bought some basic bilsteins from a well known auction site that starts with e. they are not adjustable . my early 1800 has the 4x4 stance and i want to lower it (a bit anyway) the measurement from the spring perch to the bottom nut however is the same as my stock mazda coilovers. given this fact do you think the bilsteins would lower my car . they are from a 2.0 sport but i think they will fit’ but if they wont drop it at all it may not be worth me bothering getting my hands dirty. any advice?
This is an interesting question.
My first thought would be that a strut of the same length would result in a similar ride height if the same springs are fitted but I could be wrong. Are the springs the same too?
springs are same height but thinner, dont know if that would make a difference
It’s my understanding that the springs on the Sport model are -30mm as standard, with matching, shorter Bilsteins
Standard Bilsteins fitted with their standard springs won’t really lower it. Now if the previous owner fitted lowering springs previously…
My Sport with the standard Bilsteins still looked 4x4 ish until I had it changed.
It might if they are not as firm.
If the springs are softer the car could very easily settle to a lower stance when at a standstill.
Not sure how you’d tell without fitting them first though 
yes exactly my thoughts. suck it and see eh? lot of faf to find nothing has changed though. lol
Lowering springs are cheap. Fit them at the same time. 
thanks. yeh it dosn’t look like it though. they look the same as mine apart from the diameter of the metal
i think i might do that just to make sure that SOMEthing will happen when that first lowering of the trolly jack occurs.
I fitted a set of NC3 Sport Bilsteins and springs to my otherwise standard NC1 1.8 and it dropped the ride height by approx 10mm at the front. Rear not by as much. There is a ‘ride height’ thread on here somewhere and I’d listed my before and after heights if you can find it.
Just found the thread, it went from 385/360mm front/rear to 370/360mm. I also fitted yellow dot ARB’s at the same time but obviously no effect on ride height.
Hope that helps. Mileage on the old shocks was around 49k and the Bilsteins 24k.
Personal experience, buying used you don’t know 100% whether they came from the same car and condition. Maybe one or more of the damper internals are shot. However there is also a high change they would still work fine. Its a gamble.
The spring height as well as the thickness will determine the car ride height, it will also influence the % weight distribution. If the coilover has no springs (is the assembly disassembled?) ask yourself why.
If you will be messing with the suspension my personal recommendation is to go to a suspension specialist and have a chat. You will have to redo the whole steering geometry anyway and you wont be able to do that yourself. And knowing your starting point would help greatly to determine whether the changes have helped to achieve what you want to do.
The NC1 has different springs (and a bunch of other stuff) compared to the NC2 and onward models as well as different steering geometry. My car works great - its a 2010 sport tech and it has the mazda whatever spring were used with Bilstein dampers in the sport tech package.
this is how mine looks like
IMHO you will probably save money by seeking professional help and guidance mate.
thanks a lot your car is slightly lower than mine but i wouldn;t say a lot . i have never posted a picture before but i will try now. thanks again
what a difference a spring makes
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now i have the picture up yours does look a fair bit lower
I think this subject has been covered on numerous previous posst but here goes again.
The std Mazda ride height tolerance on earlier models is quite wide 351 to 400 front and 349 to 398 rear hub center to wheelarch lip on 16in - 17 is slightly different but only marginal.
Before - Std 2006 SE no passenger and approx 1/4 tank of fuel
After -30 Eibach but with 1 passenger and 3/4 fuel
There’s alot of tolerance for some lowering there.
You’ll be much happier with the aesthetics when she’s lower but be aware that you may compromise the OE car’s dynamics.
you can see why i want to lower it cant you?
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Absolutely
The colour looks great in that shot and is not dissimilar to the Twilight blue mica on my NB
oh by the way they are 17" wheels as well