Another P5 on a College Budget....Meet Ozzie

If you can find a hatch cover in a local salvage yard it would probably be extra cheap. I gave fifteen bucks for mine. I like the cleanliness of that fiberglass install.

King- does under hatch carpet just mean in spare tire compartment? I'm curious as to how that looks. I'd like to do an install at some point as well with something that looks close to factory.
 
http://www.mazdas247.com/forum/showthread.php?123769842-Subwoofer-install-pics/page5

post #141 is what I was looking for. Lol, I only went through the whole thread! Looks like a false floor that surrounds the sub and then carpet on the top. This could pose an issue if one forgets that there is a sub under there. Also, the box might be too small for the sub (I looked at Pioneer for subs and it needs 1.3 ft^3 IIRC) You could take out the plastic organizer or cut out bits underneath it to fit the amps so you don't need to worry about the amps. Then, no need to hide the stuff with a cargo cover if you don't want to!
 
Yeah idk if I'd want that. Just the thought of crushing the sub with something scares me. That's why the sub in the side makes sense for me (until I start throwing my bike in the back again). Then again, I could probs find a sheet of plywood or something to go over it when I need to haul stuff.

As for finding a cover in a salvage yard, the closest one according to car-part.com is in Texas for $125. Noooot happenin....

However, I did find a salvage P5 at a yard about half an hour away, and I'm planning on picking up my new deck within the next week (depends on how much money I blow on a casino trip Sunday :) ), so I might swing by and pick up some headlights to start retroing HID projectors. If I get time and money, that is.
 
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well you could always pick up a cover for the sub if need be? Either way, it's your car y0. I think a fiberglassed enclosure would be quite nice though. I can't do that stuff to save my life so that's why I stray away from it :)

Nice job on the find. hopefully you score some stuff from it!
 
I just realized that this didn't post yesterday, so we'll try this again.

I know, I think I could learn fiberglass if I put my mind to it, but I honestly don't know if I wanna try it. If I can make something out of wood and carpet I think I'll be good. I just gotta make sure to steal the wood from my dad's garage. :)

And I know, right? Last time I checked there weren't any P5s for at least 200 miles, but last night (this morning, for you normal people ha) I found 5 within 75 miles of Kato! Only sucky part is that I don't think any of them are where you pull the parts yourself (which would be a huge plus for me, since I could figure out how to put it back in mine). I would love for it to be one of those, but maybe MN has different laws against it than SD does. All that SD has that I've seen is sedans though, and all the good stuff was taken off already.

Also, I had a surprise shift at work that netted me a surprising amount of cash (although it should've been more), so maybe I'll be getting those parts sooner than I thought!
 
It's worth trying then you know if you're any good! One day I'll get and do something with it, just not any time soon.

Great on the surprise shift! If I worked (I'm a slacker, I know), I'd have bought so much by now... I just picked up a set of winter tires on steelies for $180 which is a steal IMO.

As of right now, you're at 299 posts... Figured I'd say that. Lol
 
Well since you pointed it out, let's make post 300 a good one! To start out with, I finally got a new head unit!



It's a Kenwood DDX470 according to the sticker on the unit (and the description on Crutchfield), but the box, owner's manual, and the guy all say it's a DDX419 (older model, but close enough). Not sure what kind of mixup happened there, but it worked out in my favor since I wanted a rear USB and Bluetooth! So far I'm loving it, minus the fact that I can't watch videos on it for some reason. My roommate might've done some wiring wrong or something (he's the worker, I'm the researcher ha), but even with my e-brake set all the way up I can't do it. I know he grounded a couple wires temporarily until I get my sub and amp, but I'm not sure which one is for the parking brake sensor. Maybe it got clipped and I didn't see it or something, cuz there were a lot of wires on the back of that thing. Right now it's in solid, but it's not aligned right, although I'm planning on the amp and sub in the near future, so it'll just be temporary. But anyways, I finally am able to listen to my iPod and phone in the car. I'm glad I got it all done today, cuz I was starting to get sick of skipping CDs and Christmas music all over the radio. I did however decide to wait on the headlights for a while. I have more money coming in soon, but I also gotta pay for school next semester.

