Long time member and now I got me a project Mazda !

tercel89

Member
We have had our 2000 Protege since new . It's a 1.6 liter , not much and bone stock but it has brought us through hell and back and very reliable ! She is now 14 yrs old with 250,000 miles on her . My wife has given her up to me ! YEEHAW! She just got a 2012 Honda Accord . I have used synthetic oil in her and did all my maintenance myself. I replaced brakes , timing belts , an alternator , rebuilt rear drums , installed new front sway bar bushings (these dont last long at all!!!)
and several MAF sensors ( damn them ! she eats them up !) . I removed the hubcaps and painted the rims . Cleaned her inside and out . I want to keep her just as reliable as I can but it seems that horsepower modifications are few and far between . Any information would help. Plus , do any of you that have the automatic in the 1.6 have any transmission problems ? This is my "3rd" car / back-up car so I am just getting ideas on what to do on it . I drive a Toyota Tacoma and the wife has her Honda Accord. I had to beg her not to trade it in when we got the Honda last month. I knew they would not give her anything for it . But I have babied it so much that the engine is virgin and doesn't burn a drop of oil. Any help or information is appreciated .
 

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Good plan to hang on to it. Seems here in the northeast, rust kills Proteges before serious mechanical problems. I wouldn't spend money trying to extract more horsepower... the Protege is best appreciated for its handling. If you were interested in spending the money, a suspension upgrade would be the best bang-for-the-buck. Or stickier tires.
 
Nice looking car, but I'm surprised that after all those years, you kept the steelies. I'd have replaced them with some Enkies, a long time ago.
 
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