hey guys,

i join our local autocross scene here in the philippines and have had bad experiences with body roll. i mean it's okay with the car since it still goes to whatever direction i point it to but the problem is that i'm thrown around in the car.

at first i was thinking of lowering the car with eibach springs and install mazdaspeed adjustable shocks but if you guys have seen the roads here... man, lowered springs aren't advisable for daily driven cars like mine.

my next alternative would be to replace just the shocks (just like a friend of mine who owns a mitsubishi mirage). i'd have less roll but still have the stock springs meaning it isn't that bad in all the bumps and craters (and generally bad roads).

so my question is, what would be a good set of shocks? i'm thinking of getting bilsteins.


a quick trivia:

the gen3 is called the ford lynx here. the front and rear are different from your proteges but everything inside is the same.

 

ugh! my first topic and i posted in the wrong section! this should be in the suspension section... sorry moderators! can you please move it for me?

 

If your worried about body roll and do not want to lower your car, try a rear sway bar. If you go to AWR, they make 19 & 21 mm bars that will mount to your stock hardware. I am thinking about it because to buy new struts and springs and installation is out of my price range.

 

i donno about you guys, but ‚�‚™�@AWR sway bar is taking forever to arrive. im going to cancel my order tomorrow if i dont get it
by friday. this sucks! its rediculous. parts that i bought from japan after my order to protege5online.com arrive 2 days ago. WTF!

 

i hear that somethign needs to be reinforced if i do order one of those rear sway bars. what do i need to buy to reinforce whatever needs reinforcing?

 

I'm not sure about aftermarket bars & reinforcing, but I do know that the sway bar from the MP3 (did you guys get that sedan there?) only works with the specific struts from that car also.

The connection point is substantially beefier on those struts. If the MP3 sway bar is installed with the stock non-MP3 struts, and the attachment not reinforced, the connection will break.

Again - I'm not sure about any aftermarket sway bars in this regard.

~HH

 

I just got mine Tuesday... almost 2 weeks to get here. Parts look to be worth the wait.

 

If you are NOT going to upgrade springs and struts, then I would seriously suggest the 19mm AWR bar. Really keeps the back end in check. The effect was not nearly as good when I upgraded to Racing Beat Springs.

From what I understand, a sway bar is a "bandaid" for a "weak" suspension. If you upgrade the struts/springs you won't need the sway bar as much.

If you don't plan on upgrading your struts/springs (or don't plan on doing it for some time) then I would definitely get the sway bar. The best bang for the buck.

 

I woudn't say a bandaid. If the swaybar is adjustable, then you can really dial in the suspension especially with the struts and springs upgraded.

 

you should consider getting the msp's springs... they only lower about an inch... not a big problem in pothole land

 

Is there an MSP rear strut? I think it's easier for me to get Mazdaspeed parts than MP3 parts. Nope, we don't get that here. Actually the sedans we have here are of the 1.3L and 1.6L models.

 

yes

 

I'm going to have to disagree with this one. I don't consider it a band-aid but a compromise. You can increase the spring rate until the car doesn't roll anymore but then your fillings would fall out on a daily basis from the jarring ride.

Regardless of what shocks or springs you buy, an anti-roll bar can only help.

 

right, eibachs alone improved body roll stiffness, but not enough.
got me a AWR rear swaybar.

 

For the record, I have the AWR 21.5mm rear swaybar with stock struts in the rear. It's been on the car since October. No breakage or damage to the stock strut mounting tabs.

The car's been through two autocrosses, I've loaded up the car with 4 or 5 people in the rear (don't ask), and I don't exactly take corners "slow". ::knocks really really hard on wood::