In our last installment of Project : Pretenza, we tackled the stock suspension in a different manner; rather than just throw on a set of “these should end all my problems” coilovers, we decided to stiffen up the weak and compliant links in the factory suspension with a group of chassis and control arm braces from GT Spec and a set of Drag Wheels rims and Falken tires to upgrade the rolling stock without going oversized and detracting from the possible performance benefit of a wider track stance and, subsequently, better cornering grip.

This time around, we address the extremely high factory stance and propensity for bouncing by adjusting in moderation. It would be easy enough to simply throw on a set of coilovers (and, yes, we’re aware that we’ve repeated it a hundred times already) but today’s “tuners” seem to think that coilovers are the be-all end-all when it comes to suspension tuning.

When it comes to your vehicle, it’s important to consider it’s purpose (or purposes, for you weekend warriors out there) and, more importantly, your willingness to adjust your suspension to suit it’s specific purpose on any given day. If you’re willing to get down and dirty in your wheel wells before, during, and after your track stint, and can stand the often tooth-rattling stiffness that a firm coilover suspension offers then by all means, go ahead. As for our daily driven Pretenza, a carefully planned suspension consisting of slightly stiffer springs, and adjustable compression/rebound shocks would suit us just fine. This is, after all, a daily-driven street vehicle that has yet to see any part of a track aside of the fan parking lot.

After careful research into compression rates, “lowering” distances, and the like, we settled on a set of world class Racing Beat Sport Springs. Rather than being a cure all spring that fits any Mazda 6 chassis, Racing Beat takes into the account the heavier V6 engine and adjusts their springs accordingly. This allows you to run a full size, full width tire like we’re running without the fear of having to roll your fenders.

For shocks, we decided on Koni Sport adjustables. Now, many shadetree mechanics and do-it-yourself’rs are loathe to attempt the dreaded “Koni Yellow” install for fear of not having the proper tools to cut the existing factory shock housing. This editor was much the same way until I came across a “pictures included” step-by-step install of the entire procedure on an internet forum (thanks Mazdas247.com!) which gave me the confidence and the MacGuyver moment (“Why didn’t I think of using that?”) to buy the pipe cutter (right, bottom) and spring compressors (right, top) to complete the installation at my own pace, in the comfort of my own garage, however comfortable a suspension install with floor jacks, jack stands, and no air compressor can be.

Following the instructions that came with both the Racing Beat springs and the Koni shocks, the installation went pretty much exactly as it was supposed to. The only hitch that we encountered came in the form of some “clunking noise” from the suspension, similar to what many Mazda 6 owners have experienced and rectified either on their own or through a dealership’s Technical Service Bulletin (TSB) program - a simple coil wrap around the heavily compressed areas of the springs (the top and bottom areas) solved the problem for us as well, and we can thank Pann Auto in San Diego, our “go to” shop in SoCal, for having the required Tein spring silencer wraps in stock and waiting for us to pick up.

Our final suspension component was the upgraded rear sway bar from Racing Beat. Without delving into the physics too much, we knew that replacing the front bar with a larger bar would be detrimental to our front-wheel drive street car, and that adding a thicker rear swaybar by itself would help to neutralize the oversteer characteristics inherent in FWD platforms.

With all the suspension components in place, our 6 looks and feels like a purpose built luxury sport sedan, without the luxury price tag. Gone are the fleeting moments of traction loss when executing long, sweeping turns. Where the entire cabin formerly had a tendency to “lean” away from the turn, now the chassis feels firmly planted, “like it’s on rails”, as they are fond of saying, while the driver finds that those g-forces haven’t gone away, they are just not being absorbed by the sloppy, compliant suspension; it takes a a firm stomp on the dead pedal and a manual tightening of the seat belt to keep oneself planted in the factory driver’s seat now.

With Project : Pretenza’s suspension mission accomplished, it’s now time to turn our attention again to the symphony under the hood. Keep an eye out next issue as we continue searching for the perfect intake and, hopefully, get our hands on a pair of highly desirable headers. Stay tuned!

Text and Photos by Arnold Eugenio