pr5owner

who makes sway bars for the protege5? and how big? where to order? price? noticeable diffrence? opinions? and also does the protege5 have stock sway bars? if so how big?

and why is there a diffrence if 1 is bigger?
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Suzuki cappuccino specifications

carguycw

Your P5 comes with a 22mm front bar and a 17mm rear bar.

Mazda sells MP3 swaybars as seperate kits for the front and rear; the stock MP3 bars are 25mm front, 19mm rear. (BTW small differences in swaybar diameter make a large difference in stiffness.) AWR sells 2 different adjustable rear bars; one is 19mm, the other is 21.5mm. Both are available through Mazdaspeed Motorsports Development (the factory competition division).

My car has stock bars so I can't comment on this personally, but many folks on this board seem to agree that a 19mm bar works really well with the stock front bar, and makes the car understeer less without making it too tail-happy. (BTW stiffening the suspension at one end of the car generally increases traction at the OTHER end of the car.) Replacing the front swaybar is less popular because it increases understeer and is a big PITA to install because you must drop the front subframe.

Hope this helps!

ZoomZoomH

yeah, what he said

I have the mp3 rear sway bar (which is actually 20mm) installed on my 2000 ES, and it makes SO MUCH difference. The car turns on a dime, at speeds that's at least 5-6mph faster than with the stock rear sway bar, no tire squealing either

pr5owner

so if i had a 38mm rear sway bar like the Sentra SE-R Spec V(i think it has a 38mm im not sure) i would probably lose my back end a hellva lot easier?

anyways if it improves handleing and inhibits body roll, i know where my next paycheck is going.
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Nevada Dispensaries

carguycw

Actually, you can't really compare the two. The SE-R has Nissan's goofy rear beam axle design, which you can't really compare to any other import (except maybe an 84-87 Civic). The swaybar is actually built into the beam.

Putting a 38mm rear bar on a Pro would cause severe ride and handling problems. Yeah, you *would* lose your back end a LOT easier.

carguycw

Actually, the MP3 bar that Mazda currently sells is supposed to be 19mm. Supposedly, after the engineers at Mazda accepted the prototypes from Racing Beat, the lawyers got nervous that the MP3 was too tail-happy in the rain and reduced the rear swaybar diameter by 1mm and softened the springs.

The specs were revised by Mazda after the release of the car. To add to the confusion, several pre-production prototypes that were tested by the automotive press still had the stiffer springs and larger rear bar.

zeus

Yeah there's alot of variation in the diameters of the stock Mazda bars. The rear bar I just took off my P5 was 16mm while the front is just over 22mm, but that's probably from the paint.

The 21.5mm bar works great on the back of my P5 with the other mods I've made. But I agree with carguy that a 19mm rear bar would work best with the stock suspension. I further agree that the stock front bar is just fine, and not just because its a PITA to change

roswel

when some of you mention the front sway bar, are you refering to the strut bar. 'cuz somebody said it was painted so i'm thinking.....also i heard that we don't have front sway bars because we a) don't need them b) have no where to put them. both of these reasons come from the fact that the frame is designed with sway bar characteristics into it. the bottom front of our cars is really stiff.

and lastly if you put the mp3 sway bar on i'm pretty sure you have to re-enforce the strut endlinks.

but hey what do i know.....

ZoomZoomH

- there IS a front sway bar on the Protege. It's a totally different thing from the strut TOWER bar.

- I believe you read this in the FAQ, but it's not talking about the front sway bar. It's actually talking about the lack of need for a REAR STRUT TOWER BAR on the sedan because the body frame already braces the rear towers.

- ah the endlink issue. Apparently the stock REAR struts' endlinks are actually quite thick and strong, and fits the MP3's rear sway bar links perfectly. Haven't have any bending issues with it yet

pr5owner

does AWR make a rear sway bar (22.5mm) for the protege5? they say its for the 99 protege which is not the same...?
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T Transmission

kenchan

if i was to get the 19mm Rear sway bar from AWR, would i need to
get endlinks?

thanks.

SedanMan

For the 19mm bar that is two-way adjustable. No you don't but I would recommend that you do because I don't liek our stock endlinks. They are a pain to remove and put back on, and they are flimsy looking.

If you are referring to the fully adjustable 19mm rear bar, then you are like me. I don't know. I have written to AWR to find out. No response as of yet.

kenchan

i ordered the AWR 19mm adjustable one today from protege5online.com. Mitch over there commented that the
adjustability is in the endlink. its' okay, i dont want it any
stiffer than 19mm and find myself spinning out in the rain.

i hope to have it by end of this week.

Mitch also commented that if i get another pair of the
adjustable endlinks ($55 a pair), it will give me compatibility
to the mazdaspeed struts for the MP3 which he also carries.
that would be my last step in the suspension after my stockers
blow from the eibachs.

this is a good investment.

SedanMan

Your bar cannot be stiffer than 19mm. The stiffness of the bar is not measured by the diameter of the bar.

I also agree that the adjustability is in the endlinks, but they sell the endlinks separately. Does that mean that the bar comes with the endlinks or not? Its still not a definitive answer

Where would you put this other set of adjustable endlinks? Why would you need a total of 4? Also, the MP3 struts are not the same as the mazdaspeed adjustable struts.

Either way, I don't see the need for another set of endlinks. Please explain.

carguycw

Huh? The bar's diameter is the main factor that determines its stiffness. What exactly are you saying?