What have you done to your MSP today?

[Preferio]

if it was a nicer car im sure it would be.. wasnt exactly cheap for its time and it had no really nice options. id almost rather a p5/esgt with the mps treatment and no bright hard to match paint... but.. i guess the yellow grew on it me. glad i didnt buy orange lol.

i saw one for sale yesterday when picking up a $40 muffler for my mx3.. spicy.. mirror tint windows.. two tone orange/black with a wingswest kit on it.. not the nicest wheels.. but meh. it had a upgraded turbo and other mods. he wanted 5500cdn for it, and it almost grab it for the parts value.. couldnt really be braught to drive a two tone import though lol. even if i originally wanted a spicy..

I wanted a laser blue and the car had to be stock. I looked and looked and looked. My second option was Titanium, followed by black. But finding a stock MSP was difficult enough, let alone the color I wanted. I found a laser blue, stock except for an intake (name brand, but forgot which) with 70k at one of the local Mazda dealerships... FOR $14k!!!!!!! This was just 4 years ago. I could find MS3s that price even then. And they would not budge on the price. A local bought it, and within a year had it listed for $8900. Again, he wouldn't budge on the price even though I had no serious intent of buying it because I had already bought mine. Then a local kid bought it for $8500, had it two weeks and rolled it. Then he bought a spicy out of Virginia with a ton of bolt-ons and only 50k miles. It had some issues and I worked on it for him a few times and his dad asked, "If we modify it, it'll stay reliable, right? He's driving 100 miles a day to and from school, but he wants a lot more power" to which I replied, "Go to MSProtege.com and do some research and understand what you'll need to do to make more power and maintain reliability"... He immediately began going back to stock. Took the CS exhaust off, took the Eibachs off and put OE RB springs back on, took the Unichip out, etc.. And sold it to buy a WRX.... Then I became friends with the guy who bought it next and do work on it from time to time.

But, the spicy has grown on me. If someone wanted to trade for a laser blue, I'd do it though.

 

[o0n8]

I loved my MSP but if I had to do it all over again I would have bought a p5 and done a KL swap and called it a day. I still look at MSP's on craigslist from time to time.

 

[Cleverfrog]

Seems like every month we have a short little discussion on how few posts there are on m247 and how we all think the msp a great car. I like mine other than the engine and transmission and fwd status. She needs evo gearbox, engine and awd. (group)

 

[Preferio]

You do that. I want to see it.

 

[ilovewheels]

So I have a question for you guys, how would you rate our MSP's in handling to say any other chassis you guys have driven? so far this is my favorite car to drive.

I recently put some new potenzas on my car, re-adjusted some suspension bits, and went for a spirited drive thru the canyons.... and man my car turns and sticks so well(given I haven't really driven it hard since I went wide body-ish) but anyways my car feels amazing and turns-in really well. I'm just curious on what other peoples opinions on these cars handling capabilities are, as I have only driven a few chassis to compare to (eg civic, and a few Subaru's)

 

[Preferio]

So I have a question for you guys, how would you rate our MSP's in handling to say any other chassis you guys have driven? so far this is my favorite car to drive.

I recently put some new potenzas on my car, re-adjusted some suspension bits, and went for a spirited drive thru the canyons.... and man my car turns and sticks so well(given I haven't really driven it hard since I went wide body-ish) but anyways my car feels amazing and turns-in really well. I'm just curious on what other peoples opinions on these cars handling capabilities are, as I have only driven a few chassis to compare to (eg civic, and a few Subaru's)

The car handles amazingly well. I prefer it over my 8 on The Dragon, but it's because it has more power and I've been driving the same platform since 2007. For a FWD car, it handles significantly better than any other FWD car I've driving and mine is basically stock in regards to chassis modification besides my springs and struts.

 

[thaikim]

Seems like every month we have a short little discussion on how few posts there are on m247 and how we all think the msp a great car. I like mine other than the engine and transmission and fwd status. She needs evo gearbox, engine and awd. (group)

Then why no haz evo? (boom02)

 

[Valk]

No point trying to make it what it isnt. Enjoy it for what it is. Different. Not better. Not worse. Different.
Look at miatas. Not fast. But fun as hell to drive slow.

