[SlyCoopers]

Update Feb 2020

New forum website changes have changed the number of posts per page so the lift spring portion begins on page 4 now not as its stated below.
==========================

Update: Sept. 2019

Lift has been achieved! Page 8-9 for reference
Spring have been used instead of spacers.

----------------------------------------------
Update:August 2019

Thread has been renewed with potential starting around the end of page 5 as a vendor may have been found selling springs which would solve the issue in the rear that these spacers could not accommodate.



***
After trial and error install of the spacers I regret to inform that they do not work for the back lift. the parts did not fit the rear suspension because of the torsion beam angle-ing hinging downwards making it extremely dangerous to install in addition to extreme strain it would have put on the brake lines and surrounding hardware etc.

At this point it is not possible to lift the cx-3 (WITH SPACERS) given the setup of the rear suspension from the factory.

DO NOT BUY ANY SPACERS PROMISING LIFT

Its not really a fault of the vendors besides not actually trying the parts theyre selling. It should work in theory if it was not for the torsion beam/rear spring setup.
***

 

[SlyCoopers]

Oh wow, that picture compression from chromebook upload is unreal..

Links to the 30mm parts for better viewing. (I believe the highest they sell is 40mm)
EDIT: Front goes all the way up to 40mm, and rear is 30mm max at this time*

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Rear-shock...h=item1a64f3fb5a:g:ynoAAOSwzvZboPDL:rk:2:pf:0

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Rear-coil-...h=item1a64f3fac5:g:9OQAAOSw9ZdboOqr:rk:4:pf:0

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Front-stru...h=item1a64f3f6de:g:ic0AAOSwb4VboOSi:rk:9:pf:0

 

[NotAPreppie]

Just remember to get an alignment done after installing these. The suspension geometry on most (all?) modern cars changes significantly with respect to ride height.

Generally, lowering pushes camber towards the negative and raising pushes it towards the positive. Toe is also often affected to a certain degree.
https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?techid=4&

 

[SlyCoopers]

Thanks for the reminder. I usually get paranoid and always get alignment checks after doing suspension work especially when removing and installing shocks springs/etc.

I got a response from the seller and confirmed all 3 parts are needed. I forgot that the cx-3 rear has separate spring and strut mounts which is why both parts are required. Now I really need to get my car back from mazda :/

 

[Stokers Rule]

Just remember to get an alignment done after installing these. The suspension geometry on most (all?) modern cars changes significantly with respect to ride height.
https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?techid=4&

I'd love to lift this a bit if it was quick and easy.
I lifted a Nissan Frontier 2" I had a few years back after which I had to replace both front control lower arms because the stock ones weren't adjustable for alignment.

 

[SlyCoopers]

I already put in the order and will report on the final outcome, now to wait about 4months to get my package since customs will probably randomly select my package for additional screening and be wondering what mechanical monstrocity I am ordering from russia.

 

[PandaG]

Hahah! This is awesome ��

 

[SlyCoopers]

Estimated delivery date late January-Feb, ouch.. but it could always be worse. Now Im getting that itch for bigger tires.

 

[Drake Bond]

Finally!!! Really hoping all works out Sly.

 

[SlyCoopers]

Finally!!! Really hoping all works out Sly.

If you dont hear from me within 3 months I may have flipped the mazda over.

 

[SlyCoopers]

So I gave my car a quick overview of the suspension components since I finally got it back from the dealership on its final warranty "repair" and I am a little concerned about the mounting points of the rear shocks. In my experience there is usually a way to get to the top mounts of the rear suspension shocks through the trunk since presumably the mounting bolts would go through. Now unless mazda changed this to be an underside mounting position only, there are no visible signs of the mounting components through the interior of the trunk even after taking everything that was removable off. The only thing left to remove was the side panel of the trunk area which leads to the side corner of the rear seats and is a pretty large part with a high change of breaking something if not removed perfectly. This is the only thing I could think of possibly blocking access to the shock mounts if they exist.

So before I set off to strip the entire rear of the car apart and make no progress, does anyone have any information on this? Possibly people who have installed aftermarket coilovers/springs etc that could chime in on their experience with what is happening in the rear suspension area. Ideally factory service manual pdfs would be greatly appreciated but those are hard to come by :/

--
I found this guy's youtube video of him doing spring swap. He skips alot of steps especially in the rear but it will give everyone an idea of whats involved if you are curious. The spacers would go on top of the front strut assembly, and rear spring and strut pieces go on top of the rear components.

Sadly no info on the rear upper shock mounting yet. I emailed a few online mazda part sellers and am awaiting a reply. There is a good chance the side paneling has to entirely come off of the trunk/backseat area.

 

[Drake Bond]

Hey Sly, there was someone (CVJ) who lowered their Cx3 that lives near me who posted in the off-road tire forum of yours. I’ve posted in that forum asking him if he or whoever setup his coilover suspension has any idea as to where the rear shock mounting points are. Hopefully he will be able to help you out. As to my own hunch I doubt Mazda would go into the trouble of having underside mounts. More than likely they are within the side panels of the rear trunk/seat area. I will also try and get my hands on some service diagrams next time I’m in for service, my parts guy at Mazda seems to have the answer to most of my issues...

