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Mazda Protege5
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Comments
Now, Bruno, where are you seeing all these Pro5's in Houston? I've only ever seen one other one--in my parking lot at work, grr--and it's also silver.
- Parking spot of my company in Sugar-Land: red
- Corporate St, Stafford: yellow
- 59 feeder road @ Sheaper: silver
- Westheimer@Hilcroft: silver
- Border book store in Westheimer: black
- my complex at Stafford: yellow.
Are you still following me Mike? Probably not. Oh well... ;-)
Get out and drive.
Zoom-zoom
Hey, speaking of tints, what tint have folks been getting? The darkest we can get in Texas is 35%, but do I really need to go that dark? Bruno, what'd you get? I seem to recall you saying you had the dealer do it, and we have the same dealer...
Also...does it hurt if I refill with 92 Octane EVERY time?
Plus do you recommend Iridium spark plugs in additional to a high flow air filter.
Share some of you Mod Knowledge!!
After driving my '99 Protege ES for 2.5 years now, I have found no difference between premium, midgrade, and regular fuel. Premium fuel produces a slightly (and I mean slightly) smoother idle. Fuel mileage remains the same as regular. Premium is probably better if you keep your engine in the 6,000rpm range, otherwise it is a waste of money. The bottom line is that Mazda engineers designed the engine to run on 87 octane [(R+M)/2 method], and you should stick with that. It runs just fine.
The owner's manual recommends a minimum octane rating of 91 RON. This is not what is posted on most United States gas pumps. What we see is octane calculated using the (RON + MON)/2 method, or Anti-Knock Index as it is called. Research Octane Number (RON) is a measurement of octane under regular driving (i.e., light engine load). Motor Octane (MON) is a measurement of octane under extreme driving (i.e., heavy engine load). We use the Anti-Knock Index, which is the average between RON and MON. 91 RON is equivalent to 87 Anti-Knock Index. 94 octane, whether it is MON, RON, of Anti-Knock Index, is much higher than what Mazda recommends.
There is no harm using 92 every-time, believe me, accept for your pocket. I use 89-fuel with occasionally (1 over 5 times) 92-fuel. If you live in high altitude, high flow air filter is a must, otherwise I don't think you need them. Spark plugs are important. When you change them, try to replace with the best, since it doesn't cost much more and it warrant the smoothness of your engine. It just one person opinion.
Jerry,
you are right, if your definition of "detonation" includes the molecules breaking phenomenon, than "resistance to detonation" is the right word. The manual recomended MINIMUM 91 RON, that means any fuel having more than 91 will do fine, including the regular fuel and the premium one that Jon are using. My point is the low mpg Jon get may not due to the fuel, as you also pointed out above. It must due to something else. IMHO, the criminal is probably not spark plugs, but a dirty air filter, defected computer, leak of fuel, or simply Jon has a heavy right foot! As I said, I average about 28mpg with my P5, without managing much at red light. The rotary engine has very very low compression ratio by design, that's why you can use regular fuel.
Mike,
I don't remember what is the degree of tints of my car. I'll figure it out tomorrow.
Bruno
BTW, I have 100% fully metallized titanium tint on my ES. They are 33% on the front windows, and 25% on the rears. They really cut down on the heat and glare. I have a full lifetime warranty on them against fading, discoloration, and delamination. It was a bit expensive at $260, but I have been extremely happy with them; I've had the tint for over two years now.
I am sure you did this on a test track? ;-)
As for tint, I'm really torn. My car is titled and licensed in Illinois which has pretty strict tint laws but the P5 and I spend 9 months of the year at school in New Mexico where the tint laws are extremely generous (anyone who has ever been under the New Mexico summer sun knows why). I'd love to get some metallic or mirrored silver tint to match the paint on my silver P5 but the stupid laws have me worried. BTW, I found this page http://www.pcisys.net/~bpc/auto_law/tint/ with tint laws for every state. Be sure to read the disclaimer at the top before you run out for tint.
119? Wow. I still wonder what this car would be capable of with a chip or turbo but haven't really heard anything about either.
