Just received my MSP, loving it!

[maximumimpact]

Hi all! I purchased my 2003 Black Mica Mazdaspeed Protege back in June, but didn't get around to driving it home until today. I have been busy fixing an old Celica that was my daily driver, and finally have it all nice and ready to sell off. As far as my Mazdaspeed goes, I picked it up bright and early at 8:30 am, and it is sure a blast. It drives even better than it did on the demo run. Probably because it's now mine!!!

Anyways, I had a few questions, albeit some are very VERY stupid ones.

1) How do you turn on the fog lights?
2) I didn't look (too lazy at the moment), but is there a spare wheel on our Proteges? Is it in the trunk? Is it a Racing Hart wheel? Where would I get one to match if it's not?
3) Are there any "official" Mazdaspeed seat belt shoulder pads? Where would you recommend finding them? Or would Sparco ones be better? (please don't ricer-flame me... I actually like them because they're comfortable, especially during long drives)
4) Any opinions on the Wings West "Evo-style" carbon fiber hood for our Proteges? I've found them as cheap at $641 and some coins on Nopionline.com.
5) As far as basic tint jobs, what would look better, black or that reflective silver stuff? And how much should I pay? I was gonna pay a guy $275 for the darkest legal tint i can get all around the car, with a custom logo in the back window, and a smaller version of that logo in the back corner of the side rear windows.

Well, that's all for now, I hope to learn much from you wonder people. And who's a frequent visitor in this forum that's from Washington state, if any? The Washington State forum on this site seems to have very few visitors....

 

[Dr.Sound]

1) The swithc is by the dash dimmer at lower right dash.
2) It's a limited use spare - small.
3) Get sparco, they will match better and they are easier to find, there are also Mazdaspeed ones.
4) Go with Wing West - that's what i'm getting. The quality is great and they look bad-ass, especially the Type-A vented.
5) The silver tint will match the silver rims. The black tint will match the black mica paint - so it's up to you.

and finally CONGRATS MAN !!!!!!!!! WELCOME

 

[maximumimpact]

Thank you Dr. Sound! I was thinking of the silver tint, yes, that would match the wheels, but it just seems too showy, perhaps borderline ricey. But we'll see what happens.

About the spare tire, I didn't look at where it was....it's in the trunk, right? It's just too hot to drag my butt outside just to see where the spare is. Do you think a full sized MSP Racing Hart wheel and tire will fit in the same spot? I'm betting that it probably will be too big.... These people that plan ahead for emergencies don't think about style at all....can you just imagine how tacky it would be to drive a beautiful vehicle such as our Mazdaspeed Proteges on a limited use spare? *shudder* I will not shame my car that way! lol

And about that carbon fiber hood...is that $641 price on Nopionline.com a good price? I haven't shopped for a hood ever, so I'm a noob at it. I just wonder what it would look like on my car....*drool*

 

[Ryan]

one questions, why did u buy back in june and just now pick it up? other than the celica i wouldn't pay a month for the thing when i never drove it.

 

[INGREXCO]

what year of celica

 

[stoney]

i love that Wings West Evo-style CF hood, it looks trick. Plus it can prob cool down the engine some more. I also like the Wings West Skyline-style wing with W end caps and 15" brake light.
I would go with black tint, the silver stuff is a little weird to me, personally. But remember, just have fun and it's YOUR car!

Dave

 

[maximumimpact]

To answer the recent questions:

- I didn't pay anything while I was waiting; it was part of the agreement. They were putting the undercoat on, some sort of other coat over the paint, and scotch guarding my interior.

- My Celica was/is a 1987 Celica GT liftback. I still have it, not sure if I'm still gonna finish my project on it or not.....

- I haven't seen enough of the skyline style wing on the Wings West site to properly form an opinion, but it's a skyline style, that's gotta be good, right? Still, i'd rather stick with the wing I've got now, and get the Evo hood. :-D

 

[girth]

Do you think a full sized MSP Racing Hart wheel and tire will fit in the same spot? I'm betting that it probably will be too big.... These people that plan ahead for emergencies don't think about style at all....can you just imagine how tacky it would be to drive a beautiful vehicle such as our Mazdaspeed Proteges on a limited use spare? *shudder* I will not shame my car that way! lol

Nope, there's no way a full size racing hart wheel would fit in the spare tire spot. You'd have to just put it in your trunk (which would basically take up the whole thing). And it DOES suck especially bad because of the LSD -- you're not going to want to run that spare on the front for very long with our LSDs. I thought of getting a full size spare myself. Would prefer 1 racing hart exactly like ours though.

 

[Mazdaspeed1]

well first off congrats on your purchase.. are you loving the car? i know i am.. i'd probably go with black tint.. silver would probably look funny.. what % are you looking into? i got 20% all the way around.. it's illegal, but oh well.. illinois can't have drivers tinted and i think 30 or 35% is the limit. but i went 20% all the way. tint looks retarded if you just have the backs and not the front. i'm not too worried about tickets, my dads a cop and i drop his name and get out of it. it's sad, but true.. well once again, congrats!!

 

[AGR]

Welcome!