Suspension opinions
 

I have really been wanting to upgrade the suspension on my Pro, and I always hear people saying how good the stock supension is. Maybe it is just my car but I dont know, the grip is impressive but the body roll? I go around a corner fast and shit goes flying everywhere. When the car was new it was a bit stiffer but when I hit about 6k, the suspension seemed to settle and feel a bit more sluggish. What does everyone else think? For you who have upgraded springs but left the struts stock, what do you think?

I notice the body roll a lot too...you're thrown to the side quite a bit during tight corners. Maybe the Mazdaspeed strut tower/rear stabilizer kit would help...

To me it doesn't sound like you two are talking about "body roll" but more the physics of cornering itself...When you enter a corner at considerable speed you and the shit in your car want to continue in a straight line, the car turns and you and your shit get thrown around...Increasing the power of the supension will only increase this...

I don't know about that. I drove a 2002 M3 and despite its better
built seats, you stay pretty firmly planted in your seat. Not to mention many other cars that do the same.

assuming the M3 is stock, a 01+ Protege only has a little more body roll than an M3...The struts/shocks and springs are a lot stiffer on the M3, but the car is also heavier...and the weight combined with the size of the tires, is more than enough to flex the E46's stock swaybars...The M5 is even worse...I would be willing to bet the M3's sport seats are helping more than you think...

Our seats are comfortable but are not good for hard cornering...I have driven a 02 911 GT-2 with standard (a car that easily pulls 1 g on a skidpad) Turbo seats rather than the club sport Recaros, and without the seat belt on I never would have stayed in the seat...The car had virtually no body roll, no squat and no dive and cornered so ridiculously flat that I was wondering how much weight the door could handle before flying open and ejecting me...

All I am arguing is that if you decrease body roll it will only give more responsive handling and more trust in the traction, it will not make the forces associated with cornering stop throwing you off of the seat, it will probably make it worse...

Sounds fair, I think then my options are pretty simple, spend a shit load of money on tires, seats and suspension and voila! Thanks for your response, I think I may try and do a full MS suspension kit. One more question, If I did go with some 17x7's you think the difference in drivability would be significantly greater?

if you dont mind all the corrosion and squeaks and rattles of the AWR rear sway, that'll rid your roll.

Hopefully this link will work...if not go to racer wholesale and search for "torso harness".

http://www.racerwholesale.com/Mercha...ode=Restraints

I use one of these when I autocross and it helps ALOT!!

I also agree with adding the AWR rear sway bar- very noce results, btw mine hasn't corroded after 4 months so far in rainy Florida!