The Protege5 Build Up Thread

[MrH]

I might throw on the exhaust today. Anyone have an idea how long it should take?

Any other opinions on the exhaust?  Its supposed to sound great, the tip is just larger than I'd like. I have a few other maintaince things to take care of today. I need to put in a new battery, refill the windshield wiper fluid, and there's a rattle in the engine bay that's getting progressively worse. Its really loud at 3.5k rpm and can be heard at 1.5k and 4.5k rpm sometimes too. Anyone have any ideas?

Also, I have a tire bulge on the sidewall. I'm guessing that's something pretty urgent that should be taken care of?

[J86]

loose heat shield that rattles at certain rpm?  Ive had that happend before.

[Cookie Monster]

You should replace that tire as soon as possible, or else it can get bigger and asplode and damage your rim.

[r0tor]

exhaust installs can vary in length... my friends 240sx took about an hour while my car took about 3 hours.  The difference is the rubber exhaust hangers on my car were a complete b&tch and I spent a good half hour on each prying like crazy.

[The Pirate]

Yeah, you should definitely replace that tire ASAP.  The front tire on mine developed a bubble 4 days before I bought it.  The previous owner replaced the two fronts, so when I got the car, the front tires had less than 100 miles on them. 

[Secret Chimp]

exhaust installs can vary in length... my friends 240sx took about an hour while my car took about 3 hours.  The difference is the rubber exhaust hangers on my car were a complete b&tch and I spent a good half hour on each prying like crazy.

You can has silicone spray. I doused my hangers with that stuff and they slid right off if I could get the old thumb-pry grip on them.

[r0tor]

That was 3 hrs using a half can of silicone spray!!  ugh...

[Eye of the Tiger]

I might throw on the exhaust today. Anyone have an idea how long it should take?

Any other opinions on the exhaust?  Its supposed to sound great, the tip is just larger than I'd like. I have a few other maintaince things to take care of today. I need to put in a new battery, refill the windshield wiper fluid, and there's a rattle in the engine bay that's getting progressively worse. Its really loud at 3.5k rpm and can be heard at 1.5k and 4.5k rpm sometimes too. Anyone have any ideas?

Also, I have a tire bulge on the sidewall. I'm guessing that's something pretty urgent that should be taken care of?

There is a good change that you may the souce of that rattle while installing the exhaust.

[MrH]

Well, the rattle mysteriously went away....

Anyways, the other night.  Two new front tires, and new battery later, the Protege5 is back in action.  The parents picked up the bill too.  Score.

Anyways, I thought there'd be a delay installing this stuff.  I may have torn a ligament in my knee last night though, so chances are I'll be here this weekend with some free time (I'm probably out for the season for Ultimate Frisbee).  Exhaust will probably go on this weekend.  Perhaps a few other things too.

[MrH]

Well, fuck.

Tried to install a short throw shifter yesterday.  Basically, the ball seat which helps seat where the ball (which is the fulcrum) of the shifter sits, is too tall to put it all back together.  I can't figure out for the life of me why either.  It's not hitting the heat shielding underneath my car.  I thought that was the problem, and tried unscrewing it, and ripped the head of the screw right off.

I'm fucked.  I need to drive it tonight too.

[the Teuton]

I may have torn a ligament in my knee last night though, so chances are I'll be here this weekend with some free time (I'm probably out for the season for Ultimate Frisbee).  Exhaust will probably go on this weekend.  Perhaps a few other things too.

Played Pitt again?   

[The Pirate]

Well, fuck.

Tried to install a short throw shifter yesterday.  Basically, the ball seat which helps seat where the ball (which is the fulcrum) of the shifter sits, is too tall to put it all back together.  I can't figure out for the life of me why either.  It's not hitting the heat shielding underneath my car.  I thought that was the problem, and tried unscrewing it, and ripped the head of the screw right off.

I'm fucked.  I need to drive it tonight too.

I'm a little confused.  You messed up the fastener that holds the heat shield on?  If so, who cares?  Just take the heat shield off.  And could you put the stock shifter back on?

[MrH]

I'm a little confused.  You messed up the fastener that holds the heat shield on?  If so, who cares?  Just take the heat shield off.  And could you put the stock shifter back on?

I will be taking the heat shield off when I put the exhaust on.  Hopefully it doesn't rattle in the mean time.  Didn't hear anything on my 20 minute drive tonight.

Turns out I reversed the two ball seats when putting the shifter back in, making it about a 1/2" too tall.  I got it all together, and got the bushings on too.

The throw is really short now.  It's very mechanical.  Sounds exactly like a bolt action rifle everytime I shift.  Takes quite a bit of effort, but definitely a big improvement.  I can shift so much faster now.

I didn't take pictures through the whole thing.  It was just too frustrating.

[The Pirate]

I will be taking the heat shield off when I put the exhaust on.  Hopefully it doesn't rattle in the mean time.  Didn't hear anything on my 20 minute drive tonight.

Turns out I reversed the two ball seats when putting the shifter back in, making it about a 1/2" too tall.  I got it all together, and got the bushings on too.

The throw is really short now.  It's very mechanical.  Sounds exactly like a bolt action rifle everytime I shift.  Takes quite a bit of effort, but definitely a big improvement.  I can shift so much faster now.

I didn't take pictures through the whole thing.  It was just too frustrating.

