NegatiZE

Boy, this this thing make a huge difference. There's virtually no lean throughout corners. Straight line stability has improved, and steering feel is better. You can feel the steering want to turn back to the center faster. The car just begs for more.

Installation took about 3 hours, because the endlinks are a pain in the ***. I had put the things on backwards first, then I realized I couldn't get to the hex screws without taking the rear wheels off. I had to completely remove both endlinks and start over.

Pictures will be up shortly....

EDIT:
Here are the pictures:

gujustud

shweet shweet, pics will be nice.

How much did they cost?

NegatiZE

$247 @ Protege5online.com

NegatiZE

Pics are up; scroll to the top...

tradr

NegatiZE, does the car feel very in-control or is the huge sway bar making the handling feel unpredictable in anyway? <like oversteer>..

I'm just wondering because i'm doing my suspension next summer and i don't want to have something overly large if it results in an uncontrollable feel in emergency handling situations where you're trying to avoid an object.. so give us your long term observations in a couple days

Looks awesome, saw the bar in real life on David Potter's car too.. definitely looks like something we all could use!

NegatiZE

The car feels predictable, but if you push it too hard (say going 55-60 on a sharp curve) then you will oversteer. I found this out the first night I had it. The roads were still slightly wet from the rain earlier in the day, and my back end came out on a sharp curve. Before I knew it I was facing the opposite direction.

ashutoshsm

... can someone explain concisely (or provide useful links for the same) what the advantages are, and in what situations it would be detrimental to have
a. Front strut tower brace
b. Front lower side tie or sway bar
c. Rear strut tower brace (sits in the trunk or hatch, painful mod I am told - from an effort point of view)
d. Rear tie bar

Also, how does tying the rear end together differ from having, say, a beam rear axle - like the Sentra SE-R that I see people **** on for just that reason?

Trying to learn about these things
TIA

NegatiZE

Ashu, this might help: http://integra.vtec.net/geeser/docs/grm_swaybar.html

zeus

NegatiZE, it looks like you have the stock strut bodies there. Make certain that you check and tighten the upper end link mounting bolts before they wear thru the mounting tabs on the struts. You should have ample bolt length to but extra washers in to beef the joint up too. I even used an extra jam nut. They will loosen and start wallowing out the mounting hole, which really sucks, cuz there is no fixin it then. You'll end up needing new struts. Don't ask me how I know, but by the time you hear them klunking around its too late.

Also try moving the lower end link blocks back to the very ends of the bar, it'll decrease the oversteer. I had thought the big bar would cause too much oversteer, but with extra rear camber I haven't found any yet. It's a perfect drifter.

Also, put some antisieze on the cap screws or else they'll never come out of those aluminum blocks.

I'm thinking about the full AWR rear link/bushing set after several months with the big rear bar. The rear may not roll with the big bar on, but it damn sure amplifies the sway. The stock soft rubber bushings now take all the load and it shows. I also figure I should get the front sub frame brace to ballance it all out.

NegatiZE

Thanks a lot for the input, Zeus. I'm planning on getting the MP3 struts and springs soon, so I'm not too worried....yet. Good idea on the anti seize, it looked like it would be a problem when I was installing them, but I was too frustrated to do anything about it. When I have some free time I'll try what you suggested.

What year and model Protege do you have?

SedanMan

You wouldn`t happen to have a picture of awr endlinks next to the stock ones do you? Im thinking of going with this swaybar cause I have to replace and endlink and while Im spending...

You still like it? How are the strut tabs holding up?

JustMe

Are the lower ends of the endlinks lower than the stock ones?

Im also thinking about it but i cant go low! 19mm swaybar would use stock endlinks?

Installshield

The TTL rear supsension of Protege's is far superior to that of the SE-R, even when slightly tied together with a big *** swaybar...

Both rear wheels are completely connected to each other, despite this "torsion Beam"...They claim it allows enough flex to make the wheels behave independently but its not the case....It is unpredictable at best, and does not allow decent control while on uneven pavement while cornering...Even on tracks I have read complaints...

Attaching a 21mm or 19mm rear swaybar on a Protege is a lot different than completely connecting the wheels with a 5in axle...The swaybar is tiny in comparison and allows a much more progressive tension when one side tries to compress...

NegatiZE

I don't have a closeup of the stock endlinks, but here's a fairly good picture of the stock setup:

NegatiZE

Yes, they appear to be lower than the stock links. I haven't hit anything with them...they go up and down with the wheel movement.

You can see the endlink and "block" in this pic: