Noob worships P5 Forum

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Singletrack Pig

Member
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02 P5, 06 Mazda5
First off, thanks to everyone who makes this forum such a killer resource for P5 owners. I just bought mine last week after doing lots of research here into what problem areas to look for, wrenching tips, mods and good places to buy stuff.

I'll get some pics together soon, but until then I have a few questions. Mine's a silver 2002 with 115,000 miles on it- stock except for a K&N CAI as far as I can tell. Don't know a lot about the maintenance history. One owner car as per Carfax and I was able to get some minimal service records from a dealer that did a few things- wheel bearing replaced, injector cleaning, oil change etc...

The car looks and feels amazing considering the mileage. I think it was a lot of highway miles.

So, here's what I'm looking at doing or have done.

New plugs- did w/NGK V Power Copper
Manual Tranny fluid- GL4 Redline or Amsoil, right?
Synthetic Oil next time
New belts- Gatorback?
Timing Belt- no record of it being replaced, so probably a safe move.

I feel like the car handles really well and am unsure whether I need to replace the stock struts and springs or not. It does feel a little bouncy over bumps and I don't know if the stock setup just rides like that or if I need to freshen up the 4 corners. No oil is visible on the struts. Is a bouncy ride, especially on the highway normal?

If I do make a change I'd either go with the Tokico HP's with Racing Beat springs, or just keep the stock springs and go with the KYB's. I have 2 kids (one's a baby) and drive on gravel mountain roads with a hitch mounted bike rack, so a serious drop is out for me.

The exhaust is looking pretty bad, but I don't notice any leaks yet. Looks like Racing Beat makes a nice replacement set that isn't too loud (sense the family man theme here?) and not too expensive. Anybody know what a local muffler shop gets for a cheap exhaust replacement on the P5?

Anyway, that's enough rambling for now. Thanks for any suggestions you might have for me. Hit me up if you have suspension or exhaust bits you might want to sell that meet my needs.
 
You're welcome. Now bow down to your leader! I don't run this cult for the good of my health you know!
 
Wow. Sounds like we are pretty much mirror images of each other! I got mine about a month ago, silver, 103k miles, with a SRI and K&N intake. Oh, and sweet chrome taillights(hah). Yeah, I didnt put the lights on....
Anyways, I got mine because I had liked them for a while and when the second baby came in July, I knew I needed something with 4 doors and plenty of room. So my lifted Explorer Sport had to go(sad2). Not to mention the gas prices. So I did the same things, NGK plugs (mine are the +3s or something like that, they have 3 electrodes) Timing Belt (which should have been done a while ago, you are on borrowed time!!!!), fuel system cleaner, and I am sea foaming this weekend.
Now, you said your ride is bouncey, that doesnt sound normal. Mine hits a bump, at any speed, and sits right back down. I am all stock suspension as far as I can tell. Your shocks should be the first thing addressed there.
Welcome to the forum and good luck with your maint.

Oh, and if you want to trade some stock taillights for some awesome chrome ones, you just let me know!
haha, I just had to throw that one out there...
 
I'm not a mechanic by any stretch, but congrats on the purchase! I have about 80k on mine, and I'm starting to wonder what my springs/struts situation is too. It's supposed to be a stiff ride that lets you feel the road, but I'm not sure how to tell when it's time.

All of the standard flushes and using synthetic oil has kept my p5 going strong. You should find out if the VTCS TSB was performed on yours. Cheers!
 
sounds like your on the right track man

for all your protege needs I would recommend any of the vendors on the site..they are all great people.
 
Thanks...

So what did ya pay for the Silver Slotege? If you don't mind me asking. Just curious to see if I paid a decent price for mine.

My car doesn't keep bouncing after a bump, but it doesn't seel like it really absorbs all of the bump either. Granted, my last ride was a 20 year old Mercedes, so I may just need to adjust to a tighter riding car.

How can I find out if the VTCS was ever addressed?
 
Your ride should not be stiff. It should be smooth... You should neither feel every bump on the road nor bounce up/down more than once or twice, with the latter bounce being a much shorter rebound.

If the car keeps bouncing up/down more than two times, your shocks are on their way out if not alerady gone. You're pretty much riding on the spring with litle or no dampening. Highly unsafe, especially in turning and/or stopping. Another issue that generally tells you if you need new struts is, extreme diving with wandering during emergency stopping and extreme squatting under moderate/hard acceleration.

Changing the timing belt is a good idea with the ammount of miles on the car, especially if there's no record of it being changed previously. Remember though, its not only the timing belt, you should also change the tensioner and some (if not most) think one should change the water pump.

Something else worth looking into is the motormounts. On most of the P5's, the motormounts have been a problem and have had to be replaced. There are four but you'll only be able to see three without getting down and dirty (also two * of the three are the ones most commonly torn) *Front, *passenger side and driver's side. The rear, or closest to the firewall also has a tendency to be one of the first to go but its the most difficult one to get to and the one that causes the most vibration when changed to something aftermarket (stiffer).

Brake calipers are going on mine so keep an eye on yours.

Hopefully the car has alredy suffered the clutch chatter issue and it was fixed by the revious owner. If you start experiencing some chatter or, as in some extreme cases, bucking of the engine upon take-off, you might ned to replace the clutch/flywheel. Been there done that...

Regardless, these are great little cars. Congratulations on your purchase and hope it your ride doesn't suffer from too many issues; the curse of first-year production on a car produced for years elsewhere...go figure.

And yes, bow down to aMaff... he be da Host wit da most...(bowdown)(band2)


PS - I think only the 2002.5 and up had the VTCS issue, when MAZDA switched to using bolts instead of rivets on the intake butterflys...I may be wrong on this though...
 
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Dont be scared of Maff...He cuddles with puppys and adores cotton candy..Hes a big softy
 
Just messin with ya!! I am lookin forward to seeing the new pretties on the cars when you get back!!
 
Bought mine for 5500.
I think I got a good deal though. The biggest thing was there is a little hole in the passenger seat. Looks like a typical cigarette burn, but the car doesnt smell at all.
 
Beat me by $500

But it's mint inside and out.

Yeah, I'm a dirtbag MTB guy too. I own a road bike, but it just gathers dust alongside my geared, full suspension bike. Pretty much always ride my single speed these days. Frees up more time for car wrenching since I don't have to do much bike wrenching.

Don't step on my funk...

Just saw Maceo here a few weeks ago...
 
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