A rather nooby question.
 

Ok, so I'm in the midst of buying the sway bar kit for my protege.

Just to make sure I'm correct, these both go under the car right?

Because I've seen alot of engines with the bar visible under the hood.
I believe this is the strut bar, but what does it do? Do I need to get this peice as well?

I'm a suspention newbie, so any help is welcome.

Swaybars connect the two wheels under the car via the endlinks (which are also a good idea to replace if you're lowering and putting in a set of sways). They'll help the car stay more "flat" through the curves, and the rear one will help get rid of the understeer our Proteges came from the factory with.

A STB (Strut Tower Bar) goes n the engine bay, connecting the tops of the struts together. This makes your car turn-in a little more precisly, and may also make it feel a little more stable on bumpy sweeper-type curves. You can also get a rear STB...one came stock in my RX-7.

Dowsides:
Swaybars: Too big (think) of a rear swaybar, and your car will spin. Install them wrong, and your car will corner horribly.

STB: None, really. Your car may follow the "grain" of the road on superslab type highways a little bit more, but not too bad.

:)

Awesome, thanks for the detailed post.

Now, when you say swaybars too big, if I get the official Mazdaspeed ones, they should be perfect size I'm assuming.

It sounds like the sways are a good idea, since I am planning on dropping about 1 inch, and 'flat' through the corners sounds sweet.

I may do the STB later, it's got some perks and looks great too, haha.
All I can seem to find for strut bars are the Vibrant ones:
http://www.autopartswarehouse.com/pe...2002&partid=31

Is that any good, or should I look for the Mazda one?

dude I can't believe you asked that, n00b!

:p

More or less what eggnatey said, however if you install the things wrong, you probably shouldn't be working on a car. Generally there are 4 attachment points:
2 brackets on the frame / unibody, and 1 on each (in the case of the protege) Strut (or in the case of a REAL car) control arm ;). The strut / arm points obviously connect this to the moving suspension, and is connected to the solid bar with endlinks with some flexibility built in to allow for movement (either ball type joints or just plain sleeved bushings). It's actually a lot simpler than it sounds. For your use, I think that mazdaspeed rear bar will work just fine :)

I've just got a strut bar right now, with stock suspension and wheels. It's a pretty noticable difference by itself. The front end feels a lot more stable through a turn than without it. I've got the mazdaspeed one, i like it b/c there aren't any pivots or adjustments. Some, ractive i think, have a bolt between the bar and the bracket that bolts to the strut tower. This is just a spot for movement, which is what the brace is supposed to prevent. I'm sure there are others out there with no pivot points/adjustments besides the mazdaspeed.

Sounds pretty good, where did you pick up the MS strut bar? I'm having a hard time finding them online. I think the P5 comes with one, but I just can't seem to find one.

The MSP, P5, and MP3 all have the same strut bar. It's silver on the MSP, red on the P5, and yellow on the MP3.

I just feel a little more accurate explanation of each is and does is necessary....

sway bars are actually attahed to the body of the car and then to the unsrung part of the suspension, swaybars are also called "anti-roll" bars, what they do is resist the the body swaying or rolling through a turn, since inertia tends to want to push the body outward during a turn...the benefit is that this helps keep the tires glued to the pavement, since excessive body roll will transfer weight OFF the tires ,then those tires will lose some of their gripping power...

making a rear swaybar stiffer than the front will increase a cars tendency to oversteer, meaning the rear end will want to slide out more than the front during a corner...on a protege this isnt necessarily a bad idea, since the car from the factory wants to understeer...this isnt true on an MSP however, as the suspension setup is very neutral, meaning it remains flat and doesnt want to understeer or oversteer....

strut tower bars are a different thing entirely. really all it does is tie the chassis suspension points together, increasing chassis rigidity...laymans terms- it makes the car more stiff....less body twist in corners....

honestly if you look at the chassis of a protege, their are mostly eye candy, as the front end is pretty darn stiff to begin with...they arent useless entirely, but you wont really feel a difference, especially in comparison to a swaybar change

good explanation
+1. Compared to other 'economy cars' we got one hell of a stiff chassis.

@_@
Awesome explanation.

That's why I love this place, everyone wants to help, and some people know more than some 'mechanics' I've talked to.

Thanks everyone, MS sway bar kit is on it's way :)

Er, what about endlinks? Will I need some to go with my sways, or can I just bolt them on. Never done this before.

what year is you protege...you might need new rear links

It's a 2002 ES. If I do, what the best place to get them?

2002 in Canada? yeah, you'll probably want new endlinks haha

Would most suspension shops sell them, or is there a specific set/brand I should be going with? Sorry for the 20 questions, just don't want to mess this up, heh.