:idea:bee04M3S said:sway bars go underneath the car
strut bars connect the strut mounts (front is in the engine bar, rear is normally in the trunk)
Right on!!! One of the flaws of the twin-trapezoidal link (TTL) rear suspension (Protegé/P5) is the toe-in-toe-out is controled by the body-roll, and the toe always kicks in with some delay during a quick left/right transition, because the car body leans with some delay. This flaw is completely disappeared with the Mazda3's multilink trailing arm. I'm happy that someone finally points it out.As for the sway bars, the car seems to do fairly well in normal driving but leans quite a bit when the turn becomes sharp. It definitely doesn't feel floaty nor does it undulate when doing quick left/right transitions. So even though it leans, the body motion is controlled.
I am still trying to decide if it needs getting rid off. So far, it just feels like I have to tilt my head a lot to compensate, but the car handles well. Once I put some mileage on this car and start driving some of my favorite twisty roads, I'll decide then.bee04M3S said:so lee, what do you think would be the best solution to get rid of the body roll?
uh why would a bigger strut bar be better for handling... the whole point to a strut bar is to rigidly tie the shock towers together, it doesnt matter how this is done as long as its rigid. The P5, MP3 and Mazdaspeed all had strut bars because the old chassis was at its max due to it not being originally designed for 16 and 17" wheels and sticky rubber. I doubt that the Mz3 would benefit much (if at all) from a strut bar (besides the fact it doesnt look like one would fit) as the chassis is far stiffer than the outgoing chassis and was designed with 17"+ wheels in mind.bluong1 said:Yes, that's the strut bar (the strut towers are the cylinders connected by the bar, the strut tower houses the spring and damper). Strut bar enhances the rigidity of the chassis. The bigger is the bar, the better is the handling.
sorry myself, i was only arguing the statement of "the bigger the bar the better the handling"... i had a little more in them typing fingersbluong1 said:Sorry! I was not arguing how much the strut bar would be beneficial for the Mazda3.