I'm not sure what part of the country you live in, but if you're in the snow belt, you could always remove the Dunlops and put winter tires on that set of wheels. Only problem is that it may be hard to find winter tires in the Dunlop profile.
if at any point during the rewire you don't understand something or get confused, do not guess and do not continue. ask your question here first. i just did mine today. and if you don't feel like cutting the wire thats going into the relay, its possible to pull the relay down (you must tug on it hard though) and then disconnect the white connector and remove the red wire with the spade connector out by lifting a small tab from the OPPOSITE side of where the wire enters the connector. btw, the light green wire that goes into the switch must connected to the relay (or the piece of red wire that would be sticking out from the relay if you cut it, NOT TO THE WIRE THAT I ORIGINALLY SAID. the small black box doesn't have a clear housing around it. you will figure out which relays it is. its the smallest one and it has 4 wires going into it. red, and i believe the other 3 are blue or blue/green. if you are carefull this can be done without cutting any wire or breaking anything. the light green wire doesn't even have to be pulled out from the switch. when yo connect a new wire to the relay where the red one is, the other end of the new wire can easily be stuck into the same hole where green wire goes into the switch. it will be snug in there and won't come out. you can always add some electrical tape and tape the new wire and green together just in case. i might do a photo shoot of the install tommorow so its clear for other people. btw, i am not responcible for anything that happens to your car, you, or your hamster.
Sorry mustang87, I thanked the wrong person (silver_bullet). I'll check out everything with a voltmeter first, and don't worry, if something goes terribly wrong (someone's hamster dies), I promise I won't sue.
Mustang - thanks so much for the detailed response, I'll give it a look this afternoon. Were you planning on doing this anyway, I presume? How does it look?
Sharon - my info was a mix of that from someone who works for Mazda, and everything they have released information-wise to date on the 6 and MS3.
As I mentioned, sheer logic dictates that they are not going to put a 160hp/155ft-lbs engine in a P5 and undermine the heavily promoted release of a 170hp/145ft-lbs powered MS3. When they are ready to upgrade the P5 that signicantly, they will definitely alert the press.
ULEV rated vehicles contribute 70% less pollution that the average new vehicle, if I recall the figure correctly.
yes i did the fogs on saturday. i am the third in my club to do it. the other people, p5 and mp3 had it for a while and no problems. this is a simple mod if you follow directions. again, really all there is to it is to cut one wire and splice the end that comes from the relay into the light green wire that goes to the fogs switch. thats it. heck, if anybody needs technical support just call me today on my cell (954)562-2705 and i will help you. it actually looks pretty cool because now you can have fogs on with parking lights and early in the morking or at twilight in the evening it looks simply awesome. brights still work as usuall. when you turn them on, fogs turn off.
Rewiring them to come on with the parking lights will not harm the car or wiring. I had it done i my 2001 Protege ES, but did not do it myself. Cost me like $30 or something at a local stereo shop and looked pretty neat.
says that the basic 4cyl engine for all upcoming Mazda and Ford vehicles will be a Mazda 2.26 L MZR engine (just newly released in Japan in the MPV minivan).
I looked at the fog wiring job quickly yesterday, and I may want to take you up on the over-the-phone advice offer. I am thinking I can get to it next saturday or sunday late morning. Is calling your cel either of these times good for you? If not , when would be? Thanks.
Hmm - I'd heard that running the fogs without the regular headlights is prohibited in some regions. I don't know, as I've never thought of doing it. But I'd hate to spend all the time and risk completing the mod, only to be pulled over 2 days later and slapped with a $100 fine for my efforts. Granted, I've seen a few cars on the road with fogs and no headlights, so I'm not 100% sure that its illegal in my area. But I'd do yourself a favor and double check just in case!
