misbah

Hey everyone, just came on to these boards, thought it would be a good place 2 get help...i own a 92 dx protege, auto, and its ugly as hell. its been through 2 older sisters, 110000 miles and its hit damn near everything possible, but it runs strong and i like the car alot. never had any engine problems, unfortunately the suspension is a bit weak, and the poor thing bounces around like no other. I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions on some suspension upgrades to stiffen up the car, and maybe even improve handling...this is what i had on my mind so far..

-intrax lowering springs
-shocks (any recommendations)
-suspension techniques front n rear sway bars
-cork sport lower tie bar
-cork sport front/rear strut bars
-anyone make susp. bushings?
also how are the GC coilovers
id just like quality parts, n money isnt much right now, a guy smacked my sportbike up bad with his truck (i was on it) and i got a good deal of insurance settlement $$ outta that...any help would b great!

Maz94Protege

YO, i would say go with Sprint Springs. They are less expensive than EIBACH and INTRAX.

ZX2 Struts (i think aka Tokico Struts)

I have RACTIVE front and rear strut bars. ALl MX3 strut bars works for the 1st gen proteges.

And tower bars... up to you. dun know much of a need for em...

The Coilovers will wear down your stock struts if u dont replace em. ONly good thing bout coilovers is when u goto a show u can have ur car slammed and the rest of the time u can raise it up to look stock....


But thats my input.

Davard

For the money, the Tokico ZX-2 struts are your best bet (see the FAQ).

The ST F/R bars are good, although if you want the car to rotate (for autocross), consider the Compass 1" rear bar in conjunction with the ST front bar.

Energy Suspension makes bushings for the suspension, although you have to look under ZX-2.

The GC coil-overs work pretty well, although their spring choices leave a little to be desired (IMHO). I personally have 12" front springs on mine, while GC chooses 7" (I think they intend you to keep your factory spring perches). But this limits suspension travel, which is probably why they spec 300 lb front springs (which also keeps the car understeer safe). For street, 250 lbs is plenty stiff, if you'd like any kind of ride quality. Of course, you'd need longer springs and spring perch removal (at least in front).

If you don't want to go with coil-overs, and handling and ride quality are more important than appearance, the Eibach springs are a good choice. As as the H&R springs. With stock length struts, anything much lower than 1-1.25" in front will have you on the bump stops all the time.

misbah

What would be a good match up for the zx2 struts? would i wanna go with a spring for a protege, or get the eibach springs for the zx-2? Also im a horrible do it yourself kinda guy, so how much, if any, modification is necessary to put on those zx2 struts into a protege...ie) could a garage do em for me easily?

Thanks for all the help guys

Davard

IF you are looking for a performance improvement, and a moderate amount of lowering, then the Eibach springs are a good choice. For greater performance and lowering, the H&R Protege springs are a good choice, and the H&R MX-3 springs are the lowest and stiffest of the quality springs. But, the lower you go, the more extreme the ride will be (as you'll have that much less travel in the struts).

Fitting the ZX-2 struts isn't too hard. Mazdaspeedwest's site has a very good how-to on fitting them. You'll also need new thrust bearings, but the ZX-2 pieces are metal, and much better than the POS plastic "bearings" that Mazda uses.

And taking the springs apart is the hard part, although you can cheat that part, and putting on lowering springs is pretty easy. You will need an alignment after everything is done though.