MP3 Brakes

MILNE62

Member
I dont remeber anything being mentioned about our brakes being upgraded in any way from the stock ES brakes. Where they at all, because if they weren't the ES has some nasty brakes for an economy car, I guess its just a wheight thing.
 
I don't have the spec sheet in front of me right now, it's been posted here a few times. Do a search. The MP3 brakes are bigger by a bit. I can't remember if it's just the back ones or front ones though.

Most magazines I've read were very surprised to see brakes so good on such a small car.

I've got no complaints. Then again, I got no abs either.
 
ES

The ES brakes come with rear drums... so it is an upgrade from any of hte 4 doors. We do however have the same brakes as the Protege 5... .1 inch bigger in the back...

If I remember correctly it's

10.1" in the front and
10.2" in the back

PLease do correct me if my numbers are wrong....

I notice that it's way too easy to lock up the tires on this car. ABS is the #1 accessory that drivers today do not know how to use properly. Most drivers panic and slam on the brakes regardless if they have ABS or not and slamming the brakes will by pass the ABS controler and simply lock up all your four tires... no advantages there.... it's a useful tool only when you know how to use it... and I think a survey showed 89% or 92% of drivers have not received adequate training or do not carry the knowledge to use it properly.

Jc
 
Re: ES

JcsMP3 said:
The ES brakes come with rear drums... so it is an upgrade from any of hte 4 doors. We do however have the same brakes as the Protege 5... .1 inch bigger in the back...

If I remember correctly it's

10.1" in the front and
10.2" in the back

PLease do correct me if my numbers are wrong....

I notice that it's way too easy to lock up the tires on this car. ABS is the #1 accessory that drivers today do not know how to use properly. Most drivers panic and slam on the brakes regardless if they have ABS or not and slamming the brakes will by pass the ABS controler and simply lock up all your four tires... no advantages there.... it's a useful tool only when you know how to use it... and I think a survey showed 89% or 92% of drivers have not received adequate training or do not carry the knowledge to use it properly.

Jc

I don't agree with you on that, I think ABS is the exact reason why it was developed for. So that it doesn't lock up when you jam your feet down on it. From what I have read, ABS should prevent your four wheels from locking up when you slam on the brakes. I don't think there is a learning curve on them. In fact, I have read that you are not suppose to tap them like you would do with non-ABS brakes. Makes sense since it would defeat the purpose of an ABS braking system.

BTW, everyone I know personally, who has test driven (or own) a Protege 5 have commented on how good the brakes are. I thought the same when I first test drove the P5.
 
Re: ES

JcsMP3 said:
The ES brakes come with rear drums... so it is an upgrade from any of hte 4 doors. We do however have the same brakes as the Protege 5... .1 inch bigger in the back...

If I remember correctly it's

10.1" in the front and
10.2" in the back

PLease do correct me if my numbers are wrong....

I notice that it's way too easy to lock up the tires on this car. ABS is the #1 accessory that drivers today do not know how to use properly. Most drivers panic and slam on the brakes regardless if they have ABS or not and slamming the brakes will by pass the ABS controler and simply lock up all your four tires... no advantages there.... it's a useful tool only when you know how to use it... and I think a survey showed 89% or 92% of drivers have not received adequate training or do not carry the knowledge to use it properly.

Jc

i'm no expert, but my es sure looks like it has rear discs. the 2001 es and the mp3 and the pro5 all have the same brakes. sorry.

and as far as abs goes, it will NOT lock up your tires. and yes, the majority of drivers that have abs do not use it properly. this is because when you slam on the brakes and the pedal starts to modulate with the abs system, the majority of driveres think something is wrong and let up, which is what you are NOT supposed to do.
 
I've had abs on numerous other cars. I do miss it in some situations, ie' rain, sand, and sometimes snow. Anytime someone says to me....abs sucks, I ask them a couple of questions

1. Do you drive a GM or Ford product. Because they DO suck on them. Especially cavaliers or sunfires and ford pickups. YUCK.

2. How do you use them? because most people have NO idea how to use them. Most people think their abs is broken because of the noises or feel of the pedals.

When i had my Prelude, and someone would get in my car and ask if it had abs, say it was crap and so on......I'd scare the s*** of out of them if it was winter by showing them exactly what could be done when abs is used right. And they never would never say it again :)
 
I don't see abs on any professional race cars.... why cause they all know how to drive without the assistance of of a damn computer telling the car what to do and when and a true race car driver would rather have the feel of the road rather then some computer assisted crap.

The majority of people have no idea how to use abs.. for good ness sakes people dont' even know how to use a damn flasher properly... they think it goes on automaticly when they turn....

