Lewis7789's 2003 Protege5 build thread

[HKPRO5]

I guess its time to un-sub........... =)

jk jk

Any updates?

 

[Lewis7789]

Phen, yeah. I used to get so bent out of shape in the last build. But I promise this one will be different. You can post in here so you can share with anyone already subbed or in the future when people ask about something I can say"Well here's what Phen said about that.". This thread is almost like an archive for me.

 

[THE Phen]

Will keep that in mind. I was more or less going to 2nd what Marc said regarding the brakes. Proportioning valve wouldn't be a bad idea, but something that could be super dangerous to someone who isn't sure of what they are doing, but the same could be said about any part that has adjustment on a car. With this car, once you dial in what you are comfortable with, it's going to be a "set and forget" type part.

 

[Dpwhitehead1]

swap the rear calipers right for left and the cable fits fine.. worst case ask MP5T as he has his rear rakes setup with cable before going with all the Ksport stuff

interesting. I'll have to check that out for sure.

 

[Shadow102]

swap the rear calipers right for left and the cable fits fine.. worst case ask MP5T as he has his rear rakes setup with cable before going with all the Ksport stuff

correctly me if i am wrong which i may be since i am going from memory but swaping the calipers from side to side puts the bleeder at the bottom of the caliper...huge no no as you will never get the air bled from them

 

[Dpwhitehead1]

correctly me if i am wrong which i may be since i am going from memory but swaping the calipers from side to side puts the bleeder at the bottom of the caliper...huge no no as you will never get the air bled from them

that was my initial thought.

 

[Joost27]

you could simply just bleed them with some form of vacuum bleeding setup where it will suck the air out and in its place put fluid in. or simply tap the caliper for another bleeder on the new top location. or seriously i don't see why it is so hard to figure out a way to make the ebrake work with the calipers on correct sides. The cables are just glorified bicycle brake cables. Either use some really heavy duty bicycle brake cables and cut to length and route them how you want, or modify the protege or MS6 cables, or come up with a hydraulic setup like mentioned above, OR hire a friend to always ride with u and bring wheel chocks with u and have them put them behind/or in front of wheels as needed whenever u park lol. I think some very basic thinking outside the box is needed to come up with a very easy and cheap solution to this problem

 

[Lewis7789]

Or simple Russel speed bleeders. Phen, good call on the proportioning valve. I'm sure if I ask politely Bill would help me out with it if/when I go that route.

More research to be had! My favorite! Muahaha

 

[THE Phen]

Oh no doubt man. Swapping brake kits without doing something about the proportions is a good way to **** up braking performance.

 

[thejeans]

^ thats the truth

 

[hat1018]

A question. With more weight in the front, wouldn't the rear be more prone to lock-up and not the front? Another question. Rotational mass= kinetic energy? Just spit-ballin' to see what sticks.

 

[thejeans]

this article is def. worth a read for anyone looking into the braking "upgrades"

http://stoptech.com/technical-suppo...ias-and-performance-why-brake-balance-matters

 

[THE Phen]

A question. With more weight in the front, wouldn't the rear be more prone to lock-up and not the front? Another question. Rotational mass= kinetic energy? Just spit-ballin' to see what sticks.

Yep, that's why when trucks first got ABS, they had ABS on the rear only.

More rotational mass can take away from total kinetic energy because it takes more work to rotate it. A good example why mountain bikes have disc brakes, but road bikes still use V-pull's.

 

[Lewis7789]

Well, I think the mountain bikes would be more because of a weight issue. And thanks for the link, MonkeyAss! I'll read it when I get home.

 

[THE Phen]

And rotational mass. There is a very noticable difference between keeping a bike moving at speed with disks and with rim brakes.

 

[Lewis7789]

True about rotational mass. But I mean, we're still talking ounces with mountain bikes. I doubt anyone could feel that.

Come on, Phen. Let's start fighting. haha

 

[THE Phen]

Heh... Oh, but you can. Maintaining speed is noticably different. One time at Ray's I swapped between two rental bikes. One with disc and one with out. Believe it or not, it is a decent difference, even if it is a 380 gram difference. When stationary and lifting the bike, you won't notice, but get that disc spinning and you'll be able to tell quickly.


Or, you could think about it proportionally. 380 grams (x2) on a 20 lb bike vs. an extra 2-3 lbs x4 on a 2700 lb car...

But... enough about 2 wheels.

 

[Lewis7789]

While the brake discussion cools down (get it?) we can also discuss the polyurethane vs higher durometer rubber debate. Ivan let me borrow a book about suspension geometry and they said rubber is molded to the bushings and part (control arm, for example) and will flex while remaining connected. Whereas poly slides against the surfaces creating friction and require lube (that will wash/wear off). Interesting stuff...

ps- can you tell I'm bored at my desk and not out in the shop?

 

[THE Phen]

Truth. Poly bushings get noisy as hell when they go dry. Remember my rear sway bar on the P5? Squeaked like a mofo after a rain storm.

 

[Lewis7789]

I like what you said about the MSP brakes to Larry. Designed for the 3rd gen Protege. I'm leaning towards that route, especially since there are more pad/rotor options available and it's a direct bolt in affair. I just wonder with the extra weight of the motor and turbo up front it isn't a bad idea to upgrade components.