I finally lowered my Mitsubishi Magna (before and after)

[@billymasonpi]

Time stamps - I talk slow and therefore suggest increasing the playback speed via Settings. 0:00 Intro 0:12 Parts and prices 2:26 Tools 2:58 Current ride height measurement 4:10 Removing rear seat to access rear struts 5:30 Removing rear struts 7:10 Disassembling of old and assembly of new rear struts 9:30 Installing new rear struts 11:15 Removing front struts 13:35 Disassembling of old and assembly of new front struts 19:27 The reveal

[@pcorf]

VR-X rims suit the beige colour. Nice to see well looked after Magna, so many of these cars look like wrecks driving around. I own a metallic red July 2000 TJ Sports, it is great and I m about to put some KJ/KL/KW Verada GTV/GTVi rims on it.

[@billymasonpi]

Thanks Pcorf Creations, very kind. This colour I acknowledge wouldn't have worked well with the VRX's sporty pretensions and image but Mitsi may have missed an opportunity to release a model with the Kashmir paint and VRX wheel combo. :) Always good to hear from another Magna owner proud of their car and keeping it well. I no longer daily drive mine so it's in a garage storage under a cover until Christmas, then I'll make some more videos as there's a few things that need doing.

[@MasterT-n2c]

You need a special tool ( MB991176) to hold the plate for removing the top nut and it is very tight 105Nm.🙂

[@Anton-i3f8t]

car looks great wish I lowered instead of standard springs... I found something is hitting metal I suspecting its the right engine mount.. Do oyu know a safe way to remove the engine mounts

[@billymasonpi]

Thanks Anton-i3f8t. Unfortunately, I had to reinstall the standard springs after encountering some issues with the right rear spring and shock setup, which I later realised, after I sold the springs, was caused by a stuffed shock. I plan to lower it again, but perhaps with coilovers this time, not sure. As for the engine mounts, I've not done this job before, but understand that the engine needs to be supported. Which one do you need to replace?

[@Anton-i3f8t]

@billymasonpi the noise is coming from the front right but when i look at the right and feel the rubber of thd engine moubt it feels ok. i sent thd car to multipld mechanics suspension people and they all brush me off. i thinking of taking it to a resto company tgat do everything. its a shame the engibe has done 500k and still going strong

[@billymasonpi]

@@Anton-i3f8t That's a shame, I hope that you can find someone who can properly diagnose the source of the noise. Arguably, the front right engine mount should be the easiest to replace and they're pretty cheap on ebay.

[@LifeSized101]

My sports Verada GVTi seems lowered . Interesting what the before and after measurements will be. Front on mine is 395mm

[@billymasonpi]

395mm vs mine at 405mm before lowering aligns with the 10mm reduction Mitsubishi said the Sports and VRX models received, and appears to have been extended to the GTVi.

[@KLM738XO]

The car looks great. well kept..

[@billymasonpi]

Very kind, thank you.

[@Ifindoubtknockthemout]

I think it's so clean just bought a wagon I would have liked to see the tyres almost touch the guards iam pretty sure you can get coilover for these I was looking at some keep the channel going aswell mate

[@billymasonpi]

Thanks Benn, very kind. Super lows would have achieved an in the guards look but the ride from all reports would have been too harsh. Although it looks far better lowered I've actually comtemplated restoring to standard height because I often find it impractical. Will definitely keep the channel going - it's just that I no longer daily drive it and not so much needs doing but I do have some videos planned for the Magna coming up.

