GB: GROUND CONTROL + KONI SPORT Coilovers for Mazdaspeed 3!

[Helrich]

I've decided to wait on those cups, but damn am I getting antsy...

[daafisch]

Originally Posted by 461_SS Buy 'em! unless the GC will allow you to adjust caster as well. You already know what I think though haha.

I probably will. Then I can get the car adjusted pretty good.

[Chimmike]

Excellent! Looking forward to getting those spring cups.

So frustrated with this front end clunking that I'm [] that close to fucking yanking my front sway bar. The E36 endlinks didn't work.

[daafisch]

Originally Posted by Chimmike Excellent! Looking forward to getting those spring cups. So frustrated with this front end clunking that I'm [] that close to fucking yanking my front sway bar. The E36 endlinks didn't work.

If it makes you feel better I'm also getting clunking.








But I had it before the spring install. I replaced both front and rear bushings, endlinks are next.

[Dimenus]

No clunk here but I had a nasty interior vibe that turned out to be my right front knuckle loosening up after an AutoX run.

How can you tell how firm or stiff the rears are with them off the car? They don't have defined adjustment points like the fronts

[Jdraps13]

Got er all buttoned up tonight super happy with the fitment 1 finger gap no roll no rubbing 18x8 +42 235 28

[daafisch]

Originally Posted by Dimenus No clunk here but I had a nasty interior vibe that turned out to be my right front knuckle loosening up after an AutoX run. How can you tell how firm or stiff the rears are with them off the car? They don't have defined adjustment points like the fronts

If you're adjusting them correctly there are stops for full soft and full stiff. Make sure the piston is compressed completely before spinning the body of the shock.

[thepatient77]

Originally Posted by Jdraps13 Got er all buttoned up tonight super happy with the fitment 1 finger gap no roll no rubbing 18x8 +42 235 28

looks good man. I'll have to snap a photo of mine. As for any problems with this suspension, I've had none. I've had them on for about a month meow and so far so good. I just need to dial in the rear.... maybe a little stiffer and i should be good.

[Ewind]

I ended up with 525F and 600R

Ran with GC settings for a couple of days and didn't like it

played with the adjustments in F and R.

Front shocks go almost 2.5 revolutions from full soft. More like 2.25.
Rears shocks max is 2 revolutions from foll soft

I have my F set at 1.25 revolutions from full soft.
I have my R set at 1.25 revolutions from full soft.

Won't be changing it for street anymore. I like it exactly where it is.

[Chimmike]

yah I saw my sway bar was contacting the frame so I ground/cut away some parts and will see if that helps. Otherwise, I can't figure out where the normal clunking is coming from to save my life. I'm gonna have to check my side motor mounts.....but that doesn't make any sense or I'd get clunks during shifts and engine loading.

[JDMJOSH]

Originally Posted by Helrich I've decided to wait on those cups, but damn am I getting antsy...

Don't be and just install it. This kit is perfectly safe even without the spring cups at stock height. Just make sure the springs are seated properly when you lower the car and your golden

[Dimenus]

Originally Posted by Ewind I ended up with 525F and 600R Ran with GC settings for a couple of days and didn't like it played with the adjustments in F and R. Front shocks go almost 2.5 revolutions from full soft. More like 2.25. Rears shocks max is 2 revolutions from foll soft I have my F set at 1.25 revolutions from full soft. I have my R set at 1.25 revolutions from full soft. Won't be changing it for street anymore. I like it exactly where it is.

I have the same Springs and ended up around the same adjustment wise. The rear end behaves much much better after stiffening it up.

[Ewind]

Originally Posted by Dimenus I have the same Springs and ended up around the same adjustment wise. The rear end behaves much much better after stiffening it up.

Agreed. The OTS settings we pretty close in the front and bouncy in the rear.

quarter turn made a huge difference.

[JDMJOSH]

Originally Posted by Ewind Agreed. The OTS settings we pretty close in the front and bouncy in the rear. quarter turn made a huge difference.

Just installed my kit yesterday, same springs as you; 525F 600R. I'm finding its a little "bouncy" for my liking. Going to give everything a week or so to settle and then try your settings and see what happens.

