Are these cars really this slow?

[Lboogs]

I've seen many post by people saying how slow 3rd gen protege and p5 are. Recently I've been noticing that I'm being passed by almost everyone while on the highway. Start off is slow, but even doing highway speeds I'm already at 3k rpm at 60mph. It seems that in order to catch up to everyone the car will have to work extra hard. My concern however, is if my car may be lagging more than normal and how to check on that. I have no CEL, and no starting problems of any kind. In August mechanic said I need to have my throttle body cleaned, and spark plugs replaced. I opted to have them change the spark plugs only. I didn't notice any changes after.

My feeling is although the speedo says 55mph, is it possible the car is only going 45mph. I cant see how everyone on the highway could be doing within 55-60mph and still be that far ahead of me. I know all drivers dont adhere to the speed limit, so I'm sure some are doing 70-80, but everyone can't be doing 5-10 mph more than I, and be that far ahead. Not sure if that made sense

 

[TWISFM]

yup

 

[Joost27]

idk mine isnt slow, i have no problem maintaining highway speeds or accelerating from a stop...hmmm...lol

have you done a tune up lately? checked the air filter, do you have a sulfur smell when accelerating, if so the cats are clogged, im guessing since your at ~3k at 60 you have a 5spd, try to get on it from time to time and clean the poor thing out, im not saying 6500rpm but somewhere around 4500 on an occasion will do.

as for you wondering if your speedo is wrong, the engine revs dont lie, in 5th you should be around 2500rpms at 52mph or so. Or you could have a friend pace your speed on a 2-lane highway or even behind you. Or if you have any police friends, ask them the next time they are out if they could tell you what your speed is when you go by, or if you know of unmanned radar signs.

 

[Lboogs]

Hmmm....

3k rpm at 60 to me cruising seems a little on the high side. Could be the throttle body choking up and needing a good spray, that usually frees up some power especially in the low to mid range. Once you hit 2.8-2.9k rpm the torque should be high.. if its as slow as im guessing then something is defos wrong bro.
Another thing worth mentioning is that if the TB was the problem source, your cold start rev wont be that high, and a/c cut ins might be more obvious.

Have you tried hooking the car up to a diagnostic system at a mazda dealership or workshop? might reveal some hidden issues.

Some variation in the speedometer is standard even in stock rides, but a variation of 10 mph would be really over the top. If you could get a buddy to lend a GPS its possible to check and match up to see if there's any differences. My guess would be its not possible the car is that slow though dude.

Hope this helps

I'll double check my RPM doing 60mph and get back to you. I actually have GPS and there is 2mph difference{speedo says 50, GPS says 52} that is b/c of my tire size, I have 195/60/15 on the front. I don't literally think there is a 10 mph difference, but I can't understand how cars traveling the same speed + or - 5mph can really be that far ahead. It is one thing for a Maxima, Accord, G35, etc to pass like it's nothing. But an Aveo, Sentra, and Saturn just has me wondering, and they seem to be doing it with ease. Keep in mind I don't have much driving experience as most people my age, and for me I don't necessary feel like I'm going slow, but when I compare the distance traveled with other cars on road I start to question what is happenning.


This diagnostic machine you mentioned, is something all garages and private shops have or is it dealer specific?

 

[Lboogs]

idk mine isnt slow, i have no problem maintaining highway speeds or accelerating from a stop...hmmm...lol

have you done a tune up lately? checked the air filter, do you have a sulfur smell when accelerating, if so the cats are clogged, im guessing since your at ~3k at 60 you have a 5spd, try to get on it from time to time and clean the poor thing out, im not saying 6500rpm but somewhere around 4500 on an occasion will do.

as for you wondering if your speedo is wrong, the engine revs dont lie, in 5th you should be around 2500rpms at 52mph or so. Or you could have a friend pace your speed on a 2-lane highway or even behind you. Or if you have any police friends, ask them the next time they are out if they could tell you what your speed is when you go by, or if you know of unmanned radar signs.

Other than 3k oil changes, I replaced the spark plugs in August. I've been using 10w30 oil for warmer months, and will be changing to 5w30 pennzoil plat this wnkd for winter. I haven't checked the air filter, but this will be done when oil is changed. No sulfer smell while accelerating, and I will make sure to hold out a little more on my upshifts. When you say clean out do you mean carbon deposits? How often should I shift at 4500 rpms?

 

[Lboogs]

Sounds like a plan dude, all of us are eager and willing to give suggestions to help resolve this issue.
Good to hear you were able to check on the difference - i got a little spooked by 10mph myself! but yeah that is normal.

Hmm getting passed by Aveos, Sentras and Saturns are not the norm at all man... do you feel like there is some resistance as you try to control the pedal while cruising by any chance. Kind of like its rather a drag.. or heavy.

This is starting to seem more and more like the throttle body.. its happened to me over and over, these symptoms, not implying any suspicions yet though.

Iukekini has some sweet advice too, its important to check for the sulfur smell.

As far as i know this machine that scans for internal errors is only at dealerships and select workshops focusing on mazda vehicles. General workshops and private establishments may not necessarily have the tool for the protege on hand. Expect to be charged for time and labor even if no errors are found.