Things you will need:
Phillips screwdriver
Small flathead screwdriver or pocket knife
Bag, box, or can to hold fasteners while you work
No less than 2 hours
Patience
Things you may need (I did):
Wire cutters/strippers
Speaker wire
Electrical tape
Krazy glue (just in case)
So you wanna take your doors apart? It could be because you're looking to replace the mediocre rear speakers or because you're looking to install a subwoofer and need to tap the rear speaker wires for a signal. Here's how to do it.
Start by opening your door, locating and removing all visible fasteners. These are: a smallish plastic screw below and to the right of the door lock button, a metal screw (which I believe is diagonally mounted) inside the door handle (the one you pull to open/unlatch the door), and two plastic rivets in the rear-facing side of the door. These are slightly tricky because they are mounted flush into the door panel and can be identified as a round button with a ring around it. Pry the head of the rivet out with a flathead screwdriver or pocket knife and pull the top of the rivet to full extension, then remove the rivet from the door frame.
Remove the cover of the armrest/door handle. I want to be very clear here, I incorrectly thought the entire armrest/handle was removable and it is NOT, so please do not try to pull it clear, you may succeed (thankfully I did not). You should be able to see a line running across the top and inside of the armrest. This is where the decorative facing seperates from the rigid handle underneath. The best way to remove the facing is to grasp the armrest/handle with one hand and curl the fingertips of the other hand underneath the thinner side of the facing that goes towards the front of the car and give it a reasonable pull. If at any time you are pulling on the entire armrest/handle, STOP, you screwed up Think removing a facing from the actual handle and you'll be fine. Once the facing is off, remove the two screws you find underneath it. Set all important screws, fasteners, and other parts aside so you don't lose them.
You are now ready to remove the door panel. STOP. If you have not removed all the fasteners above, do not pull on the door panel. Your door panel will give long before a metal screw will. It helps to understand that the door panel looks like two pieces but is actually only one piece and is constructed of rigid molded plastic and what appears to be rigid molded fiberglass. The best approach is to be firm but not forceful. Start by pulling at the front to bottom front section of the door panel. This part of the panel is attached to the door by simple PVC plastic pop rivets (I think three or 4) and should pull clear with just a bit of effort. Now on to the bottom of the door. This part of the panel is held in place by round PVC buttons which socket into plastic C shaped holders in the door panel. There may be a more elegant solution but simply pulling the bottom of the door panel away from the door will with a bit of force should pop it loose. Continue across the bottom from front to back and up the back side of the door. These fasteners continue to about the rear-middle of the door panel. There are 3 or 4 of them.
The panel should now be fully unfastened and ready to be removed. It is important to know that the door handle/release that you removed the single screw from in the beginning and the push button lock are parts of the door frame, not the door panel and are not removed. The plastic door panel lifts up and over the door lock button and the door release passes through its opening in the door panel. The door panel should now be completely clear of the frame except for the plastic wiring harness for the power windows. This unplugs much as you would expect it to and should be pretty familiar to anyone who has worked with PC power supplies. At this point you can lift the door panel clear and take a look at the speaker.
The rear speakers are mounted at the bottom front of the door frame with 3 phillips screws. You can easily remove the screws and speakers and pull them slightly clear of the door frame. All the wires within the frame are electrical taped together and run behind a sheet of plastic that is stuck to the frame with a black goop, presumably to shield the inside of the door from water. You should have access to at least enough wire at the speaker to see what you're doing. The speaker has a connector similar to the one for the power window. You can release the speaker connector by depressing the slanted plastic tab inside the connector with the flathead screwdriver or pocket knife and then pulling the connector clear.
At this point you're home free and can either simply plug in the new speakers if they use the same plug or, if not, cut the connector, strip the wires, and connect the new speaker. I leave that part to you. I left the factory speakers and spliced the wires for a subwoofer signal connection. For both rear speakers, + (signal) is sort of a pinkish color and negative (ground) is yellow with a black stripe. This was a lucky guess on my part after remembering that when proper electical standards are followed, the negative wire is always indicated (the stripe).
