What have you done to your P5 today?

[amsgator]

yea the mazda 3 knobs fit the protege5 as far as i know

but with the short shifter twm claims that stock knobs fit their shifters. so i guess it would matter anyway? not sure how their threading on the shifters is

 

[Kansei]

The Mazda3 knob does fit the P5 shifter, that is confirmed. I have a Mazda3 knob in my car right now actually, it's my winter shift knob

The only manual tranny Mazda that was weird is the Protege MP3, it uses an M8 shaft instead of an M10.

 

[amsgator]

got ya. what about the twm shifter?

http://www.twmperformance.com/faq/#4

it says they are threaded to accept stock and aftermarket knobs... :-\

 

[amsgator]

The Mazda3 knob does fit the P5 shifter, that is confirmed. I have a Mazda3 knob in my car right now actually, it's my winter shift knob

The only manual tranny Mazda that was weird is the Protege MP3, it uses an M8 shaft instead of an M10.

so u dont have a weighted knob? i dont really like how they look so i dont think i'm gonna get a knob from them

 

[Dpwhitehead1]

i have two car ramps i can drive the car up on to raise the front.

that would work perfectly fine.

 

[Dpwhitehead1]

Does anyone know what the treading is on the Kartboy shifters?? I want to get a new knob, but I don't want to use set screws.

stock threading.

 

[MyZmZm]

so u dont have a weighted knob? i dont really like how they look so i dont think i'm gonna get a knob from them

the mazda3 stock shift knob is heavier than the stock P5 shift knob - and yes, it will fit the TWM short shifter. like Chris (Kansei), I have the Mazda3 leather shift knob and love it, so much better than the crappy stock one from the P5.

ordered the gatorback belts for my UDP today, picking them up tomorrow hopefully - supposed to be about -35C with wind chill tomorrow, but hopefully no more snow. had enough of that with today's blizzard, could hardly see 3 car lengths ahead, and that was IN town.

damn... i've started making a list of everything i'll need to do/have done with the car this spring after i take her out of hibernation:
- clutch and flywheel - going to lighten the stock flywheel by about 3-5 lbs, so i picked up a used one from the junkyard so my car is only down for the one day instead of 3 or 4 while they machine the flywheel.
- UDP and belts
- probably timing belt - sitting at around 97k km, so it's due any time
- new bolt/nut for shifter - the old one is worn, and fell out last fall shortly before parking her... don't need that happening again
- contemplating getting the AWR oilpan and installing that right away
- also contemplating getting the j-spec intake cam - who here has it? is it worth the money?
------ probably get all of this done at the same time since they've got to dig into her guts pretty good any way.

- re-wire sidemarkers (the ones on the bumper) to signal
- wire in door sills
- re-ground my amp (was never properly done last year and the occasional 'whine' is annoying)
- re-wire fogs/eliminate DRL's - i want to be able to turn the fogs on without turning on the headlights
- move my sub from the pre-fabbed box to my new custom one
- rockblocker-type covers for the brand new headlights
- remove the dent on the back passenger door that's been there 3 years?
- add sound deadening to the hatch floor
- contemplating getting the reverse indiglo gauges, but i don't want to risk breaking my needles, lol

anyone want to lend me about $1000? lol some of the minor stuff wouldn't be a big deal, but i don't touch electrical - don't know enough about it, and i don't want to fry anything in the car (poke)

 

[MyZmZm]

forgot to add rear motor mount to the mix... i figure changing out the clutch is probably the best time to do it

 

[amsgator]

well i just ordered the short shifter, bushings, and boot. i am gettin that mazda 3 knob as well

 

[reynoldsrobbie]

I just gave my baby a bath before the rain comes.(pissed)

 

[meinp5]

I know that. I am using my stock knob in it, but I am looking to upgrade. I wanted to know the thread pattern so that I could get a replacement that will thread on. I hate set screws.

stock threading.

 

[Kansei]

I think my water pump might be dead or dying.. or just reall yunhappy with me. I can't manage to get more than a gallon of coolant into the radiator, but the capacity should be 7.3 - 7.9 gallons.

 

[FrolessWonder]

Drove it through snow and got it stuck at a ski resort. It's never been this dirty and after tomorrow it will never be that dirty again.

