Mazda Protege Accessories and Modifications

newcar31 · January 2002

Meade's Protege site?

I find it very funny that they include direction for the mud guards, but not for the strut tower brace. I guarantee you that most techs at a Mazda dealer would need directions.

yooper53 · January 2002

My concern exactly. And I wonder 1)whether they'd bother to check the manual or even look under the hood of an MP3 or 2)Put it on any way they could and get it out the door. If I go that route I'll tell them to put all parts plastic bags with p/n's intact in the car as well as any left over oem parts, if any.

the_big_h · January 2002

thanks for the diagrams maltb, but I believe the picture that you titled 'without cruise' is actually the 'with cruise' picture, because I have that exact same left bracket and the p5 cruise control bracket fits perfectly onto it. I doublechecked with a picture of the strut bar on a p5. just FYI...

newcar31 · January 2002

I will NOT go the dealer route. They have already proved that they cannot even handle an oil change and they like to break parts off my seat and super glue them back together hoping I won't notice. Then the seat part was on back order and they STILL haven't called me back....this was from september.

maltb · January 2002

well, those are from the Mazda parts catalog. Maybe they made a mistake. Note the pic labeled w/o cruise says MPS wich refers to the non-cruise MP3. Either way, find one that looks like yours and go with it.

protege_fan · January 2002

I'm thinking about putting air intake into my Pro. Has anybody else done this or thought about this? My friend has a Ford Probe (which he says has a Mazda engine) and he was able to make himself an air intake. It looks pretty crappy under the hood to me, but he says it works alright.

If I were getting one, I'd get a polished one from a company like Injen or AEM. The Injen website (www.injen.com) has a really cool picture of their cold-air intake in a Pro.

One last thing: Does anybody know the difference between cold-air and short ram air intakes (besides the location of the filter)? Is there a large power difference?

Thanks in advance all.

yooper53 · January 2002

Just spoke to them this p.m. and was pleased to see the price was $106 for the pair. I guess if they had Mazda p/n's they'd go for at least $250. Anyway I asked about instructions and was told they weren't needed. So would someone who's done the installation say how easy or difficult they were. Many thanks in advance. I'm getting the impression that most after market customers are pretty handy when it comes to working on cars. Changing oil is about the extent of jobs I'd feel comfortable tackling.

speedypt · January 2002

1. Open the hood (marvel at engine)
2. Undo screw at top of turn signal, save for later.
3. Gently wiggle turn signal out of place but not so far as to pull the wiring out.
4. Push in and turn the bulb socket gently counter-clockwise.
5. Remove clear turn signal bulb and replace with identical (except for color) orange turn signal bulb. (you will NOT use the gray plastic socket included with the Corksport J-Spec clear corners. Use the original that came with your factory orange corners. I had to buy new bulbs at the auto parts store. The J-Spec connector and our factory wiring harnesses are different shapes and incompatible. VERY simply fixed by using original socket which fits perfectly into back of clear corner.)
6. Insert original bulb socket with new orange bulb into clear corner, pressing inward lightly and turning clockwise.
7. Fit new clear corner into place carefully and screw into place with single screw removed in step #2.
8. Close hood and marvel at clean, complete look of your Protege sans ugly orange corner lamps!!!

You already have my number if needed yooper...call if this doesn't help.

Regards,

Pete

the_big_h · January 2002

installed strut bar and k&n filter this afternoon. It's dark now, I'll post a pic here tomorrow during daytime...

Will also post seat-of-pant detection of improvements here...

the_big_h · January 2002

but does notice a major difference with the strut bar on. You think your ES drives like it's on rails now, wait til you put on the strut bar! It makes a definite improvement on both high speed straightaway stability and flat cornering. I am now a firm believer in improving chassis rigidity, and Mazda should make the strut bar standard equipment on at least the ES sedans, and not let only the p5 and mp3 have all the benefits of handling improvements the strut bar brings.

