Stock rubber really does suck...

[onewhippedpuppy]

my bad . not just an slk, the 3 yr old slk at that

Very true. I find it amusing that DC uses the suspension designs from their previous generation MB models, and they're still heralded as a huge improvement over the typical American car. I never stated that the Crossfire couldn't outhandle a P5, I simply was making the point that it isn't very impressive for the money. Put it up against the new SLK, Z4, or a Boxster, and it will quickly disappear in the mirror.

The P5 is a fun car for what it is, but can't be expected to hang with cars that cost twice as much. My previous car was a BMW 540 6 speed, before that a 944 Turbo. Both could destroy the P5 on the twisties or straights. But I don't care, because the P5 is still fun, and more important to my current situation, cheap to drive and keep up.

 

[Donas64]

The above poster is absolutely correct!

 

[Red5_02]

The Dunlops sucked horribly. Changed to the Kumho Ecsta ASX and all the traction problems are gone. With the Mazdaspeed springs the power hits the ground even better.

 

[Mazda P5 driver]

$2500 at 40mph...1 month into owning my p5. thats how i found out that the p5 cant handle snow without snow tires. blizzaks rule!! i'm unstoppable now!!! muhuhahaha!

you suck at teh driving.

I had Proxes 4's on through all 4 seasons. Once they were siped...hang it up. You know what it's like to not know the streets were icy until you got out of the car? I drove up snow hills to test the tires out and it climbed with no problem. I drove right past a fishtailing pickup without an issue while he struggled for traction and by then half my tread was gone.

the car handles snow/ice with no problems. it's the tires and the driver.

I will tell you one thing...the car terminal understeered when I tap the gas around a corner. The p5 just sucks ass when it comes to understeer.

 

[Mazda P5 driver]

Very true. I find it amusing that DC uses the suspension designs from their previous generation MB models, and they're still heralded as a huge improvement over the typical American car. I never stated that the Crossfire couldn't outhandle a P5, I simply was making the point that it isn't very impressive for the money. Put it up against the new SLK, Z4, or a Boxster, and it will quickly disappear in the mirror.

The P5 is a fun car for what it is, but can't be expected to hang with cars that cost twice as much. My previous car was a BMW 540 6 speed, before that a 944 Turbo. Both could destroy the P5 on the twisties or straights. But I don't care, because the P5 is still fun, and more important to my current situation, cheap to drive and keep up.

what's the cost of them? Crossfire runs for 32k. you guys wanna claim compare $ to $, well do it then. it's still better than about any car in mazda's lineup. twice the price? my p5 came out to 22k.

this forum pretty much reads like all the rest...I beat so and so even though they have a much faster car...etc...delusions never cease. then it's like...oh they should considering yak yak yak. the price is yak yak yak.

 

[Salmon_Rob]

what's the cost of them? Crossfire runs for 32k. you guys wanna claim compare $ to $, well do it then. it's still better than about any car in mazda's lineup. twice the price? my p5 came out to 22k.

this forum pretty much reads like all the rest...I beat so and so even though they have a much faster car...etc...delusions never cease. then it's like...oh they should considering yak yak yak. the price is yak yak yak.

lol have you driven one? then driven an rx8? the rx8 is cheaper, faster, and ppl can fit in it. also, i have never had an understeer problem in the p5. in 2 seasons of autox, the only time i have understeered, even with stock suspension, is when i went into a corner to hot. maybe sir you cannot drive

 

[jmv]

maybe sir you cannot drive

oh smack




My friends p5 with stock dunflops is kinda annoying to drive.... his tires are alot easier to break free than mine, even though i have more power. I'm running on yoko AVS ES100 btw.... hoping to upgrade to azenis RT-615 when those wear out!!! (boobs)

 

[onewhippedpuppy]

Agreed that the RX8 is better. Obviously you have a real hard-on for the Crossfire, which is fine, but don't argue that it is a superior car to, well, anything in it's class.

Crossfire SRT-6 cab finishes last to Corvette, Boxster, SLK.
http://www.caranddriver.com/comparisons/9157/its-all-about-me-roadsters.html

 

[Kansei]

lol @ crossfire "raping" Protege5.. yeah that Merc. engine might make it quite a bit faster in the straights, but hell no in the corners.

What the hell are you talking about (Mazda P5 Driver) saying the camber isn't even front and rear.. it's called get a 4-wheel alignment? The stock alignment specs are -1 degree on all 4 corners, and that's what my car is at. Understeer? lol I have a bit of oversteer at the limit but no understeer. Granted I have a slightly beefier rear swaybar so that is to be expected, but even before I upgraded that I never understeered in this car.

