SELL MSP or UPGRADE

[skrecht]

hey, seeking advice.
Stock 03 orange MSP. Never done any mods besides audio, due to so much negative feedback on what it takes to mod the msp without nighmares.
Only mod i'm considering is the UNICHIP. But some people still report issues, like fuel cutoff and such.
I want to be able to run with a stock srt4 and not look like a fool, or even still look like i'm in the race with an evo, and not look like i'm being passed while driving at normal speeds.
I'm at the point of hating the car (though i love the damn thing).
Its paid off, so a new car payment would suck, but i'm contemplating evo sti.
Here is teh question:
IS THERE ANYTHING I CAN DO TO GET THE MSP WHERE I WANT WITH AS MINOR A HEADACHE AS POSSIBLE, OR SHOULD I JUST DUMP IT AND BUY SOMETHING FAST OUT OF THE BOX?
Your help will be very appreciated, cause i'm at the brink to make a decision of just leaving her completely stock and not waste my money, cause this car seems beyond help of boltons.
Thanks in advance

 

[MrDiggler]

There's always a way. It will take some money, but if you read up and watch for deals on parts in the F/S section, you can get close enough to these other cars to make it fun.

For instance, in the last month I just bought:

-new AWR 70 durometer motor mounts ($160)
-Spare MSP tranny with a new Quaife preinstalled ($1000)
-barely used lightened MSP flywheel & Bully 3-puck clutch ($200)
-barely used Turbohoses SMIC ($475)
-new Vibrant stainless 3" exhaust ($800)
-spare subwoofer enclosure (to mod for more airspace), amp included ($100)

Total is $2735. Not too bad for what I got, and it should improve things greatly with the performance, reliability and driveability of the car. Still much less than an STI or an EVO. I won't need much more than a tuning tool and more boost to really have fun.
Give it a shot.

 

[MyOrangeToy]

If HP is what you want then i think u better get a evo or sti... you neeed a lot of money to get it over 350whp on a msp

 

[Tito1]

If you got the money go with an STi of Evo. Just a hell of a lot easier to get the power #'s you're looking to get.

 

[lcruz64]

That setup will take a stock srt-4 and few others.
AFC $280.00
WRX Injectors $90.00
Vibrant Exhaust $800.00
Boost Controller $40.00
Used FMIC $650.00
Injen $150.00
Motor Mounts $100.00
$2110.00
Boosting 14 psi. and making close to 250 whp

 

[Fai]

That setup will take a stock srt-4 and few others.
AFC $280.00
WRX Injectors $90.00
Vibrant Exhaust $800.00
Boost Controller $40.00
Used FMIC $650.00
Injen $150.00
Motor Mounts $100.00
$2110.00
Boosting 14 psi. and making close to 250 whp

The fun of zoomzoom- Priceless
the is something that money can't buy but for everything else there is Mazdaspeed!
(first)

The msp is not build for power but for corners, so if u want power go with evo or sti

 

[poonpower]

I would say get a WRX, then make 300hp for an ultra sleeper.

 

[MP3Architect]

if all you want to do is take on stock srt-4's and hang with evo's you dont need to do much. ive taken on a stock srt-4 before and pulled away. its not that hard. and when i had my mp3 i was getting off the freeway and was taking this long hard (very hard) curve. the evo saw me and i could hear him spooling up trying to zoom past me. but i guess he was probably shocked becaust my mp3 held that curve at 60+mph when it recommends like 20. and we came out of that curve side by side. not too shabby for a non turbo mp3.

 

[daedalus]

buy my car. seriously. do it. now. link in sig.

 

[mspeed101]

buy my car. seriously. do it. now. link in sig.

(first)

 

[Mental_MP3]

Well there arent many stock SRT-4's anymore so gl finding those. If you want to go fast in a straight line, sell the MSP and you can find 2003 SRT-4's for real cheap. Id say it all comes down to how fast you really want to go. If your looking for low 14's, high 13's, id just mod the MSP. (I personally ran a 13.8 stock at E-town) But if you want to go really fast, get the SRT-4 or EVO or STi. All have run 11's on the stock turbo (the MSP cant break 13's) and mod for your buck, you cant beat the SRT-4. (thumb)

srt-4's are so ugly though evo or sti if your going to trade in

 

[Mental_MP3]

There's always a way. It will take some money, but if you read up and watch for deals on parts in the F/S section, you can get close enough to these other cars to make it fun.

