I am a proud owner of a '02 LX Protege (don't be confused by my username). Have had it for almost a year now, and am starting to think about mods. I am mainly interested in improving handling, but don't have tons of money. Here is what I am thinking.

1) Mazdaspeed strut tower brace

2) Mazdaspeed non-adjustable blue struts from mazdastuff.com
(seems to be the best deal let me know if you know beter)

3) Racingbeat springs

4) '01+ Miata 16" x 6.5" alloy rims mated with
205/45/16 Yokohama AVS ES100 tires
(any ideas on where to look for the rims?)

Looking for any thoughts or opinions. Some questions I had was will the Mazdaspeed non-adjustable blue struts work with my stock stabilizer bars? Not planning on upgrading them yet. Thoughts on Racingbeat springs? I am not looking to lower the car too drastically. Also thoughts on my rim/tire size choices? Thougt going to 16'' would improve how the car looked as well as improving handling since the tires will be a bit wider and have a lower profile.

New to this, and this is what I came up with after doing some researching and just want any input. Don't hesitate to let me know if something may not work out. Thank you.

 

visit www.corksport.com ...check out the tokico strut/spring packages...from what i've heard, these things make your car handle EXTREMELY well.

 

Definitely get the MSD strut tower bar kit. I bought the MP3 set-up which is the same as the MSD from www.mazdastuff.com and it makes a small but noticeable and worthwhile difference.

I have the Yokohama AVS ES100 tires in 205/45-16 size and I find them to be excellent performers, wet or dry, as well as being quiet and smooth running. However, I suggest you buy 16 x 7" wheels since most tire makers recommend a minimum of a 7" wide rim for 205 tires of this profile. Also, the extra support given the tire by the wider rim will improve handling over the 6.5" size. The stock wheel offset for the sedan is +45 mm so look for an offset close to this value. My wheels have a +42 mm offset and I have had no problems whatsoever. The combination of the wider wheels and tires definitely gives the car a sportier look, too.

There are many on-line tire and wheel dealers. Two of them are:
www.tirerack.com
www.discounttiredirect.com

I bought my tires and wheels locally so I have no recommendations as to a good on-line source.

In terms of suspension mods, since I have not yet done any myself, I'll refrain from making any recommendations. I'm sure a number of more knowledgeable people on the Forum can help you out here.

 

i recommend to change the sway bar end links, i had to get longer ones because the sway bar was rubbing. even if yours dont rub, i still suggest changing them because if you look at those links there are really bad. AWR makes the endlinks if your interested. i have the struts and eibach sportsline springs and my car handles 100 times better, just need the power now

 

I would recommend that you stay away from the AWR 19mm rear sway bar. I tried it myself. First off, it does not fit. It hits the rear lateral link no matter how you install it, rightside up, upside down, with or without the aluminum stand offs. Secondly, I had the rearmost part cut off by a machine shop so it would fit, and drove it about 1/4 mile before it completely sheared off the stock end link at the ball socket. The urethane bushings are too big to fit into the stock "D" bushing brackets, the supplied bolts bottom out in the stand-off adapters too. Overall a total dissappointment. I do highly reccommend the Racing Beat springs. They lower the car without "slamming" it (3/4" front, 7/8" rear) The rate is 27% stiffer, you'll hardly notice the increase in ride harshness. The parts are beautifully finished too.

 

rustychops41,

Saw you are using the Tokico HPs. Do you like them? Did you need to change your endlinks on your front sway bar to use them? I am debating currently between the Mazdaspeed non-adjustables, Tokico HPs (not sure how these differ from the MS non-adjustables), or Tokico Illuminas.

 

You dont have to change the front end links unless you have a 1999-2000 model. They used a shorter front end link, and conversely, the lime green MazdaSpeed adjustable struts my friend put on his 2002 P5 required him to get the shorter front end links. Go figure. The HPs are a step up from the OEM struts I was using. I had ES struts on my DX sedan, which were a little firmer than the DX/LX units. (Some guy was selling all 4 ES struts and springs on E-bay for $70.00, I couldn't pass it up at the time.) I would have gotten the adjustable Tokicos but the adjustment is on the top of the strut, which doesn't sound very convienient considering I'd have to remove the rear deck trim and outboard seatbelt retractors to adjust them every time I went auto-xing. Ive heard the MazdaSpeeds are nearly impossible to get/find.

 

you can buy the mazdaspeed, auto-exe, tokico hp's and tokico illumina's from www.corksport.com

 

I see everyone with the Racing Beat springs...are they what everyone recommends for a MP ??

 

I would like to start off by saying that I am very biased when it comes to suspension....BUY MAZDASPEED. The entire MSP suspension set-up can be purchased for less than $1K and will be a direct bolt-on installation. The MSP was ranked the best handling (production) FWD car in history. Who could ask for more than that??