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The stock wheel was too thin for my liking and always bothered me. I felt like I had less control of the car and this thicker one completely fixed that problem. The steering wheel is the #1 touch point (shift knob being second) so having the right parts makes a significant difference. Wouldn’t say more grip but more confidence during spirited driving. Looks better too IMO.

@@Kianski Thanks. Yes, it's odd that Mazda doesn't provide a better wheel with this particular car.

Handling will improve with the lower center of gravity. These springs only lower the car by around 1" so it's considered mild, but still really helps the looks by reducing the wheel gap. If you want to reduce body roll, you'll want to install larger sway bars but you can do that separately after the springs.

@@Kianski Thank you for that I'm definitely going to do it.

Nope, didn’t make any adjustments and didn’t notice anything odd. Thanks for watching!

It’s the Eisenmann Race exhaust and it’s actually really quiet inside the car, but no drone. Sadly the car’s been sold so no opportunities for any exterior clips.

It’s a Ken Style wheel from Japan.

Sure thing! Let me know if you have any questions.

Those springs will outlast the damper, I reckon. Link for $234 springs: www.good-win-racing.com/Mazda-Performance-Part/61-1847.html

Thanks for watching! Are you thinking about installing the same one?

A new infotainment system would do wonders for the experience, though the original does have its charm. I love how they included an option to just show the Jaguar logo !😂

Yup, Avus Blue over dove with the Vader seats. www.flickr.com/photos/kianski/53404577931/in/dateposted/

@@Kianski - yep the dove is the much more common pairing.

@@Kianski nice photo skills btw

@@AliasHSWthanks! It helps when you’re shooting a clean E36.

Indeed, even at 109k miles.

Gracias! Yeah, 245 definitely seems like a summer route. And no ice cream beforehand. 😄

My pleasure Jon! Hopefully it’s on your list. 🙂

Here’s what I rented for free from AutoZone: www.autozone.com/test-scan-and-specialty-tools/strut-coil-compressor/p/powerbuilt-strut-coil-compressor/537058_0_0

Thanks! How do you like yours?

He has been with me for 15 years since new. The best car of my life.@@Kianski

$9k with 107k miles.

Hard to say depending on how tight it is. On another car, the air hammer alone wasn't enough so we had to apply heat using a MAP-Pro gas cylinder. Combination of heat and an air hammer should be sufficient for most applications.

Can I ask you if I could just use Acetylene and torch the balljoint out? My reservation is I don't want to cut the control arm but if I torch the balljoint in the middle it should be ok.

@tainchains sure can! Only thing to consider is if you have a wheel bearing next to it, don’t cook the grease so just isolate the heat to the ball joint.

There’s nothing additional to do so assuming no issues with the install, the fronts will settle eventually. Just keeping driving it. 👍

You could try re-doing loosening all the parts that have bushings, raising the suspension with a jack to simulate it being on the ground and then re-torquing those bolts again. Maybe when you did it during the initial install, you didn't raise it high enough or something so the bushings won't let the car settle fully. Maybe try raising a little more than last time before torquing.

Right on. As for the lower control arms, loosen the nuts just enough to rotate (~1/2 turn).

@@Kianski Thanks for the reply. I got mine all installed. Everything was pretty even, about 13 1/2” all the way around. But the rear passenger side is sitting at 14”. Is this normal? BTW thank you for uploading this. It was a huge help!

@@jccadventures3667 Glad to hear it! As for the rear passenger side, it should not be 1/2" different from the driver's side. If you're certain of your measurements, verify both sides have the bushings and spacers installed, and springs look even on their respective perches.

Yeah this generation isn’t horrible with maintenance but still requires TLC once in a while. Those Holdens sound great and have a such a great presence! I was tempted to delete the mufflers from the XJR but sold it before I got a chance to experiment with it. V8s deserved to be heard!

Not something I've considered but the muffler is smaller than the stock one, so there should be more room.

I’ll defer to the installation instructions (may have to contact Eibach directly). I know it was pretty clear with the ones I got but not familiar with the Eibach ones.

Congrats on the purchase! They react well to cosmetic upgrades to rejuvenate the classic looks. Powder coating isn’t cheap but worth it due to its longevity so definitely recommend it.

