Yo! Brian here!

D

domino760

Member
:
2003 Mazdaspeed Protege
What's up everyone? I just wanted to introduce myself to the forum. I purchased my 2003 MSP 9/20/08. Here's my 1st impression:

WTF?! I'm pissed off man!

Bought the car at 57k miles on Saturday at about 7pm.
Sunday at about 3pm...BAM! The engine blows...all white smoke in the rear view. Probably the worst feeling.

I had it towed back to the dealer who I just got off the phone with.
They told me good news though.
They will be replacing my engine, transmission, and turbo with brand new OEM parts and giving me a loaner car (read and obtain copies of ALL paperwork!)

So, my actual review of the car will come in a week or so. :p
 
I may have been beaten on when you bought it. It was a blessing that this happened as soon as it did. You will have a new drivetrain, now baby it. Pleeeeease read everything you can about the MSP on these forums. They are great cars but very fragile. If you can, pay some extra money and get forged internals so you can play with the thing.


READ EVERYTHING YOU CAN ON THESE FORUMS AND LEARN FROM OUR MISTAKES!!!!
 
Since you got it from a dealer, you should have been able to get an extended warranty. If so get it. It's the best $1200 I could have spent. especially after a 3K Turbo replacement!!
 
WOW! what good luck charms do you use? HOLY CRAP!!!!!!

oh yeah welcome to the board!
 
Good luck charms? HA! This is the first good luck I've had with my cars. The last car I had was 99 civic. at 80k the motor blew. replaced it with a B16A SiR2 and a few months later I get pulled over, hood popped, ticked for a ref station which are all suspended because of the CA state budget crisis. Decided to scrap that car and went with this one.

I have been reading ALOT of different threads, ecspecially in the problems threads. It looks like the wastegates go out frequently, along with the LSDs. And it's highly recommended that the plastic piping running throughout the engine bay should be swapped out with aluminum pipes. A boost controller helps keep tabs on your turbos health, etc.

Good stuff.

So forged internals is a good way to keep this baby going? I'm planning on keeping this as daily drivable as possible, but I still have a heavy foot so preventative maintanence/tougher parts is EXACTLY what I need to know about.
 
so what did you mean by numbers?
and any particular brands I should look for?
I saw a couple write ups for new MSP owners on what upgrades to do...

any waste gates in particular i should look for?
IC lines and intake?
etc etc
 
I was asking your production number of your 2003.5 MSP
Im number 1016.
Just do some searching around on the site for inout on mods. Also try
corksport.com
protegegarage.com
***************

Those are the sites I mainly use. If you need any help just send me a PM and Ill do my best to help. Some people on here can get pretty brutal for stupid questions so feel free to PM me.
 
congrats...you just made the worst investment of your life! I love my MSP, but man it has been a love/hate thing...It is not a good stock car! If you buy one you need to be ready to mod it to make it run correctly. I mean I seriously cannot believe mazda let these things go from the factory running the way they do....but they are great looking cars. You just need a few parts to get it running smooth. I hope it works out well for you!
 
wow, the only thing I had bad happen to me was the radio crapping out the minute I left the parking lot of the dealer. good thing they are taking care of you. lets see some pics of it when you get it back.
 
welcome to the forum, u are def. one lucky sob that your getting all that replaced for free and getting a loaner car, btw what did you get.
 
When I get my car back I'll post pics (all stock but whatevs) when the production # etc.

So, I DID come to understand that modding the car for relia/drivability is a MUST.

Where do I start?
I read the wastegate is a POS, so change that out.
Get it flashed? I don't plan on boosting this thing more than 12psi.
etc.

But what ORDER should I go in? THATS what I need to know.


Thanks for the welcome everyone (doughpoke
 
PMd.... But I would really think and read before boosting 12psi on stock internals. (big no no)
 
Oh OF COURSE I'm not going to boost 12psi on stock internals! I plan on doing all my preventative maintenance before I touch the boost! Fuel management and gauges first of course.

Then...???
 
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