Kind of a moot point here in Canada as our cars still have the headlights on (as DRLs) when the headlight switch is in the parking light mode. There's no way to drive around without headlights unless you bring the parking brake up one click or disable the DRLs, something I've not been able to figure out how to do.
no, i can't saturday or sunday morning. i'll be studying all day saturday for a final exam on sunday at 10:30am. i need as less distractions as possible. I'll be home around 2pm and you guys can call me after that and i can even talk through the whole night i do apologize for any inconviniences this might cause.
i took pictures of the install today. hopefully i will be able to put together an html page together in the next couple of days detailing everything.
mp5freak has a good point. i don't even know if its legal here in south florida or not. but it looks way cool when fogs and parking lights are on.
This is a little off topic...but..just wondering if anyone here has personalized plates for their P5. Given that my first hundred or so choices are already taken....I'm thinking of ZMZZOOM JUSZOOM or ZOOMIN5 .. opinions anyone?
For quickest cool down of the car, put the AC on the coolest setting, highest fan speed, and on recirculate. No combination of control settings strains the system.
Maltb....you can only have 7 characters...The one you picked is my bro's favorite....seems to be split along gender lines..=)
Bruno...tried that one already....already taken...I wasn't exaggerating when I said that about my first 100 choices were already taken! I couldn't believe how many variations of the zoom zoom theme people already have!
Yeah...in Cali it's 7 characters also. Our DMV actually has a site where you can see what it will look like on the plate.....unless it's already taken...in which case it will let you know. Two more I came up with....ZOOMNP5 P5ZOOMN....hmmz..will the decisions never end???!
I've got personalized plates coming sometime soon but it doesn't relate to zoom-zoom. It's ZENTO, Japanese for "the journey ahead". I had three options, all three Japanese words, but luckily this one was my first choice.
out of curiosity, I asked a Japanese friend here at work what it meant. After a few moments of confusion and me telling her the definition, she said, "ahhh, it means Looking Forward To or The Road Ahead." So I guess you are pretty safe with that and it's kinda cool.
If it helps, you should know that the same car has been available in Japan and Europe for years. It is only "new" to our market. I wouldn't be too concerned about "first year" problems (even with Ford's ownership stake).
It's really into second year run. It had come out really early as a 2002 and has had a long 2002 model year run. There's already been updates, like optional leather and sport shift automatic. So I wouldn't worry about. There are a lot of people who have a lot of miles already, and there hasn't been any great amount of problems.
It's like Silver Bullet said, it really wasn't a brand new car to begin with.
My understanding is the 2003 P5 will, like the sedan, be based on a focus platform. In that sense, it will very much be a new car. Given the 9 recalls on the 2000 Focus, that is reason for concern.
I took the question is they are interested in the P5 now, but since 2002 was it's first model year, that they would wait till the 2003's came out. Not that they were waiting because they wanted the all new 2003 per se. With the major changes coming that is one reason I think now is a fine time to buy. Even though it's the same model year, the production run has been pretty long, so therefore it's not really like a first year run which worried the person asking the question.
don't sweat the Focus platform...it's a pretty good one. The Focus problems are with some of the components, but not the paltform itself.
Ford builds great platforms, it's some of the other stuff that can be questionable...nobody is complaining that the new baby Jaguar rides on a Ford Contour platform. haha
even with the shared Ford Focus platform (which is WRC-proved, meaning it's an excellent chassis), the next generation Protege/Protege5 will still be built in Japan, right?
I believe where the car is built still has a major influence on the quality of the finished product. If the new Pro is still MIJ then it should be fine
My trim panel on the passenger side under the heater vent has come loose (or always was loose). I had the dealer look at it when I took it in yesterday, but they didn't fix it. Has anyone else had this come loose and come up with a permanent solution? Right now I just have it wedged against the back of the console.
By the way, this was the source of a rattle I have been trying to find for weeks!
I own a 2000 Protege ES. Love the car, though it's had a few problems (all covered under warranty), and I don't like the way it shifts (manual transmission). Anyway, I am seriously considering trading "up" for a P5. What are your thoughts on this?
