Mazda Protege 5 Track : Undercar bracing / Autoexe Parts / LSD Trans install!
Its been awhile! But the build has been continuing at a steady pace. I was pretty busy with planning Southrnfresh 9, and holidays and with the weather warming up it was just a lot going on. But the build has been going on at a steady pace, and I have a lot to catch up on.
Last post I installed the megan rear control arms. A few weeks later I received the carfield braces from Taiwan. This kit is a replica of the rare Autoexe bracing kit, it includes a reinforcement bracket for the rear subframe, rear subframe bracket, middle cross brace, and a front subframe brace to replace the OEM one.
Installation is pretty straight forward, but it does take a minute get the correct bolts in their proper place. They also have spacers to add to clear larger sway bars and the exhaust.
You have to remove the rear trailing arm, to drop the bolt through the hole. And then you can tighten the subframe braces in place.
Right side sits a little lower to clear the exhaust, so it takes a few more spacers then the left.
Center brace uses a rectangular head bolt to fit into the hole in the chassis and drop down and bolts in.
I ran into a issue with the front brace not fitting at all. But honestly the bracing didnt feel as sturdy as the oem brace, so I left it off.
Next it was time to install this rare piece from Autoexe that Mazmart had in stock. Its a Limited Edition Sports Steering Wheel for the NA Miata by Autoexe. Up until seeing at Mazmart I never knew it existed. Autoexe typically make OEM replacement wheels, and rarely do aftermarket style ones.
A few alan key bolts and its on..
Installed…
Another update was a new set of wheels. I ran across a deal of a set of 16×7 +38 Kosei K1s for sale from a good friend. They seem to be a little lighter then the FD wheels.
Every since I spun at Road Atlanta a year and half ago, I have had a issue with matching camber up front. I replaced my front subframe, knuckles and all parts. The last piece was the strut insert on my BC-DS coilovers.
Its impossible to see, but the old shock was slightly bent enough to cause issues with the driver side camber settings.
Next step I wanted to update the front end and get rid of the beat up bumper and front lip. So I got a Protege sedan front bumper with the optional and rare front lip off my friends Alex’s Protege. Without the front lip its a pretty boring and weird looking bumper. But with it it gives it a nice clean look. At first I was ok with leaving it on, but I am looking to get the OEM Protege 5 bumper and MSP lip resprayed and repaired, I think I prefer the aggressive bumper a little more.
So we were back out at Atlanta Motorsports Park with the new bracing and new shock. And I must say the car felt better then it had ever felt, we went a little aggressive with the alignment, so in the beginning I felt the car push a little more. But the car felt much more predictable and stable at all times. Even when I tried to flick and rotate, it would rotate when I asked it to, and stop when I needed it to. The video above is of me trying my best to keep up with a bolt-on S2k..
Like I said, I really dig the ES bumper with the lip. But I kind of miss the aggressive oem bumper and MSP lip.
After the event, I took a moment to take some new look photos with the DSLR at the storage unit.
The battle scar from Road Atlanta is starting to be annoying…
After much thought, I made the move to get rid of power steering. Every since I started to track the car, I had issues with the power steering belts walking it self off after hard sessions. Ive experimented with different crank pulleys, and it still would happen. The pump worked fine, but after a few sessions it would walk itself off a few teeth. Shown above is the OEM steering rack, and below is a modified and sealed steering rack.
This rack has been sealed, and internally lubricated so it wont seize up.
Finally it was time to get this Autoexe 4-2-1 header installed. The issue with this header on US cars is that it needs the mid pipe shortened to fit. So I had it instlled and had my friends at Heat Lightning modify the midpipe.
I had planned for them to completely redo the exhaust, but at the time I did not have the rest of the exhaust pieces so we will save the for a later date.
So originally I had planned to have the header cerakoted for heat. Well Alex was selling his brand new Autoexe header that had already been cerakoted and polished. I was able to sell my used Autoexe one and purchase a brand new one.
Alex bought this header about 5-6 years ago from Mazmart but never had it installed. The header was decided and built by Maxim Racing in Japan, and is the best header available for the FS engine. Me being a lover of all Autoexe parts I was excited to be able to run it on the P5.
Fit like a glove, replaced all the hardware with ARP bolts.
Much better view..
I was on a roll and installing all the parts that I had been sitting on. So I went ahead and started swapping the transmission. My transmission was fine, but it was old and pushing 305k miles. I got a Mazdaspeed Protege LSD transmission as an upgrade. The MSP transmissions have a big weakness with the metal rivets holding it together. So under harsh driving they would come apart. The solution to that issue was to weld the differential and reinforce the differential from coming apart. 
This one was taken apart in the past, and welded and ready for track duty.
I had originally planned to do this with the engine out, but with the steering rack out it made sense to just drop the trans and get it done. I tried my best to drain the fluid, but as soon as I started to get the trans out I dumped about 2 qts of fluid on the floor at 1am in the morning. But it was out..
The car gods looked out for me going in, because it went back up and in place with ease and minimal effort.
Done! Flet good to knock out everything. My initial test drive was a wake up call with not having power steering anymore. But once moving it wasnt nearly as bad as it was standing still. But it really cleaned up the engine bay alot…
