[NotAPreppie]

Ground clearance.
Larger tire.
Though I suspect it's mostly aesthetics.

 

[richyboycaldo]

Ground clearance.
Larger tire.
Though I suspect it's mostly aesthetics.

Do you think putting 225/55R18 tires is possible with stock suspension without rubbing?

 

[NotAPreppie]

Do you think putting 225/55R18 tires is possible with stock suspension without rubbing?

I want to tentatively say "probably" but I'm not certain.

https://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html

Specification  Sidewall  Radius  Diameter  Circumference  Revs/Mile  Difference
215/50-18         4.2in  13.2in    26.5in         83.1in        762        0.0%
225/55-18         4.9in  13.9in    27.7in         87.2in        727        4.8%

225/55-18 only has about 3/4" taller sidewall and there's a fair amount of clearance under the fenders.

That said, keep in mind that your speedometer will read almost 5% low for a given speed. Keep an eye on those speed traps.

 

[BkCx3]

Have you seen the website Spaccers? Supposedly they can make spacers for any rig.. costs about 1,100 USD to lift about 2in. Thoughts? Should I try it out?

 

[SlyCoopers]

I emailed them multiple times regarding how installation would work and never got a reply which isnt too reassuring not to mention that price lol. The main issue here isnt the spacer because even these ebay spacers I bought 'should'work. The issue is the factory rear spring/suspension configuration of the mazda cx-3 itself. Even if you were to get the spacers you would still have the same issue with trying to install them and 2" will never work in the rear unless you heavily modify axle components and run a longer brake fluid line. Then you would have the spring basically trying to 'bend' outwards which is super dangerous. Their spacers are also C-spacers meaning theres an open end which will slide off of the cx-3 since the spring 'mount' on top and even the bottom need a fully closed piece or else itl literally slide off.

Ive contemplated too much on this topic haha

 

[SlyCoopers]

Also those spacers dont take into consideration the travel of the shock/strut itself so youll be in for quite a unusual ride. The main reason I decided to try these ebay ones was because it lifted from the top of the strut/shock/spring mounts themselves so you will technically still have oem 'comfort' without being too intrusive and throwing off original specifications aside for the alignment needed when changing height.

Just a reminder that the front lift does work as does the rear shocks, its the rear spring that is the issue :/

 

[BkCx3]

You’ve definitely thought of everything lmao! I appreciate all the foot work you’ve done for this mod, seems like there really isn’t anything that’ll work.. I recently tried to contact fabrication shops and ask if they could try to help me, they told me to buy one online and they’ll install. So much for that..

 

[Dean]

I figured out how to get 15mm or 0.98 inches lifted by adding zero.

CX-30

oddly for my purpose it may be just enough extra height .

and trunk space .. but smaller than the CX- 5 . hope the price is between the CX-3 and the CX-5

 

[richyboycaldo]

I figured out how to get 15mm or 0.98 inches lifted by adding zero.

CX-30

oddly for my purpose it may be just enough extra height .

and trunk space .. but smaller than the CX- 5 . hope the price is between the CX-3 and the CX-5

Maybe you can use cx-30 springs and shocks.

On a side note, do you think 29" diameter tires fit? I am thinking of putting 235/60/18 to give my cx-3 a extra inch in height.

 

[WebDevDan]

Someone responded on a FB post I made about lifting the CX-3. They had successfully lifted theirs using these springs. Looks like I know what I'll be doing next time I have a few bucks.

AWD (I think): https://www.blackhawkjapan.com/products/tanabe-dk5awuk
FWD (I think): https://www.blackhawkjapan.com/products/tanabe-dk5fwuk
No Idea: https://www.blackhawkjapan.com/products/tanabe-dkefwuk

Per their post:

Tanabe UP210 lift springs are available for the CX-3. Got a set, Installed them on our CX-3. Lifted the car ~30mm. Then I installed 255/40R19 wheel / tire combo with no rubbing issues whatsoever. The ride though is just noticeably underdamped now as the stock dampers lack the necessary rebound control for the firmer springs. I’m waiting on either a set of TEIN Endura Pro dampers or KYB New SR dampers that supposedly have ~10-15% more damping force / firmness compared to stock dampers. Here’s a pic of ours lifted already

Ample length for the brake lines too so no worries about pulling anything. Shop that installed it said CV angles were fine as was the steering gear too. Nothing stressed or put in an extreme angle

 

[SlyCoopers]

Someone responded on a FB post I made about lifting the CX-3. They had successfully lifted theirs using these springs. Looks like I know what I'll be doing next time I have a few bucks.

