2003 Protege5 questions...

[ggweci]

I may be looking at purchasing a P5 in the next few months months and was wondering if there will be any changes for the 2003 model year vs. what the 2002s offer...i know the US got a little "refresh" in the looks department mid-year, but i'm in Canada and we still have the current design here...so are there any changes expected for '03 Canadian models???

another question i have is that my current car, a 99 Honda Prelude, has a 5 x 114.3 bolt pattern with a 55 offset...do you think i'd be able to use my winter tires and rims from that car on the P5? the tires on the 15" steel rims are 195/60/15...will that setup work on the Mazda?

thanks in advance

 

[WhiteZoomZoom]

Welcome ggweci !!

Anyway.......to answer your question........I know that US has the refresh model, but I also heard that the refresh model is going to be in Canada late September or October.
And also, about the 2003 model, rumors has it that Ford is going to take over the production of the Protege which means it won't be produced in Japan but here in North American. So the parts and engineering won't be done in Japan.
You might want to check out the Mazda/Rumor section and do a search about the Ford thing.

And about the wheel thing. Can't help you there bud. Don't know anything about wheels......haha...sorry.......

 

[Equinox]

About the wheels:


Yes the bolt pattern is the same and the offset should work fine, as for your winter tires - the stock tires on a p5 is

195/50-16, and if you are putting on
195/60-15, it will work...sorta

The difference in tire size would cause the protege5 to have a 2.3% speedometer error too slow, therefore when you go 60mph, you are REALLY going 61.4mph - if you can live with that, then yes, your winter tires should work just fine.

 

[ggweci]

thanks for the responses guys...it's great that i'll be able to use my current winter rims/rubber on the P5 and the 2.3% speedo difference shouldn't be a problem...great info there Equinox! thanks...

and WhiteZoomZoom, i read that thread and it seems as though the Ford content won't come into effect until the next gen, so hopefully this one is safe from those hands ...maybe i'll wait to see what happens when the '03s come out and then get one of those or get a better deal on an '02.....hmmmm........

thanks again for the help

 

[pr5owner]

About the wheels:


Yes the bolt pattern is the same and the offset should work fine, as for your winter tires - the stock tires on a p5 is

195/50-16, and if you are putting on
195/60-15, it will work...sorta

The difference in tire size would cause the protege5 to have a 2.3% speedometer error too slow, therefore when you go 60mph, you are REALLY going 61.4mph - if you can live with that, then yes, your winter tires should work just fine.

man just rip out your speedo.. all you need is a big ass TACH