A flurry of questions (free smilies to those with answers)

[Grimace]

1. To those who have seen the 2003.5 MSP in person, is the spoiler as tall as this picture would suggest: http://www.mazdamp3.com/vbb225/attachment.php?s=&postid=118523
The reason I ask is in this picture it looks to be not much taller than the 2003's: http://www.mpsport.net/images/digi/d107.jpg
Is it significantly taller than the 2003's?

2. For those with a Mazdaspeed Protege, I read on another Protege forum that there is a "resonance" at 3000-3500 rpm, and that it is quite loud. True? (If you could record it and upload the sound, I'd be forever appreciative. Well, for at least a week anyway.)

3. Where is the foglight switch located? to the left of the steering wheel like on my old MX-6?

4. Has anyone tried to switch the colour of the stereo illumination? How well does it match the gauges?

5. Has anyone sucessfully removed the shift patter sticker? Does it leave a mark/residue?

Thanks in advance.

 

[AGR]

1. To those who have seen the 2003.5 MSP in person, is the spoiler as tall as this picture would suggest: http://www.mazdamp3.com/vbb225/attachment.php?s=&postid=118523
The reason I ask is in this picture it looks to be not much taller than the 2003's: http://www.mpsport.net/images/digi/d107.jpg
Is it significantly taller than the 2003's?

2. For those with a Mazdaspeed Protege, I read on another Protege forum that there is a "resonance" at 3000-3500 rpm, and that it is quite loud. True? (If you could record it and upload the sound, I'd be forever appreciative. Well, for at least a week anyway.)

3. Where is the foglight switch located? to the left of the steering wheel like on my old MX-6?

4. Has anyone tried to switch the colour of the stereo illumination? How well does it match the gauges?

5. Has anyone sucessfully removed the shift patter sticker? Does it leave a mark/residue?

Thanks in advance.

How are you Grimace (if that really is your name..) ?

No resonance sound from my 2003 MAZDASPEED at any RPM....

The foglights switch is on the lower left of the steering column.

The colors on the stereo are red or green. Actually; I like the green better - easier to read. But; the red does match the gauge color pretty well at night. The blue light around the volume control does not change; nor does the screen's blue color. (at least not that I'm aware of)

As far as that sticker; I'm leaving mine alone. I guess it probably could be removed, and if it leaves a residue, that can probably be removed too. Would it harm the finish? Not sure.

Cheers!

 

[Grimace]

Well, Grimace ISN'T my real name, but my highschool sweetheart calls me that since I used to (and still do) have a favourite purple sweater I like to wear. Frequently, apparantly, so the nickname has stuck since.

Thanks AGR#7 - if that is your real name . You answered 4/5 questions, so you get 4 out of 5 smilies:

To the others who read this thread, don't be shy, there are plenty more where that came from. I hope. OH DEAR GOD WHAT HAPPENS IF WE RUN OUT OF SMILIES?!?!?

 

[Dexter]

well AGR answered all the ones i could answer.

 

[Grimace]

Free smilies are still offered to those who can offer an opinion on any questions that may or may not have been previously answered, even if they don't differ from the previous opinions expressed by others on this thread.
However, no copying/pasting others opinions will be allowed. That's plagerism, and we all got nailed with that in school, didn't we? You get frowny faces for that.

 

[AGR]

Well, Grimace ISN'T my real name, but my highschool sweetheart calls me that since I used to (and still do) have a favourite purple sweater I like to wear. Frequently, apparantly, so the nickname has stuck since.

Thanks AGR#7 - if that is your real name . You answered 4/5 questions, so you get 4 out of 5 smilies:

To the others who read this thread, don't be shy, there are plenty more where that came from. I hope. OH DEAR GOD WHAT HAPPENS IF WE RUN OUT OF SMILIES?!?!?

No; I'm Greg, as my signature indicates; dedicated Open Wheel, and Sports Car racing fan. And a huge Mario and Michael Andretti fan,,,and an aspiring 1:10 Touring Car racer. At 48, having the time of my life! Oh; and I brew beer!!

And yes,,,,,,,,,,,this '03 Black Mica MAZDASPEED is the coolest car I have every owned!! And a big GRIN back at you!!

Cheers!!

