asifmbadar said:
I am still searching and looking, as you guys know this is a rare car here in the U.S. as they were only released as 02 and 03 models. Does anyone know how many were in production total here in the states? Also, I would prefer having the cloth interior over the leather. I am not partial to any colors but I do like all the colors the Protege5 comes in except black because I do not want to take care of black. I've had many black cars before and they were a pain in the ass, polish, wax, buff, etc.
Cloth interior, any color exterior, within 250 miles of nyc, 5spd, 02 or 03, thats pretty much it.
All protege5's had rear drums? I would prefer 4 wheel abs disc brakes if they are available, but if not then whatever is out there should be fine.
I'm from Flushing, Queens, New York City! ;-)
PS - My g/f has an '06 mazda3 which I drive pretty much every day, and that is how I have come to love mazda's, the Protege5 is said to be even better.
A few complaints people seem to have are: crappy tires, lack of power, weak a/c, and weak sound system. What would you guys reccomend? I like BFG tires, as for power would an i/h/e be enough or is there more? What is the right way to tuen a mp5, vw's love chips, honda's love bolts ons, and nissans love turbo's. Does the MP5 have any tuning preferences? I'm also guessing that the weak a/c system is something that cannot be fixed easily b/c my g/f's mazda3 has the same problem and it is a wide and common problem, it just so happens that these cars come from the factory with weak a/c systems.
Also, which protege's came with the factory turbocharger? The MP3's or the MP5's?
Sorry for writing the dictionary.
Welcome Ash! You will fall in love with the P5....
To answer some of your questions:
Cloth vs. Leather - It should be just as easy (if not easier) to find cloth interior vs. leather.
Brakes - All P5's came with 4 wheel disc brakes. In Canada, ABS was standard, but I know it was an option in the States.
MZ3 vs. P5 - If you think you like the ride/handling of the 3, just wait until you take a P5 for a rip
I've driven a 3, and it can't compare to the connectedness, the feedback, the visceral feeling I get when driving my car - and that was before I upgraded my suspension. The P5 is truly a driver's car. Just wish it was faster from factory
(the only true downfall of this car, IMO)
P5 Drawbacks - The factory Dunlops are crap, yes, but I'd be surprised if any P5's out there still had these tires on them. Lack of power was already mentioned, but get on a good twisty road and that tends to fall by the wayside; you will be grinning ear to ear as you leave the more powerful cars behind you in the curves. Yes, the A/C isn't the greatest, but it does the job. Depending on what you like/are used to, the factory sound setup isn't bad; in the US, I believe it was the 03.5's that had a spare-tire sub included with the car (don't quote me on the year though).
Mods - I/H/E is probably the first group you should look at, and what most people do, but I've also heard really good things about the UDP (have to install mine yet). Everyone has their own opinions. We do have some AWESOME vendors on this site though, some of the best being Protege Garage (run by Captain KRM P5 on here), NSN Motorsports (Turfburn), Corksport, Horsepower Freaks, etc. Just check out the authorized vendor section for more info.
Factory Turbo - The MP3 was released only in 2001 (sedan), and was non-turbo, though it did have some minor performance tweaks from factory. I WISH the P5 came from factory with a turbo; it was actually the Mazdaspeed Protege (MSP), a sedan, which was only released in 2003. The first half of the year only black mica and spicy orange (<3) was released; the second half of the year, there was titanium, blazing yellow, sunlight silver, and lapis blue iirc. This 03.5 model also had some subtle styling differences as compared to the 03's.
Wow, I've gone on, but hopefully this gives you some more information to go on. Search is your friend as most topics have been discussed many times, but if you have a question feel free to ask
Most people are more than happy to help out a new/prospective owner.
