Front disc size? Protege FAQ ambiguity
 

In the ProtegeFAQ I found two contradicting lines for what kind of rotors I have on my 2002 LX. The first Would imply that I have 9.3" inch front rotors.

The second implies that I have 10.2" rotors in the front.

Which one is right?

I was confused in reading that too. I believe that the 99-00 have 9.3" rotors and the 01+ 4 lug cars have 10.5. I could be wrong, so ask TheMAN.

I thought all '01+ cars were 5-lug? :confused:

Which ones did you get in the group buy? 9.3 or 10.2???


TheMAN!!! Where are you?

All ES models in the US are 5 lug. In canada you need the GT package on the ES model to get 5 lug.

So US LX and DX models, along with the Canadian LX, DX and some ESs all have 4-lug patterns on steel wheels?

I got the 9.3...my rotors are visually TINY.

01+ cars are both 4 and 5 lug. DX and LX models are 4 lug w/ rear drum brakes. ES models are 5 lug w/ 4 wheel disc brakes.

To answer all the questions, here is the complete rundown of the 4 basic brake systems on all North American Proteges. Here is each system and the cars it came on...

1) 9.3" disk front, drum rear, 4-lug wheels. (99-01 U.S. DX and LX, all Canadian SE and DX; 01 U.S. LX 2.0)
2) 10.2" disk front, drum rear, 4-lug wheels. (99-00 U.S. ES; 99-00 Canadian LX; 02+ U.S. DX and LX; 01-02 Canadian ES non-GT)
3) 10.2" disk front, disk rear, 5-lug wheels. (01+ U.S. ES, 01-02 Canadian ES-GT, 03 Canadian ES, all Protege5, MP3)
4) 10.5" disk front, disk rear, 5-lug wheels. (MSP only)

Notes:
* ABS was an available option on the ES, standard on the MSP. A few parts are different on ABS cars, but otherwise the brakes are fundamentally the same.
* The MSP brakes are the same as the 626 brakes mentioned in the FAQ. They were also used in some other overseas cars. In addition to having a larger diameter, the rotors are also slightly thicker.
* Installing rear disks on a 99-00 car requires JDM rear spindles. The hubs themselves are actually the same, and all other disk brake hardware is the same as the North American 5-lug rear-disk cars.
* All Protege rear disks and rear drums have the same dimensions. The JDM Sport-20 rear disks are dimensionally identical to the 01+ North American rear disks, they're just drilled for 4 lugs instead of 5.
* All 1.6L cars have the small 9.3" front disks. The only car to combine the bigger engine with the small front brakes is the 2001 U.S.-market LX 2.0, which means that it has the worst brakes of any Protege. :(

Hope this explains things. :D

Hi, sorry to be a stickler but nowhere in this list is the 2002 canadian LX. I assume you wanted to include it with the ES non-GT model. But I just want to make sure.

All of the other info makes sense with what I understood so far. Oh and would you happen to know the smallest size wheels that can be put on the MSP, or with that brake size? Would 14 inch steelies be too small for those 10.5 inch rotors?

I'm not sure what brakes the 2002 Canadian LX has. I don't completely understand the Canadian Protege lineup. :confused: However, if it has the big engine and rear drums, it should have the big front brakes, because I've heard from multiple sources that the ONLY big engine/ rear drum/ small front brake Pro is the 01 U.S.-market LX 2.0. Hopefully, someone who knows more about the Canadian cars can verify this.

I'm not sure. I KNOW that 14's will fit on the 10.2" disk cars, but I've never heard of anyone trying this on an MSP. However, I'm sure that you could find out really easily by going to a junkyard and test-fitting the wheels; 93+ 626, MX-6 and Probe wheels have the correct bolt pattern, center bore and offset, and they should be very easy to find.

Just thought of an easy way to check... call a dealer and have them look in the parts catalog and see if the LX front rotors have the same part number as the SE/DX rotors. If not, you have 10.2" brakes. :bt: