AXR Clunk Bracket Review

[CHICO2003]

Alright, show of hands... who likes the clunk? Hmm... just what I thought. Seriously, wtf was Mazda thinking? Over the past 5 years I've literally replaced my bushings 7 times (with stockers... mostly during the warranty phase mind you) then finally with the polyurethane versions. The latter definitely helped but sadly didn't really fix anything. (the clunk/squeaky bed syndrome was still in full force after about a year. even after greasing those badboys.)

I've known about this bracket for quite some time... but at $195 I just figured it was too costly. I mean, who wants to spend that kind of dough on something so boring? We want performance parts for our money. Things that'll increase the hp... not eliminate an annoying sound that turning up the radio can "fix".

So I held on to that line of thinking... but then I read how this bracket also improved handling. Since I (and presumably most MSP owners) bought this car for its superior handling... this really struck a nerve. So, combined with not having to deal with the BS clunk sound... I bit the bullet and bought it.

So was it a good decision? Do I have any buyer's remorse? In short... hell yeah and hell no! THIS is how the car SHOULD have came from the start. After some considerable... testing, there's no doubt in my mind that the car's better handling is NOT simply in my head... as I originally thought. In my mind, that's the #1 selling point of this product. The elimination of the clunk & accompanying squeaky bed is just a bonus.

If you have an MSP you obviously prefer to turn the wheel when you drive. If you had, instead, wanted a car that went fast in a straight line... well, we all know there were plenty of better options. I realize this thing's not cheap but... it's a must. Seriously... there's nothing to think about here. The car feels so much tighter it's not even funny. My only regret is that I didn't get it years ago.

[jcdennis]

LOL - I'm glad you like it! After putting mine into a couple of corners I think you're right about the handling....

But for me getting rid of the #&*%$(# clunk/squeak was priority number one!

[CHICO2003]

I guess after 5+ years I got a bit used to the sound. passengers would always be like wtf is that sound I'd be like...uhh... i've got a few boxes in my trunk... or something. yeah that's it. pretty embarrassing actually... car totally sounded like a pos

[jcdennis]

I went the other way... after 5+ years, every time I heard it, it was like a spike being driven into my ears!

[mazdaspeedwerx]

5 1/2 years and still dealing with it.after mazda changed the bushings the third time there was no more squeaking still clunking

[CHICO2003]

dude... wtf is up with that gif on your sig? please tell me that's not real.

on a lighter note... that site kicks ass!

anyway... get this thing. you won't regret it

[CHICO2003]

ok... watched it again. new those clowns looked familiar. reno 911... definitely not real. not funny either but at least it's not real. I would've had to go find that guy and drop his ass into a fan

[goku4658]

great review...thanks for the heads up. like you, i've been thinkin about purchasing this for the longest. how hard was the install?

[StevoT]

install is relatively easy. Can be done with hand tools. Just get ramps and back car up on them. Only problem I had was the nut/plate welded inside the crossmember broke off.

[livelyjay]

I bought the bracket immediately when it became available. It's worth every penny and it's not a boring mod either. It helps the sway bar work the way it was supposed to.

My only gripe about it was the coating on the parts. Mine is peeling and the metal is starting to rust.

[Rush]

.. Are these even available anymore? Doesn't the maker only provide 'em in batches at kinda-random intervals?

[StevoT]

I got mine a couple of months ago, Jan/Feb. I think he only had a few left. Not sure if he was making more, just selling out his stock. Don't quote me on that though.

[chaos2015]

i think he still has them in stock now, i just bought one

[Spooled]

I hope they are still in stock, because I ordered one last week and the tracking number shows it's on the way, YAY! Finally going to say "bye" to that annoying clunk, creek, squeak, thunk, thud. Now I just have to get some coilovers on this thing. My Tokicos are toast and the springs aren't any better. Two years of driving across the country for my job killed them.

[Spooled]

UPDATE: It's waiting for me at home!

[Tom03es]

I've had mine installed for about 15 months now. No more clunky-clunky. (I have the Racing Beat rear sway on my ES sedan so I had the clunk when I put the bar on).

[TampaBlackMSP]

This may be a silly question (have no idea), but where might one find this? Straight from the company, or through the various Protege/Mazda related vendors? Thanks in advance.

Ps - I've been ready to drive my car off a bridge for quite a while now, what the cheap a** sounds coming from the back. Hate it.

[Spooled]

http://www.autoxracing.com/

[TampaBlackMSP]

Perfect thanks! :)

[FunkyBuddha]

I've had mine sitting at home for a while now. I was reading that the energy bushings need more TLC than the OEM ones. And there will be noises as well. For those that have had this relocation kit, How long have you had it installed in the car for?