As for the K&N drop-in, no drastic improvements like the strut bar, but there are some subtle things that did change for the better. The tach needle now jumps more freely now (ie engine revs up faster), was able to rev up to 3500 from standing maybe about 1/2 sec faster than before. Engine now gives a deeper, louder growl at redline, about the same noise level as before at normal rev range (2000-4000). The last thing I notice might purely be psychological, but the engine seems to rev more 'relaxed' at highway speed. In the O/D gear, the engine still runs at the same rpm at a particular mph, but now when press down on the gas pedal to go a bit faster, the car just accelerates flat out, without disengaging the torque lockup to rev up for acceleration.

yooper53 · January 2002

Interesting. I wouldn't expect to see a major difference, but at least a discernible difference.
I have to wait til I get my oem Dunlops back on before doing the strut tower brace. Might see if I can get a spray can of oem light sandalwood from the dealer and paint it before installing. Glad to hear you think it was a worthwhile upgrade.

newcar31 · January 2002

Now I really can't wait until I install my strut tower brace. I should probably wait until I put the stock Dunlops on. I still haven't gotten a response from mazdastuff.com and I e-mailed them on Thursday.

How hard was the install?

the_big_h · January 2002

took me 1.5 hours to put mine on, but I was being careful and taking things slowly, so it could be done faster if you hurry up (which I don't recommend). The only tricky part is removing the old cruise control bracket and fitting on the new one. Just take your time and it'll be a breeze.

oh yeah, have a 10mm hex socket handy, all the small bolts holding the bracket is that size.

The big bolts holding the struts are 9/16", and the bolts holding the bar itself is 1" IIRC...

And oh yeah, your hands will get dirty, but isn't that part of the fun ;-)

yooper53 · January 2002

If I were you, I'd wait til spring. Until I had my last car with 60 series ("low-profile") I'd gotten along fine with all-season radials. But every spring with the Contour I'd notice a small but pleasant improvement in going from snow tire to summers for about the first day. Same with my '01 Pro ES. How can that be (re: the Pro I've only had since June '01) you ask. Well we got a lot of snow at the end of November and since I bought snows mounted on ugly steelies I can swap them out myself. So I went from Dunlops to snows to Dunlops (for a short road trip south) back to snows when I got back and sure enough there's a small but discernible difference. So I figure putting the strut on with snows will make it impossible to note the difference once the oem's are back on. I'm into constructive criticism so if there's a flaw in my reasoning please say so. I've got the Dunlops cleaned, the alloys polished anxiously waiting til they go back on. Don't know if I'll try it with help from a friend or go the dealer route. They quoted me about $35 labor.

big h. If I understand you there's both metric and "American" sizes on our cars. Doesn't seem possible. What's 1" IIRC? Thanks.

protegextwo · January 2002

Congrats on the successful install. I'm sure your hard work and the money spent was well worth it. :-) Enjoy, my friend!

-Larry

the_big_h · January 2002

IIRC => If I Recall Correctly.

As a matter of fact it is mixed, I definitely remember the small bolts to be 10mm, because the 3/8" and the 7/16" doesn't fit right. The 9/16" and the 1" bolts also fit very well. My roommate has a tool set, and I tried out the sockets one by one until I found ones that give a nice tight fit over the bolts...

The bolts are probably all made to metric spec, which just happens to fit some english sizes...

newcar31 · January 2002

Many cars are like this. On some sizes, you can interchange between metric and english. For example 9/16 is 14mm, 1/2 is 13mm, 5/8 is 16mm etc etc.

yooper53 · January 2002

Gotcha now.

)

maltb · January 2002

I hate using the wrong size wrenches, but for me it's the other way around. When I started building my tool collection at age 15, I bought all good quality metric tools. To this day I still don't have a decent quality SAE socket set and when I need them around the house I use the metric stuff in place.

