[Kodo3]

Looking through the owner's manual and supposedly lowering a vehicle that has SCBS and radar cruise can interfere with the way those systems work. Has anyone lowered an sGT with Tech and had any issues?

None of my techs at the dealership I work at know what to expect, as none of our customers have brought in a modded 3 yet. I'm debating on going the route of coilovers or air, but not sure what to expect now.

Thanks!

 

[bsteezy]

Corksport says it does NOT affect those features. I dropped my sGT, but it is a manual transmission and doesn't have city breaking or radar cruise control. I did have problems with my headlights pointing too low. Mazda would not adjust it for me cause the lowered vehicle. Then they'd have to have Mazda come inspect it before they made the adjustments. I ended up doing it myself.

I recently had problems with my blind spot monitoring, but I'm not sure if its due to the lowering. Then Mazda is stupid about working on my blind spot monitoring too. Has to get all this approval from Mazda, and they're blaming me for the malfunction and wouldn't even trouble shoot it.

Mazda techs are too strict with the 2015s... and it kind of pisses me off. I understand where they are coming from though.

 

[Kodo3]

See, that worries me. Granted, my techs at the dealership won't mind troubleshooting or adjusting my headlights, but I'd rather not go through the hassle of getting coils, just to discover that all the iActivesense features don't work three inches lower to the ground. Urg

 

[gregersonke]

Corksport says it does NOT affect those features. I dropped my sGT, but it is a manual transmission and doesn't have city breaking or radar cruise control. I did have problems with my headlights pointing too low. Mazda would not adjust it for me cause the lowered vehicle. Then they'd have to have Mazda come inspect it before they made the adjustments. I ended up doing it myself.

I recently had problems with my blind spot monitoring, but I'm not sure if its due to the lowering. Then Mazda is stupid about working on my blind spot monitoring too. Has to get all this approval from Mazda, and they're blaming me for the malfunction and wouldn't even trouble shoot it.

Mazda techs are too strict with the 2015s... and it kind of pisses me off. I understand where they are coming from though.

Kind of the reason I'm avoiding really modifying anything. I will go to a tire that's taller than stock for the sake of some lift off the ground. But they don't typically care about such things.

 

[Kodo3]

But I NEED low. Haha

 

[Loud3]

@Kodo3 - When I was tinkering with my suspension, I switched the entire front & rear assembly over to my girlfriend's sGT '15 with all the toys for a weekend while I had my car up on a lift.

I noticed some leveling adjustments with the cutoff on the beams, but nothing else struck me as an issue. The cruise control still functioned properly, and I didn't notice anything amiss with her headlight turn in feature.

My experiences were positive.

GO LOW.

 

[Toast4asians]

I posted the same question a few weeks ago, I wish I got the same response haha, looks like I'll be dropping onto some H&Rs!!

 

[Must Turbo This 3]

Mine is an i touring w/ tech and is slammed with CorkSport springs. I don't see a need to adjust the headlights. Cutoff seems the same as before but now everything is brighter because the headlights are closer to the ground + HIDs.

Perhaps the other springs, coilovers or air bags don't level the car properly, which is why some of you have to adjust the headlights. Seems like CorkSport got it right with their springs and I'm glad they did.

I also don't see how lowering the ride would effect any of the features that Mazda put it. How would lowering the ride effect the blind spot monitoring which has sensors in bumper...? They sense the object next to the car, so why would it matter if you raise or lower the car? It will still send out the signal in the same manner.

I wouldn't worry about lowering the right an inch or two. If this was a pickup truck that you're trying to lower 6+ inches, I can understand if that would cause an issue.

 

[mitsuotim]

I have the '14 sGT w/tech and all the bells and whistles. I have the BC coilovers and the corksport rear lower sway bar. All functions still work as they should. Go lowered!!!

 

[young-nyc]

I have the '14 sGT w/tech and all the bells and whistles. I have the BC coilovers and the corksport rear lower sway bar. All functions still work as they should. Go lowered!!!

haha nice answer!
i'm also thinking of lowering,
however still gonna wait till a good shock & spring combo comes out..
hoping bilstein or koni releases theirs soon.

