Suspension upgrade concerns

Z

zackmac

Member
:
2003 Mazda Protege5
This week I'll be getting tokico blue struts and msp racing beat springs in the mail along with a msp racing beat rear sway bar
I bought them used and am planning on installing them this weekend

first off, i have ASA AR1 17" rims and am running 215/45/17 tires, should i expect rubbing with tokico/msp spring combo?
additionally, i want to know what else I need to install the rear sway.. i am getting endlinks with it and thats it. Should i order some other parts like mounting brackets or will the stock p5 ones do justice?

Thanks!
 
You'll need 20mm bushings and brackets for mounting the sway bar- i bought some urethane bushings from AWR for my car and used them with the stock mazdaspeed brackets... which don't fit the best on a p5/sedan sub-frame.

Your best bet would be to find some prothane/energy suspension bushings for a 20mm sway bar that come with a bracket that's got mounting holes in the same place as the brackets that are already on your car. I've had trouble with buying brackets that were too big and they just sort of covered up the bolt holes on my sub-frame(s). I've also bought bushings that were the right size to fit over the bar and the brackets lined up with the bolt holes, but the bushings ended up being too wide and i couldn't fit them both on without moving the rubber collars on the sway bar a bit inwards.
Some bushing stuff to consider :)

For the wheels i'm not sure about if they would rub- it depends on their off-set. Mazdaspeed protege wheels were 17x7s and came with a 215x45x17 wheel, so i'd assume if your wheel's offset is the same/close to the racinghart's then you'd be fine
 
image_zpsd3eb3ecb.jpg


just arrived today
so I have 2 end links and it looks like I will still need to get polyeuro bushings and mounting brackets
and a spring compressor
 
looks like the bar came with the OEM bushings actually- they might still be good but you'll need mounting brackets. There's a couple members here parting out MSP's and there's a guy parting an MP3 (the MP3 had the racing beat bar also)- you might ask them for mounting brackets.

I see that on of the rubber collars on the bar is starting to move towards the "racing beat" logo- before you instal the bar make sure you push it back away from the middle of the bar to it's original spot, otherwise while you're driving around the bar will slide over. Happened to me- moved over and made a lot of noise.

Why do you need a spring compressor?
 
so I did the front struts and springs today. only took a few hours, would have been done in under an hour except the passenger side end link nut was seized and I ended up stripping it. after playing with vice grips for an hour I torched it up and held an Alan key in the screw (spinning freely) as I used pliers to slowly undo the nut.

I'm waiting until tomorrow to do the rear struts and take my hatch apart, also for the rear sway.

just drove around the block briefly and I noticed the springs seem stiffer but less "clunk" when I go over northern state potholes. didn't notice much of a drop, maybe an inch tops which is sad because I was looking for more. oh well, maybe ill buy some used eibachs springs in the future. I'm hoping it'll look nicer once I do the back, but then I can't wait to rally around town and hopefully fall in love with the suspension improvements!
 
Noticed a strange sound.. Seems to be coming from driver front strut area. Its a faint pop/click sound that I notice when turning the wheel, mostly while moving slow or parked. Could this be endlinks or strut mounts possibly?
 
I definitely will be replacing my springs soon, and hopefully selling my stock struts and springs along with the mazdaspeed springs.
I'm stuck between eibach pro kit and tein s techs..
I know eibachs are progressive but won't drop it as much
I also know teins are linear and will drop it more
I'm wondering if my rear will be an issue because it is already low from subs in the back (~100lbs constantly in the hatch)

I'm looking for more of a comfort ride for springs (not as stiff) as this is my daily driver and I live in New England with terrible roads and harsh winters
 
digitalslacker said:
Then you want progressive springs. I have the pro kit and love it.
Click to expand...

That is what I have been leaning towards, i've been doing tons of research all day... I just hope they aren't too "smooth" around corners because i do love the stiff feel when taking corners while coming in hot

I also want to buy new endlinks for the front and rear, mine are all shot. any good suggestions? And I might as well get poly euro bushing for my rear sway bar because they are shot.. AWR maybe?
 
