how well does the protege5 respond to suspension mods

[FlyinHawaiian]

My car is far from cool. It's still a 4 door family sedan

Don't sell yourself short: I have a B5 S4 sitting in my garage too... Its a COOL car!

That said, ours, which is stock, and my buddy's which has an APR chip, springs/shocks, and an exhaust, doesn't come close to handling as well as my lowly little sedan in most situations. It has the power (and quattro) to pull itself out of corners, but unfortunately, the S4 doesn't transfer its weight very well and can be a bit of a cow going into corners.

That's just my experience though.
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As for the original question, I'm running Espelir springs and Tokico HP (the blues) struts and I absolutely love the setup. If you want to stay cheap, I'd say get a set of MSP or MP3 springs, a set of the Tokico HPs and a nice set of tires (good rubber makes all the difference--ask my mom and dad--). I used to run the strut/MP3 spring combo and loved it... until I bought the Espelirs that is...

If you want to spend a little more money, I'd say consider a coil over set. Most people go for the Tein set, but you can also look into JICs or (if you have the $$) AWR makes a KILLER coilover kit. Also, I'd recommend the Progressive rear sway bar to help kill the understeer that plauges most FWD cars.

Best of luck! (first)

 

[2litrebeater]

thanks for the input. (thumb) not really seeing any coilovers that jump out at me. i want adjustable ride height because i like to slam it most of the time. my last car had F2s http://www.f2autolife.com/ and they were perfect, very good comfort and performance balance, but no updates from them in months for mazda applications. i may hold off on suspension and start with an exhaust or bracing or something.(shrug) the guy i was trading my accord backed out, so i have two cars now and no $$$

 

[magnumP5]

thanks for the input. (thumb) not really seeing any coilovers that jump out at me. i want adjustable ride height because i like to slam it most of the time. my last car had F2s http://www.f2autolife.com/ and they were perfect, very good comfort and performance balance, but no updates from them in months for mazda applications. i may hold off on suspension and start with an exhaust or bracing or something.(shrug) the guy i was trading my accord backed out, so i have two cars now and no $$$

What do you mean none jump at you? There's:

Tein (two models)
JIC (two models)
BC (two models)
K Sport (at least two models, but junk)
AWR (best and can be custom made)

So looking at the list above I find it hard to believe that you don't see any that "jump out at you" especially with upwards of 9 different types to choose from. This isn't counting coil sleeves either...

 

[2litrebeater]

bad wording on my part, i meant none seam to be offering exactly what i want, however my only research has been the search feature on here and reading reviews. i should probably do a little more looking.
tein doesnt appear to go low enough, and for some reason i thought k-sport and awr were the same(crazy) and i dont like sleeves.
i am overly cautious when it comes to buying parts, its a curse

 

[Mike R]

racing beat springs, tokico illuminas, AWR rear bar.... and the car is a beast and rides only slightly stiffer. Handles like a dream.

Lots of aftermarket, and the Protege/protege5 platform was used in the Speed World Challenge and didn't do too bad...So I doubt it is a poor platform....

 

[ProtoType5]

Buddy club coilovers have been shown to be #1 for price vs. performance and adjustability...

Slamming the car does not equal good handling...1 1/2" drop for the P5 is most desirable in perfomance....2" is purely for looks.

 

[Crazee D]

Shes fun in the twisties, but hold on for some torque steer

 

[nate0123]

torque steer? :wtf::bs:

 

[FlyinHawaiian]

Shes fun in the twisties, but hold on for some torque steer

You need torque first...(scratch)

 

[magnumP5]

I has torques