Can't decide which Header to get

[mini_FD]

Hey,
New to the forum and read alot and decided to become a member. Anyways I have an 02 protege 2.0 FS-ZE and wanted to put a header on but can't decide which one because I don't want cheap like obx because of the poor structure but more into AWR or Wagner. If you could please tell me if there are any others that you suggest I get and why, that would be awesome.

 

[Lil_vicious559]

Hey,
New to the forum and read alot and decided to become a member. Anyways I have an 02 protege 2.0 FS-ZE and wanted to put a header on but can't decide which one because I don't want cheap like obx because of the poor structure but more into AWR or Wagner. If you could please tell me if there are any others that you suggest I get and why, that would be awesome.

Let me just say a header won't do justice on the stock FS-DE motor. You're wasting you're money. I used to own a 01 Mazda MP3 i had the following mods:

Injen Race Division intake
Ractive 4-1 header
Custom Cat-back exhaust with 2 1/4 pipping
ACT 6 puck street clutch
Indigo 9lb Lightweight flywheel
SR Motor sports Cams
SR Motor sports cam gears, both cams and cam gears (TUNED)
626 Tranny
150lbs of weight reduction.

Car was barely hanging with Intake/Header/exhaust 99-00 Si's and driver's race with my friends stock, 98 GS-R.

I can guarantee you will see more of a difference in saving you're money and just fixing it up for show. These car's make no power with bolt-ons. My Intake/header/exhaust combo combines the power of an Si with just Intake. Which is pretty sad if that

 

[Lil_vicious559]

BTW: welcome to the forums(dance)

 

[mini_FD]

That bites and I run into alot of people saying to save my money why is that? P.S. I have a Jdm FS-ZE trying all motor for reliability.

 

[Lil_vicious559]

FS-DE MP3 has 140hp. Regular ES 2.0 has 130hp. Because of the ECU. FS-ZE has 170hp. Just probably upped compression and few tweaks. Because Mazda isn't like Honda. Gains are minimal on N/A Mazda's.

Best thing to do is just go F/I and Turbo the car. You'll be a lot happier with the results than what you would get N/A.

 

[fishdonotbounce]

Not to step on anyone's toes, but boosting an FS-ZE is not really the smartest move. The higher compression just means that you have an even bigger chance of going zoom zoom boom.

To the OP, is your entire car jdm or is it just the engine? If you have just the engine without the ECU, then I would imagine that you're not getting the 170 hp out of the motor.

 

[Lil_vicious559]

Not to step on anyone's toes, but boosting an FS-ZE is not really the smartest move. The higher compression just means that you have an even bigger chance of going zoom zoom boom.

To the OP, is your entire car jdm or is it just the engine? If you have just the engine without the ECU, then I would imagine that you're not getting the 170 hp out of the motor.

Well I'm sure when someone's boosting a High N/A compression car. That they would be smart enough to lower the compression to 8:8:1 or 8:5:1. I mean I'm pretty sure you knew that already!

That's been the basic rule when Engine swaps and F/I has been in the game.

N/A means higher compression
F/I means lower compression

 

[mini_FD]

i have high compression but its just the engine that's jdm. i was told that an ecu cost 1095.00 quote from a turbo shop in orlando but he suggestts only to install the part if i had forged parts in the motor or have done motifications. since the motor is maxed out off the factory line it's not worth the 10 to 15 hp gain in my eyes unless you suggest somehting other then microtech ecu. I am going to get a quote from tony from awr and see how much a header cost. I am also getting full exhaust later on and need some ideas where to go with a brand and quality.

 

[Lil_vicious559]

i have high compression but its just the engine that's jdm. i was told that an ecu cost 1095.00 quote from a turbo shop in orlando but he suggestts only to install the part if i had forged parts in the motor or have done motifications. since the motor is maxed out off the factory line it's not worth the 10 to 15 hp gain in my eyes unless you suggest somehting other then microtech ecu. I am going to get a quote from tony from awr and see how much a header cost. I am also getting full exhaust later on and need some ideas where to go with a brand and quality.

Where did you buy your motor from? from my understanding, in order to do a full engine swap you need the Wiring harness and ECU. For Honda's i do know you need the wiring harness and ecu!

If you want minimal gains, i can see you getting expecting maybe 3-5whp with the header if that's all you're looking for

 

[Protephile]

No offense to any of you but there is a lot of misinformation in this thread regarding Protege performance and specs.
Please read the FAQ!

http://www.protegefaq.net/

Also, if you are NOT planning to turbo a header is worth about 7 whp on an otherwise stock engine.
No, the FS is not the most mod-friendly engine but bolt-ons do make a difference.
I have the usual I/H/E and an MP3 ECU, plus smaller, supporting mods and my ES is still a lot of fun to drive even after almost six years of ownership.

 

[Lil_vicious559]

No offense to any of you but there is a lot of misinformation in this thread regarding Protege performance and specs.
Please read the FAQ!

http://www.protegefaq.net/

Also, if you are NOT planning to turbo a header is worth about 7 whp on an otherwise stock engine.
No, the FS is not the most mod-friendly engine but bolt-ons do make a difference.
I have the usual I/H/E and an MP3 ECU, plus smaller, supporting mods and my ES is still a lot of fun to drive even after almost six years of ownership.

Please elaborate what has been Mislead. I owned a 01 MP3 more modded than you're basic I/H/E ES 2.0

Please the FS DE engines are nothing special and weak

 

[BoPro5]

I.m.o.

all engines will see benefits from I/H/E type mods whether its a Corvette or a Geo Metro. i say do the header and full exhaust. that mod is the most surefire and economical way to add very noticeable power to any N/A engine. I've done it several times to several cars.