Your door goes back together much the opposite of how it was disassembled. Screw the speaker back in. Make sure the door lock button is in its clip. Plug the power window wires back in to the panel. Place the door panel over the lock button. Pull the door release handle back through its hole in the panel. Pop the rivets back in. Replace the screws and plastic rivets. Replace the door armrest facing. The only part I'm not totally sure about is getting the PVC buttons at the bottom of the door back into their C collars. The C collars all seem to face different directions and I can't quite figure out how to get them all back on but the door functions fine otherwise. If anyone knows how to do this, feel free to comment. That's all there is to it!
Free extra: If you aren't replacing the speakers and only need to splice wires, it may be possible to do so without removing the door panels. Open your rear door and locate a ridged rubber tube running between the door frame and the car body. You can remove either end of this for access to the wires for power windows, locks, and the speaker. The door side is easy, it's a simple rubber gasket that you can pry out or can pull out with your hands. The car body side is a bit tougher. Use a flathead screwdriver to pry the rubber cover completely off of the squarish plastic wiring harness. Pull the green button out a bit until you can see the small tabs on either side of it. Press these tabs together and pull the button, then harness
And a final free tip: If you need to run a wire from the car cabin into the engine compartment, to run a wire off of your battery for good power for a sub for example, this can be accomplished by locating the rubber grommet in the firewall. Adjust the driver's seat back all the way and lay on the floor so you face the firewall which is above the pedals and behind the steering column. You'll find a diamond shaped piece of plastic behind the black sound insulation. You should be able to remove this and gain a pass through into the engine compartment but it was extremely tight and I gave up. Next to this, however, is a rubber grommet through which all the important accessory wiring is run from the fusebox inside the cabin to the battery. It is small and round on the cabin side and larger and oval on the engine compartment side. You can either poke a hole in the grommet with an awl or knife, being careful not to sever any wires or use the flathead screwdriver (again) to pry one side of the grommet away enough to pass a wire or two through. The grommet fits very tight and should keep a good seal even with a wire passed through outside of it.
I'd like to apologize to everyone for the extreme length of this post and the technical (boring) nature of it but it was the only way to share all of this information with people who are likely to want and use it. I wish I'd had a walkthrough this detailed BEFORE I set out to do this, but I'm glad I now have all this info to share with fellow P5 lovers. Enjoy folks, maybe I'll wash my P5 tomorrow and get a few pics of it and my sub up to check out
-Mark
Glad to hear of your victory.
Best I've been quoted is 4% over invoice on a 5-speed with no options. ($17,468. w/ dest.)
What size will the Pro5 take in the doors, 6 1/2? Or was it 6 x 8? I'd guess someone has said before but I can't remember.
Sorry I can't be more precise, I'd be replacing my speakers now if it wasn't for the fact that I have a $2000+ cash outlay coming up in about a week for school Easy come, easy go.
As a matter of fact, I did run across some Pioneer speakers which were stamped "Designed for Ford and Mazda" which had the proper configuration. Kenwood also has speakers with the proper fit. However, They sounded very muddy to me.
Of course, that's just my prefference and they may sound fine to a great deal of people, so I'm not trying to knock a brand name or offend those who have bought them.
The best way to determine if you'll like a pair of speakerst, is to take a CD with you when you go shopping. Take music which you are familiar with. Female voices are best as they tend to be tougher to reproduce. Also, take music with a lot of dynamics (highs and lows) and see if you can pick out the individual instruments. Nothing shows the true color of musical equipment like a bowed bass, the lower keys on a piano.
Finally, keep the bass and treble controls in their flat position and turn off bass boost switches. If it can't sound good flat... It'll never sound good to you.
Have fun shopping.
Don't put the armrest cover back on without screwing the armrest back into the door frame You'll probably be able to pull the entire armrest out but will have a bear of a time getting the cover off.