 

[DOMO]

It does suck how overlooked the protege is. Handles great and has one of the best OEM body kits around. Yet at meets I'm the only mp3 around and I always get asked what car I drive. Lol

Honestly tho it's the parts availability and prices on what is available that holds the platform back. And also this car has no following in JP. What ever car is popular there is sought out over here. The rest of the cars just stay unknown

 

[Gabi]

So I have a question for you guys, how would you rate our MSP's in handling to say any other chassis you guys have driven? so far this is my favorite car to drive.

I recently put some new potenzas on my car, re-adjusted some suspension bits, and went for a spirited drive thru the canyons.... and man my car turns and sticks so well(given I haven't really driven it hard since I went wide body-ish) but anyways my car feels amazing and turns-in really well. I'm just curious on what other peoples opinions on these cars handling capabilities are, as I have only driven a few chassis to compare to (eg civic, and a few Subaru's)

I'd have to say the car handles amazingly well and this is comparing it to an 05 Rsx type S and an 09 Si sedan which are the two fwd vehicles I've owned and modified. I do have to say that the rear of the protege when on stock suspension feels a little too loose for my taste. Once I started running BC coilovers though that feeling was replaced by a more "planted" feel. The protege would also benefit greatly from a wider rim which would require modifying the fenders. I am on the stock wheels with a 225/45 tire and the rear barely clears. I will be running 16x8 fd wheels soon with 225/45 tires as well. I'm hoping they will clear the fenders with little work. I refuse to pull the fenders.

 

[hornsfan10609]

So a buddy used to own a titanium MSP, he put an FMIC, CS exhaust and an intake on it, maybe an AFC too. He sells and it and the kid that bought it blew the motor, (of course, we have all heard this story before). He offered to sell it to me for $700 which I immediately agreed to. Then he calls me back and says someone offered him $1100 and he is also considering selling it for parts (shocker). UGHHHH it just needs a motor why does everyone think it's so easy just to sell them for parts. It would be cheaper and easier to fix it and sell it as a running car. Anyway I hope he doesn't sell it and I can buy it because I really want this car to be repaired the right way.

 

[msp14]

Picked up a fully forged block and new turbo in the past couple of weeks. Block has 40k miles on it, pauter rods, weisco pistons 8.5.1 compression, and Arp main studs. The turbo I picked up is a garret T3/T4E and a steedspeed manifold. Have a few more things to buy before I drop it all in the car but shooting to put it in this winter sometime.

 

[hornsfan10609]

Found a P5 at the JY today with a super clean interior. Snagged the fog lights, harness and switch for my buddy Travis's MSP and got a mint radio surround, console and absolutely immaculate black leather steering wheel as well as a set of headlights that need cleaning and the complete front light sub-harness to properly swap them.

 

[Preferio]

I need to finish removing the manifold/turbo/downpipe assembly from the car, repair stripped threads in one of the manifold stud holes in the head and order the turbo. Finally over my probation period here at the new company, so my pay will increase substantially, making the process of getting the car back on the road sooner. I'd like to get it done before the new kiddo get's here in later November.

 

[Preferio]

Anyone else see the black mica that needs a crank sensor for sale for $2k on the FB MSP page??????? Why do I not have $2k right now!?!?!?1??!!? I've got 3 ckp sensors at home!

 

[Preferio]

One of my local MSP buddy's threw a rod through his block. He has two MSPs and is pulling the drivetrain out of his other, then it's going to the scrap yard- no worries, there isn't much left of it that could be salvaged as a whole car- and I'm going to go strip things off of it before it goes. Does anyone need anything off of it?

 

[Valk]

What is a set of.spindles, hubs, calipers worth? Maybe I could 5bolt my.mx3

 

[rally2003]

Fixed the heater and vent control this brisk morning in #2.

 

[rally2003]

One of my local MSP buddy's threw a rod through his block. He has two MSPs and is pulling the drivetrain out of his other, then it's going to the scrap yard- no worries, there isn't much left of it that could be salvaged as a whole car- and I'm going to go strip things off of it before it goes. Does anyone need anything off of it?

Headlight switch, flasher unit, crank sensor...

 

[Preferio]

Headlight switch, flasher unit, crank sensor...

The headlight switch and flasher should be there, I may pull the CKP sensor off the blown engine if it's still there.