Lewis7789 2002 Protege5 build thread (tons of pics)

[Lewis7789]

Dude this swap is easy then! LOL

Thank you for the answers with no smart ass responses. I truly appreciate it!

Of course, I'll help out as much as possible, man. (2thumbs) But I hope that was sarcasm with the "easy" comment. haha

Hey Lewis - you went with aftermarket mounts I saw. But - think I could get away with just solid filling the mounts from the FS, and use those with the KL? Or would that produce some nasty vibrations?

Think those axles from my ATX 2.0 will work with the ATX 2.5?

If you've ever tried to replace your rear motor mount you'll know you'll want to upgrade it with the motor out. But I understand money is tight. And I'm not positive on your axles for the ATX, but I wouldn't see why they wouldn't work. Try double checking part numbers with Mazda, they might have the same part numbers as the MTX axles. Sorry I can't help more right now, I'm at work...

The KL vibrates muuuuch less than the FS. Solid poly mounts are no big deal.



Don't forget about the electrics.

Yeah, my KL has AWR front and rear mounts and AWR side inserts and it doesn't vibe much at all, even with the lightweight parts on the motor. But I would still rather invest in some low duro new mounts while you have easy access to all of them. But that's just me. And if anyone is doing a KL swap consider a bigger front sway while you have easy access to it too.

 

[roy obanion]

I thought it was pretty widely accepted that the stock front sway in the p5 was plenty big, no?

 

[THE Phen]

Tossing the MSP rear bar on it makes a nice balance with the stock front. The front could always use a stiffer bar, but be prepared to balance it with a larger rear bar or welcome to understeer city.

 

[Lewis7789]

I'm not sure, I haven't researched it much. But when my motor was out and I was painting the engine bay I was like "Damn, I wish I had some extra cash for a front sway. It's just right there!".

But with the added 80lbs in the front and upgraded front sway wouldn't hurt?

edit- yeah, what Phen said. Assuming you already have an upgraded rear sway.

 

[Mrhiguy]

No I wasn't being sarcastic. I'm more of an electrical person rather than metal fabricator.
So Electronics don't bother me. It's trying to figure out mounts and axles that gets me.
I know the electrical portion isn't a peach.

 

[princess peach]

i hope ur kidding right lol???

he gave me a lot of crap with my 3, and now he has no right, IT'S PAYBACK TIME!!!!!!!!. Have you seen his steering wheel?

 

[roy obanion]

Tossing the MSP rear bar on it makes a nice balance with the stock front. The front could always use a stiffer bar, but be prepared to balance it with a larger rear bar or welcome to understeer city.

how large of a rear bar? I know of nothing bigger than progress or awr..

 

[Lewis7789]

No I wasn't being sarcastic. I'm more of an electrical person rather than metal fabricator.
So Electronics don't bother me. It's trying to figure out mounts and axles that gets me.
I know the electrical portion isn't a peach.

Well then my hat's off to you, sir. I don't know jack about electrical so that was the hardest part of the swap for me. The mechanical parts were fun. Staring at wiring diagram, not so much. heh-heh...

he gave me a lot of crap with my 3, and now he has no right, IT'S PAYBACK TIME!!!!!!!!. Have you seen his steering wheel?

Dude, you had huge "Mazdaspeed" decals on your doors and a 10" monster tach. Come on. Haha

how large of a rear bar? I know of nothing bigger than progress or awr..

I think Phen meant a "larger than stock" RSB. I think the Progress is the biggest at 22mm then the AWR at 19mm, IIRC. I've got the Progress and really like it.

 

[HKPRO5]

Have you had to replace the brackets on your Progress?

 

[justanothermp5]

AWR makes a 21.5mm too, was stiff as hell. I 3-wheeled all over the place when I had it

 

[Lewis7789]

Cres- yeah. I broke one a couple years ago. I lived in an apartment complex with basically a curb I had to drive up, it was at an angle so the whole suspension had to flex. One day after work I heard a loud pop and I noticed the handleing got sloppy and sure enough there was a broken bracket. I emailed Progress and they sent out a new one the next day, free of charge. I installed that one by torquing each bolt down little by little until the were both tightened down and knock on wood, no problems for about 2 years on my DD now.