As for your snow tires, that was a steal! How is the tread on them? I got mine for dang near half price without rims, and they had basically new tread (found out after I bought them). But the main reason I'm working is cuz I don't save money. If I have it, it's out the door almost right away (Exhibit A: I spent almost $400 between my stereo, gas, and groceries).
 
Only used for a season, so the tread is great. I'm not sure exactly how it would look brand new but there's more meat than on my mom's Jeep tires (they have 18k on them)

The stereo looks nice. I wanted bluetooth- until I found out the module is something around $280 for it... No thanks. Considering I could get a new stereo with that and read USB and Aux cable for the same price, I'll either wait or not bother.

School comes first, that's something I tell myself. I could have a really nice car now, but then if I don't have a good enough job later in life as a result of not going to college, I might need to sell the car.

I think me not having a job has made me more money-conscious. I know that I would like a Speed this summer so I spend very little (minus the winter treads)

Not saying quit though- it's going to suck going back to work in the summer. The money is what makes it all okay though :)
 
That does sound like they'll be in good shape! Then again, if it's one of my seasons, that'll be about 8k miles. haha my roommate grabbed the tread depth tool we have in the shop and found out just how new they were (10/32nds versus 11/32nds when new).

It is a nice stereo. I can't wait to get to my driving shifts later this week because of it! I just need to get my iPod updated with all my music. But I feel the same way about the bluetooth module. I've seen that for some of the stereos I was lookin at and basically crossed those off the list right away.

I know that school comes first (although this semester was a different case, since I started out getting stuck with 40+ hours every week covering for my manager who was out on workman's comp), but it is nice to have the money for school, eating out, and of course car parts. :) Then there are times where stuff comes up and money gets tight, and I really learn to appreciate my job then. Actually, I'm somewhat heading into that situation right now....
 
Update time! I had a good Christmas, but I'm going to be honest it didn't turn out how I'd expected it to. I really hope that didn't come across snobby or anything....

Anyways, I got a bunch of stuff for Ozzie. For gifts, I got an underhood light kit from Corksport (hopefully I'll have that installed soon) and some Kicker speakers for the front doors (asked for all doors, but at least my mom got the more important ones). I put in the speakers and almost did the mod for flush door locks since I had the door panels off. However, I ran out of time before we had to run off to my grandparent's house. Anyways, stockers on the left, Kickers on the right.


I also ended up making a new cargo cover! All together for materials came to about $50, plus the staples that I stole a bunch of from my dad. Debating whether or not I'm gonna do a writeup on it, since it A) didn't turn out the greatest and B) I did mess up a couple things in the process of trying to make it and was basically forming the process as I went.



This was the final product. I used tagboard and covered it with insulation and wrapped it with indoor/outdoor carpet, and then hinged it about where the hinges were on the stock covers. Wires connect it to the hatch for now, and velcro on the section closer to the seats.

Also, I found something interesting when I was working on the cover. I noticed on the back of the ceiling pretty close to the hatch there's three holes. I did find three screws in there, but is there something else that's supposed to be there besides three holes? Did I maybe knock something off putting in my bike one time and didn't realize it?


Maybe I could mount a strip of LEDs back there for the cargo area cuz let's be honest, the stock light sucks. Which kinda leads me to my next purchase. I'm gonna be getting the Corksport LED kit for all the interior lights. I was gonna try and pick up the stuff locally, but unless I can find them cheaper somewhere else online the cheapest I found was $50 for 5 of the 7 bulbs. Not exactly affordable.

My last portion of my update is this. I bought some Plastidip for my rims. Flat black, and I might end up getting some glossifier at some point. However, I was gonna put it on today when my Dad stopped me because he thought it might be too cold, even in the garage. I looked on the can and there were no warnings about applying in the cold. Does anyone have advice on this? I'm heading back to Mankato tomorrow and am thus losing access to a garage. It's gonna be warm tomorrow, but another cold spell starts Saturday. I won't do it when it's cold enough to freeze my fingers off, but today I was out in a hoodie and jeans. I think it would've been fine.