So just when do you use the 16 and 18mm wrenches anyway?

newcar31 · January 2002

Well, while working at Jiffy Lube, I found many uses for 16 and 18 mm wrenches, namely Ford drain plugs and transfer case plugs respectively. Sometimes the wrong wrench (metric instead of english and vice versa) actually fits better.

the_big_h · January 2002

here's a pic of the installed strut bar and K&N drop-in...

more pics at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mazdaprotege, under Photos section, in "Hank's Car."

newcar31 · January 2002

Looks nice, wish my engine compartment had a strut tower bar in it. The way things are working out though, I am not going to have one. I'm ready to pack this thing up and send it back to Mazda.

According to protegetech.com, I am missing more than just the cruise control bracket. I am missing:

Mounting nuts 9994-01-003B (4 needed) I have 2

Vacuum sensor bracket FS8M-18-335; I have the wrong one FS8M-18-835

Bracket nut (3 needed): 9989-10-600

Cruise control bracket: BN5W-66-3AY

Rubber bushings for cruise control bracket mounts (2 needed): B6S7-13-349

Mounting guides for cruise control bracket mounts (2 needed): UE54-66-3A5

As an added bonus, the bar I received was all scratched up. Maybe that's why protegetech.com has this to say: "Sternly state that you want the tower bar wrapped up when the Mazda parts distribution center sends it to your dealer!"

WAY TO GO MAZDA! Geez, you'd think that you wouldn't have to deal with these kinds of things with factory backed aftermarket parts. And to think they've done this more than once. How ironic it is that I have had much better luck with non-factory aftermarket parts. They didn't even send directions and to make the install even easier, they didn't send the right parts!! If it wasn't for this website, I would have tried to install the strut tower bar and would have probably become so frusterated that I would have thrown the dang thing across the street. This POS part is going straight back to where it came from!!!

mazdafun · January 2002

Good job, Hank!

Newcar, sorry your kit is so botched.

They should send you a replacement kit, with apologies for the trouble.

Maybe I'll wait a little bit before ordering mine. Hopefully, their QC improves soon.

the_big_h · January 2002

that they sent you missing/wrong/defective parts... I guess Mazdastuff still has some quality control issues that they need to work on...

Make sure they return the credits back into your card....

I guess you can try the corksport bar later, once you've calmed down from all the frustrations this has caused you. The bar from corksport requires you to do some cutting of the regular cruise control bracket, but it comes as one piece, and you bolt it right on, so there won't be the problem of missing/wrong parts. Like you said, maybe you'll have better luck with aftermarket parts!

yooper53 · January 2002

I agree that a dealer selling Mazda parts/kit should be able to get it right, especially an outfit as big as Roger Beasley/Mazda Stuff. If you do decide to return it DON'T let them stick you with a re-stocking fee. Not with missing and wrong parts. I was p/o'd about selling a kit with that many parts and no instructions. Especially when I called and their only response was "Call Mazda."

One question I have is whether the protegetech site has the parts count and p/n's right either. Can anyone elaborate on this? Otherwise I may send my so-called kit back as well.

the_big_h · January 2002

I can give you a quick rundown on all the MAJOR pieces and nuts and bolts that you'll need, let's see...

the main pieces:
1. the strut bar.
2. the right strut bar bracket (driver side)
3. the left strut bar bracket (cruise control side). take a look in Meade's photo section, I have a couple close-up shots of what the left bracket looks like.
4. a cruise control bracket that's designed to 'hang' off of the left bar bracket, again look at my pics on Meade's site.
5. another smaller bracket that hangs off of the left bar bracket to hold another little sensor type of thing (look at pic)

The little stuff:
6. rubber bushings (I ended up using 5 total), remember you can take it off of the original brackets and re-use it.
7. small 10mm nuts, again I re-used ones that are already there, and ended up with couple leftovers.
8. four 1" nuts that will be used to mount the bar onto the brackets. They should be black in color.
9. a flat little metal piece that I used as a padding to prevent the new cruise control bracket from banging on the chassis. I mounted it under the cruise control bracket.

