Perusing ClubProtege.com a few weeks ago I read up on the Miata rear big brake upgrade and decided to do it so I have those parts arriving as we speak, but I wanted a similarly easy upgrade for the fronts. There is a thread over there posted by a New Zealander using the front steering knuckles from a E-spec 323F V6 and Subaru Legacy calipers. The problem is that the 323F is a Europe only model and even there it is not common and the cost of getting them here would be prohibitive for most North American owners of the BG chassis and its variants.
So I’ve been looking at stuff trying to figure out a way that this could be done without having to import parts and I think I’ve got it.
I was looking at the 99-05 Protégé Collision guide and I noticed that the basic arrangement of the spindle in the sketch is the same as the MX-3 but with larger spacing of the caliper mounting tabs. So I did some searching.
Here is the 89' 626/MX6/Probe front caliper on the left and the 99’ Protégé caliper on the right...
![Image](http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/ff84/wytbishop/88-92626-mx6-probeCaliper.jpg)
![Image](http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/ff84/wytbishop/99ProtegeCaliper.jpg)
All we're looking at is the spacing of the mounting bracket mounting bolts. The 626 (GD chassis) caliper bracket is used to mount the Subaru caliper on the BA V6 knuckle so I wanted to see if the Protege seems to have the same spacing and it seems close. So that tells me that the 99' Protege knuckle will probably have the correct spacing to allow the Subaru caliper to bolt up just like the BA V6 knuckle does.
You can also see that the 89-94' Subaru 2 pot caliper looks like it fits in the 88-92' GD Mazda bracket. We already know this but I wanted to illustrate...
![Image](http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/ff84/wytbishop/94SubaruLegacyGTCaliper-1.jpg)
Next I was concerned about the hub. The Protege has 5 bolt hubs so would the BG/EC 4 bolt hubs fit. so I checked this...
![Image](http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/ff84/wytbishop/BearingDimensions.jpg)
The 99' Protege (and about 2 dozen others) use the same wheel bearing as the MX-3. So if you could find a set of 99'-03' Protege steering knuckles, press out the 5 bolt hubs, press in the 4 bolt MX-3 hubs install a 270mm Miata front rotor and a 89-94' Subaru Legacy GT 2 piston caliper and mounting bracket (with a couple of millimeters of spacers most likely) from a 88-92' GD chassis it will bolt right on to the BG and EC chassis.
The last remaining issue that may be a stopper is the steering arm. The knuckles look very similar, but it remains to be seen I guess if the steering arm will work with the MX-3...hard to tell for sure from the diagrams...Protege on the left, MX-3 on the right...
![Image](http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/ff84/wytbishop/99-03ProtegeKnuckleDiagram.jpg)
![Image](http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/ff84/wytbishop/MX-3KnuckleDiagram.jpg)
I think. All of this still has to be confirmed. So if anyone out there has a 99-03 1.8L Protege I need to know the center to center distance on the front caliper mount bolts.
This won't be an inexpensive upgrade as the protege knuckles will not be readily available at wreckers, but it will be very easy and all factory parts.
What do you think?