I wish the RX8s were that light, but they're not, more like 22lbs. Evidence below, and that's stripped of all paint, clearcoat, center caps and valve stems. Still a pretty lightweight 18x8 OEM wheel.

 

I always thought they were lighter than that for some reason.

 

Altima SE-R wheels are about 18lbs each, 18x8 +45

 

And nearly imposible to find anywhere under $1200 a set. At that price you might as well get aftermarket wheels IMO.

 

Yeah, some stock rims do look really great, but they are just stock rims.

 

bathroom scale? Not the best to measure the weight of wheels. I checked my RX8 wheels and mine were in the 20-21 range like I said. It was a long time ago. Also, I believe that Mazda changed companies about half-way through production on the wheels that resulted in the later ones being abit heavier??? I remember reading a thread on rx8 club awhile back when I was doing rim research.


Found this: "there are two vendors for the OE wheel to Mazda. Hitachi and U-Mold"

 

Prices went up that much I bought my set (that I never used and are still sitting in my garage) for $650. As far as aftermarket wheels, the SE-R wheels are made by Rays and are forged. So for $1200, unless youre getting a great deal on something comparable, theyre still a good value.

 

Interesting. Never knew that. Maybe I got the heavier ones. Really when it comes down to it they're still lighter than the OEM MS3 and MS6 wheels, so it's a win win. Curious though, what kind of scale should I have used???

Well it's because lucky bastards like you picked them all up for cheap so now they're super hard to find lol. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE LOVE LOVE the SE-R wheels and I agree for OEM wheels they're incredible, but you can find a used set of really nice aftermarket wheels for the same or less money. Just depends on your priorites. So you have a set sitting in your garage huh?

 

Sorry for the threadjack

Oh, and when I weight wheels, I usually weigh myself, then myself holding the wheel. Then subtract the difference. My scale is digital and can weigh down to 1/10 of a pound.

 

Yeah, I do like those stock wheels of Altima SE-R a lot, but it's just that I personally don't want to get a set of another car's stock wheels to put on my car.

 

I personally wouldn't either... it doesn't feel "original" lol

 

Looks great man! Don't sweat the drop just enjoy your new rims.

 

Those look good on the car. I would think though a 1.5 drop would be better. 1in drops are usually almost completely unnoticeable.

 

But I guess everyone can have different opinion on this though.

Thanks

I'm fully enjoying them. Making excuses to go out for a quick drive. It's amazing how a new set of rims and tires can change the whole car's drivability.

I agree with you. My friend just put a set of Swift Springs on his 370Z, and it is hardly noticeable. I'll have to check on other members with different suspension set up before I make a final decision. I usually do way too much research on each mod.. haha

 

I know the feeling haha. Doing something adjustable I think is always best cause eventually you will probably think it isn't low enough after you first do it. Even if it is just adjustable perch koni struts.

 

Just got a quote for the parts.

Swift Springs Spec R $300 shipped
Bilstein Sports $700 shipped

The vendor is getting me the Koni Yellow's quote right now.

No, I'm not getting these right away. Just trying to figure out how much it would cost for the setup that I want.

 

How much are coils for your car?

 

There are a lot of options for my car. Mostly cost between $1200-1800. I think the cheapest one is Tein and the most expensive one is KW V3. A lot of guys are rocking Mazdaspeed Coils which are KW V3s.

But really, it's overkill for my purpose.

Maybe I'll change it up to coilovers in the future when I have some free time to actually hit the track.

 

my friend with the gen1 ms3 put in Tein SS

it rides pretty good.. a lot better than when he had BC Racing.

i told him to just do same koni + spring setup like miata but he's like.. myeh.. i give my attention to miata. lol

 

Nice! I remember when you told me about him installing BC Coils a year ago. I heard a lot of good things about Tein SS. Good for him.

 

Final quotes for the parts:

Swift Springs Spec R $300 shipped
Bilstein Sports $700 shipped
Koni Yellow $695 shipped

So, the price difference between Bilstein and Koni is completely negligible. The vendor told me that the Bilsteins are monotube and Konis are twintube, so if it's for a DD car that rarely go to track, then Koni's should be slightly better. He did say that the both shocks are very good on MS3.

Now I'm just going to wait for some type of deals on these.

 

So, $1000 for springs/struts, or $1600 for coilovers. AND you said theres a chance you may go to coils later on.

My advice - Save up a bit longer and get the coils first. Ive done the spring/strut thing, never again.

 

That chance is very slim and if I do it, it'll be in like 4-5 years. So, I'm pretty firm on my choices.

Why did you not like the springs+struts set up? Just curious.

 

find out the spring rates

how their wound

and etc etc for each spring haha.

then make comparo chart with stock. haha

 

I'll try to find this thread over at msf that compares all the suspension parts.

