Recent content by mitchman

We're selling our 2003 Protege DX to make room for the new MINI in August. *The car is a perfect daily driver/weekend autocross car. *It's only been autocrossed 3-times. *But here's some results from when we last raced it Spokane Event Results We're hoping to sell it with all the autocross...

Dunno about the wheel hop....sorry. I havne't noticed anything though. If you live that close to Cork Sport, you live about 3 hours from us. (Kennewick, WA)

#1 most important thing.....TIRES. #2, alignment. #3, shocks. The Mazdaspeed lime green shocks are similar to the Tokico Illuminas. The MSP shocks are Tokico blues (non-adjustable) If you can't get the Mazdaspeeds (our will be for sale sometime in August if you can wait for them), go with...

I've finally got our DX handeling well. I've added the Mazdaspeed shocks (lime green ones) and disconnected the front sway bar (made a BIG difference). Here's how I did at an out-of-town autocross a couple of weeks back: http://www.autosportsnorthwest.org/20060430pax_times.txt

Yes they are very different. If the car came with the Tokico shocks (blue ones) then the swaybar end links are short. Might be the same length as the rears....but I've never actually measured them. If the the car doesn't have the Tokico shocks, then the swaybar end links are long. About 2...

We'll I should have explained a little better. A stiffer front sway bar CAN add more front grip in the middle of a turn. This is because the front tires will sit flatter to the ground because of the reduced body sway. But normally, people don't like the way their FWD car handles with this...

Sorry, but who ever told you that is wrong. A bigger front sway bar causes the car to understeer. I would purchase the AWR rear bar instead. It's adjustable so if your car does have a tendancy to oversteer, you can soften it by sliding the adjuster links. Just my $0.02. ;)

They're just standard "O-Rings". Bring one with you to your local Lowe's or Home Depot and ask an employee. They'll probably find you some in the plumbing department. BTW, you don't need to run the o-rings. The only reason they are their is to keep the links (also known as rod ends) from...

I've been running Porterfield R4S pads (their performance street pads) on my Miata for about 4 years now and they've been great! I finally replaced them this summer and the rotors still looked great (I didn't replace them). The pads modulate well under heavy braking and are widely used by...

I just looked at my AWR links and noticed something really wierd. Put the frount wheels up on jackstands. Take the tires off. Have someone inside turn your steering wheel lock-to-lock. Watch what the front sway bar does. I can't believe Mazda put the sway bar mounts on the front...

Great photos! Maybe they sent you extras? I used the same AWR endlinks on our 2003 Protege DX when I installed Mazdaspeed shocks. The "shoulder washers" you are asking about should go one on each side of each rod end. If I remember correctly, you use the thicker ones on top and the thinner...

I agree with mumshquat (although he was a little harsh). Shocks are really are an important part of a car that handles well. I think 50,000 miles sounds about right. Don't wait until they start leaking....some shocks never leak after 200,000 miles. You can tell if a cars shocks are worn out...