tester

Anyone install rear sway bars on their sedans?
Was it worth it? What handling differences did you find?
19 or 21mm?

I'm thinking about getting some, but notsure about the improvements. I dont really take corners all that hard, so not sure I would see any difference. Then again......

ProtegeES

I take corners very fast si I could notice and improvement over the stock sway bar. To me it was a good investment for just $150. The car feels very neutral. Remember you will need to upgrade your shocks or reinforce them if you get a stiffer sway bar.

carguycw

If you "don't really take corners that hard" you might want to consider something else first. Rear sway bars make a car more tail-happy, which is good (up to a point) for a race car driven by a skilled driver, but it can be a handful for a novice. FWD cars respond very differently in this situation than a RWD car, and controlling a tail-happy front driver is often difficult for someone who does not know what to do. Most folks I know who tried to drive a tail-happy FWD car hard on the street without first practicing at a track have wound up going into ditches backwards at high speed. Myself included

Do yourself a favor: attend a few autocrosses before you consider this. Good luck

ProtegeES

a 19 mm rear sway on a protege ES or P5 will not make tail-happy.

carguycw

Maybe I should preface my remarks a bit. A bigger rear bar will reduce understeer, which is good. It may not make the car genuinely "tail happy", but it *will* make it easier to spin. The line between reduced understeer and "too much" oversteer can be a thin one, and is largely a matter of driver preference.

My point is to get some idea of how deep the water is before you dive in

ProtegeES

I think the 19 mm rear sway is the perfect size for a mp ES without making it oversteer. the car feels very neutral. the 21 mm bar would make it oversteer a bit for sure.

tester

You mounted it on the sedan? The 19mm from mazda motorsports? Fit no problems with your stock strut (i believe the 19mm dont come with endlinks).

Worth the money in your opinion??

Everyone is sort of missing the point of my post. I just want to know if everyone installed them and has had no problems, and noticed a positive difference in handling. I was also wondering if I should go 19mm or 21mm, as the 21mm comes with endlinks, but the 19 do not (I belive they dont).

Eric F

I had the 19mm AWR rear stabilizer bar installed with both the stock rear struts and the MazdaSpeed struts. I respectfully disagree with Jim Mederer from Racing Beat about the stock rear strut's mounting tab needing to be reinforced. The stock struts held up just fine with the 19mm AWR rear bar, and when I ordered the MazdaSpeed struts, I really put the stock ones to the test. I do agree that the stock front strut's mounting tabs need to be reinforced to accommodate a larger front bar however.

Chris is right about being careful when upgrading only the rear bar on a FWD car, as he was speaking in general about the handling characteristics of FWD cars. ProtegeES is also correct that the 19mm AWR rear bar does not cause the Protégé to oversteer enough to be a problem at all. It does tighten up the rear end and noticeably reduce rear body roll. I think the larger 21.5mm AWR rear bar would cause the problems Chris mentioned with the stock front bar though. For me, the 19mm rear bar felt like such an improvement, it called too much attention to the need for a larger front bar to limit the body roll in the front. I've now installed the front and rear stabilizer bars from the MP3, and I'm very happy with the overall roll resistance and handling. Of course, the 215/40YR17 Bridgestone Potenza S-03 pole position tires have a little to do with that.

SilverPro

Eric F, do you have any pics of your current set up? Or does anyone else have any pics of their pro's on kosei k1's? Thanks

Eric F

Sorry, not yet. Hopefully I'll take some this weekend at the Chicago area meet and get them up somewhere. I'll post something when I do.