 

[dafababa]

I guess that i will answer the last one for you. that cheap a$$ sticker they call a shift pattern indicator, it was actually kinda a pain in the a$$ to get off. alot of little pieces. but you really cant tell that anything was there. I am probably going to get a metal plate or somthing that says mazdaspeed. i dont know yet. But I think that it looks better without it. just my 2 pennies.

 

[MSP Pro]

The shift pattern indicator came off with a couple of minutes of fingernail work; no residue.

I changed the stereo lights to red; they aren't exact, but the screen drowns out any differences.

There is NOTHING annoying about the exhaust note. It's pretty quiet at part throttle, and sounds pretty good at full throttle. But I've been running with the windows closed due to the rain around here, so the sound is pretty muted inside the car.

You know, you aren't going to go wrong no matter which MazdaSpeed Protege you get. You could probably just pick the color you like the most and get it. Just trying to help!

 

[slug420]

that would be interesting though if the oval exhaust sounded different than the round

 

[dpmmsp]

Exactly the same answers as everyone else ... a little bit of dedicated fingernail work.... lots of little pieces.

 

[rowan]

To answer question #1:
The new style spoiler does not appear significantly taller to me. I think it just comes off that way in photos because it is less busy than the MP3 style one. Also, the Mazdaspeed does not have a brake light in the back window like the MP3 which increases the appearance of tallness because you can see all the way through to the window instead of having an obstructed view.

Of course, when I was in Detroit, the spoiler had been "removed" so I couldn't tell for sure. But from the rear view, it looks about as tall as the current one.

If you really don't like it when you see it in person there are a few places to get replicas of the MP3 spoiler that you could have painted the new titanium colour.

 

[nattyboy513]

1- i have been told that the 2003.5 wing is barely noticeably larger than that mounted on the 2003 model

2- i have yet to hear what you have mentioned

3- yes

4- i hated the green light, it sucked so i changed it to red... not hard to do. the red lights are small so they kind of match the orange glow of the gauges

5- my sticker came off preatty easily, there is a little mark from where it was but when the snow stops and i wash it i imagine the spot will dissapear

 

[JPBlackMP5]

Silly question: how did you change the color of the stereo lights from green to red?

 

[Grimace]

I tried to give you all the smilies you deserve, but I got this scathing message when I tried to post:
"You have included too many images in your signature or in your previous post. Please go back and correct the problem and then continue again.
Images include use of smilies, the vB code tag and HTML <img> tags. The use of these is all subject to them being enabled by the administrator."
So, you all have to share these three: :) :) :)
Correct me if I'm wrong, but when you change illumination on the stereo, is it just a setting, or do you actually have to switch bulbs? I looked on Crutchfield's website for info, but they told me everything [i]but[/i] that.

[QUOTE]You know, you aren't going to go wrong no matter which MazdaSpeed Protege you get. You could probably just pick the color you like the most and get it. Just trying to help![/QUOTE]

True enough. It's a nice "difficult" decision to make, really. Do I get the orange now, with the trickest stock paint job in history, or do I get the stealthy grey in the summer, and save my car a (half) winter's worth of wear and tear, and put off buying snow tires for a while? Plus, until the end of July, my commute is 640 km/week. I'd rather put that on my beater I have now rather than subject a nice new MSP to that. Then again I like the body kit on the orange cars better, and the fogs are a plus. And down I go into the vortex of wishy-washiness... :D

 

[Grimace]

Jinx JPBlackMP5, you owe me a beer. Asked the same stereo illumination question at the same time.

 

[JPBlackMP5]

Tag you're it. I laughed when I read your question, Grimace. Maybe someone will enlighten me, cuz I didn't see that in the Kenwood manual that came with the MSP.

What type: Asahi? Sapporo? MGD? Silver Bullet? Shiny Heiny?

 

[Grimace]

"There are no bad beers, only better beers."

Anything will do. I am a fan of Duval and Grolsch too.

 

[dafababa]

It is in the menu when you hold down the 4/8 button you get the menu. then scroll thruogh till you find what you need.

 

[nattyboy513]

if you go into the menu, i think it is under display, but i am not sure i will check later maybe. i kinda did it on accident while i was sitting at a railroad crossing waiting for the longest train in the history of the world to pass by.

 

[JPBlackMP5]

Many thanks. I'll try that.

(drinks)