New here with a 2002 white protege5

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pearsont74

Member
Hello...im new to mazda cars...have had alot of experience with nissan but really loved the style opf the protege5...

few things im not too happy bout now that i own one
- very loud...seems like mazda forgot to insulate the car....went on a road trip and man it was loud

- rough riding...not entirely sure if i have aftermarket suspension or not but its rough...i maybe looking into changing this.

- new problem i have is rough idle...in drive it seems like it wants to cut off. looking at http://www.msprotege.com/forum/showthread.php?t=94788 and may try this to see if this fixes the problem...i hope so. I have a K&N drop in filter and im sure it needs cleaning. i plan to pick up a basic drop in and swap till i get the K&N clean.

hope maybe some of you can give feedback on these and maybe some thoughts on improving them...love the car otherwise...alot of power for a small car...alot more then my 200 sx i had. My mazda auto but i still think i cna beef it up some ;)
will post pics soon
 
Welcome! I just recently acquired a 02 P5 and I can agree with you that the ride is rough, and the car is loud. It is a nice package though.

SLowly but surely I am fixing all the bad things on it. I am working on fixing the brakes next.

I already experienced my first burnt headlight bulb, and it was a pain to change it. I have ordered a HID kit for it now since I hear the P5 eats bulbs for lunch. The previous owners had left some behind thankfully.

GL

X
 
welcome aboard! is there an aftermarket exhaust on your car? i have no cats and a RB exhaust and my car isn't that loud?
 
Yeah, it is loud, lots of road noise. But I guess it's cost-saving and weight-saving to skimp on the insulation.
 
That's exactly why you have a lot of road noise. If you have a rack on top it'll have more wind noise too.
It's an entry level car, but a damn fine one.:cool:
 
If you think it has a rough ride now, wait till you get a cold fall morning on the summer tires when the shocks and everything is even stiffer.
 
It has actually been kind of chilly around here in the past. I do find it that once it warms up it does get smoother.

All in all it does feel like a sports tuned suspension.

X
 
Welcome, welcome! I wouldn't say my P5 is loud, but the tires are. I don't think it rides rough but the seats - especially leather like mine - are extremely uncomfortable.
 
Welcome. I covered the trunk area of mine with E-dead and sometimes I cant even tell it is running. Might be something to look into. Its an easy 1 afternoon project anyhow.
 
EvilJen said:
Welcome, welcome! I wouldn't say my P5 is loud, but the tires are.
Click to expand...

Tires are easy enough to change. It is always a welcome relief come spring when I put the summer tires on, so much quieter than the snow tires. Of course, the car is still loud, but at least it is one sound that is reduced.
 
bucksatan said:
Tires are easy enough to change. It is always a welcome relief come spring when I put the summer tires on, so much quieter than the snow tires. Of course, the car is still loud, but at least it is one sound that is reduced.
Click to expand...

(werd) Some crappy off-brand tires were on the car when we bought it. Almost time for some new ones.
 
The P5 is not as refined as the Mazda3, that is why you get the rougher ride and the louder noise. My brother has the Mazda3 and it is a smoother and quieter ride, but the car all around is not half as fun as the P5, even though the 3 is manual and the P5 is auto.
 
danielschweer said:
...but look in to getting the egr cleaned as far as the rough idle. . .
Click to expand...

The EGR is one of the most common causes of rough idle.
I also recommend running a cheap bottle of Gumout injector cleaner(in the silver bottle)through it. Put it in a 1/2 to 3/4 of a tank of gas. Won't hurt to do it a couple of times. No need to bother with the expensive stuff.
 
andrew2 said:
The P5 is not as refined as the Mazda3, that is why you get the rougher ride and the louder noise. My brother has the Mazda3 and it is a smoother and quieter ride, but the car all around is not half as fun as the P5, even though the 3 is manual and the P5 is auto.
Click to expand...

so true heh. I went with my white p5 auto over a 5 spd mazda 3 sport for that reason too. the 3 felt like a heavier car and all that. fun to drive and probably better on gas, but the p5 just felt more comfortable.
I wish i had a 5 spd p5 but beggers cant be choosers when the car has like 60k on it and one owner. the 3 had more than that and was 2 years newer lol.

a minor quam with the 3 though is the clusterfuck interior. it was just too busy for my liking.

you have the prettiest color for a p5 and welcome. it will be an obsession keeping it that way though. I wash mine once a week and im still not happy with that lol.
could be worse though, black mica is so much more painful to keep clean.
 
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