I wish I had more time to respond to this thread but I gotta get moved out of this apartment by today

 

[Mazda P5 driver]

lol @ crossfire "raping" Protege5.. yeah that Merc. engine might make it quite a bit faster in the straights, but hell no in the corners.

What the hell are you talking about (Mazda P5 Driver) saying the camber isn't even front and rear.. it's called get a 4-wheel alignment? The stock alignment specs are -1 degree on all 4 corners, and that's what my car is at. Understeer? lol I have a bit of oversteer at the limit but no understeer. Granted I have a slightly beefier rear swaybar so that is to be expected, but even before I upgraded that I never understeered in this car.

I wish I had more time to respond to this thread but I gotta get moved out of this apartment by today

it will **** the p5 is the corners soo damn badly, you would piss in your own mouth from disbelief. a bit faster? a HELL of alot faster. ~ 6.5 compared to a stock 8.5?

it's not a hard-on dumbass...it's a damn fact.

as far as camber goes...I can take pics of the wheel and they are definitely not equal. The back looks like this.../--\ fronts look like this l--l. dunno if it's the 60% front end weight or not. The mazda 3 that i saw one day front and rear were like this.../--\. I have had 2 alignments done and it was whatever the stock claims it is.

funny how I am not the only one that complains of understeer on the forum. dunno what you are on, but perhaps you should market it on your nearest street corner. belive me...the .80 stock g is nothing to brag about. it is responsive bot it's not a monster you would like to think it is.

 

[Salmon_Rob]

it will **** the p5 is the corners soo damn badly, you would piss in your own mouth from disbelief. a bit faster? a HELL of alot faster. ~ 6.5 compared to a stock 8.5?


as far as camber goes...I can take pics of the wheel and they are definitely not equal. The back looks like this.../--\ fronts look like this l--l. dunno if it's the 60% front end weight or not. The mazda 3 that i saw one day front and rear were like this.../--\. I have had 2 alignments done and it was whatever the stock claims it is.

funny how I am not the only one that complains of understeer on the forum. dunno what you are on, but perhaps you should market it on your nearest street corner. belive me...the .80 stock g is nothing to brag about. it is responsive bot it's not a monster you would like to think it is.

first, where do you get .8?
second:
<TABLE style="BORDER-COLLAPSE: collapse" cellPadding=3 align=center border=0><TBODY><TR class=rowhigh><TD align=right>323</TD><TD noWrap align=left>Robert Buelt</TD><TD noWrap align=left>03 Mazda Protege5</TD><TD align=left>Silver</TD><TD noWrap align=left></TD><TD noWrap align=left>Fuzion</TD><TD vAlign=top align=left>45.311</TD><TD vAlign=top align=left>44.268</TD><TD vAlign=top align=left>44.818</TD><TD vAlign=top align=left>43.685</TD><TD vAlign=top align=left>43.605+1</TD><TD align=right>43.685</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<TABLE style="BORDER-COLLAPSE: collapse" cellPadding=3 align=center border=0><TBODY><TR class=rowhigh><TD align=right>101</TD><TD noWrap align=left>Christopher Ballance</TD><TD noWrap align=left>BMW 330i</TD><TD vAlign=top align=left>0:46.458</TD><TD vAlign=top align=left>0:45.432</TD><TD vAlign=top align=left>0:45.173</TD><TD vAlign=top align=left>0:46.431</TD><TD vAlign=top align=left></TD><TD align=right>0:45.173</TD></TR><TR class=rowhigh><TD align=left><TABLE style="BORDER-COLLAPSE: collapse" cellPadding=3 align=center border=0><TBODY><TR class=rowlow><TD align=right>69</TD><TD noWrap align=left>George Wentz</TD><TD noWrap align=left>Pontiac Formula</TD><TD vAlign=top align=left>0:45.508</TD><TD vAlign=top align=left>0:47.099</TD><TD vAlign=top align=left>0:46.623</TD><TD vAlign=top align=left>0:45.877</TD><TD vAlign=top align=left></TD><TD align=right>0:45.508</TD></TR><TR class=rowlow><TD align=left><TABLE style="BORDER-COLLAPSE: collapse" cellPadding=3 align=center border=0><TBODY><TR class=rowlow><TD align=right>091</TD><TD noWrap align=left>Andrew Emery</TD><TD noWrap align=left>BMW 325is</TD><TD vAlign=top align=left>0:50.244</TD><TD vAlign=top align=left>0:50.028</TD><TD vAlign=top align=left>0:47.361</TD><TD vAlign=top align=left>0:48.095</TD><TD vAlign=top align=left></TD><TD align=right>0:47.361</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>man look at all those cars that are way faster than me be slower in the turns. must be that damned understeer again</TD><TD align=left></TD><TD align=right></TD><TD align=left></TD><TD align=left></TD><TD vAlign=top align=left></TD><TD align=left></TD><TD align=left></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD><TD align=left></TD><TD align=right></TD><TD align=left></TD><TD align=left></TD><TD vAlign=top align=left></TD><TD align=left></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

