New MSP owner

[03.5silvermsp]

Hey everyone, new to the site and MSP's. I bought an 03.5 Mazdaspeed Protege that was acually in the classifieds on here and i drove 4 hours one way to get it. It's silver with 18k miles and is immaculate. It's bone stock other than a drop in k&n. I bought the car to be a fun DD that's good on gas. I love the car so far and it's a lot of fun to drive.

Although i'm new to MSP's, i'm not new to decently quick cars. I also own a 93 lx hatch mustang that made over 500whp with the last setup. I am currently building a 351w based stroker motor for it with a bigger supercharger......this means that i need to get it done first since it's a flintstonemobile currently.

With that being said, after the stang is done(next 3-4 months), i'd like to do small mods to the MSP. I dont want to go overboard on mods. I'd just like to know what the best, cost effective performance mods would be. I'd like to keep the stock cat back because i like the idea of having a sleeper eventually(unless it's that much of a restriction). I'm not wanting massive amounts of power, remember this is a dd, my mustang is my 'weekend/cruise' car that has gotten out of hand. I'd say i'd probably want somewhere around 200whp when all is said and done and would still like for it to be safe at that power level.

Sorry for the whole life story. Love the site btw. Thanks in advance
Derrick

 

[arlsmazdaspeed]

welcome and enjoy your MSP!! +1 rep for you.

 

[03Mazdarati]

welcome, nice choice with the msp. n e pics?

 

[jmv]

Best bet for mods will be doing at least a midpipe if you don't replace the catback as well, a new intercooler (smic or fmic, theres advantages to both, try a search to read up on them), them EMS, perhaps either the DSM AFC with a boost controller, or the unichip (there are other otpions as well, but those are the most basic, at least to me).

 

[69RMSP]

Downpipe
smic
hardpipes
afc
awr motor mounts

220hp

 

[blthlt]

^^ for a daily driver I dont recommend the motor mounts at all! Actually they dont need to be in a car that isnt raced. I also doubt 220 whp from just those mods, especially at stock boost.

 

[speedcicle]

Congrats on the purchase, and to get around 200 whp i would suggest first the air fuel controller, i have the split second afc, then a catback exhaust, upgraded smic, hardpipes, and a boost controller. Run around 9psi i would think you should be around 200whp if it isn't quite at 200 change the down pipe. I have yet to dyno my car with my mods but once i get the hardpipes on and the smic i am hoping to be at 200whp at 10psi. Good luck with it.

 

[03.5silvermsp]

Thanks for the welcome everyone. Thanks for the advice as well. Could some of you possibly post up links to say the afc/boost controllers ya'll are talking about as well as any other things that are cost effective yet worth the while.

Quick question: I read somewhere that others were hearing the same noise...It's only under wot and most of the time only in 1st gear. It's a screetching sound. Is this something serious or should i just not worry about it?

I do have a pic, it's from when i first got the car home(not detailed). I plan to detail it this weekend. Thanks again everyone
Derrick

 

[tricky]

Thanks for the welcome everyone. Thanks for the advice as well. Could some of you possibly post up links to say the afc/boost controllers ya'll are talking about as well as any other things that are cost effective yet worth the while.

Welcome to the mazda community. here's the latest and greatest AFC link

I use my car for a DD too (see my sig for my mod list) The first mod I'd recomend is to get a catless mid pipe. most hp for the money IMO

have fun and happy modding,
B

 

[kamon8404]

Nice, I love the color. A very unique MSP. Anyways, I plan on keeping mine as a daily driver as well, I asked everyones opinion on mods for the dd. The overwhelming majority came up with these:

SMIC
EMS - DSM AFC was a common choice, in additon to the microtech LT10
Hard pipes
Exhaust

And what was about it. If you have any questions feel free to pm.

 

[Dugg E Fresh]

Welcome,
All great suggestions.
I wanna see pics of the Mustang that's outta hand. (glare)

 

[03.5silvermsp]

thanks for the good advice folks. OK so i'm not 'up to date' with the msp lingo. What is a hardpipe? Are you talking about the pipe going from the turbo to intercooler? Please fill me in, i'm a newb

As for the stang, here's a thread i started and havent updated in a while. It's hard to get time to when i'm going to school and working as much as possible part time in the shop.
http://www.horsepowerjunkies.com/forums/showthread.php?t=32095&highlight=progress

Here's a couple pics of it with the old combo(513whp, 456wtq @ 11-12psi on stock 302 bottom end)

Alright that's it for the stang. After all, it is a mazda forum . Please no one get mad lol
Derrick

 

[jmv]

yes, hardpipes refer to the intercooler pipes, both the 'hot' and 'cold' side pipes, hot pipe being from the turbo to intercooler and cold pipe being from the intercooler to the throttle body.

As far as the screeching sound you mentioned, i don't think thats a good thing. I remember seeing a thread on that recently, i'd try searching some. It sounds like perhaps you'll want to take advantage of your warranty if you still can before starting to mod.

 

[Knox Joe]

I had the screech, and after being at the dealer for two weeks, and replacing everything that has to do with the turbo (including a brand new turbo) they cannot get rid of the sound. It seems, the exhuast changes sizes and the air moving from one size to another makes the screeching noise. The dealer said there is no way to fix it , besides aftermarket exhuast, which they said would void the warranty basicaslly.

 

[03.5silvermsp]

thanks for the info guys.
knox joe-that makes me feel much better. what kind of hardpipes do ya'll run? links would be great. once the time comes, i'm thinking about just doing the smic and hardpipes(would a afc be necessary for just that?). how much more power will the hardpipes and smic provide? Also, is a cai worth the money? Sorry for all the questions, just a newb. Thanks

 

[Dugg E Fresh]

As far as I know, nobody has shown any "proven" gains from adding a CAI. Mine came on the car minus the last section 'cuz the previous owner sucked some water up so I can't tell you what the difference would be.
As far as the upgraded SMIC and hardpipes you should see some significant gains as well as a lot more consistancy because the stock plastic and interwarmer are j.u.n.k.
Just a few of the great vendors from this forum (there are a lot of very good sellers, even privately):
www.protegegarage.com
www.*************.com
www.**********.com

I have ordered stuff from all of these guys and they all kick ass & know their stuff. Extremely informative.

 

[210_ZOOM]

i would definately look into the SMIC upgrade, and maybe even the Vibrant J-pipe back exhaust(high-flow cat). Quite possibly the best bang for the buck. GL w/ your new vehicle. You could also consider the Intake manifold swap off a 2002 626.

 

[03.5silvermsp]

thanks for the links and info guys, really appreciate it. with only doing the smic, hardpipes, and possibly the j pipe, would i have to mess with the a/f? The ecu has been flashed if that makes a difference. thanks again for everything, very helpful site/helpful people
Derrick

 

[210_ZOOM]

thanks for the links and info guys, really appreciate it. with only doing the smic, hardpipes, and possibly the j pipe, would i have to mess with the a/f? The ecu has been flashed if that makes a difference. thanks again for everything, very helpful site/helpful people
Derrick

NO. I have done the smic,cai, and Intake manifold and dyno'd @196whp. I have since put the vibrant exhaust and have yet to dyno, but i know i have got to be over 200. I love it. NO tuning done yet. So here is a living example of not messing w/ the a/f. Hope this helps.

 

[StreetUnitMike]

Feel free to get on the phone with us here at **********, we can help you with any problems you ever encounter and give you an suggestions on what parts to go with or without.