i just bought a '02 LX sedan and was looking into lowering it a little bit because the stock height is a little too high for my liking. do the pro5 and the regular protege use the same springs? if so, i've noticed that the two main spring types that people use are the eibach's or the h&r's. is either one of these better than the other? also, would i need to buy shocks or struts or could i just install the springs and keep my stock shocks and struts? i don't want it too low, just enough so that it doesn't look stock but enough to notice. so, with that in mind, would i even be able to tell that it was lowered if i got the eibach's or the h&r's? if anyone could help i would greatly appreciate it.

 

I would go with a coil over set (Ground Control) because you can set it as to your liking.

 

If you want just a slight noticeable drop and price is a concern then go with the springs. You CAN use the springs or coilovers with the stock struts but they will get worn quickly.

 

The Eibach and H&R lowering springs are both excellent quality. They will lower the car enough to be noticable, but nothing drastic. The stiffer spring rate makes the stock struts (you don't have shocks) work harder to dampen the springs movement. This will cause them to wear a bit faster than with the stock springs. How much is hard to tell, but probably not all that much faster. Your ride and handling would be better with stiffer dampening struts to match the springs, but there aren't many choices available for the Protege yet. MazdaSpeed adjustable struts are available from Mazda Motorsports. They are expensive, but work very well. The MP3/Tokico non adjustable struts are available also. They are slightly less expensive, and would work well with the rest of the MP3/Racing Beat suspension.

 

another thing...will i need to get a camber kit? or will my tires be bald in two months if i don't?

 

No.

 

Are having coil-overs worse for cornering than just springs? I mean... aren't you losing something at the price of adjustablity?

 

No. Coil-overs can improve your handling even more than just springs and struts if set up correctly. The problem is most people use them solely for extreme lowering, and don't have them set up correctly for maximum handling.