 

[onewhippedpuppy]

Fortunate for you P5 driver, thanks to the lack of demand for the Crossfire, coupled with American cars' wonderful habit of depreciating at an alarming rate, you could probably damn near trade your P5 straight across for one.

Is the Crossfire the only "sporty" car you've ever ridden in or what? Because if you knew anything about sports cars you would recognize it for the joke that it is, there's many cars that are far better for less money. Just another hairdresser's car. But if that's your thing.........

 

[Jack Daniels]

what's the cost of them? Crossfire runs for 32k. you guys wanna claim compare $ to $, well do it then. it's still better than about any car in mazda's lineup. twice the price? my p5 came out to 22k.

this forum pretty much reads like all the rest...I beat so and so even though they have a much faster car...etc...delusions never cease. then it's like...oh they should considering yak yak yak. the price is yak yak yak.

$22k? My loaded '03 P5 stickered for $19,600 but I paid less than $17,000.

I see very little 'ricer attitude' on this board. Most guys here know their P5's aren't rocket ships that can destroy everything on the road. They're fun, practical, great handling cars with slightly too little horsepower.

The Crossfire is a decent little car, but does nothing exceptionally well IMO. It's funny looking, slow, too small inside and handles just ok for a car in it's price range.

The SRT-6 Crossfire is much better in the performance dept, but then you're looking at $45 grand. C6 Corvette would be my choice in that price range and would destroy it in performance (not to mention looks).

 

[Mazda P5 driver]

$22k? My loaded '03 P5 stickered for $19,600 but I paid less than $17,000.

I see very little 'ricer attitude' on this board. Most guys here know their P5's aren't rocket ships that can destroy everything on the road. They're fun, practical, great handling cars with slightly too little horsepower.

The Crossfire is a decent little car, but does nothing exceptionally well IMO. It's funny looking, slow, too small inside and handles just ok for a car in it's price range.

The SRT-6 Crossfire is much better in the performance dept, but then you're looking at $45 grand. C6 Corvette would be my choice in that price range and would destroy it in performance (not to mention looks).

yes. i completely agree with your assessment. not my first choice for a sporty car, but it is my neighbors. The way he can pull from a corner is embaressing from a P5 stand point. my spelling is too. one has to ride in it to feel the suspension do it's job.

yeah...22k...name an option and I have it. auto stick, leather, abs/ebd, moon roof, deflector, cross bars, polished wheels, locks, alarm with shock sensor...etc.

 

[iLisa]

Most guys here know their P5's aren't rocket ships that can destroy everything on the road. They're fun, practical, great handling cars with slightly too little horsepower.

(werd)

 

[Mazda P5 driver]

Fortunate for you P5 driver, thanks to the lack of demand for the Crossfire, coupled with American cars' wonderful habit of depreciating at an alarming rate, you could probably damn near trade your P5 straight across for one.

Is the Crossfire the only "sporty" car you've ever ridden in or what? Because if you knew anything about sports cars you would recognize it for the joke that it is, there's many cars that are far better for less money. Just another hairdresser's car. But if that's your thing.........

ha...ever looked at what a e430 will trade in at? look in the Crossfire's engine bay. faaaaaar from american. it has mercedes name tags all over it. it physically says "mercedes" all up in that thing. it's practically a mercedes with an american name tag. yes it's closely related to the slk etc...just have to admit, it can deliver pretty decently.

when you say far better, far better at what? Sti? Evo? the numerous other clunky econo boxes with cheap speed? economy being key word.

slk costs how much? how much 5 years ago? fill in the blanks man.

 

[Salmon_Rob]

At the limits of its cornering ability, the Crossfire will begin plowing sooner than a 350Z or BMW Z4. Chrysler says this is a function of the car being tuned for more relaxed cruising than all-out sport driving. The Crossfire sports huge 225/40 by 18-inch front and 255/35 by 19-inch rear tires. Two tire designs are available, a Michelin Pilot Sport 2 and a new Continental Z-rated (high-speed) all-season. The tires are relatively large for a car that is not intended to be an uncompromised sports car, such as Nissan's 350Z, and we suspect the Crossfire's large tires were specified for styling appeal.


man weird, they say that the crossfire understeers

 

[Kansei]

lol @ you have an automatic (referring to Mazda P5 driver) I hear that makes the P5 muuuch slower. The 8.5 number you gave isn't for the auto.. try like 9.8 or so.. but who cares about 0-60?