[- POD -]

Originally Posted by JDMJOSH Just installed my kit yesterday, same springs as you; 525F 600R. I'm finding its a little "bouncy" for my liking. Going to give everything a week or so to settle and then try your settings and see what happens.

Im in the same boat as well. At city speeds it's fine. Dips in the highway are too bouncy.

[Helrich]

So I'm installing mine, fronts are in, but for the rears, it says to re-use the stock bolt and washer to fasten the collar that goes on top of the rear spring. Well that bolt and washer doesn't fit through the collar. Did I perhaps get the wrong rears? I don't mind drilling that hole in the collar out but wanted to make sure I'm approaching this correctly.

[Jdraps13]

Originally Posted by Helrich So I'm installing mine, fronts are in, but for the rears, it says to re-use the stock bolt and washer to fasten the collar that goes on top of the rear spring. Well that bolt and washer doesn't fit through the collar. Did I perhaps get the wrong rears? I don't mind drilling that hole in the collar out but wanted to make sure I'm approaching this correctly.

I just drilled mine had the same thing super quick to drill em out

[Helrich]

Alright. Just weird I guess that you have to do that for a kit ordered for a specific car. I'm gonna have to grind the washers down a bit too to get them to fit inside.

[- POD -]

For what it's worth. The rears on mine did not require any drilling or grinding.

[timmcc02]

Originally Posted by Helrich Alright. Just weird I guess that you have to do that for a kit ordered for a specific car. I'm gonna have to grind the washers down a bit too to get them to fit inside.

I didn't have any issues with mine either

[Helrich]

Hrm. Well then maybe I'll give GC a call tomorrow when they're open. I also noticed one of the silicone/rubber rings that go on the bottom of the rear springs has a hole in it, so the spring could touch the bottom steel ring when compressed. Not too worried about that though. Put the stock rears back on for now.

[JDMJOSH]

Seems like there was more than a few QC issues with this kit. My fronts were missing the nuts that hold the top hat on but that was no biggie.

[Helrich]

I called GC, the guy I talked to said there were two or three kits out of a 200 kit batch that didn't have large enough holes. Not sure why they sent them out anyway but oh well! He said he thinks a 12mm drill bit out to bore that hole out enough, but mine are half an inch ID (12.7mm) and obviously isn't enough so perhaps 14mm. I also noted earlier about the bottom rubber gasket being malformed, looks like they scraped it away on purpose to sit flush with the welds on the steel ring. I do still have full-fledged holes in mine but I doubt it will cause any issues. Of course now that I've said that...

[justinsane87]

@RPM; updates on those cups?

[Helrich]

1/2" drill bit worked. Also looking forward to the cups. Had to poke a spring into the sleeve when lowering the car off the jack.

[RPM]

Originally Posted by justinsane87 @RPM; updates on those cups?

They just told me they expect them to ship later this week or early next week.

[Jdraps13]

As for adjusting the front shocks do you need to lift the front or can it be done while on the ground?

[RPM]

Originally Posted by Jdraps13 As for adjusting the front shocks do you need to lift the front or can it be done while on the ground?

To adjust the damping, you can do it on the ground. You have to lift it to adjust the height, though.

[therza2169]

@RPM any word on if the new spring cups shipped?

[RPM]

Originally Posted by therza2169 @RPM any word on if the new spring cups shipped?

Not, yet. Last time I asked they told me another week.

[Jdraps13]

Originally Posted by RPM To adjust the damping, you can do it on the ground. You have to lift it to adjust the height, though.

we'll yeah to adjust the height was just wondering on dampening thanks

[monkey.bones.007]

Originally Posted by RPM Not, yet. Last time I asked they told me another week.

I know gc said they would be automatically shipping the cups out, but i purchased mine outside of the group buy. Will it be a situation that anyone with a Mazda who's ordered these will get the cups automatically? I figure that's probably the case but I'd like to confirm.

[RPM]

Just got this from GC:

"I was just informed that the Speed 3 spring cones are going to be delayed because of a design change. I'm trying to get the new ETA now and I will contact you shortly as soon as I get the information. I apologize for the delay."

Also, they've said that they will be sending them to all customers.

[Chimmike]

maybe they can work on giving us some good settings to minimize the bounce?

