Mazda Protegé

boggse

You'd think they would have put the run-flats from the RX-8 on so you wouldn't have to worry about it.

vocus

That would have probably been a little too expensive. They could have at least provided a full size spare tire though. Those damn donuts are so inconvenient.

bluong1

at the end of the day, isn't that the consumer who actually pays for all road assistance services? So why call them when one can do by him/herself?

Beside, did someone here actually request AAA to rotate the tires in order to have the donut at the right place?

And btw, is there enough space to replace the donut by a full-size tire on the Protege?

Bruno

protege_fan

I asked that before...Apparently a full size won't fit in the Sedans. I'm guessing it would be the same for the P5.

newcar31

Wouldn't the reason for not using the donut tire on the front of the Mazdaspeed be because the donut tire has a different circumference? I thought one of the purposes of having a limited slip diff was in case one wheel had more traction than the other?

vocus

I have roadside for free on my car for 4 years/50K. I only had one flat tire, and didn't have the owner's manual with me to know how to jack the car up properly (if you saw the jack, you would understand). I MUCH preferred the jack in the Protege, a heckuva lot easier to use than the one in my current car.

I changed a flat one or two times on my Protege when I had it, very easy to do. And if I remember correctly, the full-size tire wouldn't fit in the well. This was a 14" tire on my 99 DX, so I know the 15/16s won't fit from the current Proteges.

vocus

The circumference will cause the traction difference I would assume. I know I had a donut spare on my 00 Celica and it skid alot easier when stopping hard than the standard tires did (I had to make a hard stop with it on there). So circumference and traction would come into play, right?

boggse

Beginning with model year 2000, all Mazdas have roadside assistance for the duration of the factory warranty.

h109

hi all,

The car is 00 Pro LX with 29,300 miles on it. No probs so far. Yesterday while driving, the Check Engine Light came up. I checked the Fuel cap and it seems to be fine. But haven't checked all the fuses though. Upon checking the fluid levels, I found that Coolant level was almost nothing (half inch!!?). But the engine doesn't seem to be heating too much.

1)Is it normal for the coolant level to go below MIN at this mileage? Or do I have to look for a leak.
2)Would a low coolant level result in the lighting of Check Engine light?
3)Can I just top-off the liquid for now and flush it later as part of my 30,000 mile service?

Any other pointers on the Check Engine light are welcome.

Thanks for advice,
-Hari

bluong1

1) normally the coolant get low because of vaporization, so the level depends more on how old is your car than the mileage. I think you should already flush the coolant for a 00 Pro (what is time interval that the manual recommends? 3 years?) I also think half-in under the minimum mark is not a good sign, please check for leaking.

2) I don't know.

3) Yes you can.

Bruno

vocus

A low coolant level shouldn't trigger the check engine light. That sounds strange. Maybe you have a dead oxygen sensor or something. Was your car covered in the recall Mazda did for the ignition coil packs, or was that only the 1.8?

Since you are still under warranty, take the car in and have the dealer tell you what the code that they pull is.

h109

hi all,

The car is 00 Pro LX with 29,300 miles on it. No probs so far. Yesterday while driving, the Check Engine Light came up. I checked the Fuel cap and it seems to be fine. But haven't checked all the fuses though. Upon checking the fluid levels, I found that Coolant level was almost nothing (half inch!!?). But the engine doesn't seem to be heating too much.

1)Is it normal for the coolant level to go below MIN at this mileage? Or do I have to look for a leak.
2)Would a low coolant level result in the lighting of Check Engine light?
3)Can I just top-off the liquid for now and flush it later as part of my 30,000 mile service?

Any other pointers on the Check Engine light are welcome.

Thanks for advice,
-Hari

gee35coupe

Because the diff will think you are always having slippage. It will overheat trying to compensate. The circumference is the problem.

maltb

It would be like driving circles all day, the diff and tires will both wear much faster.

bluong1

Let's me try get it straight:

1) it's only problematic on cars with traction control and spare tire having different circumference, Right?

2) Why can't Mazda put a donut with a close circumference than that of the stock wheels?

Bruno

protege_fan

I would think that you would want the "good" tires on the tires that will be doing pushing/pulling. IE. In an FWD car, I'd want the good tires to be on the front two tires, even if this meant having to swap tires so the donut was on the rear tires. Conversely, on a RWD car I would want the donut on the front tires.

Just my thoughts on this.

bluong1

vocus

On my VW, the spare tire is a 16" one and the tires on it are 17s. This is done because the 17s are directional and cannot switch sides for some reason. So they can't use a 17. Anyway, I did notice the wheel was easier to spin when I had the spare on the right front, and the left one wouldn't spin. It also caused my left front tire to wear more and a little unevenly.

vocus

I think they do actually. I can remember checking out a Legacy years ago, and I think it did have a full size tire.

I think all cars should have a full-size tire really. It's not like it costs THAT much more, does it??

bluong1

what directional tires have anything to do with the diameter of the spare tire? The only constraint I could think of is one can't cross rotate the wheels, however front-to-back swapping will conserve the rotation direction, right?

gee35coupe

But the circumference of the wheel/tire combo may still be the same.

