front sway bar in stock autocross
 

I was thinking about racing in stock SoloII... I have different tires and a K&N and the only other thing allowed would be a catback exhaust system (which might kill needed low speed torque) and a front swaybar (no back allowed).
So the question is, in a FWD car is there any benifit at all to adding only a front swaybar? This may sound stupid, but hey.....
I may have missed something in my reasoning....

Has anyone out there tried this? Any suggestions on brands, size...etc. Hate to spend $200 and knuckle skin to end up under steering like a buick...


Thanks for the reply!!!!

First off, get the MP3 Muffler or a cat-back system. The protege has no problem with low-mid torque and you will need the power.
I got the MP3 Muffler and a K&N Filter, and actually noticed a difference.
What year/model do you have? I usually run bigger tires up front (225's) and 205's in back, on 15" Miata wheels. Light wheels are important too. I'm still playing around with shock valving. You can't have a stiff enough shock on the back. Its the front end that I'm still trying to figure out- I might even get the Adjustable Tokicos for the front just to be able to play around with it a little.
I haven't been too serious about my car this year since I've been driving a S2000.

I think if I don't get a new car by the end of the year, I might try some new setups- I'd like to get the MP3 front bar or a modular front bar from ProParts (TriPoint). I was kind of hoping some other people would start setting Protege's so I could get some other opinions on setup:)

[First off, get the MP3 Muffler or a cat-back system. The protege has no problem with low-mid torque and you will need the power.]

Welll this will be the first thing I get, Thanks!

[I got the MP3 Muffler and a K&N Filter, and actually noticed a difference.]

I put a K&N in @ about 5000 miles, but I have heard that the stock MP5 exhaust is relatively restrictive...


[ haven't been too serious about my car this year since I've been driving a S2000. ]

Lucky bastard!
I sit in one at every car show or show room a curse my size..... 6 foot five and 220 lbs... it just at S2000 material... or MR2 or Miata or ... well MG's work...

Thanks for yor input... I plan on going out basically box stock at the end of the month.
-chris

I guess I was thinking of the new MR2.... I really have a crush on the new one. NOT that the old one isn't really really cool.... :D

i was also wondering about the front bar, but since it sems like a huge job to change it, i had pretty much given it up.

i'm planning on staying in stock class w/ my '02 ES. just mounted my V700's (205/45/16 on stock wheels), and used them once.

uh-oh...body roll! ;) the slalom is much more of a handful now.

must...drive...smoother... :p

i've been thinking about a set of the MP3 struts, since the 4/5-way Mazdaspeeeds are illegal in stock (and expensive to boot)...any opinions? it seems like my options are limited, since Koni is apparently not interested in Protege struts and Tociko is way behind schedule...are the stock MSP struts the adjustables?

The Adjustable MAZDASPEED's should not be illegal- Where did you hear that and what was the reason? At $175 a piece, they are a pit pricey, but the alternatives are even more expensive custom Koni's or Bilstein's $400-$500 per corner.
The Non-adjustable MP3 shocks are a good value and will be better than nothing. They are not that much stiffer than Stock. Unfortunately, for real performance you gotta pay to go fast.
I have been racing my Protege for over 2yrs, and have experimented with a few different valving specs (I have some custom built Bilsteins). My advice is to get good equipment to start out, because you'll just buy it later! If you're on a budget, get rear shocks only, I have raced with stock front shocks and stiff Bilsteins on the back, and its not bad at all.

Good Luck,

as i understand it (unless i misread the rules -- which is entirely possible :p ), you are only allowed 2-way adjustments on replacement shocks/struts in stock class. since the MS struts are 4 or 5 way, i figured they would be illegal.

why would you recommend doing the rears first?

ahhhh...now i understand. thanks!

talking to a guy at mazdamotorsports, he seemed to think that the MP3 struts wouldn't work well w/ my stock springs...do you agree? as i understand it, the ride height difference is not that great, and i can deal with a bit of overdamping. maybe the adjustables are the way to go...

anyway, thanks for the clarification.