Hi guys,

After reading many previous threads on this forum for a while, I finally bought a set a Koni yellow shocks and Tanabe GF210 springs. (from DPEWEB.com)

Today I had the local Mazda dealer (Anderson Ford Mazda) installed them for me (Myself have very limited knowledge of suspension). But apparently something is WRONG --- the front dropped but the rear not (if not higher). The GF210 is supposed to drop about 1.4/1.2 F/R but now my car looks funny and stupid.
Please see the pictures I just took after I got home.

I've read about tightening the control arm bolts when the car is on the ground and told the technician the same thing when I saw the car like that. He said he doesn't believe the car look right either and didn't know what else do to lower the rear. They said the problem was the springs, which I doubt.

What's wrong? Please help me, anything you can share will be appreciated!!
I really feel bad when driving my car now.

 

Man... I never had this problem but I know you need to wait a little to set in the springs. It shouldnt be that high though. Others will be able to help I bet. GL

 

Thanks 4 ur reply.
Yes, It's very high and when I drive it, I feel I am going down from the top of a mountain. The rear didn't drop at all.

I was not allowed to go into the dealer shop's working area so I didn't see what the mechanic did. But I told him to loose the control arm bolts and retighten them when the car's on the ground. He came back later and told that didn't work. Not likely since he's a mechanic but is there any chance he didn't loose the right bolts? If he did wrong, how could the front be dropped?

Any possibility the problem is the springs, like they said?

I live in an apt without a garage and necessary tools. Otherwise, maybe I could try it myself.

 

looks like the rear control arm bolts weren't loosened properly, or maybe the bottom end of the spring wasn't seated all the way around in the end of the shock perch (long shot)? Or is it possible they put the wrong springs on the wrong end since it looks seriously dropped in the front and seriously high in the rear? The front springs have a higher rate and different length than the rear.

However, Tanabe is known to f'up too. There was a member here that bought their rear swaybar and it came with bushings that could not possibly work, but Tanabe insisted they were the right ones. No way, no how ...

 

Hi teamrx8,

Here are two pictures I took of the springs after I got them.
The shorter ones are for the front and longer ones are for the rear, right?

I read the story about that Tanabe sway bar too, but heard nothing bad yet from other members who installed the springs.

Do the rear springs look longer than they should? Did they really f'up the one I ordered? I hope not....

As seen in pictures, there is a piece of black plastic on each springs and I noticed that the mechanic left them on. Should them be removed before being put on the car?

 

did he load them? or i forget the term, but from what i hear, with these springs, is you're supposed to have them compressed all the way then do an alignment.

maybe he didn't do that?

if it doesn't feel right as well then I would have them removed. If you search up gf210 on this board, you will come across other members that have them and the car looks great. a lot of blabbering about wishing it was lower, but nothing a coil-over setup can't do.

 

I think using the spring compressor is just make it much easier to install the spring, then release it from the compressor. It won't change the length of the springs. I might be wrong though.

 

the bushings get loaded and keep the car up if the suspension arm bolts aren't loosened and allowed to break free to the new, lower ride height before retightening them

 

I have the exact same springs and my car doesnt look like that. My drop is great. The backend is lower and same with the front. Def a mean stance these springs give my car.

But im sorry to hear about your situation. Hope all works out for you.

 

Thanks, Moete. I hope this can be resolved soon, very soon.

Even if not 100% clear yet if that's the Mazda dealer' fault this time but I honestly do not trust them (at least not any more).

I had a mazda6 before, and when I sent it to have brake pads replaced, they damaged my car like this: (they replaced the door afterwards but the body work was not very good).

I thought about giving them another chance, but am afraid that was a wrong decision.
They charged me 470 bucks today and my car ended up like this.

If time allowed, I really need to learn doing stuff myself.

 

I can't tell from the pics which is which, the higher rate front springs would typically have a larger wire diameter than the rear springs

 

https://www.rx8club.com/series-i-wheels-tires-brakes-suspension-55/problem-spring-install-please-help-40234/

https://www.rx8club.com/series-i-wheels-tires-brakes-suspension-55/tanabe-springs-problem-46048/

https://www.rx8club.com/series-i-wheels-tires-brakes-suspension-55/rear-springs-61558/

https://www.rx8club.com/series-i-wheels-tires-brakes-suspension-55/what-color-dot-found-rear-oem-springs-86757/

https://www.rx8club.com/series-i-do-yourself-forum-73/diy-lowering-springs-install-23403/

 

Thanks for finding the links for me, I am reading now.

 

front springs part no. ends in F and are shorter

rear springs part no. ends in R and are longer

you may be able to verify the number by pulling the wheel and checking the part no.s

otherwise I don't thing the rear suspension was broken free on the chassis side and settled properly before retightening

 

Appreciated! I will check that in the morning. Will post updates here.

 

How many miles have you put on it since picking it up?

After installing my Tein S-Techs, the rear looked higher than stock. Took it for a 20 minute drive and took it over a few speed bumps, etc. Got home, measured, and it had dropped about an inch. Over the next few weeks, the whole car settled another 1/2".

Drive it around and get the rear to compress as much as you can, see if it will settle.

 

Had the same 'issue'. Even after trying to put load on new S-tech springs, my rear was riding higher than stock as well. Over the next couple of days I saw it creep downward thought and now everything is fine.

 

I checked the part #s and both front and rear seem correct to me.

mazmart and worm, so you both experienced a big 'sudden' settle? We talking about something big, like 1.0+ inch drop? Not sure if that 'miracle' will happen to me. That doesn't sound a normal settle though.

I talked to another shop this morning and they have a busy schedule today. They told me they could look at it for me tomorrow. Of course, I need to pay....

 

I would say it took two days before I noticed the rears settling. The front was immediate.

I only switched out the springs though, left stock shocks.

 

mazmart, so far I drove about 35 miles after picking it up. NE's roads have lots of bumps but I haven't seen any change compared it looked like on yesterday's pictures. hoping to see changes though.

Might not be a good question, but do new shocks (other than coilovers) matter the ride's height?
My koni yellows are not height-adjustable, just firm/soft. I set one full turn from full soft (both front and rear) out of the range of 5 half-turns.

 

Odd, How could the Koni shocks stop you'r springs from settling?

 

Yeah...that makes no sense.

 

they can't. I believe they didn't pre-load.

 

Did they cut the bumpstops (or do you have to with the Koni's)?

edit - nevermind - that wouldn't have anything to do with the ride height. Just thinking out loud. Hope you get it worked out.

 

Preload? I've seen so many people with this issue when they install new springs. I highly doubt that your springs will "settle" an inch or more. When I installed my S-Techs they dropped to the perfect height right when I took it off the jack stands (and yes, I preloaded, see DIY link below). Usually the preload issue shows up front though, so I'm not sure if that would cause the back to sit high like that.

I followed MazdaManiacs excellent DIY: https://www.rx8club.com/showthread.p...ght=diy+tokico (great avatars are a bonus). It really shouldn't matter what springs/shocks you are installing, this is a great DIY for how to remove and install the suspension components.