Everyone's driving style is different so there will be diff. results. I just dont' want to install them and have it be more high maintenance than OEM shit *cough*AWR endlinks *cough*

[mhrebin]

had my kit for a little while now. prob over 6 months i would say. closer to a year. i just replaced the bushings with energy suspension 19mm (3/4) bushings so it has a tighter fit than the 20 mm ones. that is why you get noise and clunking because the 20mm bushings wear out faster and the bar moves around. so with the paint worn off and using the 19mm bushings from energy suspension, it has a super snug fit and wont wear down as fast. they are also cheaper too off of the energysuspenion parts site. like 17 bucks for a set w/brackets. buying them from autox is like 30 or 40 for a set w/ brackets.

just my thoughts. this is what i purchased. been working GREAT so far.

http://www.energysuspensionparts.com/proddetail.asp?prod=9.5156

[EricG]

I just bought an '03 MSP a couple weeks ago. Really like the car, but the clunk is bad, and driving me crazy! So my first priority has been looking at fixes for this problem. Nice to find quite a few positive testimonials on the AXR product. Looks like that will be me first "upgrade" on the new toy. ;)

Oh, and when I talked with the local Mazda dealer, their response was, "yeah, they're all like that." Oh, great. Wouldn't you call that a factory defect, then? How about a recall? Then again, if they won't recall the faulty door locks on the 3s, why would they bother with this... ;)

[StevoT]

The AXR clunk fix was my first upgrade. I'm not a fan of rattles, squeaks, or clunks.

[Tom03es]

For those that have had this relocation kit, How long have you had it installed in the car for?

I installed mine back in Feb of 2007. So do the math.... that's 15 months or so. I opted for the greaseable bushings. I greased them sometime during late summer 2007 as a precautionary measure- they weren't making any noise prior to greasing them. I'll probably re-grease them again here in a month or two- but again, no squeaking or clunking.

[CHICO2003]

Nice to see so many positive remarks. I just bought mine a few weeks back directly off the site so they're definitely still available. The guys that run the company are also super nice and helpful. You can install it yourself but, without a lift, it won't be easy... I'd probably just recommend having a shop do it. Total price for me was $80 (1 hour labor) so I felt that was reasonable.

On a sidenote... wtf? lol the more I think about this the more pissed I get. It's not like Mazda didn't know there was a problem. I mean hell... after like 3 years they came out with different busings (which were pretty much the equivalent of putting a bandaid on your arm after it was sawed off) As much of a fan I am of Mazda... and am probably loyal to a fault, it's pretty shitty of them not to truly fix this the right way... but whatever overall i guess we cant complain... too much

[SteelWarrior]

i know the guy who makes these, i bought my intercooler and stuff off him, hes part of the Manitoba Mazda Community and helps run it...great guy, really helpful, these things are NICE! ive been in his garage, he has like 20 sets in stock, there really solid and well made, hes going to help me install my set this month sometime and i cant wait....100% solid product and yea 200 bucks...but damn, bushings get REAL expensive


also...a little birdie tells me hes going to be releasing new toys very soon ;)

[Tom03es]

You can install it yourself but, without a lift, it won't be easy... I'd probably just recommend having a shop do it.

I installed my own in my garage on my back with the car sitting high on jackstands. I thought it was pretty easy. And probably didn't take me anymore than an hour- and I put the brackets on backwards the first time around.... OOPS!

[SteelWarrior]

lol yea the guy who makes them doesnt even have a lift haha....just jack it up on blocks and slap em on. or if you have ramps that works pretty well too :)

[Hans507]

does anyone have pics of the installed bracket

[RixterGT]

I plan on buying this soon too, the squeak drives me insane. The squeaking pretty much went away during the winter, but now that it's starting to warm up it's coming back :/.

[We Are Ninja]

I installed my own in my garage on my back with the car sitting high on jackstands. I thought it was pretty easy. And probably didn't take me anymore than an hour- and I put the brackets on backwards the first time around.... OOPS!

Ditto. I used jackstands and some cheap tools. It took me an hour or so. I got in on a group buy a while back. The increase in handling and the silence from the rear end makes this more than worth it. I'd definitely recommend it to anyone with a MSP or Racing Beat swaybar.

[Subsparx]

I can take some pictures later of it installed. It wasn't too difficult to install. I ran into an issue with it myself, but it wasn't the new bracked it was the old bushings. One of the bolts had seized on the right swaybar bushing. Ended up breaking the weld on the nut holding the bolt in place. That was fun. Other than that it took about 45 minutes to an hour to install. Handling is very much improved and it's completely silent. I love it. Worth every penny for this fix.