For instance, in the last month I just bought:

-new AWR 70 durometer motor mounts ($160)
-Spare MSP tranny with a new Quaife preinstalled ($1000)
QUOTE]

i wanna know where you can get a msp tranny with a new quaife installed for 1k the quaife alone is 1500 from what i have found

 

[icespeed]

hey, seeking advice.
Stock 03 orange MSP. Never done any mods besides audio, due to so much negative feedback on what it takes to mod the msp without nighmares.
Only mod i'm considering is the UNICHIP. But some people still report issues, like fuel cutoff and such.
I want to be able to run with a stock srt4 and not look like a fool, or even still look like i'm in the race with an evo, and not look like i'm being passed while driving at normal speeds.
I'm at the point of hating the car (though i love the damn thing).
Its paid off, so a new car payment would suck, but i'm contemplating evo sti.
Here is teh question:
IS THERE ANYTHING I CAN DO TO GET THE MSP WHERE I WANT WITH AS MINOR A HEADACHE AS POSSIBLE, OR SHOULD I JUST DUMP IT AND BUY SOMETHING FAST OUT OF THE BOX?
Your help will be very appreciated, cause i'm at the brink to make a decision of just leaving her completely stock and not waste my money, cause this car seems beyond help of boltons.
Thanks in advance

Just my .02, BUT I love my msp! I have looked at the Evo, Sti and Srt-4 before I bought the msp. I made the right decision. Don't get me wrong, the Evo and Sti are crazy fast, but I absolutely despise the interiors of both. The took all 30k + and spent it under the hood and forgot that people actually drive INSIDE the car. (although i like the comfort, or lack their of, of the seats). The Srt-4 did the same things and forgot to even put electric windows for two of the four doors. But, the Srt-4 only put 21k into the engine. With a few mods, the msp will "hang" with the big boys. BUT you will never overtake every car you run. My personal goals are to be able to beat a stock BMW M3. 13.4 in 1/4. Nothing more, nothing less. I like the feel that the msp has and know this is a realistic goal. With a few interior mods it will have the class, with a few performance mods it will have the balls. Even if I were to put 10k in upgrades, it will still be half the cost of a "classy" car (benz, bimmer, etc), yet it will blow most out of the water. With my current performance mods I can give a stock Srt-4 a run for its money. I may not win all of them, but it definately makes them wish they didn't run me.

Current Performance Mods:
Turbo XS dual tuning MBC @ 12psi $120.00
Catless 2.5" Midpipe courtesy of Meineke $ 70.00
Injen CAI (used off msprotege.com) $155.00 shipped
Optima Red Top (not really performance) $120.00ish

Grand total $465.00

P.S. we're dyno-ing the car tomorrow morning, so I'll post the results of these few mods.

 

[spacemonkey]

I never understood why people liek trading in their cars so soon. you take a big financial hit. your 1st few payments are towards interest and not principle.

Dealers love it becuase the car still has value and you didnt pay it off...you just paid interest off which makes the bank happy.

Get a performance car for performance. If you want a daily driver keep it reliively stock. and enjoy what you have. dont be one of those idiots who drive around in a 500 or 800 hp EVo on race gas and brag about it being daily driven. Idiot becuase the amount of fuel and money they spend they should have just bought a Ferrari...it will atleast have resale value.

HP needs gas. fun handling cars dont. so tune it for a bit more and get unichip and do 210-230 hp. That will be perfect for this car. Anymore and its pointless.

I hate tuning cars in america...jam as much HP without tinking about vehicle dynamics. no wonder why europeans laugh at us and why we cant compete with their drivers. Rolex series races are mostly all europeaners. They look at us as HP junkies with NASCAR. 700 hp NASCAR/DRAG car...ors a 800 HP F1 car or GT car. which is cooler and better?

