FSP 1st Gen Protege Project

[cojsl]

Are those Schroth Rally belts? How did you attach them on the inboard sides? There's a set for sale here for a good price, but I'm not sure if they can be attached in a way that leaves the stock belts in place. It looks like you've removed your stock belts.

[XelderX]

UPS came by this morning. Header and AWR custom endlinks. The rest of the exhaust sans the backordered 2.5" flex pipe should already be waiting at the garage.

[FE3-323]

wth are those endlinks for?? are you running bj struts?

[XelderX]

wth are those endlinks for?? are you running bj struts?

Yea. The struts are AWR coilover housings with Koni single adj. inserts for the BJ chassis. The endlinks are also from AWR, but made for the rear of a Mazda3. I just had AWR put in a longer center section to reach from the BG front swaybar to the tab on the coilovers. I'm also using the ST swaybar that mounts under the front subframe. The ST bar has these really convoluted endlinks that connect the ST bar to the control arms and then connect to the stock front swaybar with about 8 bushings dispersed in the middle of all that. I didn't like that setup as there are more chances of binding in the whole mechanism. Now my stock swaybar attaches to the struts and the ST bar attaches to the control arms. They won't interfere with each other and will still do their job.

I'll be reattaching the ST bar tomorrow and I'll get a good picture so you can see how everything lines up.

[XelderX]

Here is the endlink setup that I hope will work. The original design was for a single endlink that went through the control arm connecting it to the stock sway above and the ST sway below. With the BJ struts I was able to separate the two swaybars so they can operate independently.

[XelderX]

Are those Schroth Rally belts? How did you attach them on the inboard sides? There's a set for sale here for a good price, but I'm not sure if they can be attached in a way that leaves the stock belts in place. It looks like you've removed your stock belts.

I removed my stock belts to attach them on the inboard side, but it can probably be done without having to remove anything.

[Turpro]

When you're all done and running smooth can you make a parts list? It's coming out so nice.

[XelderX]

When you're all done and running smooth can you make a parts list? It's coming out so nice.

Yea...that shouldn't be a problem.

[Turpro]

Yea...that shouldn't be a problem.

[Silentbob343]

Yea...that shouldn't be a problem.

Those AWR struts bolt up to the BG knuckles, but what did you have to do to the tabs on the rear struts?

[XelderX]

Those AWR struts bolt up to the BG knuckles, but what did you have to do to the tabs on the rear struts?

The fronts require a few small washers to take up the space since the BG knuckle is skinnier there than the BJ. On the rears I just slotted the holes a little to get the extra 10mm or so between the bolts. There is enough metal around the bolt holes on the struts to still be strong enough with them slotted.

[Silentbob343]

The fronts require a few small washers to take up the space since the BG knuckle is skinnier there than the BJ. On the rears I just slotted the holes a little to get the extra 10mm or so between the bolts. There is enough metal around the bolt holes on the struts to still be strong enough with them slotted.

Interesting. So no washers on the back, just slotting the holes to get the correct distance?

Also, looking at the picture it seems the sway bar endlink is attached to the strut instead of the LCA. Does this method of mounting impact the effectiveness of the sway bar? Is that how the factory sway mounts in the BJ chassis?

[XelderX]

Interesting. So no washers on the back, just slotting the holes to get the correct distance?

Also, looking at the picture it seems the sway bar endlink is attached to the strut instead of the LCA. Does this method of mounting impact the effectiveness of the sway bar? Is that how the factory sway mounts in the BJ chassis?

Sorry...there were washers needed in the back as well. It would seem that attaching the swaybar directly to the strut should increase it's effectiveness. The strut moves a lot more vertically than the control arm relative to where the endlinks mount. That would put more force on the swaybar. In the BJ chassis both front and rear swaybar endlinks attach to the struts. On the BG chassis though the rear swaybar doesn't work correctly to link it to the strut.

[Silentbob343]

Sorry...there were washers needed in the back as well. It would seem that attaching the swaybar directly to the strut should increase it's effectiveness. The strut moves a lot more vertically than the control arm relative to where the endlinks mount. That would put more force on the swaybar. In the BJ chassis both front and rear swaybar endlinks attach to the struts. On the BG chassis though the rear swaybar doesn't work correctly to link it to the strut.

Yeah I figured the rear swaybar wouldn't work in that configuration on the BG chassis.

[cojsl]

I removed my stock belts to attach them on the inboard side, but it can probably be done without having to remove anything.

Thanks!