steve_protege

Anyone know where I can get front and rear sway bars for a Pro? I know the Mazda dealership has a sway bar kit, but I think it might be for the 2.0 liter ES? Ive heard that suspension parts for Proteges are transferable, so would the kit fit on my Protege? Can modifications be made to make it fit, if it doesn't fit naturally?

carguycw

1) Mazda or AWR.
2) That's the one, it fits any Protege, but the front bar installation is a PITA and not really necessary.
3) Yes they are, yes it will.
4) No need, see above.

steve_protege

PITA? Never heard of that term before. Is that like saying the same thing about a rear strut bar? How much is the sway bar from the Mazda dealership? Does it matter that I have the 1.6 liter engine, not the 1.8 or 2.0?

NegatiZE

PITA = pain in the ***.

In other words, to replace the front swaybar you have to drop the front subframe unless you find a way to snake the bar out through all the mess.

It should not matter if you have a 1.6 - I just installed the MSP struts/springs into my 99 Protege LX. The underbody/suspension is the same.

steve_protege

Alright, thanks man! Much appreciated. I like the way your car is looking. I'll have pics of my Pro soon enough. Thanks again.

carguycw

It's impossible to remove the front swaybar with the front subframe in place. It has a "U" shaped bend in the middle to clear the shifter linkage, and the bend will NOT fit past the framerails. I've personally verified this.

FWIW you don't actually have to take the subframe all the way out, or pull the steering rack like the service manual says. You can supposedly do the job by detaching the subframe and just pivoting it down and forwards rather than removing it from the car. However, regardless of whether you remove the subframe or not, the job is NOT easy.

steve_protege

Ive heard the same thing from other people too, so I think Im just going to forgo the front sway bar and rear strut bar. Ive now heard both are pointless to install. I'll just stick with the front strut and rear sway. I imagine it'll be a whole lot easier that way. Thanks all for the advice and heads up.

njaremka

there is no rear stur bar, only for protege5 models, and not from mazda. the sedan has one 'built-in'.

steve_protege

They have one on Nopionline.com for 36 dollars and change.

njaremka

not for 2001+ sedans.

carguycw

He's right. There is no such thing as a functional aftermarket rear strut bar for a G3 sedan. Seriously. The stock strut towers are connected by a great big ~4"x4" sheetmetal beam. Any additional brace is purely show car window dressing.

It's likely that the NOPI listing is just a hiccup.

steve_protege

I know its not for the 2001+ sedans. I did the search engine thing and it can up for 2000 Proteges. Its in the suspension category and then the strut bar/tie bar sub-category. Its for sale for 36.04. It says its a rear upper Type 8 strut bar. If you all want to look go to nopionline.com and then do the Mazda, Protege and 2000 search thing. It should come up.

ARD MP5

We have both the AWR bars, 19 and 21.5 bars.

Rishie