The Protege5 Build Up Thread

[MrH]

Well, something tells me the stock leather for Protege5's aren't exactly the nicest of leathers out there.

These are done by Katzkin, which I felt was pretty nice when I looked at them before (my mother was considering a Mazda 3 and getting leather by Katzkin).  I guess we'll see when I see them in person.

[MrH]

Alright, $325 plus my drivers seat (so he has something to sit on to drive the car back to his place) for full leather seats.

Thoughts anyone?  Anymore opinions on red/black seats?

I love the RX-8 seats, but not sure if it'll look ridiculous on my car or not.

[Raghavan]

Alright, $325 plus my drivers seat (so he has something to sit on to drive the car back to his place) for full leather seats.

Thoughts anyone?  Anymore opinions on red/black seats?

I love the RX-8 seats, but not sure if it'll look ridiculous on my car or not.

I think RX-8 seats would look awesome.
And are you talking about just the front seats?
I wouldn't do that if I were you. What a bout the back seat? And door inserts?
BTW, sorry if I missed this but what color are they? I think red/black seats would look good.

[MrH]

Check page one. 

I have pictures of them on there.  Black leather seats with red inserts.  Front and back.  No door inserts (though I think this guy has custom ones in his car that match his seats really well).

I've always wanted leather seats, so here's my chance.  I'll be moved back into my apartment by then, so if I decide to go through, he'll swing by our garage area, and we can swap them out there at school.

[r0tor]

get them

[MrH]

get them

We can have matching interiors.  It'll be cute. 

[BimmerM3]

I say go for it if you have plenty of money. If not, save the cash for some real mods.

[The Pirate]

I'd do it.  I'd love leather in my Protege, so if you bail, let me know. 

[MrH]

I think I'll be going through with it.

And the Protege and Protege5 have different back seats. 

[The Pirate]

I think I'll be going through with it.

And the Protege and Protege5 have different back seats. 

Oh, I could jerry rig something up.  And I don't use the backseat in my car all that often.

[Raghavan]

The seats look nice but I think you should spend that $325 on some real mods.

[MrH]

Well, I'm going to go through with it if the seats all check out and seems to be in good shape.  The guy will be stopping by Tuesday night at my school, and we're going to do the swap there.  I'll see if I can take a few pictures of this guy's car too (a boosted Protege5.  A variety when the stock rods are made of jello).

I'll be sure to post pictures.  I'll post some pictures of the car in its current state tomorrow.  I'm going to go get all the salt off it and clean out the interior.  You guys can see the MP5 in all its glory (scratched bumper and wheels and all).

I also got the cargo cover I ordered in the mail today.  Set me back $40, but it was definitely worth it.  Looks much cleaner, and not everything in my car is visible.  I'll put some pictures of it up tomorrow too.

[MrH]

Hopefully pictures tomorrow.  Got tied up with other things today.

In other news, I bought a new shift knob today.

  Got it pretty cheap, and it's gorgeous.  A huge order will be going through in about 2 weeks or so.

[Raghavan]

That's a nice looking shift knob.

[MrH]

I got the leather seats.  Better than I ever expected.  Don't get nearly as cold as I expected either.

Shift knob was put on.  It weighs a ton, and makes the shifting action so much better.

I'll be purchasing more stuff shortly.  Possibly a short throw kit this week, and maybe springs too.  Trying to work on getting a nice set of coil overs, but will probably end up too pricey.  Sorry for the lack of pics.  I'll work on it tomorrow. 

Oil change, transaxle oil change, radiator flush, and plugs all happening this week too.

[The Pirate]

I got the leather seats.  Better than I ever expected.  Don't get nearly as cold as I expected either.

Shift knob was put on.  It weighs a ton, and makes the shifting action so much better.

I'll be purchasing more stuff shortly.  Possibly a short throw kit this week, and maybe springs too.  Trying to work on getting a nice set of coil overs, but will probably end up too pricey.  Sorry for the lack of pics.  I'll work on it tomorrow. 

Oil change, transaxle oil change, radiator flush, and plugs all happening this week too.

Cool, man.  Post up some pics.  I did all that stuff to my car as soon as I bought it (plugs, tranny, cooling system, etc.), so I'm good for a while. 

What shift know did you get?  If it makes that big of a difference in shifting, I'm definitely interested.

[MrH]

There's some pictures so far.  The shift knob does make a huge difference.  It's a good 10 times the weight of the stock one, so shifting requires very little effort.  It just falls into place.  Feels much much better.  Still kind of sloppy with long throw though.  The short throw kit will fix that.

The seats don't look nearly as obnoxious in person.  Sorry for the bad pictures, but it's dark before I leave for work, and when I get home.  The Protege got a good oil change today, and some new windshield wiper blades.  Up next includes transaxle oil replacement, radiator flush, and new plugs.  I'll be ordering some stuff this week too.  Crosswire and Felix Legion FTW for the helping out.

Click on the pictures for higher resolution.

[BimmerM3]

Your car looks dirty. The mods look good though.

[The Pirate]

Your car looks dirty. The mods look good though.

Dude, for living in the snowbelt, his car is quite clean right now.  The amount of salt they use on the roads is appalling.  I'll post some pics of my car after a normal snowfall and road salting.  It's ridiculous.

[The Pirate]

And, MrH, I'm not sure if you saw my post in the Chat thread (it's easy to get lost in the plethora of muck in there), so I'll repost in here:


Cool, thanks.  I do keep track, and I appreciate any heads up on good components.  I'll be upgrading soon enough.  Although, your car will always be just a bit cooler than mine.  Damn you, -5 suffix and your hatch/wagon features!  lol

I wonder if the ES sedan is any lighter or more aerodynamic than the MP5?  I suspect such differences (if any) would be negligible, but it just might allow me to sneak in a 1mph higher top speed than you!

[Danish]

The seats don't look nearly as obnoxious in person.

Good to hear, thats the first thing I was thinking

[r0tor]

i wonder if you could swap in a red/black rx8 steering wheel or a red/black cover from Auto EXE

[MrH]

Pending transaction on a Mazda MP3 ECU.  Only 1500 of them made it to the states, so getting one of the ECU's is ridiculously tough.  It's an easy 15 minute install, direct plug and play.  Just advances the timing a bit, and I'll be looking at a 10 hp gain, smoother torque curve, 1-2 mpg better fuel economy, but I'll have to run premium now.

One of these pops up on the forums usually every 2 months or so, and sells within the first 10 minutes.  I just happened to be on when it was posted.  Probably the best upgrade power wise for $250.  Also working on getting a set of coilovers.  Fuck springs and struts, I want adjustability.

[Cookie Monster]

I love that shift knob.

Got a link for it?

[The Pirate]

I love that shift knob.

Got a link for it?

I might actually buy it. 

[Cookie Monster]

I might actually buy it. 

If it fits on my first car I will buy it.

[Eye of the Tiger]

NO, I will buy it! what is it?

[The Pirate]

NO, I will buy it! what is it?

Sry, for Protege only.

[Cookie Monster]

Sry, for Protege only.

No it isn't.

[Eye of the Tiger]

Sry, for Protege only.

I have Escort. Same thing.