awd mazdaspeed protege

[Wagonbacker9]

You do realize it was Mazda that attempted to put power to the ground with a protege by slapping on a turbo kit and some other goodies. I think you just like disagreeing with me, but oh well.

I think you and I are arguing based on a different definition of 'power'. I wouldn't call it powerful until its over 300hp minimum, which is not really any more cost effective in a protege than AWD is. forging, big turbo, lots of bolt ons, tuning.. etc.

mazda's feeble attempt to bone up the protege from its very lackluster 100whp, I would call wise, but insufficient. Enter: the MS3, with a substantially more capable powerplant, and simpler upgrading routes to achieve the same goals.

and against the original point... the MS6.

 

[hornsfan10609]

if you bought a protege to "put power to the ground"....

well, frankly, you're retarded.

(rofl2)
That's about sig worthy right there.

 

[jclue]

again, I disagree. if you bought a protege to "put power to the ground"....

well, frankly, you're retarded.

Greatest thing I have ever read on this forum...ever

lol I'm still chuckling...

 

[autozam]

i know this is an old thread. and the awd swap has probably been done by now or let go of idea. but i have not been on here in a long time. awd protege speed is very feasible and not that hard. gtx is basically still same frame. minor differences. and im sure every know chris out in washington from back in the day that did the awd mx3 conversion. i have done the mx3 awd conversion also. then removed to drop in a kl instead and same parts for another project. 90-91 protege awd was released in usa in a very limited number. if you search you can still find parts. i found a whole car out in minnesota. trucked out there and picked it up. so a protege setup for a protege. bj chasis is not that different to the bg. some suspension changes which are of mx-6 or probe. and engine bay with mounts from an mx-6 setup. which is why a kl bolts right in msp. keep doing the search for parts not that hard to do. and the awd trans from a gtr internals fits in the fs trans. both have g series internals. the lsd also fits k series trans. nice upgrade if you have v6. cheaper then a quaife or something. im all about drive train conversions. if i had to add up the money involved i would say about 2 grand. in parts and cleaning welding etc. trying a few different ways. although there was some years of awd protege sedans the bolt holes for rear sub frame are different. front holes are basically where they need to be. rear holes not. my sugestion is to line all suspension up. coil overs, trailing arms etc... then lower veh. tac weld. get to an alignment rack make sure frame is straight and not dog legging. make sure thrust angle is in limits then permanent weld. first time i tried on mx. i had adapter plates, but messed up whole suspension line. they way they sat. being lower then normal. it was causing issues. so weld or drill and tap frame is the best way. the tunnel is not an issue with drive shaft. i would go one piece. the protege awd is a three piece. alittle much. there is room tho. exhaust just has to be tucked up as best as you can. as long as u are not so low your scraping the ground which i would not do in an awd veh. anyway. should be fine. maybe ill post pics of awd mx3 if there is interest

 

[jeffmsp]

there is a guy selling a awd mx3 on toprotege.com that he made using a gtr drivetrain/rear end and is selling for cheap.

i have thought about the swap quite a bit since i am already running a bp in my msp and the gtx/r awd trans bolt on fine. the easiest way i can figure for my setup would be to import a awd familia sport20 rear clip from japan/europe.

from what i have read the rear diff is the same as the gtr and the sub frame /gas tank is a closer match to my msp (maybe even bolt on) than the 1st gen awd setups.

then i would just need the awd trans, some mounts and a custom driveshaft.

still seems like too much work to have a weak transmission. i also have a toyota e153 adaptor plate sitting here which could mate to a bulletproof toyota awd trans, but man it would still be tons of work. might as well just buy a beater wrx for a few thousand and not have to waste tons of time/money on the mazda awd setup. there comes a point where you have to decide what you like doing more-working for countless hours on a car to say you have something cool, or just having fun driving cars.

at this point i think id rather just go work extra hours over a couple months to buy a second car that is awd like a speed6 or a wrx rather than toil with all the BS associated with trying to convert a msp to awd and having the car off the road and taking up garage space for months on end.

sure it would be cool to have an AWD msp, but in the end it would still be just a 10 year old econobox that really isnt that impressive anyways to anyone but hard core protege enthusiasts, and it probably would not even be as nice to drive as a stock ms6 lol

 

[protege3690]

sure it would be cool to have an AWD msp, but in the end it would still be just a 10 year old econobox that really isnt that impressive anyways to anyone but hard core protege enthusiasts, and it probably would not even be as nice to drive as a stock ms6 lol

my dilemma exactly lol. I drive g37x on a daily basis due to my job at infiniti. and ive become spoiled to some degree with the AWD, comfortable ride, the power for how heavy of a tank it is. and cant forget the heated seats lol. but still love my msp. and honestly idk if I would or wouldn't sell it.

btw I love your bp set up lol. and its a set up I would love to do SOME DAY haha. Ive read your thread and seems like a lot of work, but for the power ive seen u make and the amount of psi it can handle stock compared to a fs, the bp seems worth it. forging a my msp wasn't cheap since I didn't have all the tools to machine and do all the work myself.

 

[tweety2300]

There's more to it than you think. Suspensions don't just swap out for the most part like the mx3 and capris. Tunnel will have to be modified. You will have to remove fuel tank and run a fuel cell. I actually had my gtx and my protege on a lift and was looking at them. I can tell you they're no where near the same

By the time you get all the parts and everything you could take that money sell your msp and get an ms6. Even once you spend all the money swapping it to awd, you will still have it being powered by the fsde which putting it nicely is junk as far as making power is concerned

Fst<b6t<Bpt<f2t<fe3t. In that order. If love to swap an f2t into a protege



Hands down most fun awd car I've ever driven is my moms pontiac vibe. 120hp 3100 lbs. never been able to get it stuck except in 10" of snow and got ran off the road into grass with summer tires. Thing is a tank