The fun of zoomzoom- Priceless
the is something that money can't buy but for everything else there is Mazdaspeed!
(first)

The msp is not build for power but for corners, so if u want power go with evo or sti

so true...I kept on winning my stock class. I have so many trophies that I started to mod my car and move up to E class prepared. So far 1st run on stock boost, SMIC, pipes and firmer springs...that was enough to win the class again beating out a CTS and BMW 330i.

Hope to get it to a point where I can run on bigger tracks like Seabring. But I have to learn the basics of gas, breaks and spoting out the drive lines.

I want to get a bit more HP so I can start challenging EVOs and STis

compare this:

Fastest time of the day was a 53 set by a EVO MR..thats 286 HP? My fastest time was a 56 set by a 170 hp stock protege.

 

[spacemonkey]

my car (57 sec) with 170 HP just SMIC and DSM pipes..shitts street tires (712s) and poor break pads...IN THE RAIN!

fastest car (52-53 sec)... EVO IX by a rally instructor from the UK...stock brand new. Hes a damn good driver and he seriously teaches rally drivin in Europe. yes its a brand new stock EVO IX

only because it was soaked and he has AWD. I though I could have easily gotten a 56 or maybe 55-54 on dry pavement, better break pads, and on slicker tires. im running street tires Kuhmo Supras 712...lol. I could have gotten a 56 that day with better driving becasue I still made mistakes. ..we only got 3 runs

my friends mazda got 4th place in the Novice class...completely stock with 238 hp and Mazdaspeed kit. The accord that won 1st had heavy suspention modifications.

Proof of the potential of my car compared to others:

yes they spelled the car name wrong. its a protege and not a protoge. car was driven by 2 drivers. one was good Dimitri and the other a novice Kelvin

http://www.actaeonlf.com/pics/thumbnails.php?album=6

Perhaps in the future we will run for points and get some money back. Taht would mean investment in rims, breaks, and slicks. But I love the potential of this protege. in stock form you can easily win your class.

There is alot of potential...what it lacks in power it can easily make up with percise handling and response. Breaks are good too. I beleive with a bit more power around 220-230 I can easily match up to stock EVOs and maybe even lightly modified ones.

minor suspention mods...this is what I think I need to start racing against these EVOs and STis

- emanage + boost controller tuned to 220-250 hp with MAP sensor...maybe fuel ssytem to be safe. you can do unichip or MPI for about the same price
- Ground control springs (stiffer spring rate). im on stock racing beat springs. Stock psrings are good but still too soft for my liking. and no height control.
- AWR engine mounts, end links, and trail links. this will get the back feeling tight and help prevent engine movement (wheel hop). you can also adjust load on sway bar for you understeer or oversteer characteristics (havent tried). jsut that the stock units are flexable and that means wasted engergy.
- stickier tires on lighter rims. Gram lights with falken Azenis or KDWs or just slicks
- small camber so I can atleast try to get some tracktion when wheel is turned. on FWD car you really cant give gas unless the wheels are stright.
- misc braces GT spec lower tie bar and V-brace (optional). dont really need this but I want 0 body movement...lol. I want the car to feel tight and responsive....no give. like my fingers are moving the tires. instant response form the time you move your steering wheel to when the car responds.
- poolishing intake ports and spacers for smoother airflow and power (optional...not necessary). this isnt a real expensive mod.

with all that your car will handle like sex on wheels. without the rims and tires your probally looking at $1500 -$2000. to get 250 hp and a damn good suspention.

Go easy on the diff....mine has not broke but its one of the best feeling Diff I driven on a FWD car. No hard launches or wheel hop though. I autox and deliver food with 35,000 miles on the car. Nothing has happened yet. I baby my car when im not racing it on the track.

but when people say "WTF is that car?" its priceless becasue they dont expect it. at autoX theres like a million STis, miatas, EVOs and Vettes. but very rarely do you see a protege. Its a good feeling to drive a car that no one knows much about.

