The Protege5 Build Up Thread

[MrH]

That shift knob can be had in different thread pitches, so it can fit different cars.  It's made by Skunk2.

http://www.skunk2.com/fine_tuning/shift.php

The thing weighs a ton.  I'll let you know when I start getting more parts.  The ECU transaction could be happening tonight.  The coilovers very soon too (maybe as soon as tomorrow).  Those are two giant purchases, and will set me back about $750, so I'll have to let the wallet heal for a few weeks before buying more stuff.

[Cookie Monster]

That shift knob can be had in different thread pitches, so it can fit different cars.  It's made by Skunk2.

http://www.skunk2.com/fine_tuning/shift.php

The thing weighs a ton.  I'll let you know when I start getting more parts.  The ECU transaction could be happening tonight.  The coilovers very soon too (maybe as soon as tomorrow).  Those are two giant purchases, and will set me back about $750, so I'll have to let the wallet heal for a few weeks before buying more stuff.

Thanks for the link. I found a bronze-ish colored version but I think the one you got looks nicer.

[TheIntrepid]

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.

Mike's car is pretty damn clean.

[BimmerM3]

Yay for the south. I can go a year without a wash and my car won't be that nasty. Not that I would, but I could.

[MrH]

Well, I decided against the catless full exhaust system.  One guy on the forums had the exact setup I was looking at snagging really cheap, and said his neighbors hated him even at idle.

I bought the MP3 ECU, so 10 more hp, smoothed out torque curve, and 1-2 mpg better goes in the mail tomorrow.  I should have it soon.  There's an intake modification I need to make to get the full advantage of this ECU swap, so I'm going to try it Saturday.  I won't bore you with the details, but there's essentially a valve system that creates turbulance in the intake to try to warm up the cats faster.  I'm just yanking it out this weekend.

Considering a used cold air intake on eBay.  It's about $50 right now, and needs about $60 in parts to get everything needed.  I messages him with some questions, so we'll see how that goes.

Oh yeah, looking at new wheels.  Any thoughts on fender rolling?  I might create a new thread about it to see if I can get some more responses.  The wheels I'm looking at don't have the exact offset i want, but I love the look of them.

[CALL_911]

Sounds awesome. Did you buy the car new? How much hp are you anticipating at the end of all this?

[MrH]

Sounds awesome. Did you buy the car new? How much hp are you anticipating at the end of all this?

Nope.  Got it used with 22,500 miles on it (I think it was around there).  It's a little over 51,000 miles now.

The car is 130hp/135lb-ft tq stock at the crank.  Supposedly they put out only 98 whp or so, which seems like a huge drive train lose, but hey, it's the truth.  It'll never be fast.  After the ECU swap, intake, and hopefully a nice cat-back, I'll probably be looking at 145-148 hp at the crank.  I don't have plans finalized for power.  I may be done there, or I may go as far as a new flywheel and pulleys and all.  We'll see.

In the end, I should be able to hand just about everything short of a Miata it's ass in the corners.  SRT-4's will be eaten for breakfast, lunch, and dinner in the curves.

[CALL_911]

Nope.  Got it used with 22,500 miles on it (I think it was around there).  It's a little over 51,000 miles now.

The car is 130hp/135lb-ft tq stock at the crank.  Supposedly they put out only 98 whp or so, which seems like a huge drive train lose, but hey, it's the truth.  It'll never be fast.  After the ECU swap, intake, and hopefully a nice cat-back, I'll probably be looking at 145-148 hp at the crank.  I don't have plans finalized for power.  I may be done there, or I may go as far as a new flywheel and pulleys and all.  We'll see.

In the end, I should be able to hand just about everything short of a Miata it's ass in the corners.  SRT-4's will be eaten for breakfast, lunch, and dinner in the curves.

Don't tell me about slow. You remember the video of my car.

[MrH]

Don't tell me about slow. You remember the video of my car.

That I did.  It's nothing that bad.  I can spin the wheels through first, but that's not saying much with how little tread I have left on them. 

