Mods for protege5

[mike02467]

Hey I'm starting to think about modding my protege5. It's a 2002 automatic, has 60k miles on it.
I'm thinking cold air intake, exhaust system, springs/lowering, some more engine mods, not sure what though.
Also going to be dropping around 2 g's on a stereo system.

What are your recommendations for engine upgrades? I don't want to turn it into a ricer so it's going to be a sleeper, IE no body kits. Maybe window tints, rims are a possibility too.

I'm hoping to cap the costs to under $5k, for the time being.

What I'm being told is to start off with a K%N cold air cone intake system, a more free-flowing exhaust system, possibly spark plugs and aftermarket ignition.

What do you guys think? I am thinking of just having it be done by professionals, if anyone is from the Boston area where do you recommend? So far I think Auto Design Haus may have earned my business, along with Sound in Motion (they are literally a block apart from each other too)

What are you guys opinion on aspiration conversions? I am kind of trying to avoid a turbo because I hear they can kill engines faster than anything else. A single screw supercharger was a though but the expenses might be a bit too high.

Thanks for input.

 

[Metallic36]

Turbos don't kill engines. Idiots that up the boost too high do. My recommendation would be to save yourself a ton of money and do what you can yourself or learn how. On the harder stuff that you can't do yourself, then you can pay for labor, but for the basic things you'd be able to do it yourself such as spark plugs, exhaust, CAI.

 

[niky]

The Taiwanese supercharger kit is under $4k at the moment, but shipping and installation will put you over-budget.

The best bang-for-buck mods for this car are a good set of headers and a piggyback ECU. JamesK has a few threads on the SplitSecond, and so far, his feedback is positive.

I'm not entirely sold on cold-air intakes... but an intake of any kind will free up some power.

Everything after that is diminishing returns. A catback will make your car louder, cams will cost an arm, a leg and a kidney (and you need camgears to make the most out of them), and a high compression build will cost you your entire budget. If all you want is some extra street pep, stick to the breathing mods and the SplitSecond. It should be more than enough.

 

[ToNeZ90]

Here this video actually helped me out when i was starting to learn about turbochargers.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xp-EVOPBhIo&hl=en

Its a bit old as u will notice but breaks down the BASIC process pretty good.

it helps burn the fuel more efficiently, but like metallic stated, it is an easy way to blow your engine if you install it wrong or raise the PSI being pushed into the engine too high.


My suggestions would be do easy things first then harder if you are on budget like myself. Plus that way you will learn on the way Good Luck

 

[dxaveP5]

iono bout intake, id just geta K&N drop in filter, and then pop a header on with a racing beat catback, and sls midpipe with the mp3 ecu and then some new sparkplugs/nology wires and you should be ok.
This car isnt go gain much from bolt ons unless you go boost.
As for superchargers, there are none that are avail for our motor IIRC.
Niky said there is, but iono.
the stock MSP turbo setup is probably the best mod you can do for power for under 5Grand. u'll prob be lucky and get urself all the parts for under 2 grand on the forums sold from other members

 

[xJAZx]

Hey I'm starting to think about modding my protege5. It's a 2002 automatic, has 60k miles on it.

JamesK has a few threads on the SplitSecond, and so far, his feedback is positive.

iono bout intake, id just geta K&N drop in filter, and then pop a header on with a racing beat catback, and sls midpipe with the mp3 ecu and then some new sparkplugs/nology wires and you should be ok.

automatic rules out both of these

if you really are looking for some more power though turbo is the way to go, read FishDoNotBounce's build thread as he turbo'ed his auto p5

 

[hornsfan10609]

automatic rules out both of these

if you really are looking for some more power though turbo is the way to go, read FishDoNotBounce's build thread as he turbo'ed his auto p5

There are a few turbo'd auto P5s, BazookaJoe has one as well.

 

[bucksatan]

If you are going to turbo your P5 remember one phrase: Transmission Cooling.

 

[dxaveP5]

automatic rules out both of these

ohh crap, i didnt catch that in the OP, nvm...

 

[i12drivemyMP5]

It's automatic, do transmission cooler whether it's turbo'd or not. I'd say chances of sucking up water or snow/salt rotting out the CAI filter on a regular basis would dictate a SRI/K&N or just the drop-in K&N. Do the header/midpipe/catback exh, remove VTCS, lightened pullies, eng mount inserts, rr stb, rr sway, fr stb, ladder brace, trailing links, rotor/pad/ss lines, spring/struts and call it good. Since auto, ecu/standalone/piggyback options are scarce, especially plug-n-play. Lots of other little personalization things too, like 6 wagon rr wiper, tribute ww nozzles, MSP door sills, MP3 splitter, MPV adj int wiper stalk, momo ebrake handle, jdm tails, jdm foot lamps, etc etc etc...............

 

[16902]

LOL, you ask this question to a bunch of us crazy motorheads and the #1 answer is turbo!

You seem like you just want to have fun and not go overboard. If you don't want big power, just stick with the basics: intake, header, exhaust, maybe a UDP, and some springs/struts. This won't make the car a whole lot quicker but it will be more fun to drive.

