1.25"

 

I think you forgot to mention Tein H-Techs as well, that's what i currently have with my set of HPs

 

^^ and the ride quality is nice on that setup? Very few people ever talk about the H-tech, the s-tech seems much more popular.

edit: just checked, the h-tech springrate seems to be very close to that of the MSP springs so the ride quality on HP struts is probably great.

 

i can't complain, it's pretty nice!

 

I didn't mention them because they don't drop the car evenly. An inch up front and nothing in the rear. However, they're linear and the springrates are great.

 

well you're right about the drop, it's not even but when i installed it i did notice a drop in the rear.

my main concern was not to lower the car but to get a performance upgrade from stock.

 

I'm doing a mix-and-match drop job on my P5 involving HTech front springs and Racing beat rears. Did all the research so it should work out just right.

 

I'm with amrit on this one- going for a suspension upgrade with minimal ride height change. Though I'm sorely tempted by the Tokico package with the struts and springs, even though it'll lower my car by about 1.25 inches. Really though, that's not a significant drop, is it? How does a one inch drop affect handling and ride quality, for those of you who've done it?

 

Mine has a 1.5" drop all around and it's not so bad. It does make a difference in ride quality cuz you'll be able to feel the bumps more, but it's not so bad. 1.25" would be even better .. and you'd barely notice the difference. Now you more than likely will notice a much greater improvement in handling however

 

The difference in ride quality comes mostly from the incresed stiffness of the springs and increased strut damping. Ride height affects handling by changing the center of gravity. Suspension geometry is also changed a little (which is why you need an alignment after you get new springs), but that has a nominal effect on ride quality unless you drop more than about 2".

 

If my car has a drop in ride height do I have to adjust the camber? Have any of you guys dialed in negative camber for your cars once lowered? I'm not sure how to do this, as the Protege uses a MacPherson strut setup in front, which I think is non-adjustable. I'm hoping a 1.25" drop is negligible as far as camber is affected.

 

The front camber is adjustable by rotating the top strut mount. You can basically only change it from 0 to 1 to -1 (at stock ride height).

The multilink (twin trapezoidal link) rear suspension doesn't really mess up the camber when you lower, but the toe will be off (it's passive rear steering) and can drastically affect rear tire wear.

 

Anyone used Tokico HP Blue's with stock springs? Or KYB's with stock springs. Looking to keep the ride height but upgrade the shocks during replacement.

Also, are there any replacement springs that maintain ride height?

 

I have a set of springs that'll drop the front 3/4" and the rear 1/2" and will pair well with HPs. Any other aftermarket spring set will take you down lower. I can provide pics if you're interested.