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Login to post Forums » Grassroots Motorsports » Any hints on FWD autox setup?

June 19, 2009 5:33 p.m. Spinout007 New Reader

Anyone have an tips on setting up a 96 protege for autoX? Trying to keep the budget as low as possible, not worried about class' right now just want to go as fast as possible. I love corners. So Junkyard parts are a plus, swapabilty between generations on struts, springs etc?

BTW I think this car is the red headed step child of the mazda world there doesn't seem to be a whole lot in the way of upgrades for this generation protege. Guess it's time to break out the welder and cutting torch.
June 19, 2009 6:41 p.m. cxhb Reader

huge rear sway bar
June 19, 2009 6:48 p.m. maroon92 SuperDork

add lightness...its the cheapest and most effective way to go faster...until the law of diminishing returns starts to rear it's ugly head.
June 19, 2009 7:52 p.m. 93celicaGT2 Dork

Is this the BG chassis with the BP motor?
June 19, 2009 7:54 p.m. mw Reader

cxhb wrote:

huge rear sway bar

+1
June 19, 2009 8:13 p.m. pinchvalve SuperDork

Sticky tires, sticky tires, sticky tires, huge rear sway bar, sticky tires.
June 19, 2009 9:01 p.m. Per Schroeder Technical Editor/Advertising Director

I think the Ford ZX2 SR struts are a good, cheap upgrade?
June 19, 2009 9:57 p.m. Duke Dork

pinchvalve wrote:

Sticky tires, sticky tires, negative front camber, huge rear sway bar, sticky tires.

Slight typo you had there...
June 19, 2009 10:02 p.m. cxhb Reader

Left foot braking also makes a FWD car understeer less if done properly, helps rotation.
June 19, 2009 10:06 p.m. DILYSI Dave SuperDork

Car - Loose is fast.
You - Seat time is way more important than any part you can buy.
June 19, 2009 11:27 p.m. Spinout007 New Reader

93celicaGT2 wrote:

Is this the BG chassis with the BP motor?

BHA chassis with a bp motor, at least I think it's a bp motor, lx twin cam, looks like a miata engine with a funky intake, and a distributor instead of a DIS.

In the process of adding lightness. Big rear bar, and negative front camber, gonna have to look into. left foot braking I will have to find somewhere to practice that one.
June 19, 2009 11:53 p.m. friedgreencorrado HalfDork

Soft in the front, stiff in the back. The cars had a couple of SCCA Showroom Stock National Championship wins, so they must not handle too badly.. Don't know why they didn't catch on.
June 20, 2009 1:17 a.m. scubaru New Reader

instead of the huge sway bar in the rear, id up the rates...a lot.
June 20, 2009 7:09 a.m. wbjones New Reader

Spinout007 wrote:

93celicaGT2 wrote:

Is this the BG chassis with the BP motor?

BHA chassis with a bp motor, at least I think it's a bp motor, lx twin cam, looks like a miata engine with a funky intake, and a distributor instead of a DIS.

In the process of adding lightness. Big rear bar, and negative front camber, gonna have to look into. left foot braking I will have to find somewhere to practice that one.

the easiest way is to get hold of an automatic and use only your left foot for braking for several days... the touch/feel will become second nature
June 20, 2009 9:23 a.m. Spinout007 New Reader

the easiest way is to get hold of an automatic and use only your left foot for braking for several days... the touch/feel will become second nature

Automatic??? what's that? oh yeah that thing my mom drives.....hmm wonder if I can borrow it, I feel like an idiot every time I get in it to take her somewhere, my left foot goes hunting for the clutch pedal to start the car.
June 20, 2009 12:52 p.m. CivicSiRacer Reader

I would pick a class 1st and then choose the parts. Stock would be the cheapest class as you can be competitive in just about anything. The higher the class the more mods and more expensive.

Stay in stock, get some Koni Yellow Sports and some DOT R tires and you are done.
June 20, 2009 4:42 p.m. wbjones New Reader

In reply to CivicSiRacer: stock is cheeper only up front... those DOT R tires are a recurring expense ... read that as expensive.... do the mods for street touring .... a one time money outlay, and your tires are ~ 1/2 the cost of R-comps, you can drive them to the auto-x, they work in the rain, last 2 - 3 - 4 times as long... the mods can be pricey but then you are through.
June 24, 2009 10:52 a.m. CivicSiRacer Reader

Tires only last as much as you use them and take care of them. My 1st set of R tires lasted 2 years. I had the Yokohama A032Rs. Maybe some of the newer Hoosiers and Kumhos do not. I haven't purchased R tires since 2002.

But remember to have fun 1st :)
June 24, 2009 11:10 a.m. Buzz Killington Reader

yep, it's a new ballgame now w/ r-comps. a single-driver car can maybe get a season out of a set of A6s, even on light cars. half a season if you have a co-driver.

which trim level of the Protege is it? if it's an ES, you got the 1.8L twin-cam BP. if it's an LX, you likely have the base 1.5L...in which case i'm sorry. mazda switched the trim nomenclature around after the first gen (i.e., after '94); ES (rather than LX) became the high-level trim.

you're right; there isn't a ton of stuff out there specifically for the 2nd gen. but most of the suspension stuff is interchangeable or close between all three generations...one guy is running a first-gen car in FSP w/ the engine and suspension from his former FSP car, a Protege5. the suspension stuff should fit w/ only minor modifications. Most similar-year Escort bits should fit as well.

ask around on the protege boards (try mazdas247.com or protegeclub.com); there are people who can answer a lot of questions.

personally, i think ST or SP are better spots than Stock for the Protege, but if you're just starting out it doesn't matter.
June 24, 2009 11:15 a.m. cghstang New Reader

In reply to Buzz Killington:

clubprotege.com will probably work better than protegeclub.com
June 24, 2009 11:27 a.m. jstein77 HalfDork

CivicSiRacer wrote:

I would pick a class 1st and then choose the parts. Stock would be the cheapest class as you can be competitive in just about anything. The higher the class the more mods and more expensive.

Stay in stock, get some Koni Yellow Sports and some DOT R tires and you are done.

Well, almost done. Don't think Koni Yellows are available for that car, but Tokico Blues are. Need as much negative camber as you can get, even if you have to go to crash bolts to get it. A little bit of toe out, about 1/8" on both front and rear, helps a bunch. If it has the same rear suspension setup as my Escort GT did, rear toe should be easily adjustable. My Escort had a bunch of body lean; a bigger front sway bar would also help.
June 24, 2009 11:34 a.m. Buzz Killington Reader

cghstang wrote:

In reply to Buzz Killington:

clubprotege.com will probably work better than protegeclub.com

d'oh...you're right. shows you how long it's been since i had my last protege.
June 24, 2009 5:51 p.m. iceracer Reader

On my ZX2/SR which has the Eiback Pro Kit springs and the especially calibrated Tokico struts, 22 mm rear bar. 2.5 degrees negative camber and all the caster I can get. Toe is zero front and rear. I have tried a little toe front, couldn'y see a difference. The car has very little lean and I can steer it with the throttle in certain corners. Of course the usual FWD thing, power on" understeer,power off'oversteer. A little known fact: The top strut mount can be turned so that the little pointer is pointed at the firewall. This increases caster. Don't know if this works on the Mazda.
June 24, 2009 9:47 p.m. gamby SuperDork

Koni Yellows

Good rubber

Big rear sway

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