Best exhaust for my Protege Sedan

[Black-Knights]

I was trying to find the best muffler or exhaust setup for my car. I thought 2.5 inch custom piping would be great, but I would like to know what would the best muffler to put on my car? Also, if you guys could tell me what is the best intake, lowering springs, etc....that are out on the market I would be greatful! Thanks

 

[dficken]

I am by far an expert, but I thought that I read somewhere that 2.25 is better for NA cars (for back pressure reasons).

 

[Natey]

Black-Knights, welcome to the club!
...I'll try to answer your questions as best as I can.
---If your looking for a muffler only, I'd say that the Mazdaspeed is a good choice. I have one on my P5, and it sounds really nice. For an axel-back, there's a few good options, Racingbeat probably being the best. Like the saying goes, you get what you pay for.
----I think the title of "best intake" goes to Injen, with AEM a close second. Depends on whether you want a short-ram or cold-air intake.
----Best springs. That's really up to you. Do you want to slam your car to the ground, or are you looking for a bit more aggressive stance? For my car, I'm thinking about getting either Eibachs or H&Rs. JIC makes the very best suspension, but JIC coil-overs will run you 1800 bucks. Again, you get what you pay for

 

[AFaceInTheCrowd]

i agree with the JIC statement above. their coils are godlike. although ride suffers quite a bit. my scooby friend has a wagon and JIC coilovers. his ride is rougher than the msp on full soft. when you shake his car, the springs don't give, the tires do.

 

[Black-Knights]

Short shifter question

Thanks for the information guys....I was also wondering about a short shifter.....I have seen three so far on the market..but some say they will only fit an mp3...will it still fit mine? Also, will the mp3 body kit fit a standard 2003 sedan? Thanks for the help and please let me know....websites would help alot with the exhaust question I posted earlier....I just purchased the Inejn racing division intake thanks to eggynatey...thanks for your help!

 

[perfworks]

I am by far an expert, but I thought that I read somewhere that 2.25 is better for NA cars (for back pressure reasons).

you dont want backpressure!!!!!!!
it is velocity thru the system your looking for with out gas reversion.
not to big but not to small either.
if you are sticking with N/A and minor mods a cat back will work fine and the removal of the first cat( if you dare!!) with a nice tubular manifold.then 2.25 " will be fine

if you go forced induction for OVER 200 hp i would not go with LESS THAN 2.5" all the way thru

 

[FunkyBuddha]

2.25" is the way to go for a NA car. Get a decent muffler from a respectable company, then have a muffler shop make custom piping. Or you could buy the sport exhaust from mazda, and have custom pipes made for you.
As for suspension, go w/ the JIC FLT-A2 coilovers. It's got independent ride height and preload adjustments so your ride quality doesn't suffer. Instead of tightening the preload to drop the car, you just move the mounting bracket up and down to lower the car. Very expensive at around 1500USD.
Intake - either the AEM short ram, or the Injen cold air. They both probably produce the same gains and they look sweet as hell.