JMAN

hey i have a 92 protege. when i get up to like 80, the whole car like dances around. the front feels light and what to dance around. what would fix that? stiffer springs and shocks?

Arkos

Honestly, an alignment might really help.

ozmane88

I have the same problem and I got 17" wheels, new struts, lowering springs and I got the car re-aligned. Maybe the areodynamics aren't good?

I'd like to find out, cuz it is often a real struggle to drive the protege at 120km/h normally on the highway.

UCSBgeek

tires. my car has gone faster than 100mph before and felt smooth as a whistle with blown struts and stock springs.

BobbyCoffins

i've driven my car at 230kph and it was pretty stable. The H&R springs and A520s make for a bumpy ride at that speed though.

Bruce95fmla

alighnment is true , you have to make sure that is good , Tires also ...
I want to get my front spoiler back on , as the front felt more stable at high speeds with it on , as opposed to it being off..

ali Vegas

i had similar problem. a simple balancing job fixed it

demoninvictus

yeah, you're right about that protoss. i looked at my car from a distance today and all i could think was, paint it red, put a giant handle on the front and that damn thing looks like a radio flyer wagon with the giant whip of an antenna sticking out. alignments, wheel balancing, and lack of fat people in the car usually help . hell, even a wing might help drag the car a little for ya too . eh, nix that comment, but my car has two slightly bent front rims that...a... the curb kinda popped out of no where and hit , so i get a nice fast vibration and a slight side to side movement of the steering wheel over 60 mph. Before, i had only topped my car out at 112mph on my automatic... today, with unbalanced wheels i pulled 115mph, but problem left aside, my car in peak performance shakes just as badly at 75 mph and 80 mph as it does at 110 to 115 mph. and the strangest thing is, on a straight away, it has no problems doing 105 or more, but in slight turns, is hard to control over 85. i mean, my engine pushing close to 5,000 grand at 115 was amazing today, the thrill and the adrhenaline rush you get, only problem with that is it's an economy car, it's not meant to push 100. now a mercedes, there's something sweet to drive. in my buddies 89 mercedes, he can push 130 without much vibration to speak of, and if you close your eyes, just feels amazing. good luck with your cruising problem, rest assured, other first gen owners are having the same problem you are.
peace

p.s. doesn't it make it harder for the car to go fast and accelerate with the added weight of 17 inch wheels?

lukasz70

120mph? what were you driving lol, the 1st gen pro's are rated at like less then 110 mph, not governed.

i had the car upto 170km and that was on a down hill highway ramp @ like 4000rpm with the wind lol but had to stop cause of traffic, i mean it took a bit to get upto that 170,

oh, and no stability issues at those speeds,

UCSBgeek

In my first gen DX automatic I'd say I could go at least 115 mph....

Bruce95fmla

Well in my 2nd gen Protege with the 16" rims... speeding was as such:
From 80 to 100mph , took to much time on flat roads-- I attributed this to the weight of the rims and even more to the low power of the 1.5L motor.
However when I was in Carlisle 2 years ago... Me, Wil, My friend with a 00 Accord Coupe, Tradr(3rdgen pro) , biknman (3rd gen pro) ... were running flat out on their flat highways ... On that strip I managed to go from approx. 90 to 120 in 5th gear .. This was with Super Gasoline and the 16's .. I was amazed myself as this was the fastest I had ever gone in my Pro...
With the 13's on the car now , I can reach from 65 to 100mph in a heartbeat ... one shift to forth and wam I am there.. I managed to top out at 115mph one day racing a Intrepid and a Prelude...

Thing is with bigger rims , I think you can get more top speed.. but with smaller rims you can get closer to the top speed but quicker...

But then also the 2nd gen Pro is a very aerodynamic car also..

I would be interested to see what numbers it would pull in the windtunnel.
Bruce

Davard

I believe the CD for the 1st-gen is about 0.35. That would explain the 120 mph top speed reported in Car and Driver, with only 125 hp. It's a lot slipperier than it looks. (Does the Lexus LS 430 look like it has a CD of 0.25?)

I've had my Protege up to 123 mph indicated (and still accelerating, but ran out of road) when it was new, and 115mph (over a measured mile) at 5000+ ft elevation with a very tired motor. Any time I've had it that fast, I was amazed at the stability.

itzkcatz

i had mine to 122 before my exit came up.

lukasz70

people are getting these pros upto 120mph, hmm
im driving upto wasaga next week, im gonna have something to aim for on the way up

itzkcatz

Mines a lx Dohc 5 speed