Here's the final product of my R&D... well more research than anything. I can't take credit for the paint job. That'd be the handy work of my friend.

First is a before.

2nd is after

3rd is self explanatory.

Like I've said in your other thread: LOWER IT! :D

Looks good! What size are the wheels/tires?

Only lower it if that's the look you're going for and you know it won't rub with weight inside.....otherwise the rubbing will drive you nuts.

The tires are 235/50/17's. I didn't think about the rubbing if its lowered. How bad would it be if I just got lowering springs instead of coilovers? I'm about due for new shocks/struts soon so I'm thinking about doing it all at once. Thoughts?

I know you would prefer fact over opinion but here is my opinion.

235 is a good width for the Element. The overall diameter of your current tire size is smaller than the stock diameter size.

Specification Sidewall Radius Diameter Circumference Revs/Mile Difference
215/70-16 5.9in 13.9in 27.9in 87.5in 724 0.0%
235/50-17 4.6in 13.1in 26.3in 82.5in 768 -5.7%



But the backset of your wheel will also determine if there is rubbing or not when lowering. Get the specs on your wheel and do some measuring and research.

Thanks for the info farther. I did a little research before I bought them. I had already replaced my tires once. I had 215/65/16's on there. These new tires are only smaller by about 2.5% from the old ones. I used the tire calculator on miata.net.

That's a good calculator at miata. I agree if it's going to rub it'll be in the back.

If you're in need of new struts....best to get the tein coilovers that way you can adjust the height to fine tune it where you want.