Mount the bar brackets using the nuts that are already there holding the struts. Remember to park your car on a flat surface before unscrewing those nuts.

www.protegeclub.com has an FAQ on parts needed to complete the installation, I didn't bother counting all the little 10mm nuts needed, since I more or less realized I'll have leftovers with what came with the kit and what's already being used. Just make sure you have all the big pieces and the 4 big mounting nuts for the strut bar.

You should be ok if you remember to reuse existing parts.

Take a look at my pics, sometimes pictures describes better than a thousand words, that's how I figured out how to put it together!

ashutoshsm · January 2002

I have the 175-70-13 tires, and would like (at least slightly) sharper handling without having to swap out tires and wheels for low profile ones!

I'm considering getting the $30-40 strut bar advertised on ebay for older proteges. Its a little metal rod, with the right size brackets, and all the parts and instructions I'll need (according to a highly rated seller). Can't post a link, but should be easy to find - search for mazda protege strut, ipck the 88-98 protege link. btw, he posts another strut bar for sale every few days, so lets not bid against each other, OK!

Has anyone previously bought this from him, and is the quality comparable to OEM? Think it'll be worth the time and money to put this in my car, especiaolly considering the tire-wheel package I have?

Thanks!
-ashu

ashutoshsm · January 2002

I'm considering getting a set of used Mazda alloys from a local mechanic. These came off a 99 ES, and I want to use them on my 95 DX. They're the standard 4-lug, 15 x 6 wheels. I know they'll fit, but how do i figure out a tire size to match the overall diameter of my 175/70/13 combo?

I went to tirerack and tried to figure it out using wheel upgrades. The weird thing is ...
1. upgrades for 95 DX, in sizes 15x6, 15x6.5 and 15x7 all will use 195/50/15 tires
2. upgrades for the 95 ES, on the other hand, same wheels as above (exact same list shows up fo 15") will use 195/55/15

Any clues as to the discrepancy in whee diameter? The 50 profile vs. 55 profile?

I'm not complaining, because it looks like I'll need 50 profile tires - but is something, somewhere screwed up?

or are the 95 (or 96/97/98) DX and ES sprung so differently that this is a valid size difference?

Thanks!
-ashu

protege_fan · January 2002

Try this link out:

http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html

Let's you mess with tire sizes and see how different sizes work compared to your current tires.

ashutoshsm · January 2002

I'd lost that link! It confirmed that I need 195/50-15 to replace 175/70-13

Working backwards from the 195/55-15 recommendation for the ES/LX, what is the size of the OEM tires on those? Is it 185/65-14?

So am I right in guessing that the dials and gauges (speed, rpm, odometer) are calibrated differently in the ES/LX from the DX for those years?

mazdafun · January 2002

hari109 · February 2002

can i get some advice/pointers on installing a pair of tweeters in my 2000 PRO.

thanks.

newcar31 · February 2002

Did those 4 1" bolts to hold the bar on come with the kit, or are they already on the car?

the_big_h · February 2002

those bolts should come with the kit, they're big and painted black...

newcar31 · February 2002

I wonder what else I'm missing. It sure helps you to know what you need if you don't have directions. From now on, I'm stickin with aftermarket parts. Screw Mazda. I like their cars, but their parts network could not be worse!!! It also took 5 months for a piece on the back of my seat to come in. 5 months!! If I have troubles like these often, I might get rid of the whole car. I thought Euro cars had parts distribution problems. Kinda makes you wonder how a company this un-organized can even build cars. This is the worst experience I've had in 9 years of driving and maintaining cars. The worst.

