This how-to is designed to help you with a self install of your suspension. Any decent mechanically inclined person can do this. Having a Haynes manual on hand can help as well. It would be nice to have a second person to help you out. Call a buddy up and offer lunch and lagers and have fun. The materials list is for the hard way to install/remove, I use air tools!

Materials: 
lug wrench
Lug key(if needed)
Coil-overs/Springs
Struts
10mm/14mm/17mm/19mm sockets and wrenches.( I prefer flare nut wrenches and impact sockets)
Penetrating oil and or propane torch(my favorite tool)
Hammer
Punch or screw driver
Angle grinder/ bench grinder(if installing coil-overs)
Jack and jack stands
Pliers
Spring compressors (unless you are as cool as Ty Saxon)
Hacksaw (some cutting device to cut bump stops)
Breaker bar
Pipe that fits around breaker bar
Torque wrench (if wanted to be in spec)

I 
Begin with the left front side of the car (drivers side). Jack up the car and remove the tire to expose the inner wheel well and all components that you will be working with. Pop the hood and locate the 4 upper strut mounting nuts you will also be working with. It's always a good idea to position jack stands under the car where the jack points are under the car. Place them even so it doesn't rock. This is not something to mess around with. Could cause some major damage if the car fell.

II
Now we want to start the removal of the strut. Begin on the bottom end. Use your pliers to slide off the brake clip that attaches it to the strut. If you have ABS brakes remove the 10mm bolt nice and easily to remove the small ABS speed sensor bracket from the side of the strut. This bolt may snap easily so be careful. If it snaps off you can remove the bracket for some nice weight reduction. Move the brake line out of the way. Use your 17mm/breaker bar/pipe combo to take off and remove the strut-to-knuckle bolts. Make sure you are LOOSENING them! (Lefty-loosy, righty-tighty, which do you prefer?) Yeah so uh anyways back to the removal. If they still will not budge, go at it with some penetrating oil or propane! Use a punch or a screw driver and hammer to pop out the bolt completely. Repeat step for the second one. Now that the lower end of the strut body is free, turn your attention to the top. Take notice to the position of the strut mount. You want to line this back up when you reattach the strut. Pop the small round center "dust cap" off of the damper shaft nut. Loosen this nut a couple turns, just enough to break it free. Have your buddy who is now drunk off lagers hold the bottom side of the strut body while you free the 14mm upper strut nuts. Now remove the entire strut/spring from the car.

III
the spring compressors now come into play. Place them on the spring opposite of each other and compress the spring. Once the springs start coming off the upper and lower mounting seats, position the strut upright and remove the damper shaft nut completely. Take off the suspension support underneath it, and remove the clamped springs. Pull up on the rubber boot and expose the yellow, high density foam strut bump stop. Now everyone says differently some people say cut the top off, cut the bottom, cut both, don't cut. It is all about preference to me. If you use the top half the bumps will be harder and the opposite for the bottom. Or you could just cut off one rib. Grab the new strut. For coil-overs you will need to grind away at the cylinder shape part that stops the coil-over sleeve from going on the shaft (yes I said shaft). Holding your new strut upright,(with adjusting sleeve already on it) slide the stock bump stop on the damper shaft,(replace rubber boot if desired) put the coil on, the silver top mount, the small OEM rubber spacer , then the strut mount. Make sure you lock the coil-over perch in place, depending on what brand you have, at whatever height you desire. To make sure you are all even all around I count threads. If you are installing springs then just replace the stock spring with the new lowering spring and use all OEM parts. Time to reattach to the car!

IV
Have your partner hold the bottom side of the strut while you help align the 4 strut bolts up and into the holes they went though.( where you removed the 4 bolts under the hood) Make sure your strut mount lines up the same as it was before, tighten the 4 bolts to secure the topside of the strut.
You may have to pull down on the caliper, and push back on the bottom side of the strut to make the 2 bolt holes line up as you put those bolts back through. Tighten them up and re-secure the brake line hose clip and ABS clip if you have it. Repeat for other front side.

V 
Now the entire process is the same, but this time you will have to expose the rear upper strut mounts that are in the inside of the car under some of that back paneling. It is all just is cheap plastic tabs/fasteners and screws, that as you go along will all come up. You will end up with completely removed back panels. Pull up the black foam/rubber covering the top mounting nuts. Continue with the process for the rears, nothing is different from this point forward.

On the rear you may run into a problem where a bolt on the bottom not able to come out due to it hitting the caliper. You will need to remove the caliper to take the bolt out. There are 2 bolts that need to come out. Once out then, slide the caliper off the rotor gently to not disturb the pads,clips,etc. pull the bolt out and reinstall the caliper. You should now be all done baring something major happened. Most of the problems that occur have to do with broken/stripped/too tight bolts/nuts. 

Now take pics and go for a test drive. If your car was out of alignment before it will most likely be worse. Even if it wasn't before it could still be now. Take it to a shop that can do an alignment and don't let them know it's lowered, they will charge more.

Step for removing the strut perches to go even lower with coil-overs.
The only struts available that I recommend doing this modification are the tokico blues and tokico illumines. If you are worried about warranties of the struts, you already voided that warranty if you are installing coil-overs by grinding the one area.

Tools needed: 
hacksaw/dremel/sawzall
table vise
vise grips
bench grinder
paint (if wanted)

Ok what you do is take the strut and place it in the vise. Then notice where the 3 holes are in the perch. You want to use the hacksaw and make a cut so that you reach each of those holes. When you are done with that you will have 3 sections of the perch. Then position the strut upwards in the vise. Using vise grips grab a hold of one section and slowly pull the section down. Then back up and keep doing that slowly until it comes right off. Do that until you have all three sections removed and there is no longer a perch. If you did this mod to the tokicos then you will notice a nice sized weld that goes completely around. You may want to use a bench grinder or dremel and make it level. You can now paint the strut like I did or leave it the way it is and now put the strut and coil-over back together. This will also allow you to run wider wheels. I can use my FD's with a 50 offset and 225/50/16 nitto 555r's with no spacers and not rub.

