Mazda Protegé

mazdafun

Just the green/black paper bills and mostly silver-colored coins.

I always hold onto foreign currency when I come across it because they look much more interesting.

protege_fan

I'll trade you some CDN currency at a 1:1 exchange rate
I have some money from around the world I'll also trade you at 1:1...the Thai baht especially!!

protege_fan

I've just been driving the loaner around for a bit. Turns out it's an automatic LX 2.0. It's a much different beast than my manual LX 2.0. Corners the same, but lacks the oomph that I can get with my 5-speed. Still handles great though...even through huge puddles that I would never take my Pro through. Grumble...187.08 for steel rims....grumble.

the_big_h

you make it sound like the auto has A LOT less power than the manual, making me wanting a manual even more! :-(

protege_fan

Sorry...that's the way the auto crumbles.

protege_fan

I don't mind the auto that much. But when I'm sitting there and not shifting, it just doesn't feel right for me.

dsm6

Do you find yourself pushing a phantom clutch pedal? I do when I drive my wife's auto.

protege_fan

Yup! But then I take a whiff and smell the loaner car fumes and remember what I'm in.

mdaffron

Sorry I disappeared all day.

Yes, they are Dunlop SP Sport A2s in the 205/50R15 size. I love 'em.

Gotta run. You guys have a good weekend!

Meade

f4j

Been previous discussion on torque and on the cruise control. Brings to mind two questions about our week old 01 ES/w auto trans.

Haven't driven many cars in this class, so my comparison is to larger cars I have driven.

1. The rpm at cruise seems to me to be high for an overdrive trans car. Don't recall the exact figure but at 70 mph the rpm must have been close to 3300. Other cars I drive seem to settle in at about 2300-2500 for the same speed.

2. The cruise control will drop the trans out of o.d. and put some heavy juice to the engine on resume even if it only needs a minor adjustment in speed, say from 68 mph to 70 mph. Again, my experience has been in cars and trucks (pickup)that limit heavy acceleration on resume to something over a 5 mph requested adjustment.

I really love the car. Just trying to understand these two things. I'm going to hate to see it go off to college with the kid this fall.

Mark

protege_fan

That rpm reading sounds right for that speed, and I've got a 5-speed manual 2.0 LX.

Can't say about the second problem as I don't have cruise.

dinu01

That's EXACTLY what it cost me from Mazda. Get an aftermarkwet rim and tell them to skine their own $187 rim really well, bend it in a nice straight and long shape and...you know where this is going.

Dinu
Almost done with teaching...

protege_fan

Where were you earlier??????

number42

about rpm: on mine it seems 70 is dead level at 3000rpm (02 lx auto)

abt cc: on the auto, the cc will drop if the brake is pressed, otherwise no issues for me.

As for the oil issue that I fear I started here: my dealer is also saying 3000/3 months (special conditions, you live in New Yowak City). They also charge $62.00 for it.

Does anyone know abything about Mazda Full Circle Service?

Ended up doing a trip out to montauk and back. Between that and teaching my wife to drive on the right side of the road (why do the Brits have to do things differently?) I wound up with 31mpg on that portion of gas. So far, the fuel efficiency is getting better.

And finally a question for the canucks out there. when talking about milage, would it be wrong to call it kilometerage?

dinu01

Teaching. <To answer your question

frankpcb

I just bought my 2002 protege es, with all the options and now I want to upgrade the sound system. I went to 3 different car stereo places in my hometown of panama city beach, fl, and all three quoted prices within $100.00 of each other, the average cost being $1,000.00 for the speakers, amp, and installation, with I think is high, has anyone here upgraded the sound system (I am keeping the head unit because I love the design) and if so what did it cost and what components did u use? Thanks for your help

Frank

dinu01

I haven't heard anyone use kilometrage yet, until now. Let's take a vote.

Kilometrage: YES or NO?

YES!

Dinu
Your metric-system-supporting PRO driver

the_big_h

went to the Carlisle Custom Compact National (aka a car show on show cars), and just by coincidence Mazdaspeed brought their turbo Protege to the event. It was black mica, and we were allowed full access to the car (under the hood, inside the car, etc). My thought? I LIKE! I WANT ONE! everything looks SO MUCH BETTER in person than in the pictures, and I actually like the new Racing Hart rims quite a bit, very nice!

the Mazda rep that was there said it should be in the dealer showroom in September, and should cost between 21-22k.