[Crosswire3]

In the end, I should be able to hand just about everything short of a Miata it's ass in the corners.  SRT-4's will be eaten for breakfast, lunch, and dinner in the curves.

I dunno, those skittles do pretty well...even though they're still neons. 
*Sorry, I had to throw that in there...it's the cool thing to do.*


You;ll have to start coming to the WORSCCA and MVSCCA Auto-X events with all us SAE guys.  We should have nearly 10 guys going this year.

[MrH]

I'll definitely be autoX'ing this year.  As for SRT-4's, once all is said and done (which may be awhile), but I should be able to handle them in the corners.  The Mazdaspeed Protege was considered one of the best handling FWD cars at the time, and that suspension setup is pretty tame to what I'm hoping to get.  Of course, this is all dependent on everything going smoothly.

Updates:

ECU got mailed today.  I got a used Injen CAI off eBay pretty cheap this morning.  It's a true cold air intake, and the piping runs waaaay down in front of my fender.  Hopefully I'll get a decent gain, and no more new air filters.  About out of gas, so I'll be filling up with premium here soon in preparation for the new ECU.

Also looking into to getting a small, partial sponsership to test some new coilovers.  I'll let you know how that goes.  Hopefully I can get a huge discount on them.

[MrH]

Bought a very rare and expensive cat back exhaust for a good price today on the mazda forums. Its a JIC Magic cat back (straight up JDM yo) that usually retails for $700-$800 for $200+shipping.

[The Pirate]

Bought a very rare and expensive cat back exhaust for a good price today on the mazda forums. Its a JIC Magic cat back (straight up JDM yo) that usually retails for $700-$800 for $200+shipping.

Any links to how it sounds?  I found a youtube video of a 2001 LX with the Mazdaspeed muffler, it sounded pretty good.  I've considered one for my car, but I've got some suspension and brake stuff to take care of first.

[MrH]

Any links to how it sounds?  I found a youtube video of a 2001 LX with the Mazdaspeed muffler, it sounded pretty good.  I've considered one for my car, but I've got some suspension and brake stuff to take care of first.

there's one floating around the forums somewhere. I'll try and find it for you when I'm not posting from my phone. Most compare to the racing beat exhaust but breathes better at high rpm. Its not supposed to be all that loud to begin with, but a silencer is included that can be installed. I'll get a clip for you when I install it. I snagged the two best deals that forum has seen in awhile.

[r0tor]

Bought a very rare and expensive cat back exhaust for a good price today on the mazda forums. Its a JIC Magic cat back (straight up JDM yo) that usually retails for $700-$800 for $200+shipping.

isn't JIC mande in cali though?  

I did something similar recently... got a $700 Racing BEat exhaust for the RX8 for $300.  Some elbow grease and some English Custom hot metal polish and it looks like new (i'll probably make a thread about it one day as a product endorsement because its that good of polish).

[MrH]

Any links to how it sounds?  I found a youtube video of a 2001 LX with the Mazdaspeed muffler, it sounded pretty good.  I've considered one for my car, but I've got some suspension and brake stuff to take care of first.

The Mazdaspeed muffler doesn't free up any power though.  Kind of a pointless, expensive mod if you ask me.  I atleast free up a little power with a full cat back.

[MrH]

isn't JIC mande in cali though?   

I did something similar recently... got a $700 Racing BEat exhaust for the RX8 for $300.  Some elbow grease and some English Custom hot metal polish and it looks like new (i'll probably make a thread about it one day as a product endorsement because its that good of polish).

Haha, yeah, it is.  They originated in Japan though.  Way to crush my dreams of owning JDM hotness. 

That's an awesome deal on the RX-8 exhaust.  I used to follow RX-8's pretty closely (I was a part of Rx-8club.com for awhile).  Racing Beat probably makes the highest quality Mazda parts around, but they're expensive as hell.  $300 is a steal.

[Middle_Path]

How the hell are the Protege's? I've been scanning classifieds and for some reason the Protege always stands out. I like the wagon model with a manual like yours MrH. Also, what's the forum so I can read up and see if I should really pursue a used daily driver. Otherwise, I'll try to find something like a G20 or a miata(if I can fit in one comfortably.) I don't think there is a chance in hell I'd ever find a decent Mazdaspeed Protege around here. Damn, I've always liked that car.