Long-winded description, but here are my questions:
-What's the coldest it can be for applying Plastidip?
-What's a good place to find cheap but good LEDs?
-What are those three holes for?!?
 
Don't know about the holes. Go to superbrightleds.com and get all of your less there. You can pick and choose how much you wanna spend (eg. how much quality vs. price) for each bulb. As far as the plastidip, the warmer it is the better. If you have to spray cold, you can warm the cans up in the house (place them in a bucket of warm water) until you're ready to use them. If you can keep the car in a warm place while it's drying, thats even better. Worse case, you can take each wheel off and warm it up inside.
 
Alright I did the plastidip before I left home, but it's already peeling in spots and didn't go on the greatest. So I'll have to redo that, but it's too cold for now and the salt residue from the roads is clinging to the dip and hiding it. I got a couple pics when I got back but it was at night and I don't think they showed up the greatest. Or maybe it's that I'm being incredibly lazy right now.

I also got my underhood lighting kit in, but the light likes to trigger itself when the hood is closed because of the pin location. I noticed it later that night when I was delivering and I saw some light on the ground. However, it is a pretty good light kit, and once that issue gets resolved I think I'll like it a lot more. Definitely would recommend it! I might even make that the kit that I put in my trunk if I get around to it. It's a really easy install too. Only real mod was drilling a hole for the pin, but it shows you where to put it.

Also, I decided to order a couple of HID kits. One for the lows and one for the fogs. Probably gonna do 5000k for lows and 3000k for fogs. Since they're so cheap at DDM I may eventually do the highs too. I don't know when I'll install them, but I'm gonna do a full retro with projectors. I'll be buying a new set of headlight clusters so that I don't have to wait until a weekend off to get it all done. Cuz we all know with my crazy work schedule that DOESN'T happen. I got lucky to have today and tomorrow off, and I don't wanna spend another whole weekend at home in the garage like I did for Christmas. I felt extremely antisocial...

Anyways, I looked at DDM's site to pick out HIDs today and I saw that they have LEDs and found out that they are, like their HID kits, super cheap! So I'm planning on getting those from them along with my HIDs. I'll just get it all at once so I can save on shipping, but I need advice. What extras do I need with my HIDs? I know that I'm not gonna need the error eliminator, but do I need the mounting brackets, HID harnesses, or adapter cables?

Once I get my HIDs and LEDs in (depending on how the retrofit goes) I promise I'll have a huge picture update. Hopefully.
 
For all your retrofit stuff, I really really recommend the retrofit source. They may be a little more expensive on some parts, but the quality is great and everything comes as a kit. I'd personally recommend one of the morimoto mini kits for a one stop shop. It comes with the HIDs, the projectors, the ballasts, shrouds, a wiring kit that's plug and play, etc. I think you need the H7 harness (double check me on that, it's whatever headlight bulb the stock P5 lights use). Shoot me a PM if you have any other more specific questions.
 
I was definitely gonna go with the retrofit source for the projectors and shrouds, but I'll have to look at their kids again. And I can't decide which shroud to get. I think I was gonna go with the GTI-R, but I gotta check.
 
The holes are there to hold the headliner up. There should be push-clip things that go in all three. It seems to be holding up just fine, so there's that, but I find it odd that they've gone missing.

I think the cover looks pretty nice. No offence, it's not the OEM one (goofball, leaving it behind) but hey, it does the job. If you want, do a write-up. I'm sure there's bound to be someone who loses their cover or doesn't get one when they buy their P5 (I didn't and spent $100 on one).

As far as the hatch lighting goes, the corner light is pants when you lift the carpet up... I have tools stuffed in the organizer under there... I guess the solution is to keep them in the cargo area and not in the organizer. I would imagine that the LED kit, if it includes one for the hatch light, will help with visibility when you're in the boot.

The hood light could have helped me many times. I just put up fluorescent lights in my dad's garage, so that'd make it irrelevant, but in the event that I need to get under the hood in the dark, it would definitely help out!

