need suggestions

[cruising bazook]

I have a 2003 mazda protege 5 and want some more power. I don't want to spend too much more or do harm to the engine. I only want around 20 hp gain. I have a short arm intake (i live in canada, don't want water in the engine). Suggest some manufactures names, prices and where to get it. Also, the order of what to install first, ie throttle body space, exhust, headers... etc. By the way this my everyday car and i need to pass emissions(need the catalytic).
thank you
Mazda owner

 

[cruising bazook]

just a start

So what i got so far: change to synthetic oil's (engine and transmission), get a cold air intank (short or long, it cleans up some space in the engine), clean the EGR vavle (can find instruction in the how to section) and remove the vtcs and PNP (also in the here's how to section), install a throttle body spacer, manifold spacer and by pass valve (oulaw engineerig), install lightweight pulleys (medieval). Does anyone have any cheap idea to improve the speed of my 2003 mazda protege 5. The car needs to pass emissions tests.
Thanks mazda owners

 

[Tasty]

Cleaning the EGR isn't going to give you any HP. Throttle body spacers and the like are also questionable. I think the proven gainers on our cars are headers and turbo. The rest I would only do if you are trying to tweak every conceivable ounce of power.

 

[cruising bazook]

I have heard that installing the header means removing the catalytic. plus i don't have a lot of money to spend and i dont want a cheap header that might crack in a year. I wish i bought some light weight pulleys (i have seen medieval) to be installed before i got my timing belt done.

 

[lanny709]

So what i got so far: change to synthetic oil's (engine and transmission), get a cold air intank (short or long, it cleans up some space in the engine), clean the EGR vavle (can find instruction in the how to section) and remove the vtcs and PNP (also in the here's how to section), install a throttle body spacer, manifold spacer and by pass valve (oulaw engineerig), install lightweight pulleys (medieval). Does anyone have any cheap idea to improve the speed of my 2003 mazda protege 5. The car needs to pass emissions tests.
Thanks mazda owners

EGR's are covered under an unlimited warranty, if you are having EGR problems just take it to the dealer and they will fix or replace it free of charge. However, it will not do anything for HP gain. Intake is by far the best and most fun thing you could do. Sounds badass, gives you HP gains and gets you better gas mileage, what more could you ask for? And pulleys would also be a grat idea just be careful with quality of parts. Cheapo stuff is not always reliable. Buy brandname unless it's got a great warranty. You gotta be picky!

 

[shane02pro5]

If that's really your trunk...loose half of them speakers and it will be like gaining 50whp!

A header will remove your pre-cat but still have the primary which is all you will need as long as you relocate the 2nd 02 sensor after the cat.

 

[cruising bazook]

thats my trunk, well more like thats my speakers. Yeah i guess if i'm talking about buying light weight pulleys, the extra weight from my stereo will not help. So i can get the header installed and still pass emissions test. i just have to get it installed right, which might cost abit. i think for now, i'll just stick with my air intake, remove the vtcs and switch to sythitic oils. Unless anyone else has some cheap imrpovments to do, with out sacrificing the life of my vehicle or emissions testing.

 

[idrift4wd]

light weight wheels/ better tires?

new catback

do u have auto or manual? mp3 ecu

 

[anarchistchiken]

Man I've done just about every cheap easy mod there is, and this car just doesn't make power without a turbo. You can spend 8 grand getting it ported and polished and high compression pistons, a full NA build, and you still wont make as much power as a $2,000 turbo kit. To get 20 hp NA, especially with the age of the engine, you would probably have to port the head, which is not especially expensive, but questionably effective.

The only real way to improve speed in this car without significant modification is to reduce your weight, as painful as that may be.

 

[808MP5]

Man I've done just about every cheap easy mod there is, and this car just doesn't make power without a turbo...

speaks the troof

i did just about every N/A mod short of pistons and it didn't really do much
when i started boosting just a measly untuned 3psi it was already faster

 

[nullbyte]

LOL, There is no good way to make power on this car without a turbo. Turbo is probably the cheapest route....even if you only want to gain 20 hp.

ALSO.....who the hell wants only 20 hp? Trust me, once you get 20 more hp you will want another 20. So either buy a faster car or step up and mod that s*** like a real man!

