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idrives Build Thread

42K views 98 replies 25 participants last post by  augie05 
#1 · (Edited)
2018 Signature
Pearl White
Chestnut

Not going to do anything extreme. I'm also hoping for others ideas, suggestions and experiences.

I had the OEM Rubber Floor Mats, Cargo Tray and Chrome door sills added before taking delivery of the car. When I got the car home a full paint correction was done.

Have since added Window Tint and a full front end Clear Bra.

First Pic is stock - no window tint
Second - with tint and clear bra. No, you can't see the clear bra unless you're 6" away "looking" for it.


 
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#3 ·
Wish I could get a picture to attach that is full size instead of a thumbnail.
Use a picture hosting website such as Imgur, then grab those URLs and put them into your post with the IMG tag and they'll display full sized :)

Looks good so far - gatta start somewhere :D
 
#4 · (Edited)
Tanabe Coils and Strut tower bar are on the way. Expect to have them installed within about 10 days. They don't make a anti sway bar for the rear so looking for another option.

As of now Ultra Racing looks to be the best choice. Rather than the rear sway bar I'm thinking about doing the rear lower https://ultraracing-usa.com/mazda-6-jg-2012-2016-rear-lower-2-points/ instead as I still want to keep some "comfort" but thinking the rear lower will tighten it up a bit. If you order from them today 5-29-18 they have 20% discount.

To full rear anti sway bar or not..... anyone with any opinion/insight?
 
#5 ·
Have also ordered the following Mazda OEM accessories.

Foot Rest cover
Accel Pedal cover
Brake Ped cover
Windshield sun screen
Front and rear mud flaps


Was told about 10 days before receiving.

Will be posting pictures as each item arrives and is installed.
 
#10 ·
Thanks.

I did find the pedals also.

I'm just a little leery getting accessories when half the Mazda sites don't even list the '18s as an option yet...
 
#13 ·
That's it.

Thank You

And

I decided to go with the Rear Anti Sway Bar. $50.40 discount purchased today. Wonder if the wife is going to notice the difference. 0:)

Hopefully get all the suspension mods installed over the next 10 days along with the splash guards and pedal covers and move on to phase II.

Lots of before and after pics to follow.
 
#15 ·
Side Windows are 30% Rear Window is 20% Forgot to mention the 3M™ Automotive Crystalline Series was used.

I would suggest to check your State laws to ensure you don't go too dark. I know some States don't enforce as aggressively as others.
 
#17 · (Edited)
I've just encountered the fastest shipping ever. Springs were shipped Saturday and they arrived late yesterday, Tuesday.

This works great as the tower brace (according to the tracking I just received) won't be here until next Tuesday. I'm going to try and install the springs later today and that will give them a week to "settle" before installing the tower brace which ideally is a better scenario.

Will be taking measurements and pics before and after. With a little luck they will be posted later tonight.

EDIT:

Installed the Tanabe front coils which took just over an hour and that was taking our time making sure it was done perfectly. Very pleased with the way it turned out and honestly just wasn't that difficult. Needless to say having a shop and ALL the tools makes a big difference.

For the record my bud owns a three bay (w/two lifts) shop so working on the car couldn't be any easier or more convenient.

We went around to the rear to see what we needed to do and quickly realized we had to remove a few things to install the springs that we would need to remove when we install the rear sway bar. Unfortunately the sway bar won't be here for another few days/first of next week. Anyway we decided to wait and do the sway bar and the rear springs at the same time.

Initial measurements show a hair shy of a 1" drop in the front but after a bit of settling and having the rear come down we're thinking the total front drop is going to be 1 to 1&1/8". The before measurement (ground to lip of the wheel fender was 27.75". Now sitting at 26.85" The temporary extra rake didn't look as bad as I thought it would but will be much happier when we get the rear lowered. Without trying to explain everything I just told the wife to drive my truck for a few days if she needed to go anywhere. :grin2:

Here's a couple of pics of the front, before and after. I'll post all the before and after pics and measurements when we get the rear springs installed. Black springs are the stock springs.



 
#21 ·
Very cool, I will eventually change out the wheels in the future with similar specs to what you're planning except maybe running a 245/40/19 to stay closer to the overall diameter of the factory wheel/tire combo. But for now, I'm gonna put some mileage on the stock tires. I'm looking forward to see which style of wheels you end up going with once you decide on the fitment. I'm also curious to see how the car handles with the larger sway in back.
 
#22 ·
Thanks and you're right about tire size that kind of slipped my mind. Going wider usually goes a little taller. Something I'll be needing to pay close attention to. May end up with a 40 rather than a 45 to make this fit. I can already tell it's going to be close. I'm thinking I may have to consider a -40 offset rather than -35.
 
#23 · (Edited)
Installed the Tanabe Tower Strut Brace today. I've installed a couple before but did something a little different this time. Found it from reading all of the literature while researching. It was part of the information on their website but interestingly not mentioned in the instructions that were supplied.

Installed the two brackets on the strut tower and then before attaching the brace we lifted the front end off the ground taking the weight off of the tires, attached, adjusted the strut bar, torqued everything down and then lowered the car back down. I hadn't ever heard of or lifted the front wheels off the ground before installing the brace/bar. It's also the first brace I've installed that is adjustable. Certainly made for an excellent fit.