AWD (I think): https://www.blackhawkjapan.com/products/tanabe-dk5awuk
FWD (I think): https://www.blackhawkjapan.com/products/tanabe-dk5fwuk
No Idea: https://www.blackhawkjapan.com/products/tanabe-dkefwuk

Per their post:

So Im glad you posted this because i was actually considering lifting it by using springs from another car/suv. In reality all you would need is just the rear springs since the front strut setup from this thread keeps stock configuration and rebound as the lift spacer is installed completely on top of the unit and attached with longer bolts/nuts. The rear shocks also will benefit from the spacers since the same thing applies, ie stock rebound with the height difference made up in the spacer on top without needing specialized and often pricey/proprietary parts.

Which brings us to the issue of the spring. I really want to see how the rear spring was installed. You cant fit a spring compressor in the rear so im curious how they got that to work and also I would want to know how much it flexes if any since as you can probably see a few pictures back, the higher you go the more of a curve the mounting points would cast on the spring itself.

If you do end up getting these please let us know how it went

 

[richyboycaldo]

It looks pretty cool. 30mm is all I want. To bad I already bought tires, but next time I'll buy them with more sidewall.

 

[Zechariah936]

Someone responded on a FB post I made about lifting the CX-3. They had successfully lifted theirs using these springs. Looks like I know what I'll be doing next time I have a few bucks.

AWD (I think): https://www.blackhawkjapan.com/products/tanabe-dk5awuk
FWD (I think): https://www.blackhawkjapan.com/products/tanabe-dk5fwuk
No Idea: https://www.blackhawkjapan.com/products/tanabe-dkefwuk

Per their post:

I'm going to diverge this post @WebDevDan, I see you have the LED/Lights in the rear bumper (where it is usually reflectors on the CX-3). Any Instuctions on how you installed this - Hardware and the Wiring, been contemplating this, but never came across any decent guide.

Thanks

 

[WebDevDan]

Someone responded on a FB post I made about lifting the CX-3. They had successfully lifted theirs using these springs. Looks like I know what I'll be doing next time I have a few bucks.

AWD (I think): https://www.blackhawkjapan.com/products/tanabe-dk5awuk
FWD (I think): https://www.blackhawkjapan.com/products/tanabe-dk5fwuk
No Idea: https://www.blackhawkjapan.com/products/tanabe-dkefwuk

Per their post:

I'm going to diverge this post @WebDevDan, I see you have the LED/Lights in the rear bumper (where it is usually reflectors on the CX-3). Any Instuctions on how you installed this - Hardware and the Wiring, been contemplating this, but never came across any decent guide.

Thanks

Not my car, it belongs to the guy who responded.

 

[WebDevDan]

So Im glad you posted this because i was actually considering lifting it by using springs from another car/suv. In reality all you would need is just the rear springs since the front strut setup from this thread keeps stock configuration and rebound as the lift spacer is installed completely on top of the unit and attached with longer bolts/nuts. The rear shocks also will benefit from the spacers since the same thing applies, ie stock rebound with the height difference made up in the spacer on top without needing specialized and often pricey/proprietary parts.

Which brings us to the issue of the spring. I really want to see how the rear spring was installed. You cant fit a spring compressor in the rear so im curious how they got that to work and also I would want to know how much it flexes if any since as you can probably see a few pictures back, the higher you go the more of a curve the mounting points would cast on the spring itself.

If you do end up getting these please let us know how it went

So to maintain ride quality you'd basically want spacers on top of the front tower and (theoretically) springs + extenders in the rear? Jeez, sounds exactly like one of the old budget lifts they used to make for Jeeps. I was talking to my saleslady-now-friend who is somewhat knowledgeable about the rear suspension on these things and she basically said you'd have to drop whole torsion beam setup to get the springs crammed in there unless you had massive cojones and wanted to fool around with some widowmaker compressors. Pretty unfortunate. Might turn a 1-day job into a 2-day job. We'll see what happens as I start reaching warranty expiration. EDIT - If I had lots of money to throw at things, it looks like this mighty fine compressor would fit in there. Not dropping an additional $700 though. EDIT2: Or this thing - as long as the ass end is hanging off the bottom it looks like it should fit, just looking at the lowering spring install video. They got a LOT of compression out of it:

 

[SlyCoopers]

