Installed: MP3 rear sway bar w/ AWR bracket and bushings
 

CAUTION BIG PICTURES

Finally, after driving without a rear sway bar for over 2 weeks, I got the mounting brackets and bushings from AWR for their 19mm rear sway bar, and installed the MP3 rear sway bar back onto the car with it.

The only custom work I had to do was to bore out the bushings to 20mm using my trusty Dremel rotary tool (thank goodness for Dremel!). After the bushing's been bored out, everything went smoothly.

And now without further ado, pictures!

here are the hardwares (w/o the new bolts)
http://myprotegegarage.homestead.com...et_bushing.jpg

the bushings before and after boring it out to fit the MP3 bar
http://myprotegegarage.homestead.com...fore_after.jpg

a closeup of the whole assembly installed onto the bar
http://myprotegegarage.homestead.com...et_closeup.jpg

a full shot of the whole bar with the brackets
http://myprotegegarage.homestead.com...w_brackets.jpg

extreme closeup of the left bracket installed onto the car
http://myprotegegarage.homestead.com...installed1.jpg

another closeup of the installed left bracket, with a hose clamp to prevent lateral movement
http://myprotegegarage.homestead.com...installed2.jpg

complete left endlink assembly
http://myprotegegarage.homestead.com...t_endlinks.jpg

a shot from the right side, notice the amount of spacing between the lateral link and the swaybar I have now!
http://myprotegegarage.homestead.com...nk_spacing.jpg

I'll report back on how it drives later today.

driving impressions of the new setup
 

well, I haven't gotten any chance yet to let it loose on the twisties, but so far the ride is firm but not jarring (except going over sharp speedbumps diagnally), steering has returned to the sharpness that it had when I first installed the sway bar.

I will try out the handling at corners/turns tomorrow when I go to work, and report back on further development :)

I love this setup! :D

is there a big problem with lateral movement of the sway bar? was it absolutly neccesary to install that hose clamp to prevent it?

thanks.

I put it in just as a precaution. better safe than having the sway bar shifting left and right :)

Looking good!

When I get my AWR bar, does this mean I'm gonna need to do the same thing you did with the bushings...or is the MP3 bar 20mm instead of 19mm like I thought???

How'd the car drive without a rear sway bar at all?

if you buy the whole 19mm kit, it should be a direct bolt-on without any boring out of the bushings.

and yes, the MP3 rear bar is EXACTLY 20mm according to my actual measurement.

actually, without the rear sway bar, the car drove surprisingly composed, not loose at all at high speed. On top of that, the ride became noticeably softer than before (even compared to w/ stock sway bar), soaking up bumps much better.

but of course, it understeers like there's no tomorrow when attempting high speed cornering manuevers :)

Alright, thanks for the info man!

ZoomZoomH:

Why did you get the AWR bushings? Couldn't you have gotten those same bushings from mazda from the MP3 or is there something I don't know about.

yes there is a reason. The reason is that the AWR bushings were designed to fit into the stock mounting bracket, while the MP3 bracket/bushing is a totally different design.

besides, at $6 for a pair of urethane bushings (MP3s have rubber ones), there's really no reason to get MP3 bushings :D

btw, nice work digging up my old thread! I've been looking for it! :D

The MP3 rear bar is usually sold as part of a kit that includes a different rear crossmember, brackets, bushings, etc. and the front bar. Did you buy the rear bar buy itself?

i bought it off of someone that had a wrecked MP3 for $90 :D

Unfortunately you can't get that kit in Canada. I just went to the dealer this morning.:( You can buy parts separately though.

ZoomZoomH: Do you the clunk or noises coming from the back of your car? You know the clunk that most MP3 owners talk about. Let me know, cause I might just get the same setup as you cause I read this morning that the AWR setup creates alot of squeaks.

I hear no 'clunk' that the MP3 owners speak of.

however, due to the bushing being made of urethane, it does squeak like a pig if not lubed frequently.

I've just been too lazy to get under and re-lube the bushings :p

I would actually suggest the AWR 19mm or 21.5mm kit, that way you get all the hardware ready to install, and no additional modifications required.

just remember to lube that urethane bushing if you don't want it squeaking!

Good to know. One last thing... if you lube the bushing, doesnt that let the sway bar slide from side to side. Which is what you were originally trying to correct if Im not mistaken. Or are you still using those "intake" metal braces to solve that problem.

yeah i still have those hose clamps to hold the sway bar in position.

I believe the AWR sway bars do not have this problem... there's a reason they designed a totally different rear crossmember to mount the rear sway bar on the MP3/MSP...

mine's a hack job trying to fit the MP3 sway bar onto stock rear crossmember ;)