I took some pics of the MS Pro, I'll post them once I have it developed.

protege_fan

21-22K? Isn't that getting a little too close to WRX territory??

the_big_h

just checked Edmund's TMV on a WRX manual sedan, it's $23,435, which would be $1-2k more expensive than the possible price (this is still not set in stone yet). would AWD and 50+ hp worth the extra $1-2k? Survey says yes...

good thing they're only selling 1500 of these, just by rarity alone it'll be selling ABOVE MSRP :-(

theparallax

Hello, another person from Panama City? I live in Panama City also. Honk if you see me around - I have a tan 99 Protege LX w/ "zoom-zoom" on the top of my rear window.

sfrat

I went out yesterday afternoon in my 01 ES 5spd to try and duplicate the cruise control behavior that has been mentioned on the board. I was able to successfuly duplicate it. I set the CC, then disengaged it by stepping on the clutch, shifted it out of gear, and hit set on the CC, and the RPM's raced up. So it sounds like it is normal, but it is certainly very strange. One would think that the car would have some sort of sensor to tell if the car is in gear or not, even on a 5spd. Although, I can't see very many scenarios where someone would be driving on the highway and decide to use the CC with the car out of gear. Still you wouldn't expect the car to behave like that.

protegextwo

Congrats on your purchase! Frank, re post your question Monday, more people are around this discussion whom can answer your stereo question. Several people have modified/upgraded their Protege's sound system. You might want to log on to our Owners Club here at Town Hall and check out the Mazda Protege Owners: Accessories & Modifications topic. Scroll back a couple hundred posts and I'm sure there is a lot of helpful info archived in there about stero mods. Good luck with your new PRO-ES!!! :-)

Respectfully,
Larry

norcan

from trying to catch up on 5,000 posts. Wow, and cool too! How's it going everyone! Did you miss me?
Just washed my 01 ES, it's looking fine, especially with the alloys back on.

Norcan, aka Lynn.

fritz1224

Looks like a few people have duplicated rbrooks cruise control performance. And the results have been the same as he had. Does this mean it's normal or we all have a problem? Maltb said it wasn't normal and he seems to know a lot about proteges.
But like I initially felt, this is probably normal. The cruise control is metered by the engine vacuum and it doesn't monitor what if any gear the car's in. It depends on the operator to get that part right.
Now it may still prove that there is a problem, but I personally wouldn't take my car out of service to fix a problem that occurs as a result of not following owner's manual recommendations.

fowler3

Type in these Msg.# numbers in the field at the top of the page and click GO TO. It will take you to them. boggse upgraded his audio system and goes into detail.

9415

and

9431

This should help you. Also read what Newcar31 added under 9431.

fowler3

yooper53

My '01 Pro is turning into a rust bucket and its only 1 winter old. Went out to give it its first hand washing and was dismayed to see speckles of rust evenly distributed (from worst to least) on 1) the rear "bumper" panel behind the right rear wheel, 2) the vertical portion of the trunk lid, and 3)the rear "bumper" panel behind the left rear wheel. At that point I was too discouraged to examine the rest of the car, or to wash it. If its going to rust this fast I can't see doing any more than an occasional drive through a car wash. Thing is this is one problem I don't recall seeing mentioned AT ALL in over a year of lurking here. Read the warranty and it says not covered for salt corrosion and up here in Michigan one's ride is subject to salt bath 4-5 months out of the year. So if I go to the dealer with this they're likely to say too bad its from salt screw you. ANY thoughts, opinions, ideas from anyone would be most welcome. Thanks in advance. Bought it 06/05/01.

newcar31

I guess I don't understand what you mean. The "bumper panel" is plastic and cannot rust. Are you talking about the rear quarter panels? If so, it would be REALLY strange that they would have rust on them already. Are they just rock chips that have surface rust? Is there actual rust "bubbling"? (highly doubtful IMO)

hbund216

I was reading the issues regarding the RPM surging up when cruise is engaged while in neutral. I tried it on my 2000 Accord and it did the same thing. I guess it's a down side of owning a manual transmission. But I'll never give up my 5 speed.

yooper53

Good point but it is apparent on the rear quarters and trunk lid too. If you saw it you'd probably say "rust" cause nothing looks like rust except rust. But on plastic? You're right. Not possible. Maybe its a reaction of salt with the paint. I don't recall how much salt they use in the Cities but here you run through a car wash and by the time you get home and the cars dries you've got a whithish coating of dried salt. Seems like a waste of money. Additionally the chrome trim on the trunk lid (l to r) 1) Protege, 2)the logo and 3) Mazda were heavily corroded. I cleaned half of each one with Turtle Wax chrome polish and it worked well. The corrosion on the logo looks like pitting and you can feel it as you run your finger over it. Cleaned only half of each one so the guy at the body shop can see. For a dinky little town like Marquette they're fortunate to have a really first class facility. I'm going to have them evaluate whatever it is that looks like rust pits. I'll keep you apprised. Its not the bubbling rust you referred to. Maybe I'll luck out and its something entirely (and less destructive) different. Rock chips, no. Way too numerous besides being on the sides and back. Plus it has mud guards. Its a mystery. I'm sure there's enough chips on the front though. Just didn't have the heart to inspect any further. Appreciate your quick reply.

frankpcb

Thanks for your help.