Not an easy question! At least two members of this forum own both cars, Mike and Meade, however I don't think they have manual shift on both cars. I'm sure they will give you some inputs. What can I say. I love the shifting of the P5. At first, the side of the seat bother my elbow a little bit (notice that I'm short 5'6''). Now I'm getting use to it. I just prefer the shifter a little bit more forward. But other than that I love the shifting: fast, accurate, ... The chassis, suspension are reinforced on the P5, making the handling even better. Now it's worth or not the trading? I have no idea.
I decided those "kids plates" as they call them were to cutesy for me. Thanks for trying though My finalists are ZMZZOOM 5GOZOOM ZOOMNP5 JUSZOOM and ZOOMIN5...
Thanks for that info...that means mine should be arriving soon! I wasn't aware of new alloys though. I just looked on the website and don't see a difference. Are they fairly similar to the previous ones? Sharon
Comments
Sharon
Sharon - my info was a mix of that from someone who works for Mazda, and everything they have released information-wise to date on the 6 and MS3.
As I mentioned, sheer logic dictates that they are not going to put a 160hp/155ft-lbs engine in a P5 and undermine the heavily promoted release of a 170hp/145ft-lbs powered MS3. When they are ready to upgrade the P5 that signicantly, they will definitely alert the press.
ULEV rated vehicles contribute 70% less pollution that the average new vehicle, if I recall the figure correctly.
says that the basic 4cyl engine for all upcoming Mazda and Ford vehicles will be a Mazda 2.26 L MZR engine (just newly released in Japan in the MPV minivan).
i took pictures of the install today. hopefully i will be able to put together an html page together in the next couple of days detailing everything.
mp5freak has a good point. i don't even know if its legal here in south florida or not. but it looks way cool when fogs and parking lights are on.
Given that my first hundred or so choices are already taken....I'm thinking of ZMZZOOM JUSZOOM or ZOOMIN5 .. opinions anyone?
You are allowed 8 characters, right? Letter, number or space.
How about ZUUMZUUM? ZEWMZEWM? P5 ZOOM?
I like the ZOOMIN 5
Bruno
ON-Y-VA
:-)
Bruno...tried that one already....already taken...I wasn't exaggerating when I said that about my first 100 choices were already taken! I couldn't believe how many variations of the zoom zoom theme people already have!
Sharon
check this out, it will tell show you how your choice will look like on the plate of your state:
http://www.acme.com/licensemaker/licensemaker.cgi
Two more I came up with....ZOOMNP5 P5ZOOMN....hmmz..will the decisions never end???!
vf
(heart)2ZUUM would be cool.
VF, Like that one. What made you pick it?
hayaku = fast
zenshin = drive
Of course the hard part is hoping that what you pick out means what you think it is. I picked Japanese because it's a Japanese car.
they've now got shapes available for license plates? I haven't seen anything like that here in WI. what have they got besides the heart?
vf
The problem is you can only get plates based on letters or numbers so you'll never get (heart)2ZOOM if 2ZOOM is already taken.
BTW, did you double check with a Japanese friend to make sure that was a word you wanted? Wouldn't you hate to find out it meant something else?
It's like Silver Bullet said, it really wasn't a brand new car to begin with.
With the major changes coming that is one reason I think now is a fine time to buy. Even though it's the same model year, the production run has been pretty long, so therefore it's not really like a first year run which worried the person asking the question.
Ford builds great platforms, it's some of the other stuff that can be questionable...nobody is complaining that the new baby Jaguar rides on a Ford Contour platform. haha
Rich
I believe where the car is built still has a major influence on the quality of the finished product. If the new Pro is still MIJ then it should be fine
**** Our first Mid-cycle update P5 arrived today with the sport-shift and new alloys...*****
Bruno
By the way, this was the source of a rattle I have been trying to find for weeks!
I own a 2000 Protege ES. Love the car, though it's had a few problems (all covered under warranty), and I don't like the way it shifts (manual transmission). Anyway, I am seriously considering trading "up" for a P5. What are your thoughts on this?
Bruno
5GOZOOM ZOOMNP5 JUSZOOM and ZOOMIN5...
I wasn't aware of new alloys though. I just looked on the website and don't see a difference. Are they fairly similar to the previous ones?
Sharon