[beefweasel]

A couple of people have mentioned the "firmness" of the P5 suspension. Does it adjust down to fairly soft? Am looking for a new setup as the car came with KYB's on the front, billies on the rear and seriously low springs. Have had enough of hitting my head on the roof on some of the rougher roads round here!

I have just had the P5 suspension fitted and find that in day to day driving it is no stiffer than the std mk1 suspension. The difference comes when you corner where you will find the level of control is much greater but it just feels right. It is the exact opposite of a friends car with SPAX fitted which felt as if the suspension had no travel in it at all, making it very very firm; in fact it felt like the suspension had been removed....
[/quote]

That's kinda how mine feels. great on smooth roads but they are rare!

 

[Avoneer]

Sorry all, deleted all the pics by mistake.

Will get them back up shortly.

Pat...

 

[Toby]

Hey, any chance you could put the pictures back up please

 

[Stonehaven]

[/quote]

In my opinion, the set-up is perfectly useable on road. There is no tramlining or dartiness (the high caster and toe-in make sure of that). The only concern might be tyre wear. The high camber settings might eat your tyres.

The P5 suspension is quite firm but reasonably comfortable on the settings Phil suggests (IIRC 7 clicks front, 8 clicks rear).
[/quote]

Kev,
Is that 7 clicks clockwise or anti-clockwise?
Mine are currently on four clockwise all round
How many clicks are there? I haven't counted yet.
Mark

 

[Kevham]

7 clicks clockwise. Fully clockwise is rock hard - I think there's 13 clicks (can't really go past 9 on the road).
Best setting on track so far is 8 F, 10 R but still playing!

 

[Lazza]

I knocked mine up a notch for the OC Spring rally track thing on Sunday as I was scraping my mudflaps on the floor (still need to get rid of my FM ARBs) to 8F-9R and left it like that to drive home. I think I'll probably leave it that way as it felt great on twisty B-road route I chose for the drive home.
7-8 will probably be better for most people but I'm coming from KYB AGX/FM combo rather than from stock so I'm used to a harder ride than most people going to P5PD.

 

[Stonehaven]

I am used to rock hard from the Mazdaspeed set up jammed on the hardest setting and Mk1 mounts, so the P5 setup on 4 all round seems very soft, but nice for commute into town. I will crank up to 7F 8R and see what it is like. I also need to raise the car a little, but I am not sure if I should do that yet as the alignment is set for the very low Mazdaspeed setup.
Thanks for the advice.

 

[NA8c4]

Just had this all fitted by Sam Goodwin; only had 1 c-spanner supplied with it, so they couldn't nip up the spring perches properly. Any bright ideas, without getting another C-spanner?

 

[Stonehaven]

Just had this all fitted by Sam Goodwin; only had 1 c-spanner supplied with it, so they couldn't nip up the spring perches properly. Any bright ideas, without getting another C-spanner?

Only comes with one. Undo the lower one screw it down a bit then use the spanner on the top one to set the height, then tighten up the lower one again...

 

[Kevham]

Really need another c-spanner. Once they are nipped up tight, it is very difficult to undo the lower nut without turning the perch too as they are jammed tight together.

 

[NA8c4]

Exactly. Most kits like this come with 2 spanners.

 

[Phil]

You only need one C-spanner. The idea is just to nip up the collars (ensure there is some anti-seize between the 2), not torque them together. Trust me, if you use 2 to do them up you'll have a lot of work trying to separate them after a couple of months on the road.

Phil

 

[Stonehaven]

Tried 7 front and 8 rear and now convinced the Puredrive kit is the upgrade I have ever spent money on for a 5. Thanks Phil!

I am going to go down a couple of clicks for my Aberdeen commute though as the A90 has to be one of the bumpiest dual carriageways anywhere in Britain.

 

[107]

So how are you guys getting on with the P5 setup a few months on? Any gripes? Is the ride quality really as good as everyone says it is? How does the ride quality compare to what you had before? (& what did you have?). Any issues with leaking or sqeaking dampners etc.?

I purchased the KYB AGX and FM spring combination a few years ago from P5; that was definately the in fashion kit back then and came highly recommended by a lot of forum members - I found it terribly uncomfortable for use on the roads near me. The new P5 kit sounds good but don't want to fall into the same trap again.

How much is the package selling for - including all required Mk2 bits to fit on a Mk1? (The P5 web site is well out of date and they're on holiday).

 

[Stonehaven]

So how are you guys getting on with the P5 setup a few months on? Any gripes? Is the ride quality really as good as everyone says it is? How does the ride quality compare to what you had before? (& what did you have?). Any issues with leaking or sqeaking dampners etc.?

I purchased the KYB AGX and FM spring combination a few years ago from P5; that was definately the in fashion kit back then and came highly recommended by a lot of forum members - I found it terribly uncomfortable for use on the roads near me. The new P5 kit sounds good but don't want to fall into the same trap again.

How much is the package selling for - including all required Mk2 bits to fit on a Mk1? (The P5 web site is well out of date and they're on holiday).

They are the best mod I have ever done to the car - really can't fault them.

As for ride, my car is a Mazdaspeed B Spec which had the Mazdaspeed shocks and springs on it, which by the time I bought the car were jammed on extra hard. Fitting the P5 kit was a revelation in terms of comfort and the handling is also improved - I would say the ride quality is simialr to standard at about settings of 4 front and 5 rear, which is waht I am using for commuting up the A90 to Aberdeen - very bumpy for a major dual carriageway.

Crank up the settings to 8 front and 9 rear as suggested by Kevham for backroad fun.

As regards price I think the total including the Mk2 top mounts and delivery was around ?600, but you will have to check with Phil (try his mobile email if you need to get hold of him, I think it is on his website.)

Mark

 

[107]

That's great feedback Mark!

Anyone else got any comments? How are you getting on with them?

 

[steve b]

No faults here, getting WIM to re align on 20th June for the raise in height from AGX/Eibach that gave a far worse ride on bumpy roads.

 

[Minty]

No problems here, and I've had them a while now. I went from stock Mazda shocks and the ride is a tiny bit firmer, but actually better over broken-up road surfaces (even my girlfriend agrees!!!)

 

[107]

even my girlfriend agrees!!!)

That's the kind of comment I want to hear!

 

[Kevham]

Ride quality is remarkably good for a performance kit. I'm struggling to tell the difference from stock (set at 7F 8R) in terms of comfort.

I haven't had any problems with the quality - the only issue I had was compatibility with my FM anti-roll bars. The FM bars don't work particularly well with the P5 kit and I've switched back to stock ARBs on Phil's advice.