BG coilover in a BF?

[mazda-dude]

Have GC coilovers with bilstein OEM shocks. Car is lowered alot so the strut isn't working well. The suspension is very bouncy. And when the car is jacked up the spring is loose..

Therefor im looking for alternatives. A complete setup with strut, spring and coilover. so that the parts are matched for eachother.

This kind of setup isn't available for the BF 2WD chassis, so i was wondering if a BG would fit with minor custom work? I have seen quite alot of kits for sale on Ebay.....

Thanks

[jay]

You have to redo the hub mount tabs. The BG stuff is set too wide and the bolt holes don't line up.

[crazycanadian]

The fronts will work if you use a BF upper strut mount... In the rear though it wont work, the rear BF struts are completely different.. To make the rear work you have to switch to BG rear brakes and knuckles... BF rear struts have the lateral link bolted to the bottom of the strut.. The BG's the strut is shorter and the lateral link bolts to the rear knuckle... You should be able to bolt in BG rear brakes from either a mazda 323, protege, precidia (mx3) or even a 90 - 94 escort... (good opportunity to upgrade the brakes, it'll change you from 4x114 bolt pattern to 4x100 and also you'll get away from being stuck with captured rotors and you'll have better brake options.) This would also work well if you changed the front brakes to either BG 323's, protege or even an escort GT...

Edit: I noticed you are from denmark, I am not sure if your models of cars are all the same as the ones we have over here..

[joshg123]

Or you could just purchase BF coilovers?

Racing logic make them

[jay]

Before I got the good stuff, I used my bf GTX struts on my protege, which is bg 323gtr underpinnings and neither fronts nor backs bolted up, I had to mod out the lower mounts on all 4 struts...

[mazda-dude]

Ok Josh. i have emailed Racing logic.....but as far as i can see on their website, they only make for RX-7

I know that the rear BF have the link on the buttom of the strut. But is it correct that the front will fit with minor work. Upper mounts the to be modified, and lower mounts will need a little work.

And the rears something for the link needs to be made.

But what about lenght of the struts? Are they the same?

Thanks

[jay]

That I can't be certain of for stock apps, all my stuff was rally. That said I'm pretty darn sure the OA lengths of both are the same.

[crazycanadian]

Before I got the good stuff, I used my bf GTX struts on my protege, which is bg 323gtr underpinnings and neither fronts nor backs bolted up, I had to mod out the lower mounts on all 4 struts...

GTX and 2wd stuff is different...

I can check the difference on the fronts next weekend... I have a complete set of BG front and rear struts and brakes and I'll be ripping my 2wd BF apart to scrap it...

[jay]

Ohhh.... that's right, the front knuckles are different. I was thinking it was only the tierods and stuff, thought the uprights were the same.

[Mazda_Powered]

Sounds like too much work, I'd search for coilovers specific to your vehicle...you could also build your own. I'm just not sure whats available in the strut department for you.

[mazda-dude]

Crazy canadian: would appreciate if you could check...

Coilovers for the 4x4 BF GTX is available for a fair price. What are the difference here, compared to a 2wd BF?

Fronts are identical right? rear are different but how much?

Thanks

[808]

Fronts are not identical... they bolt up but are not identical. There's a big difference in the rear.. Height is the big one if I remember. Haven't done any work on a 2wd for a long time I dont remember what else there is.

[crazycanadian]

Crazy canadian: would appreciate if you could check...

Coilovers for the 4x4 BF GTX is available for a fair price. What are the difference here, compared to a 2wd BF?

Fronts are identical right? rear are different but how much?

Thanks

Sure man, you'll have to give me a week or so before I can get back to you on it.. I wont be stripping my 2wd BF untill sunday...

Upper strut mounts on a 4wd BF and a 2wd BF are completely different.. Bolt holes are spaced wider appart on the 4wd's and the upper strut towers are different... I don't think there is any difference in the front knuckles between the 4wd and 2wd cars.. I never noticed any difference between my 2wd and my 4wd... When I get time to pull the tires off my GTX I can check... The GTX is set up like a BG 2wd in the rear, where the strut bolts to the knuckle.. The lower link on a GTX is bolted to the knuckle as well rather then the strut...

[crazycanadian]

Hey man small update for you... I got the motor/trans and suspension out of my 2wd BF tonight and was able to compair the front struts and hubs to the BG stuff I got...

The BF's have a different upper strut mount, but the shaft diameter looks to be the same so it shouldn't be a problem to interchange them.. Where the struts bolt to the knuckle the bolt holes are in the sameplaces so thats not a problem... The BG's as I knew before use a different spring stock spring.. (I don't think this will matter with coilovers though).. The BG springs are larger in diameter then the BF's at the bottom closest to the knuckle... They are the same diameter at the top though...

If you want to use the BG knuckles you'll need to run a hybrid axle.. The BG front hub uses a larger diameter spline on the outter CV joint, other then that it'll bolt up in place of the BF hubs... I'll have pics sometime tomorrow night or next week...

[joshg123]

Ok Josh. i have emailed Racing logic.....but as far as i can see on their website, they only make for RX-7

I know that the rear BF have the link on the buttom of the strut. But is it correct that the front will fit with minor work. Upper mounts the to be modified, and lower mounts will need a little work.

And the rears something for the link needs to be made.

But what about lenght of the struts? Are they the same?

Thanks

My housemate has them in his BF 2wd, and we just sold a set a few months ago for BF 4wd, they definatly make them