I don't know...dropping your car and reusing your old, stock struts is kinda like stepping in a puddle, only when you get home you change your shoes but leave your dripping wet sock on.

^Bwah! Yep - that is it! So do the strut swap too. It is such a PITA you don't want to do it twice and at 60K on the struts they are worn anyway...

Bleh... Looks like the springs are going to be sitting around for a little while then. This 'good deal' I got on the springs is turning out to be quite expensive, haha.

waited until I got some time, sorry about taking so long. Here are the pics, I'll try to get more tomorrow with the wheels off and parked next to a mazda 3,6 or protege there's alot at work!!

here are the bad pics but it is lower!!http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c7...oweredReaR.jpg
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c7...h1/lowered.jpg

Future mods: Rims I hope?

Haha, just playing, but for real, that would look alot better with 17"s.

Steelies FTW!!!

Me too I have a couple options, there is a guy on base selling rims and tires for $400 obo but their five lug universal so i don't know if they fit~ 17"s too just what I want~

Looks to me like you need 4-lug rims.

Yup, Pro sedans need a 4 lug pattern. Anything else wont fit. I have the same thing, and it's a pain to find good, cheap rims with that pattern.

Hi guys. I haven't been here in a while. I have read this thread and am inexperienced with all of this. I do have a problem with my suspension. My car looks like it has 3 bodies in the trunk. I replaced the springs a while back, thinking that would raise it to stock height. It hardly made a difference. The previous owner may have fuxed things up and I would like to fix it. I don't mind a drop but it's got to be even or slightly lower in front. Right now it's lower in the back and it hurts my eyes. I'm confused as to what I need to change. After reading this thread I don't know if buying stock struts (I think) will raise it or if I just need to replace stuff all around. He may have changed shit in the front too because it looks higher than other Protegés I've seen. I'm not sure if that's because the back is low, making the front look high. I'm hoping your feedback can straighten this out for me so I know what to do. Thanks.

Hmm, you have an ES? What kind of springs did you get for it? If you got the ones for the MazdaSpeed Protege, and you're running stock struts, that's what causing the problem.

I went to the local Mazda dealer for the springs. They couldn't find the right ones and finally decided they found it. I am sure they may be MSP springs. They are red, not sure if that has a meaning. Should I get MSP struts too then to fix it? Or can I get something aftermarket? I wish I had a way of telling what I currently have. That would probably help you guys help me.

EDIT: the old springs that came off were blue. I had a local shop put the red ones on.

Those are either MSP or MP3 springs, more likely the former. If you have the receipt, and thus the part number, we could know for sure. Most likely the MSP struts will fix the car's stance.

If you want a stiffer suspension than the MSP setup, you can get the Tokico HP handling kit (springs and struts) for slightly less money than the MSP struts alone.

i am majorly confused. HP struts are not the same as MSP struts? are the MSP struts you buy as an accessory upgrade from the dealer the same as the OEM struts installed in the actual MSP? same question goes for the accesory springs vs. OEM spirngs installed in the MSP.

i was hoping to get a set of HP tokico blue struts + some MSP springs thinking it was equivalent to the mazdaspeed protege setup. note; anti-sway bars and strut bar to follow to complete the suspension. this just confused me even more.
-meGrimlock