Yet another Turbo thread, not what you think though!

[xtreme velocity]

Well I'm thinking about going to look at the msp tmrw and check it out so I can see if I'm crying over spiller milk or not. I really want a msp super bad, just don't know if I want to shell the bucks for it. Kinda dared to drive it cause either way I know I will want one. But then again I got to find out how good the car really is. So wish me luck tmrw. Oh don't count in me buying it tmrw because I will not buy it tmrw. But I will decide if I want it or not.

 

[tweety2300]

I wasn't super impressed with it over my mp3 although they had the same suspension and only a 30 hp difference. And a stock one pulled about 2 lengths on me and was actually slower off the line ( driver mod ftw). IMO ill spend a few hundred on a turbo setup. Although as I said I have 140 hp mp3 over a 1.6

If you want something faster that bad look into other options. Cobalt ss supercharged or turbo charged are awesome and look bad ass, also not super expensive. Way more better options with less issues

 

[xtreme velocity]

Oh I'm not looking for super fast, I'm looking for a little go fast, something I can have fun in. But mainly looks good. Oh if I wanted something real fast I would have went with trans am for sure. But I like imports and I like Mazda and the protege I really like. So a msp or mp3 are in my books.

 

[tweety2300]

If you find an mp3 I can tell you I haven't had a dealer offer me more than 2500 for trade in, you should be able to get one from them for 3500-4000. It can be a good and bad thing kbb and nada don't take into account that its a limited production car that very few exist. Same issue with my 323. But you get the random dealer that does their research and asks way to much for the car

 

[xtreme velocity]

I found a mp3 here. Same color as msp. About half price of msp but scared me that he states he done a motor rebuild to it due to girlfriend running it out of oil. The msp has a clean car fax and everything. But I'll know more tmrw.

 

[03protolx]

Mp3 is just as good as the msp...suspension wise but if you get a 2003.5 you get the better looking spoiler and the front fascia is a little different. If I were you I'd do a MSP as they'll hold more of a enthusiast value than a mp3.

a ecotec cavalier with crank windows and hub caps has more power than a mp3. and it's faster than the mp3.

Car and driver in October 2002 were able to get a 14.8 1/4 mile time verses 16.8 in the mp3.

MP3 < MSP

If you ever try to sell the MP3, itll sit on craigslist for months as nobody will be interested. Its a little easier to get rid of the MSP as its aimed towards a younger crowd and will sell easier with the turbo. Also. That spicy Orange is so damn sexy.

Cobalt's front end suspension are junk. My girlfriend has a cobalt and has been clunking in the front end since 48k miles. replaced a butt load of bushings and parts and doing it again. Realistically the turbo cobalt is pretty damn fun at a great price. Ecotec motors are pretty stout IMO but cobalts handle like s*** as they are. Even with the FE5 suspension (on the SS).

Get the MSP...you wont regret it!

 

[tweety2300]

Holy s*** where do I start?

If you're going for an actual enthusiast market the mp3 will be better because they make 1500 mp3's vs 4500 msp's

Sadly I have ran the Eco tech cavilier and will say its faster

1/4 mile times were 16.3 for 2.0 protgs including mp3 last I checked

Mp3> msp. Less issues more reliability if you don't believe me you need more research

Nailed it, no one wants an mp3 cause its slow as hell and its not turbo'd. I've had some one tell me they were only interested cause they though it had a rotary. No one cars about an amazing handling car or having such a rare car. And that spicy orange is freaking drop dead sexy, been considering painting my 323 spicy orange

My brother had an ss with 200k miles on it, and it was all I could do to keep up with him on back roads ( we both auto cross) I was actually amazed by the suspension on it as it was the only fwd car I've drove that even came close to the mp3's

Get an mp3 and boost it with the money you save

 

[tweety2300]

I found a mp3 here. Same color as msp. About half price of msp but scared me that he states he done a motor rebuild to it due to girlfriend running it out of oil. The msp has a clean car fax and everything. But I'll know more tmrw.

They are not the same color mp3 came in vivid yellow and blue mica. Msp had blazing yellow and lazer blue iirc. If you set them side by side you can see the difference

 

[03protolx]

The cobalt SS suspensions are still junk. With YEARS of being an auto mechanic, my 99 dx seemed to take corners better than the ss supercharged model.
The ss turbo model is unknown as I am a service manager now..and I haven't driven one.