The ND handles so well out of the box it wasn't a drastic improvement (it was also just a mild drop). Handling tightened up a bit without upsetting the balance. Eliminating the wheel gap was the primary motivation for the swap. Between the upgraded sway bars and these springs, the car was perfect for spirited driving. I'd go with coilovers for track duty but that wasn't my goal here.

An alignment (which you needed to do anyway) will fix that. Sounds like you added more freedom for the camber to be adjusted when you jacked up the car with those bushing nuts loose, but there’s no permanent damage. Recommend you drive to the closest, reputable alignment shop to minimize driving it.

@@Kianski yes, I am going to be looking for an alignment shop right away. My main concern was that I did some damage. I actually tried to mark all the bolts and nuts that I was messing with so I could get them back lined up. I obviously did not do a good job, because the rear wheels are so tilted. Thank you so much for your helpful inside. I appreciate it.

Good luck. 👍 Let me know how it goes!

@@spartikus1975 Hey, could you give us an update? Did an alignment fix your issues?

@@DaveSimkus yes! That did the trick. Every thing is great now.

The bare minimum is enough to be able to thread the nut on there. I went another inch or so to be a little conservative; wanted to make sure I had enough room. With the new spring being shorter, you don't need to compress it as much compared to the stock spring.

@@Kianski thank you so much!

If it’s obvious that it’s based on a poor suspension install, that can be fixed. Sometimes the springs aren’t correctly aligned on their perch around the damper so they make a noise over bumps.

@@Kianski hi, thanks for the reply. I am going to speak with the mechanic this afternoon. It's creaking and banging when the steering is being turned and when zizzi zagging,so not necessarily over bumps. Quite quiet on the straight

🙂

I preloaded the bushings by raising each corner with my floor jack until it was barely off the Quick Jacks, then torqued it down. 👍

@@Kianski thank you!

Yeah, pretty much. I’ve seen cars with these springs and 10 mm spacers and it’s the perfect stance IMO.

The short overhang with the mild drop meant I didn’t have any issues. I still kept the lowered height in mind but unless the speed bump was really tall, I didn’t even need to go over it one wheel at a time. Other options that lower it even more would be borderline but this setup worked out great. 👍

@@Kianski ❤❤❤

Yeah it’s just the right amount. 👍

They’re the stock forged BBS wheels on the club package.

Awesome! Although this won’t impact your warranty outside of maybe the steering buttons failing to work which is unlikely.

@@Kianski Yeah well, I prefer not to touch it, if anything wrong happens related to airbags / steering, they will say it's because I changed the sterring wheel and didn't replug the cable correctly or whatsoever so I'd rather be safe on this side ^^ Not my first planned upgrade anyway :D

Those were the 8.5” high plastic Rhino Ramps. Available from Home Depot or auto parts stores as they’re fairly common. I now have 8” high Race Ramps that are made of foam and much nicer, but a lot more expensive too.

Yes, I had to loosen all 5 bolts on the body side for each of the links that attach to the knuckle. Not by much but just enough to lower it a few inches to get the shock out.

@@Kianski Ah ok thank you. I didn't know if the back was like the front and just had 2 bolts to loosen on the lower control arm. Sounds like the rear has 5 bolts to loosen.

Glad to hear, thanks! I sold the car 6 months ago but thoroughly enjoyed having both on the car for spirited driving. The reduced body roll and better handling were noticeable, especially once it was properly aligned. Definitely recommend an alignment done by someone who knows what they’re doing as it made a huge difference.

@@Kianski Sorry to see it go, you really poured some heart into it! Last question, did you run into any noises over time from the bar or bushings? Thanks again!

Yeah it was fine while it lasted! No, no issues at all with any noises from the bar or bushings. The supplied grease worked well.

@@Kianski Excellent, ty

I’m not sure but you may be able to find it through Bilstein’s website.

@@Kianski ok, I looking for website, thanks

You spend about 10x as much to get comparable coilovers.

I wasn’t planning on tracking it so the springs were sufficient for me. Coilovers are sometimes easier since you don’t have to swap springs.

Based on what the KPC does, I don’t think it would. If the body rolls less, the KPC isn’t as active. Swapping your anti-sway bars would have a bigger impact but still don’t see that as negative interference.