[MrH]

Here's the forum:
http://www.mazdas247.com/forum/index.php?

Protege's are great daily drivers overall.  If you want an absolute beast in the straight line, look else where.  It's a great handling, good looking grocery getter.  The strong point of the car is definitely the steering feel and handling.  It's pretty nimble, and the wheel constantly tells you what's going on.

Downsides:  The engine mostly.  It's relatively torquey, gas mileage is respectable, pretty reliable, but it gasps for air in the upper range, runs really rich, and the rods are made of jello.  It's not boost friendly what so ever.  There's quite a few protege's on  there putting out 220+ whp, some over 300, but the amount of money you have to dump into it to get it there is ridiculous.  You're better off just getting a different car.  The car isn't the quietest thing ever.

Best comparison is the FWD, grocery mobile version of a Miata.

So this whole build up was put on hold for a bit.  I've been real busy, and I don't have access to the garage at school too often.  I thought this whole project was going to be put on hold indefinitely.  Today, however, I'm going to swing by Sear's, pick up a ton of tools (my family and I barely own any tools), drive back home from college, and see if I get this ECU and exhaust hooked up.  I'll be taking pictures along the way.

[The Pirate]

Youtube that exhaust when you get a chance.  I want to hear it!

[MrH]

will do. Just giving an update from my phone before falling asleep. Wrestled with the car for about three hours but I got the ecu in. Pretty noticable too. Nice pull from 3000 rpm or so. Huge bump in mid range torque. Pictures and more in depth review will be put up tomorrow.

Bought jack stands, a jack, and a full mechanics tool set today for about $250. Money well spent. Working on getting a protege mp3 ported intake manifold off the forums currently. Exhaust hopefully this week or weekend. Injen intake goes on when I get around to buying the few missing parts.

I'm debating whether I should go for a light flywheel and lightweight pulleys too. Also considering headers and mid pipe.

[MrH]

UPDATE:

Debated on getting a second project car or putting more money into the MP5.  I think I've come to the conclusion I'm going to dump more money into this, and have a perfect daily driver for quite awhile, and get a second car when I graduate.

Ordering the parts for the intake tonight.  Haven't installed the exhaust.  I might be getting rid of it.  Very much a coffee can of a tip.  Supposed to sound pretty subdued though.  It's back at home and I'll have to take a look at it again.

Considering coil overs, or possibly these wheels if the guy is willing to go down on price some.

[TheIntrepid]

I like the wheels.

[Cookie Monster]

I like the wheels.

Me too.

[giant_mtb]

Yo tambien.

[Secret Chimp]

Dude, why waste money on a CAI just because it's an Injen? My stupid BOMZ thing is a "true CAI" and it cost $50.

[Eye of the Tiger]

Dude, why waste money on a CAI just because it's an Injen? My stupid BOMZ thing is a "true CAI" and it cost $50.

Dude, BOMZ is friggin awesome. Even better are the Ebay generic knock-offs of BOMZ, just in case BOMZ wasn't shitty enough for you.
Seriously, it's just a tube with a filter. Some are slightly better than others, but in the end, the cheapest ones are almost always the best bang for the buck. I prefer the free ones, myself.

[MrH]

Dude, why waste money on a CAI just because it's an Injen? My stupid BOMZ thing is a "true CAI" and it cost $50.

I got it really cheap man.  It's used, and isn't in perfect cosmetic condition, but I don't really care what it looks like.  And frankly, the quality is hands down better than the crap on eBay.  This intake actually routes the filter down in front of the driver side front wheel.  A lot of those short ram crap they sell on eBay have a higher intake temperature than the stock setup anyways.

[r0tor]

since it has a MAF sensor, its critical to have nice looking flow over that too - which some of the cheaper things completely neglect

[Secret Chimp]

This intake actually routes the filter down in front of the driver side front wheel.

You just described my BOMZ :P