Best of luck, Drake

 

[Drake Bond]

Hey Sly found something really interesting while trying to find the rear shock mounts... Take a look at this seems like this German company creates a spacer lift kit up to 48mm for our 2016 Mazda Cx3. I’m going to email them, and maybe they have some info on the logistics of raising the Cx3.

https://www.spaccer.com/en_NG/makes-and-models/mazda/cx-3.html

 

[SlyCoopers]

Hey Sly found something really interesting while trying to find the rear shock mounts... Take a look at this seems like this German company creates a spacer lift kit up to 48mm for our 2016 Mazda Cx3. I’m going to email them, and maybe they have some info on the logistics of raising the Cx3.

https://www.spaccer.com/en_NG/makes-and-models/mazda/cx-3.html

Thanks for helping look into it. I was going to dismantle everything when the time comes. I even reserved space in a friends indoor garage so I can do the installation during the winter time asap in addition to retrofitting the front mount SSD light bar.

That company was what I was referring to initially, they have a decent concept but the pricing is really high compared to the other guy. By the looks of it I think their installation is just spring risers. The front set that would be the strut/spring unit only increases height on the spring while leaving the strut/shock/whatever-interchangable-term-that-part-is untouched so its always pulled higher than its set for. The rear set looks to only be for the springs because I cannot see any reasonable way that those C-pucks will install on the rear shocks.

Now that I think about it Im finding this ebay seller route to be more ideal since it does not mess with the original functionality and limitations of the oem springs or shocks to the extent of the c-pucks since the actual "lift" is above the components.

 

[SlyCoopers]

So according to this it looks to actually be bottom mount, which is still strange to me but Im going to go with it and see what happens haha. Other people also confirmed it to be bottom mount installed which still makes me wonder what happens when the mounting screw is broken or, if its threading that it goes into, what happens if its stripped? Too many engineering questions for one simple job lol.

https://www.cx3forum.com/forum/tires-wheels-suspension/15993-tein-flex-z-coilovers-fitted-cx3.html

(Full rear installation pdfs would still be appreciated if possible, just to clarify exact process)

 

[SlyCoopers]

Holy expedited(but not really) shipping! I was not expecting it to arrive before new years.

Initial impressions is pretty good for the price. Front strut pieces come with new bolts to use. Rear shock piece has an extension sleeve to go over the original screws extend through the spacer and onto the lower piece which Im assuming is a nut/washer. Spring spacer is standalone piece with no hardware.

Installation will be done probably after the 7th since I have a front bar and lights on the way which are going to be installed all on the same day given that Im using indoor garage time at someone elses place so might as well make the best of it.

 

[Drake Bond]

Parts look good, especially for off Ebay! Can't wait to see it, already have all the pieces in my online cart just waiting for your feedback. Speaking of lighting threw a couple of light pods on the front of the Cx3 look great! I'll post a pic of them when I get home. They are remote controlled through your phone so no need to punch a switch and wiring harness through the firewall. Plus they are dimmable so they allow DRL capabilities. Pics Soon!

 

[SlyCoopers]

Parts look good, especially for off Ebay! Can't wait to see it, already have all the pieces in my online cart just waiting for your feedback. Speaking of lighting threw a couple of light pods on the front of the Cx3 look great! I'll post a pic of them when I get home. They are remote controlled through your phone so no need to punch a switch and wiring harness through the firewall. Plus they are dimmable so they allow DRL capabilities. Pics Soon!

Did you use one of these to mount them? I have a set sitting in my garage because I dont trust it long term considering its license plate mounted and someone could rip it off with one hand and take it, my lights, and license plate while theyre at it lol. Its not a bad concept but depends on how the car license plate mounting points are. Flimsy cx-3 plastic isnt the most reassuring thing for me haha.

 

[SlyCoopers]

The install day is finally here ..almost! Parts are all in. Suspension set, subaru front bar, and the lights. Just dropped off all my equipment from my house to my friend's indoor garage and I will begin installation tomorrow. I will probably go as far as getting the lift and front bar in since I dont feel like wiring at the moment and am second guessing the choice of lights purchased but I will hopefully have a semi-detailed writeup of what was involved for installation of everything and optional things like loctite screw adhesive (which is probably a good idea for rear shock screw extension sleeve).

Ill try to keep things on topic here for just the suspension lift and will probably make a new thread for the front bar if anyone is interested in that.
HYPED!!

 

[Drake Bond]

Did you use one of these to mount them? I have a set sitting in my garage because I dont trust it long term considering its license plate mounted and someone could rip it off with one hand and take it, my lights, and license plate while theyre at it lol. Its not a bad concept but depends on how the car license plate mounting points are. Flimsy cx-3 plastic isnt the most reassuring thing for me haha.

I'll admit its not the most ascetically pleasing mount on the market. However, it is very solid as its quite light in comparison to most mounts. I will say if someone really wanted to they could steal them... But they'd be useless to them as the the lights I'm using require a very special lighting harness to operate. As they have no dedicated switch as they are controlled via bluetooth. Gotta say it helps they were't as expensive of light pods as rigid industries or other various lights. Only paid $100 for the pair came with harness and all mounting equipment minus the bracket. As well they light up in various colours and can be dimmed down to be used in the city or as DRL if needed.