I could keep doing this for months. I tried to put the bar on today and realized right away I was missing more parts. What happens next time when I get to a different step and realize I'm missing even more parts? Maltb, what should I do? I'm seriously considering sending it back and forgetting about the strut tower bar. It really isn't worth the hassle.

yooper53 · February 2002

has turned into a circus and the clowns are in charge. Any assortment of parts sold as a kit should include at least 1)parts list, 2)installation instructions, 3) barring #2 above it should be made very clear that there are no instructions included. Which will make returning it sans re-stocking fee straightforward. Any consumer affairs office would probably agree with the above. Just my two cents.

mazdafun · February 2002

800-222-5500.

Since they published the Performance Enhancement products for Proteges in their last owners magazine, they should have the system more user-friendly. But, they can't improve it unless they know there are issues. Do you expect the dealerships and distribution centers to report these shortcomings? Well, they would, if they were diligent, but there are many ways for these things to escape notice (usually, employees or managers who want to brush problems under the carpet, as the saying goes).

newcar31 · February 2002

Nah, I'll just send the bar back and get my money back. I've spent enough time dealing with this and I don't need to spend anymore.

boggse · February 2002

When I went to install my brand new, yellow Strut Bar in my 2001 Pro ES, sans directions, I noticed that things didn't quite fit . Essentially, even though I had ordered the Strut Bar w/cruise, they had sent me the Strut Bar wo/cruise. I had to order the correct cruise bracket separately. At $19.95 I wasn't happy, but I already had the thing mostly installed. I have contacted MazdaUSA for a refund. Since I got the kit and the extra bracket at different dealers, I have to go through corporate customer relations to get a refund. On the plus side, it handles better than ever. I have to push it much harder to reach the limits.

On another note, has anyone gotten the Injen cold air intake or Borla exhaust for their Protege? The Borla is only for 2001 2.0L models.

the_big_h · February 2002

you actually got a refund? nice job!

check out www.protegeclub.com/forum, there are tons of people there that have the Injen CAI installed, as well as some Borla users.

boggse · February 2002

I got this back from Crutchfield when I asked what speakers would fit in the rear doors of a 2000-2002 Protege:

I'll be happy to help with your question on purchasing new speakers for your 2001 Protégé. The rear door speaker locations in the 2001 and 2002 models are the same, but they are different in the 2000 model.

In the 2001 Protégé, there are rear door speaker grilles but no actual factory speakers. So, you will need to run new speaker wire from the radio to the speaker mounting locations. You can then install 6 1/2" speakers with a mounting height of 0.528" or less. This mounting height limitation restricts the choices to the following speaker models:

Infinity Kappa 62.1i
Kenwood KFC-1668S
Kicker 02K60
Pioneer TS-G1647
Polk EX602a
Rockford Fosgate FRC2206U

boggse · February 2002

Hey, if you are looking for another source of Mazda OEM parts at a discount, you can try:

http://www.mazdadiscountparts.com/

I have never used them myself, and it takes them a while to quote prices (about 1 business day), but there prices are slightly cheaper than Mazdastuff.com. Shipping is free if you order more than $150. If anyone has tried to use them before, I would appreciate any comments concerning their service.

yooper53 · February 2002

I was only missing 6 parts from the kit they sent me. They'll send them tomorrow.

the_big_h · February 2002

yooper you sure are patient!

sure hope they'll get it right the second time around!

newcar31 · February 2002

LOL @ "only 6"

ashutoshsm · February 2002

My aftermarket brace only consists of 3 total parts - the bar/brace, and the two brackets at each end. Granted, the mounting hardware is bolted onto the brackets, but I received it as only 3 pieces!

Question: I have some kind of a dark/black metallic bracket/gizmo attached bwteen the two windshield side bolts on the passenger side strut tower - whn I install the brace, shuold its brackets go under this or over this (respectively flush against the metal fram of the car, or flush against the bottom of the nuts?)?

Incidentally, I was unable to install it over the weekend as I did not have a deep enough socket to reach the nut - a large section of the bolt protrudes upwards!