Since I'm a dork, if you're really looking to save a bit of cash, get the "junked" projectors from TRS @ $60/pair, then go DDM for ballasts, bulbs, and harness. In total it'll probably run you $80, but shipping from China takes ages. That's one of the perks of ordering from TRS. Plus, ya know, they're a good company. (Not saying DDM isn't) I went with the Mini Graphite, which is a nice touch, but the GTI-R looks nicer IMO. It's your car though, so choose what makes you happy. You could probably contact TRS if you order a set and decide you don't want them. Ask before you buy to see what their return policy might be? Hopefully mp5la was able to answer your questions though. I tend to ramble more than anything. :)

I have 5000K for lights and then fog overlays down below. Some people have had issues with the 3000K bulbs not being entirely yellow. It's a coating (from what I've read) that goes on top of normal 4300K bulbs, and sometimes it's thick, other times it's thin.
 
I was gonna say, I think I might've seen the clips before, but I can't remember what they look like. And it does seem to be holding up just fine.

But hey! It was an honest mistake! :) I know it doesn't look the greatest. I was thinking about stapling down the sides so that the fabric on top would be tight. Maybe next time I go home. But I don't think the tagboard was the best idea since it sags a little in the middle. And I need to get string to hold it up, WOW there's a lot of flaws in my design. This is why I'm not gonna be an engineer anymore...

I agree with ya on the lighting. But looking at it again putting a light up there wouldn't exactly help with the stuff under the cover anyways. Maybe putting one close to the floor would help, but that'd be a project for when I put in my sub. And have to make a new carpet. Maybe I could cut a rubber mat.... But my mind is wandering again.

The hood light is very helpful! I used it a few nights ago at work to check my oil, since I hadn't in a while. I think I just need to trim the hole that I drilled, cuz I think there's a bunch of crap on the bottom of the hole that might be putting it at an angle. It's ridiculously cold still, but I might try and check it out today.

And where do you find these, "junked" projectors you speak of? I just found out today that TRS is closed this week, although it might be a while until I actually buy projectors. I'm looking at hidplanet's FS section to see if I can find anything. I did find some TSX projectors and saw a thread here on how to retro those into P5 lights so I might give that a shot depending on the difficulty. I was planning on DDM for lights and then projectors and shrouds from TRS, but I'll look at it again. iirc they're really expensive for a TRS kit.

And I'll probs get fog overlays too. I don't know if I'll do the 3000k bulbs then, but we'll see. I might even pick up some aftermarket fogs and go LED. No umbrellas inside and crap. Might get something from Walmart. Something cheap. But then again, we all know how those purchases go.

I might have to wait until tax time to buy a lot of this stuff. Hopefully I won't have to wait that long, but since I'm cutting down my hours next semester I might have to wait.
 
The TSX projectors will require a lot more cutting than the smaller Morimotos. It's not that much work to use them if you'd like, it just depends on how comfortable you are with the process.

They should have a spot on their site (the retrofit source) called "bargain basement". It's really hit or miss as to what they have. Some of the stuff in there is simply returns or something that didn't meet quality control for whatever reason. Personally, I'd spend more money on the projectors, the shrouds, and anything else that's physically inside the headlight. It's a huge pain in the ass to pull everything apart again (ask me how I know...).
 
Yeah now that I think about it the guys thread that I saw had a ton of detail about how much cutting he was doing and it kinda scared me off. So I don't think I'll do that.

And once TRD reopens I'll look for the bargain basement. Maybe they will have a reno sale or something. I can only hope I guess...

On the plus side, I'll be able to afford a headlight retro and a sub install!! I think...
 
Another quick note: The morimoto mini H1 supposedly requires little to no cutting of the headlight reflector. A guy on NASIOC used them in his retrofit and only had to dremel down the ring around where the bulb mounts. I don't know how true that would be for Proteges, since I haven't used them before. I chose the D2S projector so I could source my bulbs locally if one of them burned out. If you kept spare H1 HID bulbs (or whatever re-based size that kit uses) on hand it wouldn't be a huge problem.
 
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