New to the forums and the protege family

[Dustin0308]

Hi everybody. I have just purchased a 1999 Mazda Protege LX and am happy with it thus far. Just wondering what everyone's experience is with the same type of car. Mine has a 5 speed manual transmission. Wondering what I could do to it to make it look anything other than stock. lol..but man does this thing get good gas mileage.

 

[Joost27]

Welcome to the mazda family. Many things can be done with the car. One thing I will say is that you should not expect a lot of power from the 1.6l you have. However, the motor gets great gas mileage, and even in stock form handles decently. Some springs and a rear swaybar and you will be a cornering maniac. However, if this is your first car you have ever planned on modding then its a little challenging at times, but can be really rewarding. As mentioned springs, a front lip, side skirts, and rear lip will make the car look entirely different. Add on a new set of wheels too and you are good to go. No I mentioned the front lip. I have a 01-03 sedan lip. It requires modding it a bit to fit the 99-00 front bumper, and the lip is near impossible to find, but you will see on here others that have taken different lips and made them work. Hope that gives you a place to start. Have fun with it and enjoy.

 

[adzamzoom]

I'm a new guy also. I just bought a '99 ES. I drive 75 miles a day combination highway and 2 lane black top. I want to lower it but not get beaten to death. Any sugestions for a set up that will drop me about an inch without punishing me? Thanks!

 

[speedracr79]

Hi everybody. I have just purchased a 1999 Mazda Protege LX and am happy with it thus far. Just wondering what everyone's experience is with the same type of car. Mine has a 5 speed manual transmission. Wondering what I could do to it to make it look anything other than stock. lol..but man does this thing get good gas mileage.

I'm a new guy also. I just bought a '99 ES. I drive 75 miles a day combination highway and 2 lane black top. I want to lower it but not get beaten to death. Any sugestions for a set up that will drop me about an inch without punishing me? Thanks!

fisrt off hello guys and welcome to the forum.

let me start by saying Iukeini Protege and AceofproZ are correct the car is pretty slow compared to other 4cly our cars are heavy they wernt built with speed in mind. On the other end they love corners so most people have just focused on the suspension. Id rather have a car that can handle w/less power than one with alot of hp and cant handle for s***.

Now as for things you can do Iukeini went with the 2.5 KL swap so now he has a V6. Others have done the 2.0 FS swap now both of those require some work. There has been a few who have installed a turbo but still not as much power as they would like. Either way you go its gonna cost some money some more than others. It all really depends on what your looking to do whats your budget.

I also have a 99 LX. If your ever your bored and would like some ideas as to what you can do to the 1.6 L click on the link in my sig it has a list of parts and things ive done to mine, and a list of other parts im waiting to install, also a list of other things im still gonna buy.

 

[adzamzoom]

Speedracr79, I really like your build. I'm a huge Mazda fan and like you, really enjoy tosable cars. I need 30-35mpg for my 80 mile daily round trip to work and like the way the protege looks when lowered. I also need the seating in back for my 3 kids. I want to come as close to Miata dynamics as you can in a sedean LOL! I figure I should laugh at myself before every one else does. I've had 2 Miata and a '90 RX7 convertable.....fun! but not great for carying the kids. Anyway my focus will be on handling as half of my comute is two lane black top on twisty back roads. Although i do have an MPV w/the 2.5V6....that could be great fun!

 

[speedracr79]

thanks man like i said its a work in progress no where near done butsoon it should be ill keep my build thread updated when i do something so check back later and tell me what ya think.

 

[Dustin0308]

Thanks so much for the response guys. Will be looking into this more

 

[speedracr79]

So how things going with the car? Good i hope any mods yet? Are you gonna upgrade your suspension like struts and springs?