How the *%$@#! does this happen!?

[Stiltz]

don't you feel the car pulling harder too? being that there's no exhaust and just one cat the turbo might be breathing better...makes you think twice before having that welded back...think about the horses you'll be loosing

Having no muffler will make you lose backpressure, thus loosing hoarsepower believe me, i have had past problems with that.

 

[JDM Sam]

^This doesnt apply to turbo applications.

 

[Kokopellian]

Well, it's running nicely now. Damn I love this car! I left tire strips all over the road while I "tested" the new pipe out. I might go aftermarket once the warranty is out. That is If I haven't bought another car by then. I can't decide which vehicle will have to leave the stable in order to make room for the MS6 if I'm so inclined to buy it.

 

[Alejo_NIN]

^This doesnt apply to turbo applications.

bah, back preassure?...only in civics my firends.....

 

[jeremyfl]

I think I have this same problem, car is loud....It does some to pull harder but the noise level and the back firing are too much. I have no mods either and live in miami, fl so no snow issues here.

did they have to order the part? and if so how long did it take?

 

[MoJoeTCM]

i dont know if anyone posted...but future problems...lsd, crack in mani, bushings, exhaust, shot turbo acutators....so many i left out....

 

[Kokopellian]

I think I have this same problem, car is loud....It does some to pull harder but the noise level and the back firing are too much. I have no mods either and live in miami, fl so no snow issues here.

did they have to order the part? and if so how long did it take?

No, they didn't have to order the part at all. It took them a day to get it done.

 

[spoolinboost]

i had that happen to my car twice

 

[JHew84]

I lived in the D.C. Metro area for the first year of ownership. Yes, hard winters indeed. Especially the last one before I moved. Now I live in TX. The weather is much nicer to my cars and my bike. (2thumbs)

In response to the other guys, well, I would consider an upgraded exhaust, but meh, it's still under warranty. I'll start modding when the warranty goes bye bye.

probably already been said a million times, but you are definitly falling victim to the monster known as rust, especially if you do a lot of go somewhere, shut it off, drive again shortly, stop, drive again shortly, stop, basically heat it up, let it cool, heat it up, let it cool, that will REALLY speed up the process, but that does seem like it happened a little quickly... hope the stealership fixed it for you without hassle (thumb)

 

[Kansei]

I still don't get how these cars rust out so quickly (my 02.5 had bubbling rear fenders after last winter at 45k miles) yet my 1994 Mazda B4000LE is in amazing condition. The exhaust is 100% original and isn't even very rusted, the undercarriage isn't really rusty looking, and under the hood looks newer than my Protege. Good luck getting your car fixed, but after they fix it for free definitely go aftermarket, I doubt the stealership would care too much about an aftermarket downpipe.

 

[JHew84]

cars in general are getting cheaper, its no secret, they are finding new ways to cut-corners, and their doing it, not to mention there are MANY other factors that go into it, you may have taken better care of your older mazda better than the P5 possibly? who knows...

 

[Kansei]

cars in general are getting cheaper, its no secret, they are finding new ways to cut-corners, and their doing it, not to mention there are MANY other factors that go into it, you may have taken better care of your older mazda better than the P5 possibly? who knows...

Oh hell no. lol That truck definitely took a beating. I did high speed off-roading, did some rock climbing, tore up the unmaintained dirt roads through a reservoir i the area in the winter, did a fair bit of pulling my friend's stuck jeep out, etc.

... but no one would ever know, that thing is so mint still I love it. I wish I didn't give it to my dad I would love to buy it back (gave it to him to pay off the protege) so I could put my protege away for the winter, I want to keep the protege new forever I love it so much.

I think you are right though, it comes down to cost cutting. The paint is definitely of a much higher quality, and with a waxing the 11 year old paint is as brilliant as the P5s. I'm doing everything I have the power to to keep my protege in great condition, including a couple weeks ago I sprayed an undercoating on the rear suspension arms and all of the wheelwells on the car.

 

[yashooa]

probably already been said a million times, but you are definitly falling victim to the monster known as rust, especially if you do a lot of go somewhere, shut it off, drive again shortly, stop, drive again shortly, stop, basically heat it up, let it cool, heat it up, let it cool, that will REALLY speed up the process, but that does seem like it happened a little quickly... hope the stealership fixed it for you without hassle (thumb)

Well, I live in Texas and my car did not rust the exhaust just had a bad weld. Mazda replaced the entire midpipe cats and all plus all my turbo hoses and reattached my IC pipes that popped off when the entire motor shifted due to the exhaust jumping around.
Heck, it was only a couple months old or so when the darn thing broke.

 

[rdmello]

Everyone suggests an aftermarket exhaust! Can anyone suggest one that wouldn't be much louder than the stock. I want the performance, but don't want the noise.

My car is still stock. Just got it a month ago and loving it! I'm getting addicted to boost!

 

[Kansei]

Everyone suggests an aftermarket exhaust! Can anyone suggest one that wouldn't be much louder than the stock. I want the performance, but don't want the noise.

My car is still stock. Just got it a month ago and loving it! I'm getting addicted to boost!

http://racingbeat.com/FRprotege.htm
I assume this is the same as the P5 catback just for the sedan.. it isn't much louder than the Stock P5 exhaust, I don't know how it compares to the stock Mazdaspeed exhaust since I've never been in one.