Review: AutoEXE Front Control Arm Bar / Mazdaspeed Rear Sway Bar / AXR Clunk Fix
 

recently, i installed a mazdaspeed rear sway bar, AXR clunk fix bracket, and a front lower control arm bar from AutoEXE.

after a few days of running around on the set-up, i have one thing to say: GREAT

the rear of the car feels more planted than before. unfortunately, i can't feel any difference in the front from the control arm bar, but that could be from installing the rear sway at the same time.

if you have any specific questions, please post 'em up. i'll try my best to express any feelings about the set-up.

(prior to this install, i already had installed the tokico HP (blue) handling kit (struts and springs) and front MP3 strut tower bar)

That rear swaybar and clunk fix bracket are an attractive combination for reducing (eliminating?) the Protege push.

However, since I tend to be a little conservative when it comes to aftermarket mods, I wonder about the adverse effects. That bar is about twice as stiff as the stock one, which suggests it affects quite a change in handling when used with the stock front bar. I wonder if it's too much for a street car which has to handle inclement weather, crazy traffic, and surprise jaywalkers. I'd be interested to hear your take on this, along with the following questions:

How touchy is it in the wet?

Does the tail step out much more readily in double lane change or slalom type maneuvers?

Say you're coming through a sweeper with the power on and you back off the throttle--how's the transition to oversteer?

haven't driven it in the wet, yet. we're in the middle of a drought right now, and we don't have any substantial rain in the forecast, so this might take a while to figure out.

i never had the stock set-up step out on me, except in the slipperiest of winter conditions. i did some quick right-left lane change swerving, and nothing uncontrollable happened. i could definitly feel the stiffness in the rear-end, but the car stayed controllable. i've never had to do an emergency lane change, as i try to expect other people to drive horrible and have never found myself in that situation.

i'll be able to answer this better tomorrow. after work today, i need to take a route that has a large traffic circle. (30-40mph speeds) i'll try this and see what happens. normally, i would say "be ginger on the throttle, and you should be able to feel whatever happens back there." but for you, i'll do an on-off-on throttle run around the circle.

Thanks, looking forward to results from the traffic circle skidpad test.

me too, actually. stock, the car would push around that thing, and even after i put the strut and spring package on the car - nothing but push. i'm very curious how its going to take it now.

so, here's the deal - car is much more neutral in steady state cornering. (going around that circle) i got there, and went around like two or three times. there's a gas station right off the one side, and people were starting to look over. :D i actually had all four tires screaming for mercy. (at least thats what it sounded like)

i did some on-off throttling, and the car went from push on throttle, to neutral off throttle. i was a little leary of doing full-no-full throttle moves, only because the circle was a bit more busy than i remember ever seeing it. however, in the dry, i was very impressed. and then to exit the circle, you go from steady state left cornering, to instant transition right hand turn, and the car felt very stable through that too.

then, this morning, on my commute to work, i did some "emergency" swerving to see how the car would react, and again, i was very impressed with the controllability through the whole thing. there are some straight wide-open stretches on my morning commute, so i did some half-lane swerving. in-out, out-in, in-out.... each time, i could feel the back of the car want to come around, but it stayed where its supposed to, and i had full feeling through the steering wheel as to what the car wanted to do. going light on my grip, and the car straightened right out.

so, thats it. hope that helps you out. i can see i'm going to love this set-up, even though i couldn't get the front mazdaspeed sway bar installed.

oh, i should also point out that i'm riding on a set of stock rims with stock sized (195/50-16) kuhmo asx's pumped to about 35psi cold. rear treadss are on thier way out, and the fronts are close behind.

nice, installed the clunk fix myself couple weeks back.. cant really write a review for it though, car has other issues right now :)

Thanks for the writeup, Nik. It sounds just slightly looser than I'd like, but since my P5 is a tad heavier and taller in the rear than your ES, it should be just about right for me.

*adds AXR bracket and MSP rear bar and end links to shopping list*

sure, no problem - and i'm thinking with better tires it would be that much better

with a pro5, it might not be as "loose" (i don't really think its loose at all) since the wagon isn't as "stiff" in the rear as the sedan, unless you have a rear strut tower bar.

1) Good job on the write up. I'm glad everything's working out for you.
2) Sorry but here goes: You're retarded for testing an UNTESTED setup on the street. In a traffic circle. WITH TRAFFIC. Hit up an autocross. Find an empty parking lot. But doing TESTING, esp. of a suspension where you don't know the limits, on the street, is dumb as hell.

i agree, dang-it-all!!!!!

I don't get it...

i agree with your statement, whats not to get?

dunno, just sounded a bit tongue and cheek. Ok *slap on wrist* don't do it again ;)

I'm gonna go test my miata in a traffic circle. I bet I could hang the tail out the entire way around lol

i was agreeing with you, and in no way did i think i was putting my car, my life, or anyone else's well being in danger. it wasn't like i was "mahd tyte jdm dorifto, yo!!" - it was more like 6/10th "so thats what this feels like"