Most importantly, just make sure everything currently on the car is in good condition.

Welcome.

 

[mike02467]

If I were to buy a turbo kit, have it installed professionally, Would I need to buy ANYTHING else? Or just the turbo kit? Probably a new exhaust system, right?

What about a engine swap? Anyone ever through a RENESIS in a protege5? Obviously that would be a much more complex process.

 

[azmp5]

Exhaust would definetly help the turbo for a quicker spool. You will want need to stay @ 6psi with auto or there may be trouble to the transmission. You will need the ecu tuned for a turbo. Dont think of an engine swap. Way too compicated.

Suspension like mentioned earlier, the car is lotsof fun stock but even better with a few suspension mods.

oh yah, WELCOME !!!

 

[CTt3P5]

If you have intentions of boosting down the line I'd suggest doing the stereo upgrades, wheels and springs and stop. Most NA mods you do will have to be swapped out when you do boost. Then research like crazy and if boost sounds good go for it. If not then I'd suggest the usual I/H/E combo that most have done. It won't make the car a 1/4 mile queen but will make her talk back to you.

As for having someone do the work, why not try some yourself? You mentioned that you live in Boston so first things first, check out the NEPOC section here on the forums if you haven't already. It is a Great group of people that are always willing to lend a hand and advice in regards to just about anything. They are also having meets all the time.

Look around for Chuyler1....he is very knowledgeable when it comes to audio and I'm sure would help you out with any questions. Off the top of my head, I know he did some custom fiberglass work for his old P5, his current MS6, his dad's Avalanche and Bazooka Joes sub box in his P5.

Welcome and best of luck!

 

[16902]

What about a engine swap? Anyone ever through a RENESIS in a protege5? Obviously that would be a much more complex process.

LOL, I won't say it can't be done.

 

[mike02467]

So I posted on another forum and got flamed beyond flamed about how this car has no aftermarket. Is that fair to say? Is the engine really that bad? Would it be worth swapping a newer mazda engine, possibly from a 3 in? I've driven a 2010 3 and that car was pretty powerful, ran about an 8 second 0-60 bone stock on wet pavement.

I know I don't know a lot about cars, but I really am trying to learn as I've always loved cars. I really do like the protege and would love to keep it as I truthfully see no other competitors (5 door hatchback subcompact) worthy enough to take the cake. WRX's are great and all until the engine blows up and the rest of the car falls apart as the case with my sisters forester was...

 

[niky]

Swapping between generations is problematic... the wiring is incompatible, so it'll have to be a complete custom job... probably involving moving everything from the Mazda3 (hubs for the ABS, all accessories, whole harness) or resorting to an expensive aftermarket standalone ECU.

The MP3 ECU won't work, obviously, but the Split Second should work on an automatic. Our Unichip Q works perfectly fine on both automatic and manual variants of this car... (sorry, I don't know any installers of this product in the USA... great piece of kit... has both fuel and ignition controls (it can do advance as well as retard, which the Split Second can't do), extra maps for extra injectors, injector size adjustments, nitrous control, launch control, etcetera... I love mine...)... there's no plug and play of this edition (except for the MSP), but a DASTEK distributor should be able to custom wire it (my car was a custom job) if the Q edition is available anywhere near you... but as you're in the US, a custom wiring job along with dyno tuning will probably cost quite a bit.

 

[i12drivemyMP5]

My comments concerning piggybacks were mostly about plug and play options for automatics being scarce to none. Didn't mean to imply options were non-existant or impossible. Anything more than controlling fuel will require some extra wiring & keeping the oem ecu for the tranny....IIRC

 

[niky]

It's too bad you don't have installers who do custom Unichip Q tunes over there... it can control ignition timing in tandem with the stock ECU... for gains of up to 10-15 hp in the midrange on cars with minor IHE modifications on this specific model.

It's not problem free... you'll still need an O2 clamp, as on the SplitSecond, which isn't part of the package... but once you get around the open-loop issue, it's worth it.

My favorite validation of this product was in an impromptu test against a car with similar modifications to mine... the only big difference being the Q. My midrange torque was so much better that in every in-gear acceleration metric, I left him in the dust.

Guy got one the next month. Hehehe...

 

[bazooka joe]

i have an 02 autotragic...i did the intake, exhaust, and other mods first...of course, these mods did just about nothing to increase HP to any meaningful level...so i went turbo at around 68k miles. i'm at 140k now and have no issues with either my tranny or engine. i'm only boosting 6 psi, but it's just fine for me, i did do the tranny cooler (but not until about 120k miles). i added the Lentech valvebody upgrade (increases fluid pressure which in turns makes for quicker shifts). i'm using s rising rate fuel pressure regulator that ups the fuel when going into boost...there's is no timing control, so boosting anything much higher than 6 psi would be foolish...boosting is going to cost you though, i spent about 4k for the complete system. i also installed it myself, so if you're not handy and don't have access to a garage/tools...well that's more money too. if you have any other questions, lmk. mark