Silencing the Protege '98
 

Hello All,
I was wondering what most have you have done to silence your protege's noises.
I've got mine lowered, and there are all sorts of noises that come from the back. Most likely the Spare tired, and the platic plate on top.
But am i the only one having problems.
Also i know that the sub tends to loosen things also.
Does anyone else have any affordable solutions (dynomat is expensive).
Also i have a sunroof that makes alot of noise, and i can't seem to silence it.

Hi. You do not necessary need to use dynamat. There are other alternatives just like it, work the same, and cost less. I also lowered my car, and I have V-rated tires, so the road feel is way more obvious and harsher. And if you are really serious about lessening the new noises, you should really take your time to prepare, also to make sure that you can afford to do this, whether on your own or have some else do it. You might want to consider doing the doors, floorpan, firewall, trunk area, etc. It takes a great deal of time to take things apart, and know how to tak things apart. You just have to have the will to do it. Also, you have to remember that this will add weight. I do not know how much, I have not done that myself, but I have thought about it many times. And everytime I realize that my engine is still a Z5, and my tranny is still an automatic. So goodluck with it if you want to pursue it.

BTW, how much did you cut your H&Rs? Is there a difference before/after they were cut? Thanks.

Yeah, just thinking of taking everything apart scares me. And i am not to fond of adding more weight to the car, the poor lil engine has enough to push. I will have to try and see if i can tighten anything, and do some more research on Dynamat alternatives, i've seen a few knockoff's but they come out to be pretty expensive.

Well, in regard to your question about my springs. My mecanic cut them, if i am not mistaken he cut off 2 coils from the back and 3 from the front. but i could be wrong. So, cutting them we had to remove the comfort part so it wouldn't bottom out. So we actually ended up lowering it an extra 2 inches. So right now there is a lil less than an inch clearance, but it looks SWEET.. Seeing as those springs only lower it (1.5 inches), and the fact that this car rides SO extremly high, it was affordable. So, it turned out that i have to give up some comfort for the look. Which is what i wanted in the first place. But i have to deal with all the rattling. And since the roads here in montreal SUCK big time, it's a bit rough.

Yeah, I had ask because after looking at your car in your sig, it looks good. I also have a decent size gap, but I do not plan on lowering any more. The roads in New England are pretty horrible too, so at times my driving seems a little irrational as I have to avoid most pot holes, man holes, and just about any huge road abnormalities.