Goodbye old friend, hello new buddy!

[NatesNewToy]

Well, after a year and a half, I finally decided it was time to get rid of my RX-8. Had such a good experience with it I decided to get another Mazda, and just drove off the lot a few hours ago with a 5 speed '02 Protege5.

Now I'm no n00b when it comes to modifying a car, but I've never done one of these before. I've got a pretty heavily modified Prelude that's my current toy, and in the past have built up a Z3 roadster, an Infiniti G20t, and a couple domestics.

What I'm looking to find out is what specifically does the engine respond well to in this car, as well as information like what the engine code is, what the ECU code is, what tuning options are available. Any information on identifying this stuff would be welcome. Heck, I'm not even sure where to look on the block for the casting numbers.

Is there any work in the ECU area like Uberdata or Crome for the Hondas? Some kind of homebrew engine management?

Are there other engine options available that are worth swapping in?

Is there a big difference in performance between the JDM version of the car and the USDM version (if there even is a JDM version)? Where do these differences come from?

Is there any wierdness like FRM sleeves, or anything that makes beefing up the internals tricky/expensive?

Sorry if these have been answered a thousand times before, I did a little searching around for the engine/ECU codes, and couldn't find any info.

 

[iLisa]

you traded the 8 for a 5? that is awesome.. I LOVE my 5!!

 

[J dragon]

I would have never gotten rid of an RX-8....But like common says...it's your world.

 

[xvdarkyvx]

shoul'dve gave me ur 8 and i would've gave you my 5... haha. j/k have fun.

 

[mountjonas]

welcome. someone did the jdm fs-ze swap and said it wasn't worth it. as far as options go, there are a couple of turbo kits out and a supercharger kit that is still being developed (i think).

the 2.0 doesn't like boost past a certain point. i'm not very technical with cars, but from what i've been reading, i wouldn't boost past 7-8 psi on our stock internals.

lurk around on the forced induction subforum and find out more.

 

[gapeachsp5]

Holy crap you did the opposite of what I want to do. What made you choose a P5? (Just wondering.)

Otherwise, you can get the ECU flashed to be like an MP3's. Do a quick search to see exactly what it does. I'm not 100% sure, so I'm not going to make an ass of myself. I'll let the more experienced, knowledgeable members fill you in.

 

[NatesNewToy]

welcome. someone did the jdm fs-ze swap and said it wasn't worth it. as far as options go, there are a couple of turbo kits out and a supercharger kit that is still being developed (i think).

the 2.0 doesn't like boost past a certain point. i'm not very technical with cars, but from what i've been reading, i wouldn't boost past 7-8 psi on our stock internals.

lurk around on the forced induction subforum and find out more.

See, this is the kind of info I'm looking for. We have the same problem with the Prelude, in that case it's caused by weak ring lands. A little detonation and they're gone.

For those that wondered, I only got rid of the 8 because my wife is going back to school, and we needed something with more room for less money. Plus that thing went through gas like you wouldn't belive. Other than that it was a great car, and will be missed

 

[NatesNewToy]

Holy crap you did the opposite of what I want to do. What made you choose a P5? (Just wondering.)

Otherwise, you can get the ECU flashed to be like an MP3's. Do a quick search to see exactly what it does. I'm not 100% sure, so I'm not going to make an ass of myself. I'll let the more experienced, knowledgeable members fill you in.

I've always liked the P5. It's a good looking car, handles wonderfully (I'm more of an autocrosser than a drag guy), and is practical enough to live with. All in all, it's not as badass as the 8, but it fits my current needs nicely.

Just for kicks, here's a picture of the old 8, and my 'lude

 

[toucci]

First engine mod should be an obx header. For $200 you get around 10 horsepower.

 

[Lord_Zath]

Congrats on pulling a -Jose.

Check out the N/A section if you wanna build the engine slowly w/bolt-ons and don't want TONS of power, just a little more.

Check out the F/I section if you want TONS of power for relatively cheap.

 

[J dragon]

First engine mod should be an obx header. For $200 you get around 10 horsepower.

If he wants to go FI.....that's the opposite of what he should do.

 

[NatesNewToy]

If he wants to go FI.....that's the opposite of what he should do.

Not entirely sure what I want to do yet. FI is always fun, but I've got a nice warranty I'm not sure I want to void just yet.

I'm thinking suspension first, and damnit this car needs a shorter shifter like nothing I've ever owned.

 

[toucci]

If he wants to go FI.....that's the opposite of what he should do.

Right, since he bought a practical wagon to get good fuel mileage he may want to lose his reliability and start drinking fuel again with a turbo kit

 

[NatesNewToy]

Right, since he bought a practical wagon to get good fuel mileage he may want to lose his reliability and start drinking fuel again with a turbo kit

Not sure if this holds true with the Mazda or not (although I can't see why it wouldn't), but the last turbo Prelude we built didn't get much worse than stock mileage, if you kept the RPMs down. Of course, with that much power on tap, who has the willpower to keep the RPMs down.

 

[stdntDrvr]

shifter - TWM
then get the shifter bushings from kartboy
awr sells sways (19mm or 21.5mm)
you can always find sways from mazdaspeed guys (20mm) for less
header: obx (+++) or AWR
intake: ebay, injen, k&n
cams: srmotorsports or the jspec intake/msp exhaust
Unorthodox Racing makes an underdrive (crank) pulley and 9lb flywheel
ACT makes clutches
the main sites you want to hit are
www.protegegarage.com
www.srmotorsports.com
www.corksport.com
and all of our other vendors/sponsors

 

[Lord_Zath]

I see you're in Alabama. Super Matty P is developing a supercharger kit, and lives in Birmingham. Might be a good alternative. I'm not sure if he can post on the forums yet or not (long long long story), but you can always send him an instant message on AIM "mazdamattyp5" or try sending him a Private Message.

What's the mileage on the p5?

 

[Protege52003]

Good choice on the P5. I like my P5.....

If you chage intake and full exhaust, that is a way to gain some power with a lot of noise on the exhaust side. Not sure if need to pass emmissions.....

Then you can work with engine managment to improve your a/f ratio to get a litttle more power if you want to stay N/A. depends on how much money you want to use I guess.....

 

[stdntDrvr]

...and if you like a nice quiet/deep exhaust...go for the racing beat cat-back

 

[NatesNewToy]

I see you're in Alabama. Super Matty P is developing a supercharger kit, and lives in Birmingham. Might be a good alternative. I'm not sure if he can post on the forums yet or not (long long long story), but you can always send him an instant message on AIM "mazdamattyp5" or try sending him a Private Message.

What's the mileage on the p5?

I live down in Dothan, but get up to Birmingham 2 or 3 times a month. I've still got a house there and all that. Does this Matty fella work at one of the local performance shops?

The P5 has 32K on the clock. Not too bad.

 

[stdntDrvr]

i saw a nice mazda 3 in dothan a few months ago