Nobody cares about how many mp3's were made. If I were to buy a used car, I much rather buy a stock MSP than a MP3 that was modified.

I stand corrected, I have the original october 2002 issue of Car and driver...the Mp3 held a 16.3 1/4 mile. Which still sucks. The msp beat it by a second and a half. Pretty slow.

The mazdaspeed interior is a lot better....again making the mazdaspeed a better choice in my opinion. Also.....I dont understand why people pay so much for MSP's. I'm staring at one on the internet RIGHT NOW for $5000 and under 100000 miles. That's the asking price, Im sure he will take $4500

 

[03protolx]

NO turbo car is reliable. NONE! the only reliable way is going N/A. My LX is N/a of course and I chose it for my drive to work. I dont drive any roads but highway. what am I going to do? a quick sprint to 75? hah.

My cousin has a turbo GSX eclipse. Most expensive car he's ever owned. Before he had his GSX, he had an RS (base crank windows stick no ac) and it got him up to 188k miles with no problem. Until he hit a deer.

You're asking to modify a car that didn't come turbo from the factory versus a msp that did come from the factory from the turbo. I can see the MSP being a strong winner here. He's not wanting to have a crazy amount of power...just enough to scoot around in. The msp is tuned at 7psi...thats enough for me!

 

[protege3690]

NO turbo car is reliable. NONE! the only reliable way is going N/A. My LX is N/a of course and I chose it for my drive to work. I dont drive any roads but highway. what am I going to do? a quick sprint to 75? hah.

My cousin has a turbo GSX eclipse. Most expensive car he's ever owned. Before he had his GSX, he had an RS (base crank windows stick no ac) and it got him up to 188k miles with no problem. Until he hit a deer.

You're asking to modify a car that didn't come turbo from the factory versus a msp that did come from the factory from the turbo. I can see the MSP being a strong winner here. He's not wanting to have a crazy amount of power...just enough to scoot around in. The msp is tuned at 7psi...thats enough for me!

technically speaking the MSP is an MP3 with a turbo slapped on. mazda didnt fully do all the R&D when making the MSP. everything is the same between the mp3 and msp. the rods were manufactured by fisher price. the msp suffers also from the lack a good tune. runs insanely rich which the ecu causes the fuel cut issue and hesitation problems. the msp is hands down a better looker. and has a stiffer suspension than the mp3 but engine wise still the same. many have gotten high mileage out of their stock msp engines before going zoom zoom boom. so it all comes down to maintenance and not beating on these cars to get better reliablity from these cars. so yea to end this rant again the mp3 and msp are the same engine with the exception of a turbo added on without a fully developed plan to help support it correctly from mazda

 

[tweety2300]

The cobalt SS suspensions are still junk. With YEARS of being an auto mechanic, my 99 dx seemed to take corners better than the ss supercharged model.
The ss turbo model is unknown as I am a service manager now..and I haven't driven one.

Nobody cares about how many mp3's were made. If I were to buy a used car, I much rather buy a stock MSP than a MP3 that was modified.

I stand corrected, I have the original october 2002 issue of Car and driver...the Mp3 held a 16.3 1/4 mile. Which still sucks. The msp beat it by a second and a half. Pretty slow.

The mazdaspeed interior is a lot better....again making the mazdaspeed a better choice in my opinion. Also.....I dont understand why people pay so much for MSP's. I'm staring at one on the internet RIGHT NOW for $5000 and under 100000 miles. That's the asking price, Im sure he will take $4500

Having driven a base model protege I will say there is no way in hell its taking turns better than the cobalt ss. Maybe the one you had had issues

Now you've changed it up, are you simply buying a used car or are you a Mazda or rare car enthusiast trying to pick between the 2?