But the conclusion that was made in that thread was that Swift Spring Spec R was the best option for MS3 as far as the springs are concerned.

2nd Gen Mazdaspeed3
Front: 2.73kgf/mm
Rear: 3.04kgf/mm

Swift Springs Spec R
Front: 4.5kgf/mm
Rear: 4.5kgf/mm

Drop in front: 1.1"
Drop in rear:1.2"

 

Adjustability.

I also like being able to lower my car without reducing strut travel (due to fully threaded shock bodies). Thats one of the reasons I didnt go with Tein. I opted for AMR instead.

 

Fun thread but I'm going outside to drop my car some more.

 

you'll get different reviews from different people...I personally am in LOVE with my Tein SS...it's the lowest I've ever had a car and rides the smoothest. I had megans on my previous car (RSX) with the separate preload on them and thought it was more of a PITA for adjustments etc. Maybe I was just more of a noob at the time. To me, if you're looking for performance and/or looks for suspension, you GOTTA go adjustable.

PS, great progress...I love following your thread.

J.

 

How often do you change the height? I've never had an aftermarket suspension part other than couple basic sway bars. So, I basically just assumed that once I install it, I would never touch it again.

AMR does have a set for my car. I know the member who has that is pretty happy with it.

What do you have, phee?

Probably not, because I don't know wtf you are talking about.

 

Thanks man.

And thank you for your insight. I still have many months to do all the research, so I'm going to listen to all of you guys' opinions and personal experience!

 

Depends on what wheels I run and the season. If the winter is bad enough, I will raise the car a bit. This winter is nonexistent though, so I havent touched the ride height yet. I also get new wheels once a year on average - each time tweaking the ride height just a bit.

Being able to raise the car, unbolt the strut fork and turn the lower strut body to raise/lower height is much easier then pulling the entire assembly out, compressing the springs, prying the clip that secures the spring perch off the strut, putting it back to where I want it, and reinstalling the entire assembly.

Adjusting the height takes me about 15 minutes each corner, the bulk of which is spent taking the wheels off.

 

On the teins, I can make adjustments with the tires on!

 

Same with mine. Just jack the car up and start spinning.

I tell people that coilovers are like having a subwoofer in your car. Once you've got one, its really hard to not have one.

Even if I had a sedan that I didnt track...it'd be on coilovers.

You never had to worry about "the perfect ride height" or to stiff or anything else.

 

Teins arent bad, but their rebuild costs are ridiculous, theyre generally too soft - and when you upgrade to stiffer springs you should have the dampers revalved ($100 each corner) - and you lose travel in the strut when you lower it since they are adjustable via the spring perch. Their Flex dampers do offer a fully threaded shock body, but theyre expensive (and last I checked, not available for the CL/TL, not sure about the MS3). For the price, their nothing special. No offense. But you can get a much better coilover custom built to your specs for a better price. And no, Im not talking about that Megan/BC Racing/KSport shit.

*flamesuit on*

 

flamesuit off


but I...


can just drive my car without never needing to adjust suspension on the miata ever again cuz perfect.

 

 

I got you civic...you're much more knowledgeable than me about this, it sounds like. I honestly, just buy it and slap it on...I've never looked into the rebound rates and revalving etc. I know what it means, just don't care much. In a practical application, I am happy with how they are as I got them.

All things considered though, if I were to do it over again, I'd save myself the $600 or so difference and have gone with F&F or something else that does allow you to be super low without affecting rebound/preload. Maybe...I really do love my Teins. My lower back didn't love the Megans and their super stiff ride before.

About adjustability...TOTALLY on board with that. I'll never do anything but full coils (unless I'm financially incapable) ever again.
Started with cheap springs on my 97 accord...had to cut them and cut them to get the ride height perfect. BOUNCY! Then got quality H&R springs, gave a nice drop, but would have liked the front a LITTLE lower, then when I bought new tires, they were a little wider in the sidewall and rubbed...after that I said, with all the effort I put into a PERFECT drop, I will never do it without coils again.

J.

Sorry for the off topic.

 

Maybe I'm too noob for all this. I was just going to install and adjust it once and leave it alone forever.

I'm sure that I won't change my wheels again. This is the set of rims that really wanted to have on my car.

 

I think your car looks amazing as is with no drop. Black cars have way less noticable wheel cap than other colors and the MS3 is already pretty low stock IMO, at least compared to my 4x4 lol.

 

So, I think I'm going to try to run my car at the drag strip on March 3rd. About 15 local MS3s are doing a little meet there.

Any tips for a noob like me?

I've never launched my car hard or do a WOT run through 1st to 4th gear. But I did went WOT from 3rd gear to 4th gear a lot for tuning purpose over the past 2 years. I still baby my car.