2002 P5 5 speed HP improvements

[nutyboy]

Im a nooby to Mazda performance bolt ons. Im asking for guidance and recommendations on HP improvements for my 2002 Mazda P5 speed 5 with 130K.
My big brother game me the P5 before he shipped out to Hawaii (US Navy Submariner). The P5 is bone stock except for drill and slotted rotors on all 4 corners.

I have a daily commute of 80 miles from school to work and home thru the mountains (hp increase is needed for the mountains). I need to maintain good MPG.

Budget $300.00. My mechanical skill 5 on a scale of 1-10.. 10 being ASE certified.

Any assistance will great appreciated

Thanks
Nutyboy

 

[x DeadTaco x]

Well, the obvious thing would be a turbo setup for best HP per dollar spent, but for $300 id look around the forums here for the following:
Cold Air Intake
Catback Exhaust
MP3 ECU

Of the three, id say the ECU would help the most, but not much. I know there is one for sale right now on here for under $300. Itll give you marginal increase in power, since itll change cam timing a bit and make you run 91+ gas, but without the VTCS delete and catback you wont see the total 10 hp it promises.

Cold Air Intake can be found for damn cheap, especially on here, but wont net you a lot if anything.

You CAN find a decent Catback Exhaust used for $300 or so if you look around, but new is gonna cost you more. I have a Magnaflow and those are $500+ new. Maybe a Racing Beat or Megan one?

All in all, for under $300 there isnt much for a N/A Protege and horsepower. Our cars are notorious for being rather slow, even with mods that make other N/A's at least somewhat quicker (Civics, Integras, Focus, etc). So for serious HP increase youre gonna need to look at forced induction and start saving now..

 

[jonathan62019]

go to www.car-part.com i think the ecu is cheap at the junk yards. i can only seem to find the automatic MP3 at my lock self service junk yards where ECU are only $25

and they arent real slow lol. but not real fast either. it we didnt have a speed governor we could bury the speedo im sure. i hit 119 mph pretty fast just wont let me go pass that

 

[pb4ugotobed]

I hate to burst your bubble, and will probably get slammed for this, but I prefer to be honest. you're not going to get real noticeable gains without serious modifications. This car just wasn't meant to be a "sports car", period. Sporty, yes. Fun to drive due to gearing and has a sporty feel to the suspension. But a HP monster it is not. You just don't buy a naturally aspirated 4 cyl vehicle rated at a whopping 130hp and expect any bolt-on mods to make a significant difference. I'm not saying you'll get no benefit, but to avoid disappointment and frustration, i just wouldn't expect that "wow, what a difference" factor to come into play with standard bolt-ons. And with a $300 budget, i wouldn't even bother. Maybe spend $40 on a K&N filter just so you don't have to ever worry about replacing it again, just clean and oil it occasionally.

Your best bet is to accept it for what it is... a relatively fun little commuter car to drive that is reliable and gets pretty good fuel mileage. I would say instead, spend that money to upgrade the stereo a little bit and enjoy the ride You have a decent commute, a little amp and a 10" sub in the back won't take up a lot of space but make that long ride a lot more enjoyable because the factory setup pretty much sucks. It's not going to blow your ears out but just filling out the bottom end a bit makes a huge difference. This is coming from my personal experience, i bought this because i commute 100 miles each way to work every day. Dropped in an old school MTX amp and a boston acoustics sub I've had for years. This car responds really well to a sub, so that 10 I have is overkill for me anymore, but i'd take decent music over the drone of an exhaust on a long ride any day of the week.