Shocks/struts for protege5

[Heyitsgill]

Hi all, I'm new to the forum and new to mazda as well, I just purchased a 02 protege5 from a friend and the suspension is trashed, he has it lowered (not sure of the spring type but I know they are not cut). My question is what is an acceptable replacement for the struts he has installed? I found a 4 set of kyb struts and shocks, and that is the best price for me, but I am unsure of whether or not they will work with my lowering springs

 

[TheSwapnessMonster]

It's generally accepted that lowering on stock struts is not a good idea.

 

[Heyitsgill]

It's generally accepted that lowering on stock struts is not a good idea.

Right, and I believe that is what he did. My question is what are the best aftermarket struts for the price to replace them with?

 

[TheSwapnessMonster]

Tokico HP or Tokico Illumina if you're using lowering strings. They are considerably more expensive than KYB struts. I have to replace my stock KYB struts and mounting hardware so I'm getting coilovers.

 

[Heyitsgill]

Great, thanks! The kyb exel-g's seem like a likely candidate for me, does anyone have experience with them?

 

[Brian_K]

Great, thanks! The kyb exel-g's seem like a likely candidate for me, does anyone have experience with them?

those are oem replacement struts, not valved for aftermarket springs. They'll work, but they wont last very long. If you're on a tight budget a lot of people go with STAGG struts, which seem to work well with our cars. But in all honesty tokico are going to be the best as far as quality and performance

 

[Heyitsgill]

Awesome, thanks for the advice, that really helps clear it up for me. I went from driving a gmc truck to the protg5 and I'm new to the import world. Sounds like I'll go with just cheaping out and doing the Stagg for the front now and do a full swap to something nicer down the road.

 

[P-Funk!]

I wouldn't - the labor is a pain and involves (most likely) cutting off the end links and replacing them. Trust Me. The extra $$ for the proper Tokico will be worth it in the long run. My Eibach springs paired with Tokico struts lasted over 135K miles...

my $.02

 

[booom]

Tien lowering spring are compatible with the KYB struts. I had espelir springs and Tokico HP struts that lasted 135K miles like the guy above. Awesome setup but rides a little rough on less than smooth roads and too rough for a baby and passengers in the back seat. So, I discarded the struts and sold the springs, which actually sagged a bit after 10 years of use, and then reverted the suspension to be more family friendly setup combining Tien H.tech springs with KYBs. The rear struts would NOT hold the lowering spring tight enough and they would sometimes pop out from the top mount when going down steep driveways at an angle, causing one rear wheel to lift off the ground momentarily (due to racing beat rear sway bar being so stuff) extending, the strut damper and decompressing the spring which allowed it to fall or jostle out of the top mount. Bad situation. But I resolved it by adding a couple of washers under the top nut so the springs are now held tight by a KYB strut. I know the Tien spring rate does not matched to the KYB damper but I want the softer ride with the lowered appearance. So I'll probably replace them at 30-50k miles. Anyway, if you hear a lot of noise coming from the rear suspension it's likely the struts don't have enough threads at the top to tighten up proper.

 

[Heyitsgill]

Just an update; I purchased/installed the Stagg struts today, ride is great! They fit in perfectly with no cutting or extra work, noise from the passenger side is totally gone. Next up is rust spots before winter!

 

[ebechin]

Just an update; I purchased/installed the Stagg struts today, ride is great! They fit in perfectly with no cutting or extra work, noise from the passenger side is totally gone. Next up is rust spots before winter!

Hi. Reviving this thread real quick. Did the Stagg's work ok with the lowering springs you had @Heyitsgill?

I'm looking at this setup:
https://www.ebay.com (commissions earned)

I'm looking to replacing all around with the staggs. Anyone have issues?

Thx

 

[MP5x2k3]

Hi. Reviving this thread real quick. Did the Stagg's work ok with the lowering springs you had @Heyitsgill?

I'm looking at this setup:
https://www.ebay.com (commissions earned)

I'm looking to replacing all around with the staggs. Anyone have issues?

+1 to this, I was eyeing them up as well... For the price vs performance I'm interested also (anything is better than stock springs with blown struts currently on the car, and Vogtland from what I've heard is decent for the $ in the bmw E30 world...)




Thx