Question on Sprint springs

[Rittmeister]

I recently purchased a 2002 Protege ES with what I believe are Sprint springs installed. I'm basing this on the fact that they match the blue color I've seen in pictures, and the factory springs were in the trunk of the car in a big Sprint box.

I was expecting to remove them in favor of a better setup very quickly, as my other exposures to Sprint haven't been good; in the Nissan community where I have my tuning roots we wouldn't dream of using them. However, I was very pleasantly surprised by both the handling and the ride and have decided to keep them, but there's one issue:

I'm a bit worried about the stance of the car. It looks as if either the front is too low, or the rear isn't low enough. If this is the way it should be then fine but I wanted to ask; I did quite a lot of searching here when I joined and wasn't able to find an answer.

These pictures are from the dealer ad; I can probably snap a few more if needed.

http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c88/kwstine1/1829415605.jpg

http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c88/kwstine1/1829415607.jpg

I'm used to the lowering setups on my Nissans, none of which had this kind of rake. Any help appreciated, especially pictures of other 3rd gen cars with Sprints installed.

TIA.

[njaremka]

park the car on level ground, and measure the stance from the fender well to the middle of the rim. then, report back. stock is around 14-inches all around, maybe 14.5 in the back. (give or take a half inch) you actually want the backa smidge higher than the front, so that it balances out when you start to load up the car. if the back is too low, then you get your friends in the back seat, you can ruin your handling.

[Rittmeister]

From hub center to top center of wheel arch:

Front: 12.25"
Rear: 13"

Thoughts?

[njaremka]

sounds normal - if i were you, i would leave them unless they are on stock struts. if they are on stock struts, i would replace everything. then you can get what you want.

[Rittmeister]

When you say "everything" what do you mean? I'm actually pretty happy with the springs - the car looks decent and rides well, and handles well enough for my daily drive. I am NOT interested in swapping out struts/springs/mounts and everything else on this car...

I don't know if the struts are factory but I'm betting they are. When I got under the car before buying it I was just looking for leaks and problems.

What are the hot budget options for the Protege? For the Nissans it's usually KYB GR2s or AGXs, though the ride with the AGXs can be a bit choppy, which I don't want...

[njaremka]

if the struts are black, they're stock - any other color, they're aftermarket. i was refering to just springs and struts. however, since you're happy with those, then keep 'em.

tokico's are pretty much the only performance option for repalceable struts. (unless you want the uber-hard to find JDM mazdaspeed versions and are willing to pay gobbs of money for them...) otherwise, its coil-overs.

any plans for the car? where do you live? want a front air dam kit?

[Rittmeister]

Cincinnati OH.

I saw your air dam ad, but I fear it would look out of place without side skirts, and that's getting into serious money for things that don't make the car faster :(

Plans?

-Paint the valve cover, probably red. Strip and paint the rusted brackets in the engine bay.
-Header, almost definitely. Need to research price of headers together with O2 emulator prices, since this car is new enough to have a close-coupled cat and the associated nanny gear.
-Better shift knob than the stock, rubbed-off-shift-pattern-rubber piece of crap. Maybe a Mazda 3 leather knob.
-I'd like to find a leather steering wheel if one exists, I think I remember reading that the P5 leather wheel w/cruise could be swapped directly into an '02 ES. The issue would be finding one cheap, and I'm too new to the community to have a handle on what different parts cost on the used market here.
-I also want to find one of the 6-disc in-dash CD headunits to replace my single-disc Panasonic, I just don't like the way it looks with the install kit.

[njaremka]

sounds nice, and i hope you have fun with the car. stick around here, you might learn some things. and, make sure you post pics of your progress!!!

[red95_240sx]

THe sprint get pretty low. Jeg0024? o here has them also. There like the lowest ever. The body style of the protege is raked to begin with. If u dont want them, im interested. Looks good to me though.

I wish i had just bought a protege like that. Looks more sexy stock than mines slightly riced.

[mhrebin]

jeg has progress springs i believe.

[JoshP5]

No, he runs goldlines (http://www.mazdas247.com/forum/showthread.php?t=123660197).

[red95_240sx]

yea it goldlines...iget em mixed(cause there both low)

[jeg0024]

No, he runs goldlines (http://www.mazdas247.com/forum/showthread.php?t=123660197).


Yup! Nice even drop, no rake, pretty damn low lol, and springs are rather soft with a comfortable ride:) Cant wait to get my new struts and rear sway bar!

[JoshP5]

Since Goldlines aren't much stiffer than stock springs, I wonder if you really need performance struts for them--I know Kansei had problems running Goldlines/HPs and complained the setup was overdamped. Although he was also riding on his bump stops. Mr.Diggler ran Goldlines/Illuminas on his MSP and had big problems, too. Just something to think about.

[jeg0024]

Since Goldlines aren't much stiffer than stock springs, I wonder if you really need performance struts for them--I know Kansei had problems running Goldlines/HPs and complained the setup was overdamped. Although he was also riding on his bump stops. Mr.Diggler ran Goldlines/Illuminas on his MSP and had big problems, too. Just something to think about.


Yeah.. I mean I havent ordered them yet, but I might just go with an OEM replacement set, because they feel great on the stock shocks, there just under a bit different stress because they were on the stock springs for so long.