 

[amsgator]

I just gave my baby a bath before the rain comes.(pissed)

i did that...i was waxing it and it actually started raining...i had to leave the front quarter panel unwaxed and do it later :-(

 

[Kansei]

turns out the water pump sound was just coming from the pump pulley hitting the plastic shield sitting behind it. I flushed the coolant with a proper mix, AND WENT FOR A FRIGGIN DRIVE! I drove 25 miles all around rochester, even though my front motor mount isn't even in right now. I had no time, I was too excited. I'm at 7psi, that's where the wastegate actuator opens. no need for the boost controller after all, I can leave it dialed down all the way and locked.

 

[JOMO]

turns out the water pump sound was just coming from the pump pulley hitting the plastic shield sitting behind it. I flushed the coolant with a proper mix, AND WENT FOR A FRIGGIN DRIVE! I drove 25 miles all around rochester, even though my front motor mount isn't even in right now. I had no time, I was too excited. I'm at 7psi, that's where the wastegate actuator opens. no need for the boost controller after all, I can leave it dialed down all the way and locked.

Hows it feel?

 

[Kansei]

It feels fun. it's weird in .. I think 3rd or 4th gear, when it starts building boost it's like "hmm weird",.. I can't really explain it, it almost feels like lag of sorts, but I'm not sure if it is "turbo lag" as people commonly refer to. I hear the rush of air, look at the boost gauge and I'm at like 4psi, and then the power comes

I do still wish I could turn the boost down to like 5psi.. wish it was externally wastegated so it was easier to make changes like that. I have to take the turbo off to do anything to my wastegate >_<

 

[JOMO]

It feels fun. it's weird in .. I think 3rd or 4th gear, when it starts building boost it's like "hmm weird",.. I can't really explain it, it almost feels like lag of sorts, but I'm not sure if it is "turbo lag" as people commonly refer to. I hear the rush of air, look at the boost gauge and I'm at like 4psi, and then the power comes

I do still wish I could turn the boost down to like 5psi.. wish it was externally wastegated so it was easier to make changes like that. I have to take the turbo off to do anything to my wastegate >_<

Haha, nice. Lag is what Im pretty sure your experiencing. Now imagine not hitting full boost till about 4900rpms. Thats lag. But by 4k I was at 10psi, then 19psi. If I hit it WOT in 1st and then going through the gears, I didn't have traction till about 75mph. Man, I miss it so so much already.
Good to hear that you are finally boosted. Your gunna love it more and more as you relearn the car now.

 

[magnumP5]

...ordered the gatorback belts for my UDP today, picking them up tomorrow hopefully - supposed to be about -35C with wind chill tomorrow, but hopefully no more snow. had enough of that with today's blizzard, could hardly see 3 car lengths ahead, and that was IN town...

Man I have had nothing but problems with those belts. I've had my UDP since early summer and I still have not been able to completely get rid of belt squeaking. I even had to go with a smaller alt./ps belt because the original one I had had maxed the tensioner. Nothing is squealing but with lights, defroster and radio on I constantly hear a high pitched squeaking from the engine bay. I'm going to go and tighten them up again for like 5th time. I also think my A/C belt is about to max the tensioner as well... damnit...

I just thought I'd give you a little heads up with the UDP

 

[magnumP5]

turns out the water pump sound was just coming from the pump pulley hitting the plastic shield sitting behind it. I flushed the coolant with a proper mix, AND WENT FOR A FRIGGIN DRIVE! I drove 25 miles all around rochester, even though my front motor mount isn't even in right now. I had no time, I was too excited. I'm at 7psi, that's where the wastegate actuator opens. no need for the boost controller after all, I can leave it dialed down all the way and locked.

Dude, that's awesome! 7 psi huh, interesting, I wonder if that's where mine is going to sit. Either way that's great that you're up and running. How much more do you have left to do?

I managed to get the oil pan and exhaust manifold/turbo/downpipe assembly bolted to the engine. I was right about the oil return though - it's going to be like 1/2" away from the downpipe so I need to go find some better hose and heatwrap it. The other problem I ran into is that I can't use the stock donut gasket with the Corksport j-pipe - it's too small. I measured the Corksport pipe and the part where it mates to the midpipe is like 2-3/8". I searched around online and went to a few auto stores but the only sizes I've seen so far are 2" and 2-1/2". Kansei, what did you use for this?! Aside from those setbacks I also made the front coolant connection with the turbo so I guess it was a successful day. Tonight hopefully I can finish the turbo connections (and resolve those two problems) and maybe start the IC mounting and piping...