[@Ifindoubtknockthemout]

@@billymasonpi yeeah keep the channel going i love you work car is probably the cleanest one I've seen yeeah I love low cars but they such a great drive to be honest iam a Honda fan boy but magnas are great cars

[@paulfromperth5713]

This Magna/Verada looks like it’s in very good condition. I always thought this model had a Chrysler look to it. Maybe they had some input in to the design as they were tied up with Mitsubishi. 🤔

[@billymasonpi]

Thanks PaulFromPerth, it's no longer a daily driver, and stored in a garage undercover, so keeping it in good condition will be much easier. It was becoming more challenging to pass rego each year with little niggling things wear and tear items being picked up despite the shops praising the overall condition of the car. Now I'll be able to address them once and not worry about it for many years. In terms of design inspiration, I can certainly see some second gen Pontaic Firebird in the bonnet beak and headlights, and some Chrysler Eagle Vision in the bonnet lines and beak too, but I seem to think the original 3rd gen design (TE/KE) was inspired by the 5 series BMW, perhaps even the 2nd gen before it too.

[@mvnorsel6354]

Just put higher profile tyres on my 380, raises car by 11mm. No issues. A mini SUV ?😅

[@billymasonpi]

Almost a neccessity with the condition of our roads these days! Sometime after this video I actually returned the car to standard height and sold the King springs, as one of the rear shock absorbers kept dislodging from the spring over expansion joints and I couldn't diagnose the cause. About the sell the springs and rear shocks as a package, I discovered that one was defective after it started leaking everywhere. Although I prefer the lowered appearance, it's far more practical on the standard springs. Perhaps one day I will install coilovers.

[@Adversity69]

nice video brother i have the exact same car at just 90k in the dash runs smooth ass

[@billymasonpi]

Thanks Stefano. Nice, 90K is barely run in on these babies, plenty of life left.

[@buzzfeed8614]

Nice video. But it just reminds me of the sports height. That's what I have and hate it on mine. A 40mm drop would have gave it a much nicer stance on the front IMO.

[@billymasonpi]

Agree, the front still sits a little too high and didn’t even achieve the 30mm drop suggested by King Springs. That said, observing many other Magnas and Veradas I always wondered why my standard ride height was so high and there was such a large gap between the wheel and arches, so lowering has made it look like it’s now got a normal ride height. The only thing that has started to bother me is getting out of it is more effort.

[@scottsoriano4344]

Looks amazing!!!! , do you have measurements for the original stock springs front and back boss? I have the same car in black VRX 2002 130,000 miles.

[@billymasonpi]

Thanks Scott! You're fortunate to have a VRX in black, they're very desirable. Are you referring to the measurement from the wheel centre cap to the top wheel arch? If so I don't have this on hand but can get it for you.

[@scottsoriano4344]

@@billymasonpi thanks boss, so my problem is I’m trying to get back to original ride height but I live in Bolivia (South America) not so easy to find parts for this car and I’m trying to get exact measurements of the front and back coil springs because mine are starting to sag a little more in the front then the back. I mean it’s been 22 years some sagging is expected.

[@billymasonpi]

@@scottsoriano4344 No worries at all, I actually have the standard springs in the car at the moment, so if you're able to wait about a week I can get these measurements once I can get over to see the car as it's being stored.

[@scottsoriano4344]

@@billymasonpi thanks boss, much appreciated.

[@billymasonpi]

@@scottsoriano4344 Hi Scott, I measured the eyebrow height (wheel arch to wheel centre cap) and on standard springs it is 415mm on the front and 410mm on the rear. Hope this helps!

[@stephenpugh3507]

Great video, is it possible to advance the timing on a tj magna 2003 3.5 Lt. I don't have a timing light and wondering if it can be done by hand feel and revs. Steve

[@billymasonpi]

Thanks Stephen. I'm no expert here but it's my understanding that the timing is ECU controlled.

[@Roo0ooD]

Gday man, did you get the rear shocks from eagle auto/ebay ? im curious what the part number is for front struts you installed

[@billymasonpi]

Indeed I did, $70 plus $20 for postage. They’ll be likely new old stock Monroe original fitment to these cars. In terms of the front struts, the part number depends on the brand so best to keyword search. In eBay search ‘2 x MITSUBISHI MAGNA VERADA FRONT SHOCK ABSORBERS TE TF TH TJ TL’ and the first result for $175 are the ones I purchased. Don’t quote me but like the front brake rotors and pads I believe the earlier TR and TS series Magnas use the same front struts so you might be able to broaden your search and find a better price. Hope this helps!

