asifmbadar said:
Thank you. Okay so the mazdaspeed protege was the only factory turbocharged protege. It is the same 4 cylinder motor as the mp3 and mp5 with a turbocharger on it or are the internals stronger and built for turbo?
19.8cu ft (mp5) vs 12.9 mp3/msp of cargo volume
That's about 7 cu. ft. advantage that the mp5 has, 5 cubic feet is a lot of space, I think I will stick with the mp5. However if I come across a clean msp I will consider it, but I'm guessing these will be significantly overpriced.
Expert reviews on msn and other websites seem to love the mazda protege as a fun, thrilling car to drive that has changed their minds about the platform. Anyone here experienced something similar? Buying it and considering it a family car or just an A to B commuter and then realizing what a great car it is?
I will be keeping my 240sx for drifting and other purposes, so I think getting the mp5 will be best, I will have the best of both worlds.
Also, I hate to be a nuisance, but what can I expect to pay for an 02 or 04 mp5? I see that they go on ebay for anywhere between 10k - 16k. Thanks in advance. Also is MP5 the chassis code or just a short name? What is the engine code for the 2.0L 16v motor inside these beasts?
Chassis code for the Protege5 is BJ-FW
The engine code (note, be careful using the word "beast" anywhere near a reference to the 2.0) is FS-DE.
Some random info:
You'll see talk of FS-ZE from time to time.. the ZE is the JDM engine. It had different pistons, ecu, cams, etc).
A lot of people have JDM or EDM badging to customize the car a bit to their liking. In Japan, the Mazda Protege (all variants) were called the Mazda Familia. The rough equivalent to the Protege5 is the Mazda Familia Sport20 S-Wagon. There was also a Familia Sport20 sedan, but what really makes these models special (to me at least) is the AWD. Yeah we never got that over here. They also had 170hp (with the FS-ZE), but then add the AWD drivetrain loss to that and I doubt they are much faster if at all.
Some popular cheap/free mods people do to the USDM protege5. these can all be found on the Tech -> how-to forum:
- JDM headlights - instead of paying crazy prices for the canadian (same style as the JDM) headlights, most people bake the headlights in an oven, pull them apart, and paint the chrome bezel (not the reflectors) black).
- JDM front grille - take off the little black strip at the top of the grille and paint it body color. For Sunlight Silver, it is as easy as Duplicolor Ford Silver Charcoal.. it's seriously a perfect match.
- "fog light mod" - a quick rewire of the fog light switch so that the fog lights can come on without the headlights being on.
- removal of the bump strip on the doors. It's just glued on, no holes underneath. Some people like the clean look (myself included), some prefer thinking that it adds protection (barely, if at all).
Some informative sites:
Floptical.net - hosts the Mazda Protege factory service manual.
http://www.floptical.net/mazda/
theMAN's Protege FAQ -
http://www.protegefaq.net/
- Has tons of specs, jdm part numbers, etc. Answers to almost any protege question can be found in the FAQ. Many thanks to Edwin ("theMAN" on here) for making/maintaining it.
As for performance mods. I'd say the car really likes turbo, but well.. it has really weak rods. Push much over 200whp (double stock whp at that point) and you'll end up bending a rod at some point. It can easily be averted by getting forged internals. There are people on here running crazy power. You'll want a limited slip if you're going to go for that much power too.. only the MSP (Mazdaspeed Protege) came with a limited slip, and it was weak.
If you want to go the NA route, know first that you will spend a LOT of money and really not get any crazy gains to speak of.
typical NA Mod Path:
Stage 1: intake, header, midpipe, cat-back exhaust. - $1300 and ~10whp
Stage 2: ECU (Protege MP3 ECU is a popular swap), underdrive pulley, cams (custom or JDM) - anywhere from $700 - $2000 dollars ... MP3 ECU plus JDM intake cam maybe another 5whp or so.
Stage 3: give up and go turbo lol
Of course I'm pulling all those numbers out of my ass because I have yet to dyno my car. I have stage 1 and 2 done, plus a few other goodies
Useless mods (I'm sure there's more that I'm forgetting):
- Upgraded spark plug wires. Protege5s are distributorless, and have coil packs on cylinders 2 and 4, with short wires going to cylinders 1 and 3. Nothing really beats the stock spark plug wires.
- JDM FS-ZE intake cam - a b**** of an install if you don't have the right tools, and for what.. negligible gains. Go custom if you want cams.
- Mazdaspeed Axleback - offered as an OEM accessory.. sounds really nice, but no performance gain. As soon as you add a header to the mix it becomes a painfully loud drone-athon.
I can't say enough about how amazing this car is. It handles like a dream, can get 36.5mpg highway (yeah it blew my mind when I got those numbers), looks freakin awesome stock(just my opinion but I feel it has the best styling of any compact car), and can haul lots of stuff when needed.
Recalls: just one, and it only affects 2003 models. It's sorta serious though, so be aware. There are screws for the VICS (variable intake charge something... check the Protege FAQ to read all about it, it's a pretty cool system) butterfly valves that come loose and travel from the intake manifold into the combustion chamber.. and well you can imagine what happens when screws get in there. Some people have survived it, and found the screws up against their first cat. Many have needed new engines. Mazda has a revised intake manifold if I recall correctly.
Model year and changes (I know I'm missing a ton of stuff but this covers the basics):
2002 - first release
2002.5 - new wheels (carried into 2003), clear side turn signals mounted high on the fenders, and a tiptronic automatic (who the hell cares lol)
2003 - LAZER BLUE.. I'm sure some other things.. oh yeah the recall
2003.5 - no roof rack (or was it an option), and many of them came with leather and a spare tire-mounted 100W subwoofer.
wow I've been driving all freakin day, why did I just write this long rambling mess.
buy a Protege5, you'll be happy
That's what I keep telling myself at least, I hit 70k miles today and I've had the belt in my posession for at least 10k miles haha. Too lazy/busy to install it.