TIA!

the_big_h · February 2002

common sense would say the brackets for the bar should go UNDER everything else, and have full contact with the strut tower itself, so that stress is applied to the body through the bracket, not the bolts.

Guess you'll need to get a 'deep' socket eh?

chikoo · March 2002

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mazdaprotege/

check out the files section for eXcel sheet comparo

protegextwo · March 2002

"I changed over to 205/55/15 V-rated(BFG Touring T/A V4) instead of 195/55/15 Portenza tires... No difference in steering response at regular speeds, although it does feel a bit heavy during parking which I attribute to the wider tire, which is Ok by me..."
by Chikoo Feb 19, 2002

Nick, I got a couple of questions for you. My local B.J.'s Whole Sale Club is offering a $7.50 per tire discount on the BF Goodrich All-Season Touring T/A VR4 in stock. They are listed regular price of $73.99, not to bad.

My out the door price:
$73.99 per tire
-$7.50 discount
-----
$66.49 x %6.0 PA sales tax= $70.48
------
$70.48 and $10.55 total install fee (mount, balance, new stems, and disposal of old tire)=$81.03

$81.03 total per tire

Ok, B.J.'s only carry this tire in the 205/55-15 size.

1.)How do your 205/55-15's tires fit?
2.)How do the 205/55-15's tires look?
3.)How did it fit on the OEM alloy wheel (rim fitment)?
4.)Any issue's with tire clearance in sharp turns or bouncing roads?
5.)What are your impressions of the 205/55/15 V-rated(BFG Touring T/A V4) tires, you purchased?
6.)Nick, any comments or tips would really be appreciated!

Your Friend,
Larry

chikoo · March 2002

>>>Nick, I got a couple of questions for you. My local B.J.'s Whole Sale Club is offering a $7.50 per tire discount on the BF Goodrich All-Season Touring T/A VR4 in stock. They are listed regular price of $73.99, not to bad.

*My out the door price:
$73.99 per tire
-$7.50 discount
-----
$66.49 x %6.0 PA sales tax= $70.48
------
$70.48 and $10.55 total install fee (mount, balance, new stems, and disposal of old tire)=$81.03

*$81.03 total per tire
Excellent price...i paid $73.99 + 9.99 wheel deal + 6% tax....wish I had waited 3 months

Ok, B.J.'s only carry this tire in the 205/55-15 size.

1.)How do your 205/55-15's tires fit?
Perfect fit

2.)How do the 205/55-15's tires look?
Check out the pictures link in Yahoo groups.
The look awesome, especially from the rear...FAT, PHAT....

3.)How did it fit on the OEM alloy wheel (rim fitment)?

Perfect. if u read the Tire fitment Handbook that u can find at the BJ's store, Michelin/BFG recommends this tires as "Plus 0" size for our car.

4.)Any issue's with tire clearance in sharp turns or bouncing roads?
None whatsoever.

5.)What are your impressions of the 205/55/15 V-rated(BFG Touring T/A V4) tires, you purchased?

Overall good tires.
Reduced vibrations and noise on rough roads.
cuts through water puddles cleanly...used to feel a huge drag on the RE-92.
I maintain a 30 PSI pressure and the car now feels like a econo-luxo-sedan, especially in the passenger seat since u no longer feel the sharp bumps that make ur teeth grind.(I can now compare the ride,make that bump, quality with my friends Honda Accord 2001 EXV6.)

6.)Nick, any comments or tips would really be appreciated!

I have found that I can spin the tires If I lead foot at stop signs on wet roads....and also if I have to execute an immediate takeoff from a traffic signal into a left/right turn.

I never hydroplaned with the RE-92 poortenzas....nor with these.....never got the chance....always drove (still drive) carefully in wet, especially on descending ramps....maybe I don't have the courage to test tires at my expense

since common sense tells me that any vehicle is prone to slip&slide when u speed & brake aggresively while descending on ramps / bridges.

Best of luck!!

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