The problem is you have to make sure the springs are for the msp, if not you will have a rear rake which does look cool at times but other times not so much. Although with the heavy sub setup you have it may make it level out
 
tweety2300 said:
The problem is you have to make sure the springs are for the msp, if not you will have a rear rake which does look cool at times but other times not so much. Although with the heavy sub setup you have it may make it level out
Click to expand...

doesn't eibach make the pro kit for both the protege5 and the msp? or are they the same.. some websites list it as a protege5 kit others not.. but as long as it isn't a sedan i should be fine because both p5/msp should work?
 
the MSP tokico blues have the spring perch a bit higher in the rear than in the front, compared to a regular protege sedan/p5. That's why when you put springs for a sedan/p5 on a MSP (with the stock tokico blues) the back of the car will be slightly higher than normal giving you that raked look. If you put MSP springs on struts meant for the sedan/p5, the rear springs will be shorter than normal to accommodate for the higher spring perch on the blues and your sedan/p5 will be lower in the back.

If you've got some heavy stuff in the rear, maybe putting springs meant for the p5/sedan would end up being nice and level?

For the bushings i bought the replacements for the MP3 from AWR, and they worked out pretty good.
For endlinks look at the interchangeable parts thread for info about ford escape endlinks that fit on the protege- they're supposed to be constructed better and can be had for around the same price as links for the protege, but i don't know what years to look for. There's a picture posted somewhere in that thread with a nice picture that shows you what you need eh?
 
Excellent! I will buy 2002 Ford escape v6 awd end links for the front, I guess I will still need stock replacements for the rear since they are shot. Still need a place to find bushings and mounting brackets for the rear sway. I'm hoping with the msp tokicos and eibach pro kits for p5, the higher perch will help me and also my tire size from rubbing

Edit: I still have the msp racing beat springs but plan on buying the pro kit
 
Just picked up the last 2 pairs of endlinks any place around me had (ended up being 10.99 each at AutoZone) so that settles the front of my car, all will be good! Phew!

As for the rear suspension, I have been dissecting this thread inside and out - http://www.mazdas247.com/forum/showthread.php?68155-How-To-Racing-Beat-rear-Sway-bar-on-P5-ES/

It seems to me like there are a number of different options. Seeing how my racing beat rear sway bar will need new everything to go along with it, i am wondering which route to take. It seems to me like most of the options I have listed (below) will work, but the name of the game is mixing and matching properly. Note that I have the MSP tokico struts, so as far as endlinks go, I believe MSP endlinks will do justice since they are longer and will accommodate for the high perch that these struts have. The bushings and horseshoe brackets seem to be the trickiest. I don't want to spend more than I have to, but I want it to work. This is my DD not a race car. Any input would be greatly appreciated, as I would like to do this sooner than later.

Racing Beat Rear Sway Bar (MSP)
Bushings
-option 1: stock p5 bushings (dremel from 15mm to 20mm)
-option 2: MSP teflon lined bushings
-option 3: AWR 20mm poly bushings
Horseshoe Brackets
-option 1: stock protege5 horseshoe bracket
-option 2: MSP horseshoe bracket
-option 3: AWR clunk fix horshoe bracket
Endlinks (rear)
-option 1: stock p5 endlinks
-option 2: MSP endlinks
-option 3: AWR adjustable endlinks
**note that I am running MSP tokico struts with MSP racing beat springs, i only see this affecting my endlink selection

Thanks!
 
got 2002 ford escape end links for the front
but I still need to know what works in my last post

image_zps528456fe.jpg
 
New strange noise coming from (what seems to be) the driver front wheel area. It occurs while parked or going very slow in first or second gear and only when i turn the wheel. It is kind of a clunk or "skrrt skrrt skkrt" noise that clicks as you turn the wheel left and right. I noticed this after I replaced the end links, not before so I dont think it is a blown strut. But, could it be that the ford escape endlinks were a TAD shorter than the p5 or perhaps that I need to regrease them again? (You can see the fitting for the grease gun on the right picture posted above)- I did grease them but would doing it again to any justice?
Thanks!
Im still looking for bushings/brackets/endlinks for the rear so I can get this done ASAP!
 
Please log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Y
    • Like
Need clarification on Protege5 manual swaps *Please Help*
Replies
8
Views
2K
NCrustfreeP5
N
N
Where to find Tokico blues
Replies
5
Views
2K
grffn
G
Riot_Polizei
Racing Beat Rear Swaybar Questions
Replies
11
Views
6K
Riot_Polizei
Riot_Polizei

Latest posts

Back