[DooMer_MP3]

I've had the kit for about 1.5 years now. I've still had to replace bushings a couple of times due to the clunk. I tried 19mm diameter Energy Suspension bushings (9.5156) this past weekend though so we'll see how that goes. Silent for now! But for me, this hasn't been the end-all solution.

[SteelWarrior]

did you remember to oil them up a bit every time you got your oil changed?

every 5k-7k kms you just squirt a bit of oil with an oil gun and the AXR bracket will actually extend the life of the bushings

the guy who makes them had the same bushings in his car for a very long time :)

[Gobbracing]

The kit I got last spring had greasable bushings. No more squeaks or rattles.
I grease them every oil change.

Best improvement on my MSP for solo2.

Top notch Evolv!

[Pmpkinhead]

Evolv said more kits are being made and should be available soon. I have a solution when the clunk re-develops with the clunk fix. I'll post it soon.

367 (mp3yellow

[KyRaceFan]

Summer time squeaks DRIVE ME CRAZY!

I'm looking at doing this, or a simple set of AWR end links. Money/time isnt really a concern since this is going to improve my overall enjoyment of the car.

My question is, does this product, which looks very nice, actually put an end to the horrid squeaking my car makes when it goes over a bump? If so, do a set of AWR end links also stop the squeak?

This is my daily driver, and I dont autocross, so any performance gains will be nice but probably under appreciated.

Suggestions? AWR End links or the AXR clunk fix.

[CHICO2003]

LOL read my 1st post bro... this is a MUST HAVE mod

[KyRaceFan]

LOL read my 1st post bro... this is a MUST HAVE mod

Oh i did, and it was very insightful. I know this fixes the clunking... i had my bushings replaced 3 or 4 times... but the squeaking, is that eliminated too?

[CHICO2003]

hell yeah the 2 are related

[SteelWarrior]

yea man, i know this guy personally. his product is amazing and well constructed...you toss these bad boys on (he includes instructions) and once every 7k or so, when you change your oil, you just quickly grease the bushing and boom..never hear another damn squeak ever again and you wont have to replace the bushings!

best 200 bucks ever spent

[vinnie mack]

definitely agree. I spoke to karl on the phone for quite sometime.. a great guy who knows what he's doing and stands behind his product.

one of the best things you can do to the msp. anyone i meet on the street with one and they tell me about suspension woes i mention it.. should be one of the first things you get for the car.

[DE31]

i loved mine..... went through many rear swaybar setups on the p5 until i settled on these.

it was the way racingbeat wanted the bar to be bolted on, mazda just cheaped out and reused regular protege mounting points.

[We Are Ninja]

Oh i did, and it was very insightful. I know this fixes the clunking... i had my bushings replaced 3 or 4 times... but the squeaking, is that eliminated too?

Very much so; the squeaking is the coming from the rear sway bar assembly. I had the rear-end squeaks and it was god-awful. I hated driving my car. The bracket put an end to it.

[KyRaceFan]

Ordering mine right now.

Im too busy to install them myself, so when I have a new exhaust fitted soon, i'll just have em thrown on then. Cant wait!

[CHICO2003]

good choice! you're gonna love it labor should be around an hour and half at most... most dealerships won't touch it so bring it to a shop that's used to aftermarket type stuff.

[ruskeyjdm]

Anyone order one lately, was thinking of getting it myself? Backorder or they ship fast?

[SteelWarrior]

if hes got them in stock atm, which im pretty sure he does

he ships very fast

[Kaldonis]

Not sure... I purchased mine on Friday and haven't even received an order confirmation.

[lowr3y]

does anyone have pics of the installed bracket

+1!!!!

[MSP2003.5_Nick]

The dealer gave me this clunk fix kit free when I went in a couple months ago to get some center caps, just had it lying around lol. After the install i still have clunk just a little less. My stock bushings were fucked but now i believe the problem is either in the endlinks themselves or upper strut mounts. At least i know what it isn't I guess lol

[DE31]

your dealer carries this clunk fix? damn thats crazy, i know they used to supply different bushings thats it, does your dealer vender aftermarket equipment?

[MSP2003.5_Nick]

your dealer carries this clunk fix? damn thats crazy, i know they used to supply different bushings thats it, does your dealer vender aftermarket equipment?

Yeah i was surprised. They don't necessarily carry it they just ordered a bunch of them for when this was a big issue (when the protege was still in the lineup) and had one left over. Didn't even charge me for it. The owner of the dealership just doesn't like to be a typical wait for mazda to fix it kind of guy. i wish all dealers had that level of customer service. Lucky for me I guess.

Honda dealer is like that here too (checks my codes for free ;) $75 anywhere else). All the others are assholes.