I have to convince tech inspection that this car came with a turbo and im not in a heavy modified race class. I tell them all the time this turbo is factory. they still think its a protege and spells the name wrong...lol

 

[icespeed]

Your argument makes no sense! If you wanted a refined interior there were a ton more cars in your price range you could have bought, RSX-s (same price, more hp), Mini Cooper S, etc. So interior was def NOT on your mind, so stop saying it was. And the only people who brag about their interiors are people who own slow cars, you never see Porsche or Ferrari braggin about how their interiors are so much better than the Viper or Vette that beat them. (hah)

And your not getting anywhere near 13.4 on the street without going big turbo. Your CURRENT performance mods will barely dyno 200whp, so think again about "hanging" with a stock SRT-4. I really hope you DO dyno it and I hope your not too afraid to post up the dyno sheet cause itll be way lower than the 220-230whp that a STOCK SRT-4 has. Ill even give you the benefit and I wont even throw out the Tq numbers we have.

that's alot of animosity!!!!! so, let the shoosting begin. Have you ever sat in a RSX-s or a Mini Cooper S?? Are you 5'2"? b/c at 6'2" I bashed my head everytime I tried to sit in the RSX-s. And the tach/speed in the center of the Mini is FUGLY. And I absoltuely LOVE how ferarri and lambo have leather to cover their dash, a custom dash of the liking is planned for the (my) msp with yellow stitching to match. Have you ever looked at the interior of your car, other than the boost guage that sticks out more than your wenker at a strip club? I mean, c'mon!!!! I maybe biased, I have owned two neons in the past ten years, and while they didn't have the "punch" you love to show off in a MSP thread, after 40,000 miles each, heads were popped off, electrical malfunctions and tranny's blowing (ok, the tranny thing was my fault) plagued me from EVER buying another NEON. The STI, on the other hand, has a very decent brushed radio bezel, not a bad touch, I like the comfort of the seats, but the rest of the interior is garbage. So the dash cluster says STI it still isn't the most appealing, neither are the contours of the dash and the way they form (or are supposed to form) into the doors. Have you ever looked at the guage cluster of the EVO? ******* FORGET ABOUT IT!!!! I got dizzy and wanted to throw up from the orange/black wonderful combo. Where the E-brake is? There is a small nook to TRY and keep my cigarettes in place. Those three cars have all their money devoted to under the hood!!!! I like the conservative approach Mazda took with the MSP. It's a car that doesnt need or want the attention (other than the orange and yellow colors). Other than the wing, very few people would recognize the msp from the regular protege. THAT WAS THE POINT. With a few minor modifications, I am very content with the interior (other than leather), more so than when I last sat in my boss' M3.

13.4 is very do-able with another 13k to put into the car (16,500 for the car, 500 in PERFORMANCE upgrades so far) for relatively the same price as an STI or EVO or UGLY ASS SRT-4 with it's ass hanging in the air higher than a jumbo jet flying at 30k feet. Do you really think 13k in mods is not enough to reach 13.4 in the 1/4??? That still puts me within 30k overall and I won't have bitches in SRT-4s, or M3's for that matter, even suspecting that this car can "hang". If an SRT-4 pulls up next to an STI or Evo, unless the guy (srt-4) is an idiot, he won't even attempt to race. But, if that same SRT-4 pulled up to a mazda protege with a wing, He would want to "show" off. He would be mistaken for doing so. RE read the post. I don't win all the time, But it definately makes them think twice about racing a MSP again. I will give you the decency of saying that most probably don't know how to drive their SRT-4's and can be attributed to the wins, But, I could also complement myself, saying that I DO know how to drive my car.

And, you have actually proven my point by referencing the Porsche to Ferrari to Viper to Vette. The Ferrari and Porsche don't HAVE to brag about anything. They don't have to talk down to the viper or the vette for that matter either. They accept them as lower cars with muscle. The same way I approach your SRT-4, a bad car with some power.

So keep talking about your best SRT-4. I'll be at home ******* the prom queen.