 

[Must Turbo This 3]

The stock shocks are good, in my opinion. I'm lowered with CorkSport springs and the car handles everything from curves, potholes and high speed very well. I don't see any reason to upgrade the shocks until the OEM units start to show signs of failure.

Slam that thing and start enjoying the low life NOW.

 

[$lickology]

14 GT with Tech lowered on H&R's here.

The smart city brake support I've turned that off since day one, the other safety features I don't really care about...meh.

I did however had to adjust up my headlights a touch.

 

[Kodo3]

Thanks for all the replies guys! Now I can go ahead and start saving for BC coils and some 19x8.5 +35 wheels. Going to hit that stance game kinda hard with as much concave as this car will handle. :cheesy:

Anyone know the cheapest BC dealer, or another decent coil in a similar price bracket?

Mine is an i touring w/ tech and is slammed with CorkSport springs. I don't see a need to adjust the headlights. Cutoff seems the same as before but now everything is brighter because the headlights are closer to the ground + HIDs.

The Tech package on your vehicle is features like a moonroof, Bose audio, CD player, auto climate and XM radio. On the sGrand Touring models like mine, the Tech package is radar cruise, lane departure, high beam control and other active driving features. Hence my apprehension of going too low, as these systems rely on carefully placed radars, lasers and cameras.

Headlight leveling isn't a concern since I work at a Mazda dealership. Haha.

 

[Loud3]

Thanks for all the replies guys! Now I can go ahead and start saving for BC coils and some 19x8.5 +35 wheels. Going to hit that stance game kinda hard with as much concave as this car will handle. :cheesy:

Anyone know the cheapest BC dealer, or another decent coil in a similar price bracket?



The Tech package on your vehicle is features like a moonroof, Bose audio, CD player, auto climate and XM radio. On the sGrand Touring models like mine, the Tech package is radar cruise, lane departure, high beam control and other active driving features. Hence my apprehension of going too low, as these systems rely on carefully placed radars, lasers and cameras.

Headlight leveling isn't a concern since I work at a Mazda dealership. Haha.

Font Motorsports for the BCs.

+35 should look real nice. -1.15 to -1.25* in the rear will get you under the fender.

If you're looking for a slightly more aggressive look, try a +30 to +35 9". You'll need closer to -3.5* and possibly look into a 235/35 or 225/40 to keep it under the rear fender. Going to need rear camber arms to get that kind of adjustment out of the rear.

 

[Kodo3]

Font Motorsports for the BCs.

+35 should look real nice. -1.15 to -1.25* in the rear will get you under the fender.

If you're looking for a slightly more aggressive look, try a +30 to +35 9". You'll need closer to -3.5* and possibly look into a 235/35 or 225/40 to keep it under the rear fender. Going to need rear camber arms to get that kind of adjustment out of the rear.

Thanks, I'll check them out.

I need a balance of aggressive and functional, which usually doesn't go hand-in-hand. It's my DD, but I don't drive very far. If I run too much camber, I'll burn through tires though which is no bueno. I gotta go low first and measure it all out.

Apart from endlinks, I should be fine for camber adjustment out front just on the BC's right? Where can I get a decent camber kit for the rear? Parts for this platform are so sporadic out here on the interwebz that it's taking me a while to piece together what I need.

 

[Loud3]

Thanks, I'll check them out.

I need a balance of aggressive and functional, which usually doesn't go hand-in-hand. It's my DD, but I don't drive very far. If I run too much camber, I'll burn through tires though which is no bueno. I gotta go low first and measure it all out.

Apart from endlinks, I should be fine for camber adjustment out front just on the BC's right? Where can I get a decent camber kit for the rear? Parts for this platform are so sporadic out here on the interwebz that it's taking me a while to piece together what I need.

The front gives you plenty of adjustment, no worries. Rear arms can be grabbed from Jamesbaroneracing.com or Corksport.com. I would encourage you to do a search through the forums before making your decision to read some reviews.

The vendors section on the forum will cater towards most of what you'll need! (I dont think FONT is on here, but a facebook search will get you on the straight and narrow.)