[DE31]

damn, we have an evo dealer here luckily similar to that, 40 mins away but everyone goes there, as long as you have a "socalevo" sticker he discounts it

[Speed3.5]

I just ordered some energy suspension bushings but that won't stop the clank and what not for much longer, i hope the maker will do another GB for the sake of us that don't have one .

[Jarpo]

So I've read all the comments on this thread and I'm definitely ordering this product right now. I use my MSP for work (not the best idea, I know) and I put waaaaay too many miles on it so you can imagine how fed up with the clunk/squeak I am by now. Anyways, I know my current bushings have to be shot, so anyone have a suggestion on some new bushings that would be great and where I could get them? I'm a real novice when it comes to this car stuff, but I want my MSP to be as enjoyable to drive as it can be.

[Rush]

Okay, so I'm definitely picking up one of these within a week.

But now, I have some questions.

The kit includes greasable bushings, yes? Are the bushings that come with the kit the Energy brand that a lot of people have mentioned? And are the bushings that come with the kit 19mm, not the 20mm stock size?

Just tryin' to figure out if I'm going to want to buy these smaller Energy bushings, if they're better than the ones that come with the kit .. cause if that's the case, maybe I'll see if I can order the kit without the greasable bushings.

Unless the greasable bushings that DO come with the kit work just fine?

[Pmpkinhead]

Just take the kit with whatever size bushings it comes with. Track the life of them and also buy the 19mm size for backups (suspensionrestoration.com) and track the life you get with them when the originals finally die. I have seen a variety of life between the 2 sizes from other peoples replies on this forum. Each car seems to have a different response to the 2 sizes.

Also document each time you re-grease them to keep the data consistant.


367 (mp3yellow

[lowr3y]

does anyone have pics of the installed bracket??!!!

[KyRaceFan]

I'll grab you some pics here in a little while.

Had mine installed about 2 weeks ago, and there is NO clunk. Its completely gone. However, i noticed right away there was still a little suspension noise, which is now a full fledged squeaking.

I'm gonna take it back and have it tightened, because it is horribly irritating, and much worse than before. The clunk is gone though, and if I can get the squeak to go away easily, then this is gonna be a great product that I'd recommend to everyone!

[KyRaceFan]

Heres a few pics, of both sides.

The squeaking is the bushings themselves. Theres plenty of grease, but as the suspension flexes, the bushings are rotating and rubbing against the sway bar. Its very very loud. (rant)

[lowr3y]

so it just moves the bushing to the outer edge of the sway bar? this is all that is needed? can both the stock mounts and the squeak fix be used together?

[Pmpkinhead]

so it just moves the bushing to the outer edge of the sway bar? this is all that is needed? can both the stock mounts and the squeak fix be used together?

No they cannot! The pivot will be incorrect! Pull the original stuff out and put it away.


367 (mp3yellow

[Pmpkinhead]

Heres a few pics, of both sides.

The squeaking is the bushings themselves. Theres plenty of grease, but as the suspension flexes, the bushings are rotating and rubbing against the sway bar. Its very very loud. (rant)

Are the 2 clamps too close (pushing hard) against the rubber? Are you perfectly centered with the 2 clamps?

Now that you have it assembled, squirt in more grease.


367 (mp3yellow

[o.g.sk8er]

did you also grease where the bushing meets the AXR bracket? this is over looked by many and it will squeak badly if not lubed.

[mhrebin]

ive had my clunk kit for a long time now. and learned what causes the ungodly squeeking ( in my case anyway).

over time the bushings get worn in and since they are 20mm bushings they fit good when new. once broken in/worn they will be loose no matter what. greasing the bushings will only stop the squeek temporarily. it will come back once it washes out and whatnot. my car made horrible popping and squeeking noises. it was annoying. so i went underneath my car and was able to physically move my swaybar in the bushings a little bit and simulate the knocking noise.

so i order new bushings on energy suspension. you can get them at auto part stores too. but i ordered the 19mm bushings so they would fit super tight and once broken in, still fit tight. to this day i have not had any problems and i installed them around 5 months ago. i also ordered the tub of formula 5 grease. its the best kind for the bushings. everything has been dead silent and on point since redoing the bushings. very very pleased. so that is my fix for the deadly clunk and squeek. I highly recommend it.

all the other parts on the kit are awesome. def a must have if your into suspension.

[KyRaceFan]

Are the 2 clamps too close (pushing hard) against the rubber? Are you perfectly centered with the 2 clamps?

Now that you have it assembled, squirt in more grease.


367 (mp3yellow


I didnt install it myself, had the shop that did my new exhaust do it. I havent had a chance to take it back up there yet for them to look at it, but regreasing every 2 weeks isnt going to be a viable solution for me.

I may look into the 19mm bushing fix. Im not a big susp guy, I just want to drive a quiet car.