P.S. When I bought this car, it was upgrading from a 99lx protege. I didn't even know it had a turbo. It was quicker than the 99 (obviously) and its interior was WAY better than the 99. One of the MAIN selling points. Only after I bought it did I find out about its following and therefore the plethora of info to be learned on these forums. Looking back, especially after your attmept of an arrogant post, I have DEFINATELY MADE THE RIGHT DECISION WITH MY CAR.

 

[icespeed]

i should have left the quote, taken from "The Rock" (the movie, not your favorite wrestler)

"Your best!!! Losers always talk about their best! Winners go home and **** the prom queen"

Once again, you are helping my cause.... You talk about the top of the line SRT-4 all suped up and compare the msp with the regular protege's motor. That's the point, there is much more room for improvement for the mazda standard motor to have a small turbo slapped on to it. People are doing wonderful things with their msp motors, "doing it right" as I'm sure you would comment.

And don't talk to me about your magazine comparisons and numbers that engineers write down on paper. Look at you 1964 GTO in your sig. According to Car and Driver when that came out, that car did 11.8 in the 1/4, stock. Paper numbers mean nothing, by the way you are typing, you know that it's true, you yourself said that a 230whp SRT-4 will pull on a 230whp Evo from a ROLLING START, yet googling the srt4 and the evo's stats, the evo wins hands down ON PAPER.

 

[BOOSTR]

5.6 and 14.1 ( 0-60 and 1/4) stock. A turbo Forester will beat that. Who cares!

Are you trying to compensate for other inadequacies with all of this SRT-4 boasting? Most MSP owners do not give a flying **** about those cars. There is more to life than going fast in a straight line. And by the way fast in a straight line is not 13-14 seconds. Most of todays so-called performance cars do that all day long. Ever raced a Sport Bike in that SRT-4? Most of those don't have 235 or 355 hp either, and will smoke your ass.

You don't like our cars so why are you wasting our time with your nonsense on a MSP forum.

 

[icespeed]

The protege motor? How it was "Upgraded" hahahahahaha, they only got 170 CRANK hp by slapping a turbo on it. Thats friggin pathetic! That means there is obviously NO room to upgrade on the protege motor otherwise the Mazdaspeed gearheads or Callaway engineers would have squeezed more hp out of it, but those experts with degress said that 170 is the max they can get out of that engine without comprimising its integrity. Meanwhile the SRT-4 has 230whp stock and is designed to withstand a 355whp MOPAR Stage 3 upgrade kit. Im still laughing over the fact that the UPGRADED protege motor is only 170hp, turbocharged too!

I do not believe in mag racing, but I beleive its a good basis for it when stories are completely out of perspective like you are doing. The only thing you share with the EVO and ACR is your .90 skidpad, everything else you pretty much get blown away.

sorry, I had to drive home from work, where were we???

Ah yes, my dick is bigger and I can piss farther than you.

Please refer to post #16 for "real world" scenario. The only thing I see you writing is "blah blah blah, I bought the car with more power to make up for my lack of driving skills and I have all this literature to back it up."

From a ROLLING start, I once took a Ferarri 360 Modena, true story. He was at the stoplight and I was approaching the light. It turned green while I was doin 60mph and I smoked that fella, yo!

I calmly ascerted my reasons and "real or realistic" goals for my MSP. Overall the MSP has much potential and overall the MSP is a quality auto. Regarding your most recent post, slapping a turbo on a block with no other modifications and almost DOUBLING the hp is incredible. The fact that they DIDN'T have to change the internals to get there is a credit to their engineering. Changing those internals as well as hardpipes and engine management blah blah blah as I'm sure you already know will get a car to a certain level. There will always be a faster car, a car that can "hang" with a faster car, with the stipulation of a rolling start. And having a 355whp stage 3 upgrade flux capacitor blah blah blah doesn't mean anything if your too busy spinning the tires at the light while the car your racing is actually, well... racing. I could have a Ferarri or Porshce or the 725whp Supra from NOPI Atlanta, but if I don't know how to drive it, it does not mean a thing.

So preach on with your numbers!!!! It doesn't change the fact that a slightly moddifed msp CAN give your car a run for its money. As I have said twice, it may not win, but will most certainly make you think about racing another one.

 

[RallyeRedSi]

why worry about more car payments.