96Familia

I just got (well 3 weeks ago ) RS-R Ti2000 progressive suspension coils. Lowers 30-35mm in the front and 50-55mm in the rear. I've got about 1 1/2 finger gap in the arches.



It's a very comfortable ride and gives a very balance look in the front and rear. Handles beautifully around corners too with minimal body roll. I'm using stock struts btw.

cornercarve98

The drop looks good for sure. So do the rims. Looks like no discernable camber, so tire wear should be still good for you. I had no idea RS-R made springs for this car. Interesting that the springs drop the rear more than the fronts. How much did you get them for?

96Familia

The wheels sit flush with the fender. I used to have 14" Miata wheels which were tucked into the arches a bit. It looks a bit better now. RS*R springs for this car are really hard to get. They usually retail at $300 but I got mine cheap brand new from Japan for $215. I used to have 1 fist gap in the front and a fist and a half in the back.

cornercarve98

Way to go on the low cost. I would agree that the wheels do sit flush with the fenders. The custom (at the exact same size: 14x6) wheels on mine must have some version of negative offset because they sit fairly flush with the fender instead of the stock more-inset state. It looks good for being 14 inches. A fist and a half rear gap is a lot, so I see where the rear drop amount works real well for you. I checked mine and it's a fist (or 4 fingers or a palm's width) front and rear...maybe those springs wouldn't work for my car (or US spec ones, but feel free to prove me wrong, anyone), since it would seem (by your numbers) to be sagging in the back like I had sandbags in the trunk or something. Hmm.

96Familia

For a better idea of the gap I had, here's a shot before lowering and putting on the 17's.



And lowering on 14's:



I believe the suspension setup between USDM Protege and JDM Familia is the same. Using the RS-R on the USDM Protege should have the same effect.

cornercarve98

Thanks for the pictures. Ok, from this point on, it's the third draft of my response to the odd gap difference I thought existed, but I keep getting proved wrong--either by photos from the web or, just now, by going out and super super carefully hand gap checking my car. So here's what I found: Generally, the 95-96 cars (from the pics I saw) have a noticably uneven gap. Generally the 97-98 ones have a more even gap, but it varies so much it's a moot point of whether Mazda changed something about the rear springs or not. My car has about a 10mm difference in gap between the front and rear tires, the rear gap being larger....glad that mystery has been solved. Sheez. So those springs should work well for the whole 2nd gen range...yes, yes they should. Thanks for helping. I could use less body roll, so could the tires, which wear the edges pretty fast when you think cornering is a fun thing to do.

Ok, here's a pic of my car for reference (aka my confusion, ha):

96Familia

Clean ride sir!

There is so much variation with the BH Protege/Familia's regarding wheel gap it's just not funny. There are a couple I've seen with the same gap I had in the rear in the front as well. It does make you wonder why Mazda didn't make a standard of gap across the board.

I second you on the tyre wear at the edges when you've got lots of bodyroll. I like going fast around roundabouts too. I feel for our cars it's better to concentrate on cornering and handling because our engines don't give us much power to play with. My current setup consists of RS-R suspension coils, front and rear sway bars, front strut tower bar and a limited slip diff. Just trying to think what else other than shocks that I can improve on.

cornercarve98

Thanks. For a humble college car, the Pro does everything flawlessly, much to my surprise. I find its interior worlds more engaging, and sophisticated, than the civic and corolla. Better stereo too. One solid compact I say...just needs some zip.

I find it interesting as much as Mazda tuned the suspension for a nice ride for this generation, it still wants to slice stuff. I added a front strut tower bar, which helped the turn in a lot. I say, for my car, if I can't make speed/make it that fast, I might as well try to maintain it as best I can. My LX has no rear antisway bar, which bothers me because 1-it should have one regardless of model, and 2-I've seen one on a 95-96 era DX or LX (but not the top ES). Not fair!

Roundabouts are normally a nuisance, because going straight through an intersection is the more efficient way, but not anymore. It took my brother in his spontanaety to loop his car around one several times. I thought it was hilarious (very confused other people! haha), so now, with the strut bar encouraging it more, when I encounted that rare opportunity, I'll plow around it. Maybe I am crazy...(it's even better with a few friends).