I have driven cars with and without abs....

ABS takes a longer distance to stop on dry or wet surfaces all it lets you do is you can streer the car clear of the hazard you are avoiding....which in most cases is useless now with that being said... when I want to brake I want to brake... fscrew the computer trying to prevent me from sliding.. I want to do what I want to do.. it's not as if the car has anti-crash sensors.....

If you are a good driver... you don't need 4X4 on the city streets... nor do you need damn abs or anything else for that matter and if ever you do need it... you where simply going to fast.....

You have to adapt to every condition out there. People with 4X4 think they can go faster in snowy conditions simply cause they have more traction off the start... but they do stop any faster then anyone of us... therefore their insurance are much higher simply based on this mentality.... people think cause they have some technology or gizmo on their cars they all of a sudden become the worlds best driver... that's BS....

I have never got into any accidents... knock on wood... and it has to do with the driver addapting to his surroundings.... if you chose to drive the same way in winter as in summer that's your choice but one day the ABS might not help you at all it may actually make the situation worst cause of your ABS ego made you drive that much faster....

it can be a great tool to have... but completely and utterly useless when not used properly....

Jc
 
Last edited:
Re: Re: ES

njaremka said:


i'm no expert, but my es sure looks like it has rear discs. the 2001 es and the mp3 and the pro5 all have the same brakes. sorry.

\

No need to apologize... since this is right off the Mazda website....

Brakes :

Power-assisted ventilated front disc / rear drum brakes
Optional Anti-Lock Braking System w / Electronic Brake Force Distribution (EBFD)

This is for all 4 door models of the Protege.... The MP3 is the only 4 door that has rear discs....

Jc
 
Speaking of ABS, wouldn't it be great if they offered as an option on the MP3's, but with a switch to turn it on or off. Kinda like some vehicles have an on off switch for traction control.
 
Gyre said:
http://www.mazdausa.com/protege/default.asp?vehicle=protege&zip=&did=&state=

Check out the 4-wheel disc brakes section of the quick facts ... standard on the ES and not available on other trims. Of course that's the current model. When I bought my P5 I looked at the Protege stats. I think I recall the ES had disc brakes standard or optional (not sure which) but the other trim levels had rear drum brakes.

Well I got my info off www.mazda.ca not the .com website...

Now I really don't know... one site says one thing and the other something else... arg.. confused yet again....

Jc
 
JcsMP3 said:


Well I got my info off www.mazda.ca not the .com website...

Now I really don't know... one site says one thing and the other something else... arg.. confused yet again....

Jc

the candian market is COMPLETLY different form the us market. if the ES does not come with rear disc, then so be it. however, i have a us market 2001 ES, and i do have rear disc. i can even take a picture if you still don't believe me.
 
OK they made a mistake on the canadian website... cause the protege's here are the same as in the states... same exact thing.... disck brakes is an option on the ES.... oh well... I was wrong... stupid me for believing what the internet said.... darn...

;)

Jc
 
The brakes on my MP3 are great -- very strong though their small-ish size isn't great for fade resistance... BUT, on my old Corolla GTS, it also had small brakes (smaller than on the MP3) so I bought a set of Carbotech pads for it (forgot which compound) and they were AWESOME. They worked badly on the first or second stop when the car was cold but after that they were fine. In the canyons, they just didn't fade no matter what I did to them.

I had Metal Masters on there before and they were horrible! Faded so quickly. I turned the stock pads on that car to crumbling dust when I first bought the car in the mountains.

The problem with the Carbotech pads was that it was easy to warp the rotors if I didn't cool the brakes before parking...

Benefits is that they produced very little brake dust. BUT, they were pricey at about $45 per wheel. BUT, to be honest, it was worth it.

Anyway, on the MP3, I love how they are so sensitive, too. When the car is rolling slightly, I can touch the brake so lightly to stop the car that the brake lights don't come on. But I think that sensitivity in the pedal also makes them easier to lock up if you panic stop... But I've done some practice panic stops on open roads (away from other cars) and the car stops pretty short.
 
well, all I can say is, if it wasn't for the brakes I would have flattened a dog yesterday doing about 60. Damn thing ran out in front of me. If I was in my old civic, the dog would have been dead.

Damn good brakes....DAMN GOOD.
 
APEXistud said:
Speaking of ABS, wouldn't it be great if they offered as an option on the MP3's, but with a switch to turn it on or off. Kinda like some vehicles have an on off switch for traction control.

BASTARD! I was gonna say that. :-)
 
adrianblack said:
The brakes on my MP3 are great -- very strong though their small-ish size isn't great for fade resistance...

Small??? Their bigger than brakes on most cars...
 
Back