So to maintain ride quality you'd basically want spacers on top of the front tower and (theoretically) springs + extenders in the rear? Jeez, sounds exactly like one of the old budget lifts they used to make for Jeeps. I was talking to my saleslady-now-friend who is somewhat knowledgeable about the rear suspension on these things and she basically said you'd have to drop whole torsion beam setup to get the springs crammed in there unless you had massive cojones and wanted to fool around with some widowmaker compressors. Pretty unfortunate. Might turn a 1-day job into a 2-day job. We'll see what happens as I start reaching warranty expiration. EDIT - If I had lots of money to throw at things, it looks like this mighty fine compressor would fit in there. Not dropping an additional $700 though. EDIT2: Or this thing - as long as the ass end is hanging off the bottom it looks like it should fit, just looking at the lowering spring install video. They got a LOT of compression out of it:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R_V-3oD4G4s

Thats why Im really curious as to how they installed it. Regular spring compressors are too bulky so you have to use some weird thinner types which are exponentially more dangerous ironically. The one extreme way to install it without compressors would be to completely detach the torsion beam suspension from the car itself so it is disconnected entirely and drops vertically instead of hinge/angleing downward but this is getting into the area of you need the car on a shop lift and not something thats diy at home. The angle of the base of the spring to the top mount is what I am most concerned about since the spacers on the spring was way to dangerous with a high risk of slippage. Its probably alot more 'stable' once the weight of the vehicle is on the car but during the install process the flex on the spring is really bad when the rear is dropped to its limit.

 

[SlyCoopers]

Just saw the tools in the link and its the same issue as the other spring compressors, there is no space around the base of the spring mount to properly fit the compressors. Even though the arms are skinnier you would not be able to SAFELY access the pole part which you need to turn to compress because of the wise base plate unless you angle it which then runs into other issues. *Check out post 33 on page 4 for reference*

 

[SlyCoopers]

**Awkward research post**

So Ive been occasionally looking into more information on these springs and I keep stumbling upon this site,google translate on the page will be needed.
The only issue here is they didnt specify what type cx3 they have and what spec spring lift they ordered.

(installed look)
https://minkara.carview.co.jp/userid/1167274/car/2125414/9044947/parts.aspx

(some what of a step/progress comparison but they took terrible shots imo)
https://minkara.carview.co.jp/userid/450793/car/2500458/4750228/note.aspx

(another installed comparison)
https://minkara.carview.co.jp/userid/450793/car/2500458/9028517/parts.aspx



according to this tanabe had developed this since 2016 which breaks my heart that it hasent made its way here or is known yet until basically when webdevdan posted it
(also comparison shots but again ruined since they zoom out when taking the new shot which doesnt show full change from original)
https://ameblo.jp/rdtanabe/entry-12187221717.html

 

[SlyCoopers]

Also a update for anyone contemplating this before I am able to finish it by next spring,

*UPDATE: there is a possibility the spring in the link below will not fit due to awd/fwd differences found in next post*
https://www.blackhawkjapan.com/products/tanabe-dkefwuk
This seems to be the only link for a 2.0 skyactive NA spring set although it says its for a fwd cx-3. The other 2 posted were for diesel version which I have no information on if the parts or rear suspension area differs.

Checking the dkefw code I came across this video of i guess an exhaust test? But then shows the engine which is similar to my US cx-3 so at least I can confirm this is not the code for a diesel vehicle.
Source:

Unfortunatly between the awd and fwd model there *MIGHT* be a difference (with regards to the rear spring anyways).
On this site for oem mazda parts in the US, it lists 2 part numbers for the rear spring
- D10J-28-011A for 2wd models
- D10J-28-011B for awd models
Im not sure what the difference is with regards to these springs but something that might be need a little more looking into for us with awd models.
Source: https://www.mazdanyparts.com/v-2016-mazda-cx-3--sport--2-0l-l4-gas/rear-suspension--rear-suspension

 

[SlyCoopers]

There might be an issue here since I figured I would look into US companies that offer lowering springs and to see if there was a difference between awd/fwd versions. Apparantly there is a difference which makes springs incompatible according to them.


In the faq section for lowersprings for AWD from corksport
"
Q: Will this fit the fwd as well?
A: They do not. Submit a product request and we can take a look at getting something made for the 2wd - .
"
https://corksport.com/cx3-lowering-springs.html


The question now becomes will the 1.5(?)diesel awd variant rear springs work with the 2.0 na awd