Hi
I installed RB springs this saturday. I am familiar with this kind of work so it wasn't a problem.
Funny thing, Mazda assembly workers put strut to knuckle bolts BEFORE they installed right rear caliper and they put them in in such way that I had to remove caliper in order to get bolts out. Left side was OK. I guess they had too muck sake at lunch
Impressions? Car is lower just a little bit, but that what I was going for-"slammed" is not for me. Wheel arches go nicely around wheels now.
Car wasn't aligned yet, so I cannot say what is off specs. Steering responds better, body roll is much less and I have a feeling that car is more neutral now-could be due to added negative camber. Or maybe i am just imagining things?
Ride quality is just a bit worse, but that is barely a concern-stock suspension is stiff enough to complain about. Nevertheless, it seems smoother on my "favourite" bumpy section on way home-car seems to be more controlled.
"Thumps" on road cracks seem to be louder.
Personally I am happy-goal of little more aggressive stance without srewing up handling is achieved.
Alex
"Gonads and strife"

 

pretty cool, i too am looking at getting the RB springs. do you have any before and after pictures?

 

No, but drop is less than an inch, so it's barely noticeable

 

With less than an inch of lowering, I doubt you have any additional negative camber with a strut suspension. Did you replace the stock struts with the Tokico struts from the MP3 also? That should help the ride some, as those struts should be able to more properly dampen the stiffer MP3 springs. What about the sway bars? Those would do a lot more to reduce body roll than the springs. What are you trying to achieve with the handling?

 

The only problem with the front bar is it's extremely difficult to change.

 

Do you have any idea what's involved in ripping out the front subframe? It just supports the engine, transaxle, and front suspension.

 

sorry guys, another question, but what do the bushings affect, sorry if it's obvious......

 

I had an alignment done in shop which has experience with lowered cars(and racing).
Front camber is -1.2 negative.I do not know what is stock value. Turn in was better after lowering not because of camber(as I thought), but because there was some toe-out. Rear toe was in.
All toe was set to 0-if I have base setting I can always put some toe out at autocross and then change it back to 0.
I did not replace stock struts and I wouldn't say that car is "bouncy" or feels underdampened. Springs are not made for controlling body roll-it's just a positive side effect and wasn't the purpose of installation.
I am absolutely happy with car handling on the street, but in very TIGHT autocross corners it understeers. For the next season I plan on getting AR bar to address that. I will stay with stock struts until they really start to "skip" on bumps in corners, then I'll get Mazdaspeed struts.
I also admit that 50% of my car's understeer comes from my lousy driving and inability to select proper line-If I really try, my exit speed is about 15% higher with less tire squeal(I had "co-driver" do some timing )
Alex

 

The stock bushings are rubber. Rubber can deflect enough under cornering stress to change suspension geometry, which causes unpredicatable and degraded handling.

 

thanks Eric

I'm convinced now of going with RB springs. Today, I met up with ~10 other protege people here in Vancouver, and one of them had installed RBs in his P5. He gave me a ride around the parking lot, went over a few bumps on purpose and did a couple of hard turns, and damn it handles noticeable better, not as much bodyroll, the bumps on the road were just as bad as in my protege, and it doesn't look slammed which some people like. For looks, I'd prefer 1.5", but when talking practical, these springs feel great.

 

even simply upgrading your factory sway bar endlink busings with polyurethane bushings will make a difference. An easy and very cheap upgrade, under $20. But once you go deeper and start changing to stiffer bushings throughout, your "daily ride quality" is diminished, but handling is phenominal

I personally don't care how bad my daily ride quality is, if it handles like a champ, then i have nothing to complain about

 

any one has pics of a car with the RB spings?

 

The 3rd gen Proteges don't have rubber end link bushings. They are solid metal rods with bolts at each end. Only the frame bushings are rubber, and they aren't very thick, so changing those to polyurethane won't make as big an improvement as on some cars.

 

Anyone got Eibach Springs?

MAZDA, Protegé - 1999 (Incl. DX, ES & LX)

Product: PRO-KIT
Front: 1.4in drop
Rear: 1.8in drop

I was thinking about getting these in the spring time...

 

Installed mine two weeks ago, and I LOVE them. The ride is a little harder, but the handling and corners make up for them.I did not replace the OEM struts, probably won't replace them until they start to wear out(or come into some $$ to replace them sooner). I don't know about your Pro, but before the springs my rear end was way too high, now the front and rear are about the same height. As far as the look, it's not slammed, but it fills in the gaps in the fender well nicely(no more looking like a 4x4 ). I bought mine from Mazda Motorsports, $235.00 w/ shipping and it took about a week to come in.