Its been a while since I last posted mainly due to school and SETBACKS. This project has been a HUGE hassle, but as of today I'm finally making progress again. Once again, me posting progress= long write up.
When we last left off I was rolling my fenders to make room for the new tires and stance. Front fenders were a breeze, rear fenders... not so much. The fender roller ended up being slightly too large for my application which made it extremely difficult to fit onto the fender lip. So difficult in fact that while it was on the lip, it was also riding the inside of the rear wheel well. My rear fenders are pretty well ****ed... Oh well, you live and you learn, and then you get LUVS!
After destroying my rear fenders, but at least making room I decided to get the car down on the road and see how she drove. As I feared, the front was fine but the rear was riding on the bump stops. The rear coils were set as low as they would go, and still sat higher than the front, so raising the car up to sit off the bumpstops didn't seem like a viable idea. What to do what to do...
At the same time I had just finished cleaning up, painting, and installing the Mazda 6 brakes and was ready to test them out. On that same drive I was riding on the bumpstops, I also had basically no brake pedal. Upon further inspection I realized my old SS braided lines were shit and shot, so replacement was necessary.
To add insult to injury, when test fitting the new wheels with the new brakes, I still needed to grind away more of the caliper! How many problems can a guy have! Temporarily deterred, I stopped work and focused on other things.
As time passed I thought of the car from time to time and finally decided I wanted to throw more money at it. First things first, I bit the bullet and just bought some Yonakas. Suspension expirement failed, but much learned. I could have purchased Tokico Illuminas and had (Im hoping) a lower bump stop which would have allowed me to ride at the height I wanted, but seeing as how yonakas were cheaper it seemed the obvious choice. Sure enough upon comparison the difference in overall strut height is HUGE.
rear
front
front with stockish struts installed
front with Yonakas installed
While I was at it I purchased new SS brake lines and ground down more of the caliper and repainted it.
the lines have a black casing on them... everything's looking pretty new down in the wheel wells now!
With everything installed and looking good, I put the car back down on the ground and checked it out. The ride height is about the same overall as the previous setup, with the front maybe a touch higher and the rear looking a touch lower. Starter her up, and took her for a drive, and everything is looking great! Brake pedal is nice and firm, no pure bump stop rides, and the wheels clear the calipers. GREAT SUCCESS! Couple dirty pictures for fun...
Now that Im back in the spirit of things there is much work to come. Expect many updates in the near future, specifically CZT IM, 75mm TB, MS, and nitrous installs.
When we last left off I was rolling my fenders to make room for the new tires and stance. Front fenders were a breeze, rear fenders... not so much. The fender roller ended up being slightly too large for my application which made it extremely difficult to fit onto the fender lip. So difficult in fact that while it was on the lip, it was also riding the inside of the rear wheel well. My rear fenders are pretty well ****ed... Oh well, you live and you learn, and then you get LUVS!
After destroying my rear fenders, but at least making room I decided to get the car down on the road and see how she drove. As I feared, the front was fine but the rear was riding on the bump stops. The rear coils were set as low as they would go, and still sat higher than the front, so raising the car up to sit off the bumpstops didn't seem like a viable idea. What to do what to do...
At the same time I had just finished cleaning up, painting, and installing the Mazda 6 brakes and was ready to test them out. On that same drive I was riding on the bumpstops, I also had basically no brake pedal. Upon further inspection I realized my old SS braided lines were shit and shot, so replacement was necessary.
To add insult to injury, when test fitting the new wheels with the new brakes, I still needed to grind away more of the caliper! How many problems can a guy have! Temporarily deterred, I stopped work and focused on other things.
As time passed I thought of the car from time to time and finally decided I wanted to throw more money at it. First things first, I bit the bullet and just bought some Yonakas. Suspension expirement failed, but much learned. I could have purchased Tokico Illuminas and had (Im hoping) a lower bump stop which would have allowed me to ride at the height I wanted, but seeing as how yonakas were cheaper it seemed the obvious choice. Sure enough upon comparison the difference in overall strut height is HUGE.
rear
front
front with stockish struts installed
front with Yonakas installed
While I was at it I purchased new SS brake lines and ground down more of the caliper and repainted it.
the lines have a black casing on them... everything's looking pretty new down in the wheel wells now!
With everything installed and looking good, I put the car back down on the ground and checked it out. The ride height is about the same overall as the previous setup, with the front maybe a touch higher and the rear looking a touch lower. Starter her up, and took her for a drive, and everything is looking great! Brake pedal is nice and firm, no pure bump stop rides, and the wheels clear the calipers. GREAT SUCCESS! Couple dirty pictures for fun...
Now that Im back in the spirit of things there is much work to come. Expect many updates in the near future, specifically CZT IM, 75mm TB, MS, and nitrous installs.
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