 

[Kodo3]

The front gives you plenty of adjustment, no worries. Rear arms can be grabbed from Jamesbaroneracing.com or Corksport.com. I would encourage you to do a search through the forums before making your decision to read some reviews.

The vendors section on the forum will cater towards most of what you'll need! (I dont think FONT is on here, but a facebook search will get you on the straight and narrow.)

Already got a quote from FONT. Looks like they'll do me at least ten bucks better than anywhere else with shipping. Solid reference. Thanks again.

Times like this I wish I had a few grand laying around for a massive parts buy. Get me some coils, sway bars, links, camber arms and wheels... Should be everything to get me sitting pretty. :smile2:

 

[Must Turbo This 3]

The Tech package on your vehicle is features like a moonroof, Bose audio, CD player, auto climate and XM radio. On the sGrand Touring models like mine, the Tech package is radar cruise, lane departure, high beam control and other active driving features. Hence my apprehension of going too low, as these systems rely on carefully placed radars, lasers and cameras.

Headlight leveling isn't a concern since I work at a Mazda dealership. Haha.

Carefully placed radars, lasers, my ass. They stuck them wherever there's room and called it a day. These systems are designed to work in all types of vehicles, big or small. I bet the same systems are in the CX-5 SUV as well as the Mazda 2. I can't wrap my brain around the fact that a simple 1-2 inch drop will cause the radar in the blind spot monitoring system to now shoot the signal UNDER that civic next to you, instead of at it's doors, to warn you of it's presence. I can't imagine that the radar cruise control will now bounce the signal off the asphalt and up into the sky, possibly blinding the aliens and causing global destruction (lets not forget about your cruise control not working) because of a 1-2 inch drop.

I can slam a stock Mazda 3 those same 1-2 inches by sticking three fatso's in the back seat. Mazda better have designed those systems to handle the ride height fluctuations because if I crash because the blind spot monitoring system didn't detect that mini van next to me, I'M SUING THEIR ASSES OFF!!!!!

/rant.

it's just coilovers / springs people. The car will run exactly the same but handle better...

 

[sirsnacksalot]

Carefully placed radars, lasers, my ass. They stuck them wherever there's room and called it a day. These systems are designed to work in all types of vehicles, big or small. I bet the same systems are in the CX-5 SUV as well as the Mazda 2. I can't wrap my brain around the fact that a simple 1-2 inch drop will cause the radar in the blind spot monitoring system to now shoot the signal UNDER that civic next to you, instead of at it's doors, to warn you of it's presence. I can't imagine that the radar cruise control will now bounce the signal off the asphalt and up into the sky, possibly blinding the aliens and causing global destruction (lets not forget about your cruise control not working) because of a 1-2 inch drop.

I can slam a stock Mazda 3 those same 1-2 inches by sticking three fatso's in the back seat. Mazda better have designed those systems to handle the ride height fluctuations because if I crash because the blind spot monitoring system didn't detect that mini van next to me, I'M SUING THEIR ASSES OFF!!!!!

/rant.

it's just coilovers / springs people. The car will run exactly the same but handle better...

:lol 1: no please...please continue LOL

 

[Kodo3]

I can slam a stock Mazda 3 those same 1-2 inches by sticking three fatso's in the back seat. Mazda better have designed those systems to handle the ride height fluctuations because if I crash because the blind spot monitoring system didn't detect that mini van next to me, I'M SUING THEIR ASSES OFF!!!!!

/rant.

it's just coilovers / springs people. The car will run exactly the same but handle better...

They are the same systems in the whole range (3, 6 and CX-5) but calibrated differently. You wouldn't think it'd make a difference, but the owner's manual states otherwise so I wanted some input from others. That is the point of a forum after all. :grin2:

Let's not forget when Volvo first showcased active braking assist and their demo car ran straight into a wall. These technologies are still fairly new and perhaps not as adaptable as you'd expect. I know one user on here reported constant BSM issues after a drop on just springs.

That said, I'm not too worried about it. I mainly just use the radar cruise and lane departure on long drives and cruises.