And since you have the fs-ze, double check your ecu knowledge to make sure your getting the most from your engine by having the correct ecu. there are tons of threads just about ecu's on this forum.

 

[mini_FD]

well i didnt do an ecu swap or wiring harness. I used the ones on the car and swapped the motor in a garage at a friends house. but Ive been wanting a mp3 ecu but ken from mazda said that ecu is only spec out for a turbo which im doing all motor. he suggested microtech ecu but that's just too expensive 1095.00. Any suggestions what i should do because i still owe 9 months of payments and then set free i also want to do some accessory work like jdm headlights and 2 hid kits for the fogs and for the heads. after that i'm done .

 

[mini_FD]

if I you have any ideas im open to try them out so i may have fun with the car so let me know

 

[fishdonotbounce]

Ok well Ken must have thought you said MSP ecu cause the MP3 ecu is for NA. It pulled about 10 more horsies out of the motor via some tweaking and a little change to the exhaust on the MP3. The power curve is a LOT smoother with the MP3 ecu though.

I'm really surprised that you're using the stock ECU with the FSZE though.

As far as HID's go, go to the Authorized Vendors subforum and click on exterior. You'll see Xenon Xpert selling the DDM kit for 70 dollars shipped with a lifetime warranty. Insane deal for a great kit. I've had it on the P5 for over 2 years and it's been great.

 

[Protephile]

Please elaborate what has been Mislead. I owned a 01 MP3 more modded than you're basic I/H/E ES 2.0

Please the FS DE engines are nothing special and weak

I don't have time to argue with you. And I didn't single you out. Just read the FAQ if you doubt what you've read in this thread.

 

[mini_FD]

thanks for the hid tip. So explain the MP3 ecu. Is that hard to get because getting my engine to its full potential is what I want to do without putting a turbo in it. And what step should i take first from what you've read. Headers? ECU? Exhaust? I'm lost lol

 

[mx-p5]

wow, this thread makes my head hurt already.....

First off, Lil_vicious559, the Protege is NOT a straight line race car, so, why even bother trying?

to the OP, i've had good experience with both the OBX and Ractive headers. Currently have a Ractive sitting on the floor in my garage

I also have the MP3 ECU (advances timing for a smoother powerband and a little bump in HP, but, not sure how that works with the JDM motor-if i read that right) also, do the VTCS removal on the intake manifold to get the most out of the ECU.

In general, the Protege 2.0 is a puzzle and every piece helps.

At my high point, i had the MP3 ECU, OBX header, Injen intake, and magnaflow catback and noticed a rather large gain compared to the car sitting stock now.

Never dyno'd, but, the butt dyno read real good!

BUT, keep in mind, i only get to work and back with it. I DO NOT try racing.

and props to ya for wanting to build N/A!

 

[Lil_vicious559]

I don't have time to argue with you. And I didn't single you out. Just read the FAQ if you doubt what you've read in this thread.

You are taking it the wrong way guy. I'm simply asking you to elaborate not argue, i mean you did post. So why not just provide some helpful info!(rockon)

I was just simply stating how more modded my MP3 was than most people with proteges. I'm not doubting the FS DE engines won't free up any hp that's there, just not as much as to it's contenders and think it's a waste of time and money especially for me. I spend over 4grand to hang with a I/H/E 99-00 Si and to be basically a drivers race between my buddy's stock 98 GS-R with a filter

Injen Race division Intake cost me $259 (DIMS)...did it my self
Ractive 4-1 header cost me $200 (DIMS)...did it my self
Custom cat-back cost me $225 (included labor)
ACT street clutch and Flywheel cost me $900 (No labor)
Cams and Cams gear cost me $900 ( labor $200
(Tuned) cost me $250
626 Tranny cost me $475 (labor $400)
150lbs of weight reduction (DIMS)...did it my self

expenses= exactly $3809 give or take around there for sure. For that kind of money i could of just turbo'd the MP3 and been way more quicker, or could of just did something else with it.

I understand some people like to modify the protege, but if there looking to free up a whole lot of hp. The FS DE is the wrong engine.

All of my mod's equivalent to what a Intake/exhaust does on a K-series motor. Or Intake/header/exhaust does to a B-series motor.

My opinion, not worth the money to dump into these motors. I still loved the car for what it was worth. I mean don't get me wrong, i loved mazda and stayed in the MAZDA Family(bow)

thanks for the hid tip. So explain the MP3 ecu. Is that hard to get because getting my engine to its full potential is what I want to do without putting a turbo in it. And what step should i take first from what you've read. Headers? ECU? Exhaust? I'm lost lol

Just so you know, it's called Header not Headers. There's only 4-cylinders! I think JDM sam can help you with his $150 MP3 ECU problem....He needs to chime in here.

Like i said if you're ready to blow money in to the motor and not expect a whole massive power....by all means go ahead. You will free up maybe 5-7whp with the Header and another 1-3whp with the Cat-back exhaust

 

[mx-p5]

can i ask if you did any suspension mods? As i said, these cars are NOT drag racers!

Put some sticky tires and a stiff suspension and see how well you do around an autox track compared to your buddies SI or GSR

anyways, he's not asking if he can race his car, he's asking what header would net him the best gains.



And most any will do about the same, i think the only one that would be any different would be the AWR cause it's a true 4-2-1 header instead of the 4-1's out there

What gain exactly? Couldn't tell you, but, in theory, it flows better