Mazda Protegé

thais1

Hello!
I'm going to check a 92 Mazda Protege out tomorrow, and I'd like to know what I should pay attention to while test-driving it. I know that the car has a 5 speed manual transmission, and 140k miles.
Thanks!

vocus

Totally different from the Baltimore transportation system. The monthly passes here are $54 I think, and work on the light rail, the buses, and the Metro. I know the MARC pass (train from Baltimore to DC) is $123 monthly, because I know someone who has one. So it would be almost $200 monthly for me to take public transportation to work. And then a car payment on top of that? No thanks. :0

newcar31

So it's the other way around for you. Cheaper to drive than use public transportation. For me, parking is almost as much as my car payment.

pat

We have a new member looking for some assistance: thais1 Oct 18, 2002 5:11pm.

Welcome, thais1.

fowler3

SUV drivers like to sit up high.

In the 1920s, 30s, and middle 40s, all cars were tall, bodies on top of the frame. Everybody sat high.

By 1950, cars were built with the new "step-down" design, the floor welded to the bottom of the frame. People sat lower.

At the same time the tranny hump was being slowly reduced in size to provide more leg room for middle front seat passengers. Then servicemen returning from Europe demanded bucket seats. So what happened, they put consoles over the hump. Old timers complained they couldn't carry six anymore.

Prosperity provided cars for every member of many families. No need to carry six, or five, or even four. AT's grew from 3-speed to 4-speed and now 6-speed. So what do people want now? ManualMatics, Tiptronics! And BMW goes one step futher with no shifter at all, just a chrome-plated "oil filler cap thingie" on the console -- "drive by wire!"

Haven't they paid attention! Many people now drive wireless -- cellphones. Maps have been replaced with electronic viewers on the dash that wash out in sunlight. Satelite radio? Where do you put the dish...oh, so that's what the big spoiler is for!

IMHO, MazdaSpeed Pros make about as much sense as airdams and spoilers on golf carts. My dealer said they will get their first orange MS-Pro this month, great -- just in time for Halloween!

Who asked for all this crap?!!

Oh, and newcar31, if an A/T is garbage, I love my little garbage truck, it even rides like one! ROTFL!!

folwer3

protegextwo

Edmunds.com has suggested a price (TMV) for a 1992 Mazda Protegé 4 Dr LX Sedan like this:

Mileage: 140,000
Condition: Average
Retail Base Price $2,200
Mileage Adjustment $-540
Total Suggested price: $1,660

Thais 1, Before you get emotionally attached to the car have it checked out by a trusted mechanic. Offer a $1000, and see if you can steal it for that. Don't pay more than $1,500 for a car with over 140,000 clicks on the speedo.

-larry

fowler3

Read this review on The Car Connection.com good report.

http://www.thecarconnection.com/index.asp?article=5404&sid=180&n=157

More than 1500 Mazda6 wagon versions were sold within two weeks following the June 24 introduction in Japan. European and Japanese orders for the Mazda6 sedan and hatchback were six times higher than Mazda anticipated within the first month of introduction. Zoom Zoom

American versions do not get the altezzer taillamps, they have red lamp covers.

fowler3

gee35coupe

Whether a car requires a shift before 60 also depends on the redline and gear spacing. Just stretching the gearing to include 60 mph would entail making the ratio a smidgen taller which would be harmful to 0-60 times.
One more thing though the Corolla and Elantra went on to be quickest to 90. Quicker by around two seconds than the Pro.
Maybe they were still in 2nd gear or something. Sarcasm.
Look at the other statistics too...Street start, power to weight, fuel economy.....

vocus

I found out today that my Tiptronic 1.8T Jetta does 60mph in 3rd gear as well. I thought it was second.

gee35coupe

Vocus is that a four or five speed auto in the Jetta?

vocus

It's a 2002 with the Tiptronic 5-speed auto.

newcar31

The Protege would be quicker to 60 if it did in in second gear. The shift to 3rd is more detrimental to a 0-60 time than a "smidgen taller" gear ratio.

anonymousposts

Am I stupid or would the taller ratio mean that you would have to shift more often and it would take away from the torquey nature of the engine?

newcar31

wow, that's a loaded question.

anonymousposts

very funny.

chikoo

http://www.goonish.com/atenza/read.php?TID=328

===============================================

Since I have my Mazda6, i'm always late for work and come home late. Reason???

Can't have enough of it. Found myself just wanna keep on driving it.