I would love to see this stock msp run a 14.8 1/4 mile. It's a 30 hp difference that's not making up 1.5 seconds

The interiors are the same except msp had color matched stitching. Both had bad head units. At the end of the day both are the same except mp3 is more reliable and has 30 hp less. You can easily make up the difference by gutting the interior when you decide to race. Obviously we both have different opinions, I could care less cause my mp3 is a daily. Both have the same bad fsde and weak g series trans. And we're failed experiments

 

[tweety2300]

technically speaking the MSP is an MP3 with a turbo slapped on. mazda didnt fully do all the R&D when making the MSP. everything is the same between the mp3 and msp. the rods were manufactured by fisher price. the msp suffers also from the lack a good tune. runs insanely rich which the ecu causes the fuel cut issue and hesitation problems. the msp is hands down a better looker. and has a stiffer suspension than the mp3 but engine wise still the same. many have gotten high mileage out of their stock msp engines before going zoom zoom boom. so it all comes down to maintenance and not beating on these cars to get better reliablity from these cars. so yea to end this rant again the mp3 and msp are the same engine with the exception of a turbo added on without a fully developed plan to help support it correctly from mazda

Same suspension, msp does not have a stiffer suspension. Also 03 msp had the same body kit 03.5 on the other hand did look better

 

[protege3690]

msp ran 15.7 in the 1/4 i believe and runs 6.7 secs to 60mph iirc. which both are horrible for a turbo car. its best just to buy a nice shell and rebuild the entire engine and trans from the ground up. and even then might still run into some issues.

correction

Mazdaspeed Protege Spec Sheet

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Base price : $21,000

Engine : 4 cylinder, turbocharged, DOHC, front engine FWD
Displacement : 1,991 cc
Valve : 16 valves, 4 valves per cylinder
Transmission : 5-spd manual


Suspension : F - Independent MacPherson strut
R - Independent twin trapezoidal link
Brakes : F - Vented discs
R - Solid discs

Horsepower : 170 hp @ 5500 rpm
Torque : 155 lb-ft @ 4500 rpm
Redline : 6500 rpm

Top speed : 130 mph(estimated)
0-60 mph : 6.9 sec.
0- mile : 15.4 sec @ 91.0 mph
60-0 braking distance : 135 ft
200 ft skidpad : 0.89 g

Curb Weight : 2844 lbs
Overall length : 174.6 in.
Wheelbase : 102.8 in.
Overall Width : 67.1 in.
Height : 55.3 in.

 

[tweety2300]

At the end of the day both are slow. I mean seriously a 90's civic si will outrun an msp. There's videos on you tube if you don't believe me.

 

[protege3690]

all comes down to how much youre willing to drop into it. the protege in general was never meant for straightline racing. but given its suspension upgrades made it fun to take around the turns. thats were the msp/mp3 shine.

 

[tweety2300]

That's probably the only reason I've kept mine for this long. I just don't see why Mazda dropped the ball so hard with the msp. I mean its not like it was their first turbo car by any means. Shoulda would coulda. But at least now there's the ms3. If only it was easy to swap the 2.3 disi into a protege

 

[03protolx]

For some reason my car and driver magazine states a 14.9. I didnt do these tests....just reading out of the car and driver magazine.
Om not goi ng to fight with you over the internet. But yes I can literally take a 75mph turn on the tight onramp whereas when I have drivem nu merous supercharged cobalts, the control arm bu shings are always shot and I slow down to 60. maybe new colalt versus a new protege the cobalt will win....but by experience they still have a junk suspension.

You know why they only made it for five years? Thats how long it took to build and design the cruze.
Oh and cant forget about the never ending rattling steering column.

I used to drive a stock z28 camaro. It would smoke a msp and even a modified version. I picked the protege because it appealed to me for cheap.

 

[protege3690]

That's probably the only reason I've kept mine for this long. I just don't see why Mazda dropped the ball so hard with the msp. I mean its not like it was their first turbo car by any means. Shoulda would coulda. But at least now there's the ms3. If only it was easy to swap the 2.3 disi into a protege

i think that would be every msp owners dream to do if it were easy. dont even have to heavily mod that engine to produce 300whp, which seems to be the sweet spot many msp owners seem to aim for initially

 

[03protolx]

That's probably the only reason I've kept mine for this long. I just don't see why Mazda dropped the ball so hard with the msp. I mean its not like it was their first turbo car by any means. Shoulda would coulda. But at least now there's the ms3. If only it was easy to swap the 2.3 disi into a protege

A guy in my area did this with his second gen. Dont ask how ive only seen it in real life. He rips a 12.5 at gateway raceway in st louis.