How-to prepared by Chris Rose

13" brake upgrade for '93-'97 Ford Probe / Mazda MX6 Parts list: 2 each replacement rotors 2 each caliper mounting brackets 4 each Caliper bracket spacers 2 each calipers, 4 piston 4 each brake pads 2 each stainless steel braided Teflon flex hose assemblies 2 each chassis fitting adapters 2 each 90 degree elbows 4 each caliper bracket mounting bolts (12mm x 35mm) 4 each 12mm flat washers 4 each caliper mounting bolts (3/8-24 x 1 1/4") 4 each caliper mounting bolt flat washers (3/8" hard)

Warning!

Brake system work should always be carried out by qualified individuals. If you are not completely confident of your skill in this area, have someone who is do the installation or assist you with the installation. MBXmotorsports accepts no responsibility for the consequences of improperly installed brake components. Your life depends on your brakes, be careful.

Installation:

Jack up the front of the vehicle and secure with jack stands. Refer to the shop manual and remove front wheels, calipers, rotors and flex hoses. Rotor dust shields should be removed or trimmed. These brake parts will not be reused.

After disconnection of the flex hoses from the chassis hard lines, it is a good idea to plug the hard lines to prevent excessive brake fluid loss and entry of air into the system. Small (3/16" diameter) rubber or soft plastic plugs are usually available from your local automotive parts store and work well.

Modifications NO modifications are required to install this brake kit. This is a bolt on assembly.  Caliper Brackets The new caliper mounting bracket will be situated on the wheel side of the spindle. Using the 12mm hardware, mount the brackets to the spindles in the position of the original Mazda calipers. Use red Loctite on the threads. Slip a washer onto each bolt and insert the bolts through the caliper mounting ears of the spindle so that the ends of the bolts point toward the outside of the vehicle.

Slide the bracket spacers over the bolts, then engage the bolts in the threaded holes in the new caliper mounting bracket. Tighten bolts to 60 Ft/Lbs.

When correctly installed, the two small threaded holes in the bracket will be toward the outer edge of the rotor away from the spindle center.  Rotors. The rotors are directional and marked "LEFT" or "RIGHT" on their back side. The rotor, when installed will have the curved vanes visible at the top of the rotor pointing toward the rear of the vehicle. After installation the rotor should blow air out of its periphery when spun by hand in the direction of normal rotation for a forward moving vehicle. With the brackets installed, slip the rotors in place over the studs of the hub and temporarily secure the rotor with two lug nuts.

Calipers & Pads. The new calipers are directional and must be installed appropriately. Note that the piston sizes are different. The large (1.75" D) pistons run directly in the aluminum caliper cylinder. The small pistons  (1.38" D), run in steel cylinders which can be identified by their bright silver color in contrast to the surrounding caliper body. The smaller pistons are the leading pistons. Calipers which are installed behind the front axle center should have the smaller piston toward the ground and the large piston high. Calipers which are installed ahead of the front axle center line should have the larger piston toward the ground and the smaller piston high.

The calipers use a large cotter pin to secure the pads in place. Remove the cotter pin and slide the pads into place in the caliper. Reinstall the cotter pins and bend one leg at 90 degrees to secure the pads. For best appearance, the cotter pins should be installed from the wheel side of the caliper.

With the pads installed, slip the caliper into position over the rotor and the new mounting bracket. Engage the 3/8-24 x 1 1/4" bolts (each with a flat washer) in the mounting ears of the caliper and apply Locktite compound to the threads. Secure the caliper to the bracket and tighten bolts to 40 Ft/Lb.


Hoses and fittings.

The hose assemblies consist of three pieces, the hose itself, the chassis fitting adapter and the 90 degree elbow. Some kits are supplied with both straight and ninety degree caliper fittings. Use whichever is most appropriate, taking into consideration suspension travel, steering deflection the general avoidance of interference with moving parts. Install the adapter at the chassis mount bracket in place of the original hose. Install the 90° elbow (or straight) fitting into the caliper fluid inlet with Teflon tape. Be sure to install the pipe thread end of the elbow into the caliper and not the AN3 end. (The AN3 end is more pointed and is a perfect fit in the flex hose). Install the hose between the fittings. Do not use Teflon tape on the hose fittings or the factory hard lines.

Bleeding

Bleeding can be performed manually or with the use of power equipment in the usual way. There are four bleed screws on each caliper. Bleed only the two bleed screws which point up. Be certain to remove all air from both sides of each caliper. 

With the installation complete, the wheels can be replaced and the vehicle made ready for testing.


Pad bedding

It is important to properly bed or seat-in new pads on their rotors. The rotors are zinc plated and will not function at peak efficiency until the plating is worn away from the friction surfaces.

In a safe location, make a series of gentle stops from low speed. Start at around 10mph to prove that the system is functioning properly. Gradually work up to 20 and 30mph again with gentle stops. Gradually work up to hard stops and higher speeds bringing the pads up to their upper operating temperature. If brake fade is experienced at any time the system should be cooled immediately. Drive at moderate speeds to cool the pads, do not apply the brakes during this process if possible. After initial cooling in this manner, the vehicle should be parked so that the pads can return to ambient temperature. This completes the heat cycle and will ensure minimal pad wear and maximum pad friction.
Drive Safely!