New 03.5 owner!

N

NeilBey

Member
:
2003.5 Mazdaspeed Protege
Hi everyone!

I'm back after a long hiatus (had an 02 protege lx). I've been on the z car kick for a while, and still am. I have had a 1985 Nissan 300zx turbo (looked like s***, but could squeal the tires in 3rd) and still have a 1975 datsun 280z with no engine (had a 1983 280zx turbo motor that I swapped in, but sold recently). I've decided to put the z out to pasture until I can get the v8 swap stuff in order.

I bought my 03.5 msp from a kid on craigslist. It needs some work - stuttering on acceleration, replace the WGA because of overboost (I'm thinking anyway), and get a muffler (mufferless right now). I'd like to get rid of the solid motor mounts and get some good quality poly mounts (I'm not sure if those are even available for MSP's?). I'd like to pretty much get this thing as close to stock as possible and make a good reliable DD whilst I work on the 280z as my fun toy.

Maybe you guys can offer a little insight on the WGA/overboost/stumbling on accel problem. I'm sure they are all related and I feel like replacing the WGA will solve everything.

Here's the pic:
2011-11-12%25252010.28.00.jpg
 
And how the hell do i change my avatar and signature? I can't for the life of me figure it out. Thanks!
 
Welcome man.. My buddy has and old 280z that he completely restored and dropped a small block 350 into it. That car will take you for one hell of a ride lol.
 
Oh I know. Even the completely stock l28et I had in there would squeal the tires. I made a good amount of money on selling that engine though. It was worth it.
 
I have a question too for anyone reading this thread. Since the car has no muffler right now, I'd like some opinions on whether I should find a stock racingbeat one, or just slap on the dynomax superturbo I have laying on the shelf collecting dust. Any one had experience with the dynomax s/t? Again, I'm NOT wanting a loud machine, hence me wanting to get rid of the solid M/M.
 
Go with the 2003.5 OEM Racing beat axle back with the oval tip. That is the one your car came with. I have had the mazdaspeed sport axle back and the 2003.5 racing beat and the difference is night and day. You could go with the racing beat from a 2003, but the tip is not the same... Just keep an eye on the for sale section and one will pop up. Good luck...
 
Well here's the thing. I have one. It's on my old mazda which my brother now uses. I need to find an oem one for a 2002 mazda protege so I can steal that one back. And I'm trying to do this on the cheap since most available funds need to go to the datsun
 
i say throw on the dynomax if u still have cats and the same diameter pipe it shouldnt be too too loud and its free-ish Not trying to super promote a single website but protegegarage.com has Poly Motor Mounts(cheapest place ive found) and u can choose what duro u want and they have replacement wastegates for a good price if u plan on modding your MSP anymore i would go with the forged one i bought the regular factory replacement one and it works great i just hope it can handle 12-13lbs of boost on the daily. Ken the owner of that site is a really cool dude and he can answer any question u have about the products he sells. u should take a video of how it sounds now and after u change it
 
Welcome to the club.. What solid mounts do you have on the car now? I might be interested in the passenger side one if your willing to sell.
 
Welcome. Since your wanting to stay close to stock, I'd say get the atp wga. It's a good reliable wga. As far as your stumbling upon acceleration. Welcome to having a msp. Only way to fix that is to get a ssafc. Or other tuning device. And I'd recommend buying a wideband gauge and a boost gauge to monitor everything. And as far as modding it, I'd say atleast do some sort of hard pipes for the smic. Only cause the plastic pipes sucks ass
 
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^this^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^


The msp computer makes your car lean out until your vics butterflies open and then u run pig rich its so poorly tuned from the factory
 
So there's no non-ssafc mod to help with the afr issue? That's silly.... I'd like to see if my ECU has been reflashed by the dealership yet.
 
Welcome. SCMP3 is on the ball. My MSP was stock and the plastic pipes are garbage and WILL crack. Check all your vaccums, the stock ones are rubber and they crack over time. I wouldn't replace the exhaust with the stock MSP oval one, the baffle inside the muffler will start rattling after some time. My dealeship replaced it with a Mazdaspeed with a round tip, sounded much better IMO. Good luck with both rides
 
In due time i guess... First things first. I need to rebuild the turbo. I'm convinced it's on it's way out. Smell of burning oil if I drive vigorously. Makes a noise like the engine has a bad belt when it's cold and goes away after it warms up, slight puff of smoke when I boost heavily (only been able to occasionally see it @ night with headlights behind me), you can hear it spooling up like WWOOAH (so to speak), and I don't' think it's supposed to be that loud. I've got a spare turbo lying around I'll slap on and then rebuild the stocker.

Put the superturbo muffler on and it sounds good enough. The PO did some bum job cutting out the resonator (oh joy...) and welding in a straight pipe. I've got a 2.5 inch glass pack I was thinking of slapping on there as a resonator ( this is a setup I've had on my 75 280z, and my 85 300zx turbo and it sounds pretty good).

I'd like to also get rid of the solid motor mounts on the car. I'm not a fan of the vibrations and would prefer to have the poly mm. Any one have a spare set I could swap even for? I believe they are the street unit ones.
 
I don't know of actual solid MMs, the only ones available all have poly bushings, including the SU mounts you already have.
 
Spooler said:
Welcome. SCMP3 is on the ball. My MSP was stock and the plastic pipes are garbage and WILL crack. Check all your vaccums, the stock ones are rubber and they crack over time. I wouldn't replace the exhaust with the stock MSP oval one, the baffle inside the muffler will start rattling after some time. My dealeship replaced it with a Mazdaspeed with a round tip, sounded much better IMO. Good luck with both rides
Click to expand...
scmp3 loves balls
 
NeilBey said:
In due time i guess... First things first. I need to rebuild the turbo. I'm convinced it's on it's way out. Smell of burning oil if I drive vigorously. Makes a noise like the engine has a bad belt when it's cold and goes away after it warms up, slight puff of smoke when I boost heavily (only been able to occasionally see it @ night with headlights behind me), you can hear it spooling up like WWOOAH (so to speak), and I don't' think it's supposed to be that loud. I've got a spare turbo lying around I'll slap on and then rebuild the stocker.

Put the superturbo muffler on and it sounds good enough. The PO did some bum job cutting out the resonator (oh joy...) and welding in a straight pipe. I've got a 2.5 inch glass pack I was thinking of slapping on there as a resonator ( this is a setup I've had on my 75 280z, and my 85 300zx turbo and it sounds pretty good).

I'd like to also get rid of the solid motor mounts on the car. I'm not a fan of the vibrations and would prefer to have the poly mm. Any one have a spare set I could swap even for? I believe they are the street unit ones.
Click to expand...

You can't really rebuild the stocker on the MSP as far as I know. You can buy the cartridge and swap that out.
 
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