Damn, that was the mod I was really interested in seeing!! 

Hehehe, I find that when something doesn't work as it should, it's usually some stupid little detail that I made a mistake on.  I'm glad to see I'm not alone in that area. 

Still, once you realized your mistake, how was the install?  That's something I still might consider doing.  Glad to see you figured it out.

[MrH]

Damn, that was the mod I was really interested in seeing!! 

Hehehe, I find that when something doesn't work as it should, it's usually some stupid little detail that I made a mistake on.  I'm glad to see I'm not alone in that area. 

Still, once you realized your mistake, how was the install?  That's something I still might consider doing.  Glad to see you figured it out.

Probably 45 minutes to an hour and 20 minutes or so.  Pretty easy if you don't fuck it up.  If you're ever in the area, you're welcome to drive it and give it a shot.

[MrH]

http://www.mazdas247.com/forum/showthread.php?t=123703813

So, so, sooooo tempting.  I could get $250 for my ECU alone, so that would offset the cost a bit.

[CALL_911]

http://www.mazdas247.com/forum/showthread.php?t=123703813

So, so, sooooo tempting.  I could get $250 for my ECU alone, so that would offset the cost a bit.

Holy shit.

DO IT!

[Cookie Monster]

How will the engine hold up under the b00st?

Looks nice, I'd go for it! How much HP can you expect? 180?

[MrH]

170 stock at the crank.  I can probably squeeze a few more out pretty easily.  I don't think I'll be running anything higher than stock boost though.  7 lbs of boost is about all it can take.  I could play with air/fuel ratios and timing and run probably up to 10 psi, but then I'd be flirting with joining the Zoom Zoom Boom club.  I'd just keep it there at 170-180 hp.  That's still a big increase for me.

[CALL_911]

"Zoom Zoom Boom Club"

That's creative.

So there's a club?

[Cookie Monster]

Did you install the exhaust? How much could you sell that for? I'd keep the ECU and sell the exhaust.

[the Teuton]

If you get that, I will admit defeat immediately unless I, too, could sell my other engine and save up $800 for a turbo kit.  MrH, you might just win the war yet.

[Cookie Monster]

If you get that, I will admit defeat immediately unless I, too, could sell my other engine and save up $800 for a turbo kit.  MrH, you might just win the war yet.

Even without the terbow kit he'd kick your ass.

[The Pirate]

If you get that, I will admit defeat immediately unless I, too, could sell my other engine and save up $800 for a turbo kit.  MrH, you might just win the war yet.

He's already won the war.  The P5 with his suspension goodies should absolutely destroy an automatic 1.8L AWD car on the track.  These cars aren't super fast in a straight line, but it doesn't matter all that much, because you don't need to slow down for the corners. 

I know you love your car, but you're going to be staring Proteg? tail lights.

[Cookie Monster]

He's already won the war.  The P5 with his suspension goodies should absolutely destroy an automatic 1.8L AWD car on the track.  These cars aren't super fast in a straight line, but it doesn't matter all that much, because you don't need to slow down for the corners. 

I know you love your car, but you're going to be staring Proteg? tail lights.

Ownt.

MrH, any way of keeping that ECU and getting the turbo? No offense but if I were you I would've skipped out on the leather and would've just gotten the turbo and some other stuff.

[CALL_911]

He's already won the war.  The P5 with his suspension goodies should absolutely destroy an automatic 1.8L AWD car on the track.  These cars aren't super fast in a straight line, but it doesn't matter all that much, because you don't need to slow down for the corners. 

I know you love your car, but you're going to be staring Proteg? tail lights.

Yeah, sorry teuton. The P5 is faster and it handles better.

[the Teuton]

Even without the terbow kit he'd kick your ass.

I'm going to go with a resounding 'no' on that one, but this isn't a debate thread at the moment.  There are more appropriate places to start that.

[MrH]

Teuton, you act like you have a shot to begin with. 

As for getting rid of the exhaust and keeping the ECU, that's pointless.  The link I posted includes the Mazdaspeed ECU, which is setup for running low boost turbo's (though not all that efficiently honestly).  My current ECU, one from a Mazda MP3 Protege, is good for running N/A, but the timing is too advanced to run with a turbo.

The leather was definitely a good call.  I'm still loving it.  So do the ladies. 

And yes, there's a Zoom Zoom Boom club, with waaaaay too many members.

This guy wants $165 for shipping, which seems ridiculous to me.  I told him if it's still around when my tax return comes in, I'll consider.

[Cookie Monster]

Teuton, you act like you have a shot to begin with. 

As for getting rid of the exhaust and keeping the ECU, that's pointless.  The link I posted includes the Mazdaspeed ECU, which is setup for running low boost turbo's (though not all that efficiently honestly).  My current ECU, one from a Mazda MP3 Protege, is good for running N/A, but the timing is too advanced to run with a turbo.

The leather was definitely a good call.  I'm still loving it.  So do the ladies. 

And yes, there's a Zoom Zoom Boom club, with waaaaay too many members.

This guy wants $165 for shipping, which seems ridiculous to me.  I told him if it's still around when my tax return comes in, I'll consider.

Oh. In that case it's different.
Go with the terbow!!!

[Cookie Monster]

I'm going to go with a resounding 'no' on that one, but this isn't a debate thread at the moment.  There are more appropriate places to start that.

You think your car is a lot faster than it actually is.