[@Adversity69]

Hey mason where can i get those fog lights

[@billymasonpi]

Hi Adversity69, try searching on eBay for ‘Magna fog lights’ and you should get some good results. The set on my car I imported from Japan off a Diamante through a website called Jauce.com back in 2015. From memory it was ridiculously cheap at about $8 for the fog lights, but the shipping cost was astronomical. That being said I also imported in the same order, a set of headlights. Overall, however, it ended up being cheaper than buying the headlights and fog lights from an Australian seller. Keep in mind that the bumpers on the TE/TF and TH/TH series are different and therefore the mounting brackets for the fog lights are also different.

[@Djr67]

Have you fitted a TL steering rack? And rear sway bar , will drive better without having to lower it and lose ride quality

[@billymasonpi]

Nope, a TL steering rack might be a challenge to find but the rear sway bar I will certainly consider. It handles pretty well since lowering, much lighter nimble feel in the front end. The ride quality isn't too bad but I kind of miss the standard suspension for that (I still have the springs).

[@Djr67]

@@billymasonpi The TL/TW steering rack is a good up grade, has much more road feel off centre, I think I will fit one to my TE Wagon

[@Djr67]

@@billymasonpi TL rack isn't too hard to find, I have fitted two in the past one to my KH Verada and one to a KJ Verada, mitsfix is selling a brand new one for $335 on eBay. My KL Verada drives like its on tracks compared to my TE Wagon, the TE feels floatie and lurching around bends, I can't wait to fit new shocks and the TL rack to the TE wagon, my KL is stock other then replacing the original front shocks with KYB shocks. BTW your Magna looks awesome

[@محمدالخروصي-ط3ب]

Where did you get the spring from?

[@billymasonpi]

Hello, I bought them from eBay, from this seller: www.ebay.com.au/itm/152193298760. What they failed to tell me however was a 6 week+ wait for the Lovell springs I originally thought I was buying (they are made to order) and so offered me King springs instead, which I accepted. Given King springs are being offered at a higher price on eBay then you might be able to get a modest savings if they don't have any Lovells. Hope this helps!

[@gooeypotatoes2620]

Have you tinted your windows?

[@billymasonpi]

Yes, way back in 2004 I had 20% vlt tint installed. 35% was the minimum at the time but it simply wasn’t dark enough. It’s now only partially illegal as 20% is permitted rear side and back windows but still only 35% front side. Plan to replace soon as the rear window has bubbles and vision through it has diminished but it has lasted well.

[@gooeypotatoes2620]

@@billymasonpi looks very nice I must say! I plan to do 20% at the back side windows and 35% for the front side windows as the tint now is peeling

[@billymasonpi]

@@gooeypotatoes2620 Thanks! The key perhaps with the back window is to limit the demister use - I think that's what has caused the bubbling on mine. This is the second car for which I have had 20% tint - the first was about 2000 when I had a lounge-on-wheels 1986 Toyota Cressida GLXi which looked amazing with the contrast white paint and blacked out windows.

[@gooeypotatoes2620]

@@billymasonpi ahh okay that’s probably why, I just got the car and wasn’t sure how it occurred. Thanks for that!

[@ariveitz1941]

Why?

[@billymasonpi]

Unless you're a Magna fanboy like me, you won't understand.🙂

[@djw864]

Probably the cheapest best looking longest lasting car

[@billymasonpi]

Thats DJ W. For a car with its original design penned in the early 90s it’s aged remarkably well.

[@djw864]

@@billymasonpi I have a 2000 t/k sports and the sagging suspension makes it look even cooler

[@billymasonpi]

@@djw864 Interesting. I covered almost 600K on the original springs and they never so much as sagged 1mm lol. I kept them in the shed in case I ever want to restore the factory ride height.