Times when i can go home in less than 30 mins, I took another longer route.

It always put a smile on your face. I've even drove to buy food which is only 5 mins walk!

gee35coupe

someone already mentioned that...But that's why I pointed out the cars that were faster to 60 went on to be even faster to 90 and the quarter mile. In fact they were also quicker to 30mph. That's just being faster err quicker. Even in the street starts. No shift required before 30 mph.
If the Pro has to be geared too short to reach 60 in second to stay competitive does it mean the engine isn't flexible as some of the others?

gee35coupe

#17022 of 17022 gee35coupe by newcar31 Oct 20, 2002 (12:20 am)

"If the Pro has to be geared too short to reach 60 in second to stay competitive does it mean the engine isn't flexible as some of the others?"

Competitive how? In 0-60 contests? Sure. Read this whole article though.

http://www.sportcompactcarweb.com/editors/technobabble/0111scc_technobabble/index.html

I'm not fixated on 0-60. As I've pointed out the Pro was not as quick to 30 and 90 and the quarter mile to nearly all the cars it was slower to 60. I'm not concentrating on 0-60. In fact my original post dealt with the fact that the Pro had V rated tires when many of the other cars made due with H or even S rated ones. I think putting V rated tires on a car that hardly deems more than a good T is pure overkill unless you are going rallying or something.

In fact this article doesn't apply in this case since the two quickest cars to 60 are also the quickest cars to 90, the quarter mile, and the street start. And one has the best fuel economy.

The Pro is the quickest in top speed acceleration though but that probably has a lot to do with the poor fuel economy since it's top gearing is so short.

newcar31

I see that you caught my deleted post. Were you just sitting at your computer refreshing the screen waiting for my response---on a Saturday night? Lol. I am glad you brought up 0-30 because it shows acceleration without a gear change. The 0-30 differences are so small that they are insignificant. 0-90 though, you are right, the quicker cars are much quicker but all of those cars get to 90 with one less gear change so you can shave a couple tenths off of their advantage.

"think putting V rated tires on a car that hardly deems more than a good T is pure overkill unless you are going rallying or something."

V or T or Z ratings are not just related to speed. While the V rating is a speed rating, tires with this rating are usually performance tires. You are completely ignoring that. A T rated tire will generally handle like crap compared to a V rated tire, hence Mazda's decision to fit the car with V rated tires.

gee35coupe

I was still browsing my subscriptions when you posted. The difference at 30 is less than .5 between all cars in the test. By 90 it's over 5.5 seconds. Even if you shave a couple tenths there is still over a 2.5 second difference between the Pro and the two fastest cars to 90. The difference was still growing at 90.
A good T rated tire can handle just as well as a V if you stick with normal size tires that are required for vehicles of this size. In fact many people who put Z rated 17's on cars that come with 15's are slower and handle worse because of the additional weight of the wheel/tire combo.
In fact the Focus has T rated Goodyears and had the best numbers in the test except for braking where it was 4 feet longer than the Pro which had V rated Bridgestones.
Why waste the money on a V rating when you can find just as good performance in lower cost and typically longer wearing T's the cars weren't built for racy handling. And there's no way it's gonna get to 130 mph.
It's like putting Premium in a car designed for regular.

alternator

Can you please post a link to that Pro Police Cruiser?

newcar31

"In fact the Focus has T rated Goodyears and had the best numbers in the test except for braking where it was 4 feet longer than the Pro which had V rated Bridgestones."

Put better tires on the Focus, and it would handle even better. Are you saying that the Focus will perform the same with T rated tires as it would with Z rated tires?

gee35coupe

If the tire size is the same the difference would more than likely be negligible. I don't mean a T rated cheapo tire but a good name brand one can handle just as securely as a decent V rated tires of the same size. Especially on cars with as limited potential as the ones in that test.

If the V rating is all that it takes then you are saying the Protege is near it's limit since it comes stock with V rated rubber.

Wider tires would have a mileage penalty.
Taller tires would have a guickness penalty by effectively making the gearing taller.

Just as messing with the tire pressures has a =/- effect on many aspects of a car's ride/handling so does the tire.

Negligible... http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/avid_rd.jsp

the_big_h

http://members.cox.net/shomip/ok.jpg

newcar31

"If the tire size is the same the difference would more than likely be negligible."