There may be an easier way to remove the armrest cover. It seems to be held on by two clips and not just one at the front end (the side that faces the front when the door is closed). The first metal clip you can get to and pry out of the way by inserting a flathead screwdriver in the small rectangular notch on the underside of the front of the armrest. The hard part is that the same clip also has a top part which you can't get to very well that also needs to be pried clear (unless you just pull hard). It's tough to explain this well and the only reason I even found this out is because I had the entire armrest assembly free of the door frame and in my hand to look at from all angles I would advise gently pulling the top front part of the armrest slightly away from the door panel and if you can see the metal clip there, try depressing it with a flathead screwdriver. This may or may not be possible - the first time I removed the cover I only popped the bottom clip and simply pulled the rest off but if both clips can be released, the cover comes off easier.
I discovered something that made door reassembly MUCH easier. The white PVC buttons and C collars I mentioned earlier...you can pretty much disregard that. They are simple pop in/out rivets, the problem I had is that they stuck better in the door frame than in the door panel, meaning they came out of their C collars and remained popped into the door frame. I used pliars to pry them free and reinserted them in the door panel. This made reassembly VERY easy because you simply drop the panel on over the windowsill and door lock button, connect the power window cable, reinstall the door handle/release, then pop all the rivets on the door panel into the frame (all along the bottom and front edge of the door), then reinsert the screws and removable plastic rivets. Voila. If you do everything right and don't screw around a lot like I did, I promise your door will come apart with only a minimum of struggle and will go back together like brand new. If anyone has any questions about my experience or the door process, email me at Elecstudnt@aol.com. Get cracking and on your way to better sound!
Now, since I don't know much about car speakers, I have what may be a naive question. Wouldn't it make more sense to put the 6.5" speakers in front and the 6x8's in the back seat? Human ears don't localize low freq very well, and the 6x8s, by virtue of being bigger, should make the better bass drivers, right? Seems like component 5in or 6.5in up front and 6x8 in back would make more sense, wouldn't it? Or am I way off?
Thanks!
In the store the 6 1/2 had better all around sound than the 5X7s, but in the car, the combination sounds really good to me. If they were all 5x7s, I'm sure there would be a large gap, where the midrange would normally exist.
Component speakers would be Ideal, if you intend on driving them with an amp. They tend to consume more power than standard two way speakers, as they were designed with additional amplification in mind.
If you plan to keep your factory deck, be sure to keep "efficiency" high on your list of requirements. Some very expensive speakers will demand much more power from a head unit than they can possibly provide, and consequently sound poor.
When I picked out my speakers, I insisted on listening to them through the cheapest and lowest powered deck in the store and they sounded real strong. In the P5... they Rock!
Good Luck on your hunt.
http://www.nctd.com/02/comp/02protege5.cfm
Given the number of people who are paying straight sticker, I thought 4% over invoice was pretty good. I don't qualify fo rany of the special "plans."
Also, anyone replace the Protege5's weeny horn yet? Gosh, that has to be the weakest sounding horn that I've heard yet! What's up with that, Mazda? Probably will replace it with a Hella unit. Anyone have any experience with them?
Thanks in advance,
Steven
Silver Pro5
jason
The Devil is always in the details.
It's the same 2.0 from the Protege sedan.
However, I just had the moonroof wind deflector installed and it's much better now.
Bruno
Meade
be nice if the defrost function switches automatically the AC on using outside air, however it shouldn't make others combinaisons unable to be operated, as the case of the 2002 P5. Just a suggestion to Mazda designers if they read this board.
Bruno
They specialize in Mazda performance and just started carrying several performance parts for the 1999-2000 1.8L and 2001-2002 2.0L. Those parts include intake and exhaust cams, intake manifolds, exhaust headers, intake systems, exhaust systems... just to name a few. Most of their parts of from J-Spec or Mazdaspeed, both highly reputable companies (Mazdaspeed is now Mazda's factory in-house tuner).
I can not complain at all. Many of you have mentioned the armrest and the stereo, however, if those items are not of too much importance you will be completely satisfied. Wind noise from the roof rack can be heard but again it is all in what you want. I like to bike, so this was a positive to me.
However, does anyone know the type & manufacture of a bike rack that will work with the factory P5 roof rack???????
Thank you to everyone for all your input and especially those who got back in touch with me about the S-plan..
Keep posting messages and Zoom Zoom