I don't feel any resistance on throttle, truthfully I don't even try to keep up with them. My cruising speed is consistant at 50 or 55, I rarely go past 60. I'm not comparing my car to V6s and V8s. I'm comparing it other 4bangers, and I feel that 55 or 60 on the same stretch of road should yield comparable results. So unless these people are doing 70{I don't have the balls to try} something doesn't make sense. Who knows maybe they are doing 70 + and silly me I'm abiding by the speed limit.

Thanks for all the suggestions.

 

[shane02pro5]

Yes even modded they are slow as heck unless you throw a turbo on it...aveos, sentras, some civics, minivans, school busses are most likely faster however they can be made fast like anything else.

The best thing to do is get used to it... or start sinking alot of money into it

 

[eszoom]

i have a 01 es w/ 5sp manual. at 60 mph i 'm at 3000 rpms. i tune it up regularly. no issues. you can push it pass 70 no problem, but it"ll make a lot of noise. must be the gearing in the trans. to me that's normal. a 6th sp would be good. i like to think we're quick off the line ,but not fast. go boost!

 

[niky]

It's all perception. The Protege is geared really low, so you're doing higher revs at just 60 than most people are doing at the same speed.

People typically tend to drive a car at a speed that feels "comfortable". With my car, I'm usually driving 60-65... when I get in the CR-V, I'm doing 70+ at the same rpms. When I've got the diesel (Euro-Focus dieseL), I'm going 70+ at the same level of commitment and comfort.

Look at it this way... the fact that your car feels "fast enough" at just 55-60 means that you're saving gas and the possible ticket versus the people around you who are booking it without even knowing they are.

 

[sderrickson]

agreed. you definately recognize your speed in the protege, like riding with my mom in it on the highway, she'd tell me to slow down and im like um im going 65... basically b.c its buzzy and the gearing is such that in top gear, the ratio is approx. 5000 rpm for every 10 mph increase ex. 3000 rpm = 60, 3500 rpm = 70 etc.

 

[Lboogs]

I took a long highway ride yesterday and match my speed with RPMs, I don't look at the speedo I use my gps. At 64mph I was at 3k rpm, not 60, and yes at those speeds the car definitely is noisey and there is a lot of movement. Thats why I feel like my car would have to work harder to maintain whatever speed they are traveling at.

 

[sderrickson]

In my defense I did say approx

 

[Lboogs]

So in conclusion...

its normal and your car is fine?

i guess.. hehe

lol basically....................i guess I had a case of paranoia. I am enjoying taking the car to 3500 rpm though. Not ready to go 4500 yet

 

[THE Phen]

You can take the car to redline, no problems. Just whatever you do... DON'T take hard turns at higher RPMs. The oiling system on the FS-DE isn't the greatest in the world and sometimes the higher G force in the turn can keep oil from getting to the oil pump, starving the engine. Zoom Zoom Boom.

Oh...and yeah... they really are quite slow. Build up the suspension, have fun in the twisties, and accept the fact that the car will never be fast unless you dump a TON of money into it. Even then... there will always be faster cars that probably spent less money building it to be fast.

 

[tweety2300]

Of course it would be awesome if they made a gear kit to fix this problem I find my car to get better milage taking the long way to work doing 55 than the interstate doing 70. And if they do make this kit where can I get it?

 

[THE Phen]

Eh... there really isn't a kit. You can change your final drive ratio, but that will just make the car slower accelerating to highway speeds.

Lower RPM at cruising speed isn't always the cure for better mileage on the highway. Most manufacturers choose the 5th (or 6th) gear ratio such that it puts the engine near the peak of the torque curve while cruising. This is where the engine is doing the least amount of work and is most efficient. The problem with just changing a gear ratio is that this could shift the speed of this ideal efficiency up or down, and then you have to deal with the additional wind resistance at higher speeds causing more drag on the car... making the engine work harder, etc. Unless you've built the car up to power levels which are much higher than stock, it's almost pointless to change ratios to solve a small issue.

 

[tweety2300]

I'm not saying by a rediculous amount id just like to be able to do 65 or 70 say around 2500 rpm rather than 3000. My moms vibe will run 80 at 3000 rpms and has no power at all

 

[THE Phen]

Yeah... I know what you mean. I must have just gotten used to it as my P5 is my lowest cruising RPM car that I have. It doesn't bother me anymore.

Civic - B18C1 swap - 80 mph = 4100 rpm
Mazdaspeed MX5 - 80 mph = 4075 rpm

 

[no-zoom2002]

a stock 2.0l protege is slow. when i had a header exhaust intake and fs ze cams a single cam civic with a intake and exhause could beat my as from a roll. but a turbo later, the car really woke up, now i can pull 1 and a half cars on a 04 350z track pack in a pull from 40mph till 125mph. these cars are not fast they are just fun as hell

 

[tweety2300]

Really? That's either something wrong with the car or the driver my mp3 with an intake can pull on hondas from stop or roll honestly id say you were either doin something wrong or it wasn't a single cam or it had a lot more done to it than that. Of course a cavelier with the 2.2 and eco tech will eat a poor unsuspecting protege