Wondering if anyone knows the ideal autocross setup for a protege. Or a list of the things to get in order of price and/or importance. Thx

 

As I've always said.... stock MSP suspension is amazing...in fact it's "the best handling FWD production car EVER tested."

Start with that and when your driving skill surpasses your equipment then worry about upgrading.

 

For a street-driven car, as opposed to a trailered, full-on, "Let's-go-to-Kansas" nationally competitive car, Roddimus is right on. I have most of the MSP/MP3 stuff, with the exception of the front sway bar (stock), and the struts (I have Tokico HP's, very similar I think). I drive 250 miles daily, and while it's no GM Luxo-Barge, it's very tolerable, and very streetable in terms of going in and out of driveways, speedbumps, etc. I do believe there are package deals in here somewhere for less than a grand for the whole Enchillada.

 

IM RUNNING:
MAZDASPEED springs (eibach)
MAZDASPEED dampers (tockico blues)
RACING BEAT sway bars (25,20)
MAZDASPEED STB
camber bolts (-1.8 front -1.3 rear)
Falken Azenis (205/50/15)
-.25 toe out in front, 0 toe (static) in the rear

love the car, SUPER neutral and ver talkative

 

Invest in tires before you go racing. There is really no point in tuning a car's suspension independant of the tires. The Falkens that Racing Beat has are very nice.

 

I have run on them on the last 3 cars, they are the best (IMHO) stickiest street tires you can get, yeah they suck in standing water, dont even think about snow and they wear quickly, but the grip you get is phenominal....they last about 10-15k miles they way I drive...about a summer/autocross and track season...plus they are cheap!

 

It all depends on what class you want to be in, and what organization you are in (SCCA, Mazda club, NASA, etc.). Tires are key, and you can run basically any DOT legal tire in even the most basic classes in SCCA.