I'd have to disagree. There would be a huge difference between a really good Z rated tire and a really good T rated tire of the same size.

gee35coupe

At the speeds and power levels we are talking here there wouldn't be much that the Z rated tire could help. Especially if that's the only modification you are doing to the car.
If you want to get a "really good Z rated tire" why? I don't see spending at least double price for a tire that will more than likely last half as long and not give double the performance. Why buy an economy car and put luxury tires on it?
That's why the quickest car in the test made do with 195/65/SR15's and an axle suspension yet still posted decent stats. In the driving that these cars will do 99% of the time V or Z rated tires are unnecessary and not worth the additional cost.

boggse

In the same size tire, a Z rated tire would have a stiffer sidewall and stronger/more belts, to handle the downforces generated at Z-rated speeds (150+), than a T-rated tire. The side benefit of this is improved handling. The downside is a stiffer ride. Straight line acceleration should not be significantly affected by only speed rating. It is simple physics.

However, higher speed rated tires would tend to be more geared towards high performance applications, so the rubber content could be significantly different. This could affect straight line acceleration.

dinu01

I thought I'd post a few links of some Proteges rallying, myself being a huge rally fan. Do not confuse it with the rally monkeys though...

www.specialstage.com/multimedia/rim.asp

There is one space that needs to be deleted in order to get to the pics.

www.frozenmotionphotos.com/ ***DELETE*** WW_02_Burmeister_221.JPG

www.frozenmotionphotos.com/ ***DELETE*** SD_02_044_Burnmeister.JPG

Dinu

dinu01

http://www.frozenmotionphotos.com/WW_02_Burmeister_035_WP.JPG

Dinu

fowler3

frozen motion -- that sounds like the way I drive -- slow.

fowler3

dinu01

HE HE!

Still working crazy hours?

Dinu

theparallax

You think that huge cyclops fog light is available for aftermarket sale? Geez...

townhall9

Checked my tire pressure, after my baby sat for two weeks (vacation). Lost only one pound. Not bad. P.S. As temps fall... don't forget to keep an eye on tire pressure.

newcar31

I lose a couple pounds in each tire every two weeks with my 01 ES.

townhall9

Very strange. Has a technician ever ventured a guess as to why?

newcar31

I never thought it was a big deal, so I've never had it looked at.

townhall9

Your situation does allow you to keep pressure from getting too low. Are you still on the original tires?

newcar31

original tires, but they are only used in the summer.

chikoo

that is too much.
my tires(RE-92 & BFG v4) hardly lose pressure. Maybe a pound in 4 months.

newcar31

Well, I don't see how they could fix it because it happens on all of the tires. They could remount them I guess, but it doesn't really bother me.

mazdafun

Chikoo, you have really air-tight tires/wheels.

I just put metal caps with gaskets on my tire valves. I'll see if that slows the pressure loss any (it has on my bicycle tires, but they have tubes).

Anyway, 1-2psi/month doesn't really bother me as I adjust them every other weekend, and just before long trips.

chikoo

with the RE-92, since this was my first experience with a tubeless tire system.

after one whole year and hardly any changes in tire pressure over extended periods like 3-4 months or so, I finally started trusting this system.

If it was as much as newcar31, I would have gone bonkers and asked for a tube system.

newcar31

I attribute the loss of air to my driving style and the low profile sidewall. My Mustang had low profile tires, and those tires lost air also.

townhall9

(because of the reduced amount of weight being supported) that keeps his rear tires 2-3 pounds lower that the front?

newcar31

I keep all of my tires at 32 psi.

chikoo

with my 195/55 poortenzas, i kept 30psi front and
28 psi rear.
If I kept more than 30, the rear would "ring" like a tuning fork over sharp road joints at highway speeds.

With my 205/55 v4, i keep 30psi all around which provide for a good balance of steering and comfort.

townhall9

You may have mentioned it before. Do you recommend moving up to 205,s.

chikoo

if u are looking for a more comfortable ride, yes. do move up to 205/55, as long as u do not use snow chains on your tires.

glideslopes

When I put the chrome valve stem caps on my 00 ES I noticed that I would gain1-2 pounds every month? I really put them on to increase the HP output. I guess this was just a bonus?

Regards,
Mark.

p.s. The wife smoked me the other day in her 02 MPV. That thing is FAST!!

fowler3

No, I'm not working crazy hours lately. Been a while since working day and night, too much. I even took Saturday and Sunday off, no work at all. First time in three months. Guess what -- I was bored with nothing to do -- except driving around looking for cheap gas.

The more I work the less I like it. Maybe 50 years is enough?

fowler3