Most Effective GTSPEC part

[Tom03es]

Yeah, I put the 4 pt ladder brace in. The stock piece that it replaces is pretty heavy. The GT Spec piece is a feather in comparison.

 

[808MP5]

+1 on the 4pt harness being lighter...
i also did the trailing arms and they are just a wee bit lighter

 

[Outlawstar98]

ANd anyways, if we do something to add like, what? 1 lb? we are DD not race cars..... And that 1 lb of GT Spec parts help a ton then.

 

[Wagonbacker9]

not to mention that putting weight in at the bottom of the car, between the wheels is the IDEAL place to add it if you're going to.. and a lot of the GT spec parts fall in this category.

 

[FunkyBuddha]

The GTSpec parts are designed to reduce chassis flex. During normal street driving, your chassis flex will not be severe enough (or severe at all) for a GTSpec part to make any sort of difference. In fact, it adds weight. The best performance mod you can do are a few since you don't autocross and you don't drag. Who the hell drag races front wheel drive cars anyway?

1) Remove your spare tire, jack, and any tools associated with that.
2) Remove your carpets. Make sure to clean your bottom carpets once a month at least to prevent spots and permanent damage!
3) Remove your ski rack.
4) Remove anything else you're not using from your car.
The first two alone are worth 50, 60 pounds of weight. That's going to mean better acceleration and better fuel economy and will cost you nothing. The ski rack increases aerodynamic resistance (drag), especially at highway speeds, and removing it will save fuel. Fourth is just a further improvement on the first 2.

For street driving, though, anything that produces more torque is preferable since you're driving at 1500-3000 RPM at all times. Ride quality is also key since a Protege5 is a daily driver.

A cold air intake would be a find upgrade as long as you fit it with an air-bypass valve to prevent hydrolocking your engine. It's not fun. Ask me how I know. It adds almost no low-end power but it's the cheapest go-fast bit available for our cars. In general, focus on light weight, torque, and most of all, comfort. Our cars are fat pigs that could really be lightened significantly. Keep that in mind.

Uhmm..ya okay. The actual trunk cage had a pretty big effect on the car. And GT Spec parts are light! Stock 4 point brace = 14lbs. GT Spec ladder is quite a bit lighter. It didn't even register on the bathroom scale (analog). I could not balance the stock brace across my index finger, while the GTspec one...I could.

 

[zoompastu]

well I do drive my car hard and what should be the first part. I have a msp front strut brace so should I do the rear strut brace or the ladder bar

 

[i12drivemyMP5]

Thread revival...............If you have a rr stb & a fat rr sway & AWR trailing links, how much difference could the GTSpec hatch cage make?

 

[Dpwhitehead1]

a lot!... those pieces each in themselves help.

 

[Mazdaspeed2oo35]

I have all GTspec Stuff installed on my Protege and all i can say they are worth the money, felt the difference right of way I love it. sad GTspec ain't making more goodies for our Protege's !!!! Little by little, mod by mod your going to feel the difference with time. anything you modify to the car will actually make it better if you know what your adding and doing !!!!