Simon- you're right. I think Phen has one of those in the garage. He said he could get his P5 to drive through intersections with it. Maybe the AWR geometery is different than the Progress. I 3-wheel but I think the car is pretty much neutral in the corners. Which is a first for me coming from Honda's, all about understeer. haha

I did some cleaning today and made a block off plate from spare plastic we had at the shop. I'm going to mount a few gauges in it in the winter. After the Milly is running... Ugh, saving for a motor is taking forever. I know when I'm old when I look at an ugly, automatic Millenia and say "Damn, I can't wait to drive that thing.". haha

 

[roy obanion]

I think Phen meant a "larger than stock" RSB. I think the Progress is the biggest at 22mm then the AWR at 19mm, IIRC. I've got the Progress and really like it.

I have one as well, it's currently installed on the garage floor

 

[CTt3P5]

Well get it uninstalled and installed on the car. I know I liked it while it was on my car....until the damn bracket sheared in two. At that point I just didn't want to mess with it, hell my stock rsb is still in the attic.

Sounds like things are going good with the swap Evan, good to hear. Those filter socks are supposed to work good from what I understand but I wouldn't go out of my way to drive through puddles. lol I like the stickers too and while rust may be lighter than c/f at least c/f doesn't mess with airflow.

 

[THE Phen]

how large of a rear bar? I know of nothing bigger than progress or awr..

Progress is the largest, but the information that has been passed down for generations now is that one of the best balanced setups is stock Protege (sedan or hatch, they're the same) front bar with the MSP bar. If your run the MSP front bar, either the AWR or Progress is a great match for it. The AWR and Progress bars are still good with a stock Protege front bar, but the car has a tendency to oversteer if you're not careful. Again, not really a bad thing because you'll get more rotation out of the car.

 

[THE Phen]

I think Phen meant a "larger than stock" RSB. I think the Progress is the biggest at 22mm then the AWR at 19mm, IIRC. I've got the Progress and really like it.

AWR is 21.5mm, and with the adjustable mounting points, you can make it stiffer than the Progress 22mm. Mine was at the stiffest possible setting. Tripod was my middle name. Well... so was doreefto for a little bit because I got a ticket for going sideways thru an intersection in Barberton...

 

[KZL_99ES]

Progress is the largest, but the information that has been passed down for generations now is that one of the best balanced setups is stock Protege (sedan or hatch, they're the same) front bar with the MSP bar. If your run the MSP front bar, either the AWR or Progress is a great match for it. The AWR and Progress bars are still good with a stock Protege front bar, but the car has a tendency to oversteer if you're not careful. Again, not really a bad thing because you'll get more rotation out of the car.

+1 to this! this is what i have, plus AWR trailing arms, it's quite the nice balance between oversteer and understeer, which i think makes amazing handling!
i have the two mounting points, so i have the 21.5mm i guess! i was kinda wondering...and now i know! thanks! lol

 

[THE Phen]

21.5 mm has no mounting points. They have sliding blocks that go up and down the end of the bar to adjust the position. So... no, you don't have that.

 

[roy obanion]

Progress is the largest, but the information that has been passed down for generations now is that one of the best balanced setups is stock Protege (sedan or hatch, they're the same) front bar with the MSP bar. If your run the MSP front bar, either the AWR or Progress is a great match for it. The AWR and Progress bars are still good with a stock Protege front bar, but the car has a tendency to oversteer if you're not careful. Again, not really a bad thing because you'll get more rotation out of the car.

I'm cool with that...I do like rwd

 

[princess peach]

Dude, you had huge "Mazdaspeed" decals on your doors and a 10" monster tach. Come on. Haha

and who's the ricer now? All the buttons in my car work...

 

[KZL_99ES]

well, i don't do i...mmm, then i might have the 19mm one.... i think i'll have to get out a tape measure!