about like 1-1.2. Set the Konis 1.5 turns from full soft on all 4 corners and it is considerably stiffer than stock, somewhere on the borderline of ok and uncomfortable on bad roads. I think eventually I will turn it back to 1 or 1.25 turns from full soft instead of 1.5 but overall I'm happy.

 

Since you have adjustables this might work out well for you, but there was a poster here that tried the MS Springs with the stock shocks and was horrible. They (MS Springs) are made to go with a stiffer shock, and the result (with the stock shocks) was very bouncy.

 

After a few days the suspension feels pretty good, I think it's not quite as stiff now as the first few hours after the install, maybe some of the seals got broken in a bit. Anyways, it's slightly stiffer than my girlfriend's 00 S2000 and handles great. I think the Konis and MS springs are a great match for handling and a little bit of lowering. We set the konis to about 54% stiffness, I think the extra rebound setting in the shock is right for the stiffer rates of the springs.

Once again a big thanks to Altian for the generous use of his garage, tools and expertise.