Even on the short drive home the difference with lowering springs on the front and the tower brace installed was noticeable. Now I just need for the rear sway bar to hurry and get here to get it installed and replace the rear springs.
 
#25 · (Edited by Moderator)
@idrive did you have any problems with the horizontal attachment bolts on the strut bar. I didn't follow the instructions with regard to tightening procedure? I tightened mine incorrectly and really bent them. Blew my mind the amount of bend I put in that M10 bolt. I had to cut it to get it out.


Your build is awesome by the way!
 
#26 ·
↑↑ boggles the mind really... ↑↑


Anyhow...my parenting class says that when my 2-year-old displays behavior I do not approve of I should ignore it and re-direct.


Que redirect.

@idrive did you have any problems with the horizontal attachment bolts on the strut bar. I didn't follow the instructions with regard to tightening procedure? I tightened mine incorrectly and really bent them. Blew my mind the amount of bend I put in that M10 bolt. I had to cut it to get it out.


Your build is awesome by the way!
With the tower bar being adjustable the brackets were attached without the bar being attached so there wasn't any pressure on them. Then raised the wheels off the ground and attached the bar, adjusted it so it was nice and snug and then dropped the wheels back on the ground. No bending, everything nice and snug. Is that what you're asking me. :smile2:
 
#27 ·
Great thread so far. Keep up the good work.

Cleaned up the trash as well. @Mazda6Suspension ever heard the phrase "if you don't have anything good to say, don't say anything"? Either way: now you have. If you want to make unexperienced comments about things you've only read from other forums, please keep them in your own threads.
 
#28 · (Edited)
Great thread so far. Keep up the good work.

Cleaned up the trash as well. @Mazda6Suspension ever heard the phrase "if you don't have anything good to say, don't say anything"? Either way: now you have. If you want to make unexperienced comments about things you've only read from other forums, please keep them in your own threads.
I agree
 
#32 · (Edited)
I will.

I sat up and read the directions of all the items last night and decided I'd do the pedals first which I just finished. I'm not sure I'll get to flaps until tomorrow although the rears have a chance later this evening.

Here's the before.



Here's the after.

 
#34 ·
The gas pedal is mostly smooth which I think is a good thing. I don't want to call it slick but you can move you foot about without any resistance. Can't say it acts/feels much different than the regular pedal

The brake pedal definitely has some excellent grip What looks like holes are rubber pads protruding out. Not a hard slippery rubber but dense, sticky, hard, spongy feel. lol

The foot rest is machined so the edges around the circles/holes have an edge that extends outward. Best way I can think to describe it is it's kind of like a cheese grader. Definitely has some grip.
 
#39 · (Edited)
Splash Guards are Installed

Started with the rear. 1st one took about 45 minutes. 2nd one took 15. As I mentioned there is no drilling on the front or rear but.... there is a couple of spots where you cut the mud guard. Actually once you're not afraid of cutting it. it wasn't hard. In fact it was really easy and is clearly marked. No measuring or marking. I used a pair of small heavy duty scissors. You can use a box cutter or something similar. Here are some pics of the rear. The fit is all but perfect.

First pic is no flap.. I mean splash guard.







The fronts. Much easier than the rears. No cutting. 1st one took me 15 minutes, 2nd one took me 5.
Blue glare was just the way the light was coming in the garage.







Very happy with the fitment. If you were worried about it, you have no worries.
 
#43 ·
Mazda products are expensive and you can't find a decent imitation of them. All the metallic pedals on amazon suck. They are not as good looking as the Mazda ones. As far as I know, based on the instructions I read, you have to drill to install these pedals, unless it has changed for 2018?



Drilling is always better than slip on pedals, they may come off while driving which is dangerous.
 
#45 ·
Rear Anti Sway Bar is here. Will be up early to get this installed.

That will complete Stage I - Stage II and Stage III, leaving only Stage IV which is Rims and Tires. Stage V has yet to be determined whether it will be body parts or tuning. Going to be a few months, need to get past August (the heat). Lots of research to do and a month long vacation.




 
#47 ·
Forgot my camera, left it on the counter by the back door where I would see it on my way out and not leave without it... so unfortunately I don't have any pics of the install.

Took 1 hour to put the car on the rack and loosen everything. Popped the springs out, removed the nuts off of the sway bar and slipped it out. After reading a few threads I was expecting it to much more difficult than it was as it wasn't hard at all. Not nearly as tight a fit as I was expecting. Perhaps having removed the springs made the difference as I could see it being more difficult with them in place.

The "Ultra Racing" Sway Bar slipped in to place and is/was a perfect fit. Very pleased with their product in both fitment and quality. Definitely an upgrade over the stock sway bar. The Tanabe Springs matched up perfectly and installed easily. Tightened everything back up, torqued to specs and set her back on the ground.

On the drive home I turned the radio off and rolled the windows down listening for any squeaks, rattles, noises of any kind and am very pleased to announce that she is as solid as the day we rolled it off the dealers lot. 100% solid and not a sound of any kind from the car from bumper to bumper.

Planning on a bit of a spirited ride tonight over a road with a bunch of twisties that generally has very little traffic. There is no doubt that the steering/suspension has noticeably tightened up while still feeling smooth/comfortable.

Before:


After:



Before:


After:


Before:


After:




Better after pics during our drive tonight as well as some driving impressions.
 
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