Frank

frankpcb

Nice to know there is another protege owner here in pc. I have a sterling silver metallic, es that I bought thru carsdirect.com. The car listed for $17,800.00 with the options I selected, and I got it for $15,681.00. They were great in locating the car for me. By the way the auto diming mirror with compass and temp is great, it is bigger than the stock mirror and works great. I hope u are enjoying your protege as much as I am parallax.

Frank

chicagopro

That sounds really odd. My white 00 Pro has spent two Chicago winters outdoors 24/7, and I haven't had that problem. (BTW, still haven't waxed the car since I bought it.)

The one time I did notice a couple of rust spots was where the paint had chipped due to falling glass...I didn't get it fixed until about 4 months later. Still, that was just on the surface...body shop was able to get rid of it when they re-painted. Hope yours proves to be a minor issue, as well. Good luck.

--Dale

chicagopro

The other day, seemed to me there was a little bit more play in the steering wheel.

Today, it seems there is quite a bit more play...steering just isn't as tight as it used to be.

Is this normal? (approx. 11,500 mi) Please tell me it's a simple adjustment that doesn't involve replacing the windshield.

protege_fan

I've noticed that pitting in my rear badges as well. No rust that I've noticed yet though. I'm gonna have to try to fix my badges like you did.

Dale: more play? Are you sure? I don't think that's the kind of thing that just happens overnight (unless you happen to hit a curb a la Mike style).

protege_fan

Welcome back
Sorry about all the posts!

chicagopro

Well, I'm pretty sure I'm not imagining it. No, I haven't spun into any curbs lately, either.

Yeah, I was a little concerned this evening while I was driving home, becuase it does seem to have progressed noticeably over the last few days. I still don't have any difficulty making the car go where I want it to, though.

Thanks for the quick reply.

protege_fan

No problem
Since you're still in warranty, I would go get it looked at, assuming you have the time of course. I know you must be busy, since you don't even have time get your computer fixed. :P

chicagopro

Ha, ha, ha, funny boy :P

You're right, of course--I should bring the car in. Just kind of wondered what might be causing the problem.

mazdafun

Dale, please don't wait too long. It may be a mechanical linkage coming loose, which is a BIG problem, if that's it. Maybe it's those big potholes from the winter.

It may be you're losing some power assist (not as big a problem, more of a nuisance) due to a loose belt or failing pump.

chicagopro

Thanks for the heads up...I'll call the dealer as soon as I get to work.

mazdafun

The speakers are easy. The amp depends on where you want to install it. Boggse put in an amp. I've not been that adventurous. I only replaced the stock speakers, which already is plenty loud and punchy for me; the stock speakers only had "whizzer" cones and puny little magnets (although they were bigger than the magnets on the stock speakers for the new Corolla, which are even punier). The new speakers are all 3-way, but 2-way might be fine. The only watch-out is tweeter protrusion for the rear deck speakers. I think it must be 1/8in or less, which will limit what you can put back there.

I left some detailed instructions on removing the front door panels and the rear deck panel for replacing the speakers on the accessories and modifications board in this owner's club. Fairly easy, probably 15 minutes for each front door (OK, about 40 minutes for me to figure out the first one and about 15 for the next one after I knew what I was doing)and about 30 for both rears.

mazdafun

Msgs 263 & 265 on the Mazda Protege accessories & modifications board.

hkchan "Mazda Protege Owners: Accessories & Modifications" Apr 18, 2001 11:06am (I think).

cahollan

Tried it on my 5 speed '00 ES...got the car up to speed on the interstate, set the cruise control, touched the brake to disengage, took car out of gear and hit resume, and it did nothing. Hit set, and it did nothing.

It's odd that there is inconsistency amongst us...

dsm6

This group is consistently inconsistent.

chicagopro

I resemble that remark!

:P

--Dale

dsm6

Too much for that car, IMO. Seems like only a true Mazda die-hard would go for that instead of some of the competition around that price, or a cheaper car with mods, but I'm sure there are enough to snatch up the limited number that will be built. I will not be one of them.

I had considered waiting to buy until this car came out. I'm glad I didn't waste my time - don't get me wrong, it's a nice ride, but the value isn't there at $21-22k, IMO.

Remember the discussion we had about upgrading an existing 2.0 with the Mazdaspeed parts vs. selling and buying this MS3? Add $2k to my upgrade budget. ;-)

vocus

I wouldn't ber that there would be discounts on this car, at least not when it comes out. If the production number goes up, maybe there would be discounts. But if you look at it, a loaded Protege5 comes to a little over $20K. Of course, I don't think anyone ever paid MSRP for one of them (maybe when they first came out).

I still think the ~$21K is a little too close to WRX territory.

dsm6

exactly. It'll go at or above MSRP. The WRX is what I had in mind when I was writing "competition around that price." Oh well. It's a good buz generating car.

the_big_h

the MS Pro. It was never intended to compete directly with mass-production models like the WRX. Sort of a showcase vehicle to show what could be done to a Protege to make it a top performer.

and $1000 markups during its first few months at the dealerships would not surprise me