I'm really not sure.. if that's what I'm doing it's damn nice, because I'm having a great time in life right now. Why is it that you are one of the only people on this forum that doesn't agree with EVERY magazine article praising the Protege and Protege5 for having amazing handling out of the box. Do you even remember that article where they took the Protege MP3 to the track against the 911 Turbo, some Ferarri, and a few other exotics? The MP3 got last place overall yeah.. but notably it did beat the 911 turbo and I think a couple others (out of 8) in the slalom.

it will **** the p5 is the corners soo damn badly, you would piss in your own mouth from disbelief. a bit faster? a HELL of alot faster. ~ 6.5 compared to a stock 8.5?

Unless your neighbor has the SRT8 Crossfire.. it blows from a handling/autox perspective. Take a G35, 350Z, or any comparable car in it's class, and see who's pissing... in their... own mouth (omg vomit) then. wwwwhhhhhyyyy do you give a damn about 0-60 time again? Do you realize how much a launch/tires can affect that?

it's not a hard-on dumbass...it's a damn fact.

A fact eh? Give me the information you have to back yourself up then.

as far as camber goes...I can take pics of the wheel and they are definitely not equal. The back looks like this.../--\ fronts look like this l--l. dunno if it's the 60% front end weight or not. The mazda 3 that i saw one day front and rear were like this.../--\. I have had 2 alignments done and it was whatever the stock claims it is.

Stop taking your car to a s*** alignment shop then. Stock alignment specs are -1 degree at all 4 corners. Want me to go snap a photo showing how evenly aligned my car is? The shop was even able to align me perfectly to stock specs even though my car is lowered, and without camber bolts or anything. I took my car to a tire shop that was nearby last year and damn they did a s*** job aligning my car.. it was different at every corner, and they even gave me the report to prove it. They didn't touch a single bit of the alignment that wasn't within the stock "acceptable range". Like on one wheel the toe would be right at one edge of the acceptable range, and on another wheel it would be at the opposite end of the range, but they just didn't touch anything. I think they adjusted toe on my passenger side rear wheel and that's freakin it, and that's after lowering my car 1.8 inches all around.

Find yourself a more trustworthy mechanic to do your alignment. If you were in Rochester I'd recommend Eksten Autowerks.. yeah they're a BMW tuning shop that sponsors a race team and such.. been around 25+ years and have a reputation for impeccable work. It cost me $450 dollars to mount/balance 4 tires and get a 4-wheel alignment, but at least they did it right

funny how I am not the only one that complains of understeer on the forum. dunno what you are on, but perhaps you should market it on your nearest street corner. belive me...the .80 stock g is nothing to brag about. it is responsive bot it's not a monster you would like to think it is.

I don't doubt for a second that a lot of people have screwed up alignments or just can't drive for crap. I've never done any SCCA racing or anything but I know for a fact that at the limit my car oversteers just a tad, no understeer. That's like if I'm seeing how fast I can take an offramp (no cars on the road at all when I'm doing this, and yeah I know it's still not a good idea).. I'm not sure what would happen if I just yanked the wheel, I'll have to AutoX her (I plan on it soon). Even without the racing beat rear sway I didn't have any issue at all with understeer.

With all the complaining do I really wonder why the heck you're a "mazda p5 driver". Go buy yourself a Crossfire and stop freakin comparing it to a Protege5... totally different classes of car. Oh and the Crossfire does have s*** resale value because it is branded as an American car, regardless of the nice Merc. engine.

Don't get me wrong though, I'd like a Crossfire, but I'd never buy one. For the money I'd take a 350z or G35 coupe any day... hell for the money I'd probably take a Mazda5 and turbo it

 

[Kansei]

man weird, they say that the crossfire understeers

Dude how dare you trust the automotive press at all.. they are just anti-american.

this thread makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

Oh and one more thing.. how many twin mattresses can you fit into a crossfire at the same time? I can fit two. Take that Crossfire, 350z, G35coupe, Bugatti Veyron, et al. (first)

 

[iLisa]

Dude how dare you trust the automotive press at all.. they are just anti-american.

this thread makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

Oh and one more thing.. how many twin mattresses can you fit into a crossfire at the same time? I can fit two. Take that Crossfire, 350z, G35coupe, Bugatti Veyron, et al. (first)

(kiss) .. breathe... that was quite a message..