[JDMJOSH]

Originally Posted by Chimmike maybe they can work on giving us some good settings to minimize the bounce?

I'm talking to Donovan at GC right now about this. With 525F 600R springs, it does an OK (not great) job dampening some of the small to medium bumps but the car seems to come quite unsettled on anything more.

He did say the Konis were on the soft side for my springs (strange, I thought they were supposed to be matched) and suggested I go with 3/4 turn from full stiff front and 1 turn from stiff rear.

I checked my front struts and at 1 1/8" drop, they look as though there is not a lot of travel left in them which I think is the source of the issue myself and others are having. I'm thinking if the car is raised a bit or the GC bumpstop is trimmed slightly it might mitigate the issue somewhat.

In the meantime I'll try his settings and see how it works.

[- POD -]

Originally Posted by JDMJOSH I'm talking to Donovan at GC right now about this. With 525F 600R springs, it does an OK (not great) job dampening some of the small to medium bumps but the car seems to come quite unsettled on anything more. He did say the Konis were on the soft side for my springs (strange, I thought they were supposed to be matched) and suggested I go with 3/4 turn from full stiff front and 1 turn from stiff rear. I checked my front struts and at 1 1/8" drop, they look as though there is not a lot of travel left in them which I think is the source of the issue myself and others are having. I'm thinking if the car is raised a bit or the GC bumpstop is trimmed slightly it might mitigate the issue somewhat. In the meantime I'll try his settings and see how it works.

Let us know how this setting work out for you. If it helps I'll be following suit.

[Chimmike]

I'm not so sure adjusting rebound that much is going to help. I'm almost wondering if any drop at all on these is just too much for the konis to handle.

I know with my old civic, there was a clear feel on how much you could drop before it became a bouncing mess. if you raised it off that, ride was fantastic again. And that was with Tokico blues, which are not adjustable.

[[R]usty]

Originally Posted by Chimmike I'm not so sure adjusting rebound that much is going to help. I'm almost wondering if any drop at all on these is just too much for the konis to handle. I know with my old civic, there was a clear feel on how much you could drop before it became a bouncing mess. if you raised it off that, ride was fantastic again. And that was with Tokico blues, which are not adjustable.

I could just be talking out of my ass here but...

A lot of speeds run lowing springs and Koni yellows without issue. I think the problem maybe that the spring rates are too high for OTS Koni yellow valving. After seeing some of the reviews saying the rears were too bouncy, I traded in my 600 springs for 440 and shifted the 525's to the rear. I still don't have these installed but when I do I'll update this thread with my findings.

If the 525's are still causing problems in the rears I'll shift the 440's in the rear and purchase a set of 375's for the fronts. There's not much information on ideal spring rates for OTS yellow's but I think (based on a lot of research) that 550 should be the max that you run without re-valving the shocks.

[RPM]

Originally Posted by rustysurfsa I could just be talking out of my ass here but... A lot of speeds run lowing springs and Koni yellows without issue. I think the problem maybe that the spring rates are too high for OTS Koni yellow valving. After seeing some of the reviews saying the rears were too bouncy, I traded in my 600 springs for 440 and shifted the 525's to the rear. I still don't have these installed but when I do I'll update this thread with my findings. If the 525's are still causing problems in the rears I'll shift the 440's in the rear and purchase a set of 375's for the fronts. There's not much information on ideal spring rates for OTS yellow's but I think (based on a lot of research) that 550 should be the max that you run without re-valving the shocks.

Thanks for sharing your findings. GC has mentioned to me in the past that they will swap out springs is people aren't happy with what they received. I don't know if there is a time limit on this (since purchased or since installed) or what the exact process is, but it may be worth inquiring about if anyone wants to swap.

[[R]usty]

Originally Posted by RPM Thanks for sharing your findings. GC has mentioned to me in the past that they will swap out springs is people aren't happy with what they received. I don't know if there is a time limit on this (since purchased or since installed) or what the exact process is, but it may be worth inquiring about if anyone wants to swap.

I had no issues exchanging my springs since they were untouched. Donovon told me as long as they're still new you can exchange without issue.

People can also buy spare sets of springs if they want a second set for daily driving. They're only $64 a set and range from 300 in lbs all the way to 800 I believe.