 

[lanny709]

TURBO =/= CHEAP lol
I think he's looking to get the best bang for his buck. Keep to the easier bolt on type mods IMO. I don't like all of this hype about turbo-ing cars. It seems to be the unanimous solution to everyone's car woes lol

 

[lanny709]

Oh and you should post some pics of that trunk haha

 

[Guvner]

Answer: Sell your P5 and get something else faster.

Protege's are great handling cars, best handling car I have ever owned, but they are slow as balls and IMO not worth trying to get more HP out of them. But I am coming from fast turbo cars so I have high standards.

If you want just a bit more power something like a Sentra SE-R, Civic SIR, MSP, GTI VR6 to name a few would be great cars.

 

[shane02pro5]

Truth is msp turbo set-ups go in the fs section for as cheap as $1k. Add another $1k for an exh and fmu and eventually a new clutch and your set. A few basic na mods will run you close to that real quick.

Take a ride in a turbo protege and it is a completely different animal even at low boost. "All the hype" is worth every penny!

Or skip all that and do some suspension upgrades and be content. Shortshifter is a must either way if your a 5spd!

 

[nullbyte]

Truth is msp turbo set-ups go in the fs section for as cheap as $1k. Add another $1k for an exh and fmu and eventually a new clutch and your set. A few basic na mods will run you close to that real quick.

Take a ride in a turbo protege and it is a completely different animal even at low boost. "All the hype" is worth every penny!

Or skip all that and do some suspension upgrades and be content. Shortshifter is a must either way if your a 5spd!

This is true.

For a $1000 you can get the stock MSP setup and have the stock MSP 170 hp without doing to much work. Once this is done you still have room to grow with intercoolers and ECU's or bigger turbos.

You can put $2000 into cams/headers/exhuast/intake/pulleys plus the time and labor costs to install and you are still only going to get 150 hp max. Once you have done all this work you will be at the MAX HP you are going to get.

 

[anarchistchiken]

Generally, if you join a forum you are looking for information from people who have experience with this car. I don't have a turbo, I wish there was a way to make this car fast with a normally aspirated engine, but it is simply not possible.

You talk about bang for the buck, and we're saying there is no bang for the buck short of a turbo kit. I've seen every mod possible done to this engine, and it simply does not make power without heavy modification to the head.

You can find turbo kits for as low as $500 these days if you look around hard enough, so it definately is the best bang for the buck

TURBO =/= CHEAP lol
I think he's looking to get the best bang for his buck. Keep to the easier bolt on type mods IMO. I don't like all of this hype about turbo-ing cars. It seems to be the unanimous solution to everyone's car woes lol

 

[lanny709]

Generally, if you join a forum you are looking for information from people who have experience with this car. I don't have a turbo, I wish there was a way to make this car fast with a normally aspirated engine, but it is simply not possible.

You talk about bang for the buck, and we're saying there is no bang for the buck short of a turbo kit. I've seen every mod possible done to this engine, and it simply does not make power without heavy modification to the head.

You can find turbo kits for as low as $500 these days if you look around hard enough, so it definately is the best bang for the buck

Read the first post....
He said he doesn't want to spend much cash and not looking for a whole lot of HP off the bat. Yes, I will agree turbo is a GREAT idea! However, it IS expensive. I also agree the 2.0L motor is just not what most of us are looking for when it comes to power.

 

[shane02pro5]

As already mentioned the cost for him to stay na and get 20whp is probably near the same cost of going turbo with a used set-up.

 

[cruising bazook]

the verdict is in

Alright first off thank you everyone for your opinions. Going by what most people have said turbo is the way to go. The comment about spending almost the same amount of money for 20hp as for a turbo, hit the spot. Which means not for, will until i pay the car off, lol. I'll just stick with the audio improvments instead, plus the audio equipment can be exchanged to another car. I'm going to add a pair of dynaudio 6.5 compnent set for the front. I'm putting the 6.5inch in the door and putting the tweeters in custom fibergalss triangle box attached to the small kick panel. Don't worry mazda owners i'll post pictures when it all done, probably the end of april. But i have another question, does removing the vtcs worth it and has anyone had any conflict with their car afterwards?