But it's the same thing I read in some forum where Audi requires you to replace all 4 tires at a time because of something with the Quattro system.

maltb

Of course, the salesperson would never tell you that you have to replace all four directional tires when one gets a sidewall flat. Instead 6 mos after you buy the vehicle, the service writer gets to bear the bad news and hand you a $1000 invoice.

theparallax

At 50,590 miles I changed the spark plugs myself. Took 4 trips to sears to get the right tools, though. Don't ask...

MY CAR DOES NOT PING ANYMORE! I'm even running it on 87 gas.

Added a bottle of Valvoline fuel injector cleaner to make sure all that carbon build up is cleaned out of the engine.

Pictures here: http://www.protegeclub.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1- 9631

bluong1

why 4 trips to Sears? ;-)

Wonderful!!!

the_big_h

all you needed was new spark plugs to clean out the carbon mess you made with all the premium gasoline :-D

theparallax

Let me explain...I don't really have a set of tools at home. I have some basic stuff like an off-brand ratchet that needs replacing and a couple of wrenchs for changing oil, etc. I really wanted to do this myself, so I went to Sears and...

1 - Bought a 3/8 ratchet, extension, and spark plug socket. Went home, and realized that the spark plug socket I had bought was too large.

2 - Went back to return the socket and get the right one

3 - Got home and realized that the correct socket I had bought required a 1/2 inch ratchet instead of the 3/8 I bought. So I went back (again) to get the 1/2 inch drive socket wrench.

4 - Got home (again), removed the coil packs and wires. Went to unscrew the spark plugs and....THE EXTENSION I HAD BOUGHT WAS TOO SHORT!!! DAMMIT!!! For the final time, I went back and got the longest possible extension they had to be on the safe side.

Finally got home, and got everything done. Don't make fun of me, I am stupid.

theparallax

no more premium gas for the Protege!!!

chicagopro

I bet you don't go through the car wash with your windows down, unlike some people...who shall remain nameless....

mazdafun

If I get a flat on my drive wheel, I do move another full-size tire to that spot from a non-drive wheel and place the temp spare on the non-drive hub. Last time I got a flat was the front-right on my 323. I moved a rear tire to its place and put the tiny spare on the rear. Saves wear on the transaxle and doesn't mess up your steering nearly as much. On a FWD, most of the mass of the car and the braking is done by the front wheels. Why not make sure it's as fully equipped as you can manage?

On the '99-00, you can theoretically put a full-size spare in the place of the temp spare. You have to remove the 3 brackets that are welded in there. Or, you could just pack a lot of junk around and under the temp spare. I was thinking of putting one of my original FR680s on its steel wheel in there after I got my Dunlop SP Sport A2s on alloy wheels, but no dice, not without some cutting.

I'll have to check my wife's '03 P5 to see if the well is still the same, or if they reduced it to fit the larger fuel tank underneath.

They probably made the well large enough for a full-size spare for the Sport20, which has AWD. AWD or 4WD pretty much means a full-size spare, or you'll mess up the differentials. With these, they recommend including the spare in any tire rotation (which is easier anyway, if you don't have a lift; I use the spare to support the empty spot as I move my tires around...speaking of which, I need to rotate my tires...just waiting for warmer weather).

meinrad

I know it would be nice when the time comes, but how often is that? I've been driving for 17 years and have never had to change a tire. In fact, I think I only know 2 people who have ever had to change one.

So I can see why they use it as a place to cut weight and cost. I don't really care either way but can understand the need for it.

protege_fan

Like they taught me in Boy Scouts, "Be Prepared."

meinrad

You are correct! So from now on I'm carrying my own mechanic in the trunk with a full set of tools and having a gas truck follow me around, just in case. LoL!

h109

for the info on the Check Engine Light. I don't know of any recalls.

Well, it's dealer time, I guess.

-Hari

P.S. Sorry for the double post earlier. It's my darned browser (Opera).

protege_fan

Save your illogical posts for Dale. :P

bluong1

I suspect the carbon was built up in your engine while you were driving back and forth to Sears. ;-)

Bruno

meinrad

maltb

So from now on I'm carrying my own mechanic in the trunk with a full set of tools...

I do carry a pretty complete set of tools in the trunk and I'm fairly capable. Of course, I find that it gets much more use on other's vehicles or misc stuff but at least I'm prepared either way. If you ever need a flashlight, I probably have no less that 5 mini-mags stashed in various places of the car.

the_big_h

scared of the dark malt? ;-)

meinrad

a headlight goes out he can duct tape all those flashlights together in the light socket.

gee35coupe

Kinda like the Q45.

maltb

Accord vs 6 forum...some dim-witt needs to see the light.

vocus

I replaced just one tire on my car, after 15K miles. I rubbed a jagged curb too closely, and slit the tire on the sidewall (had to replace it). It has been ok for the past 15K miles, no aiignment issues or anything.

vocus

You can't have a full-size spare with directional tires because those tires can not switch sides on the car. You would have to theoretically carry around 2 spare tires, one for each side of the car. That's why the spare on my car is 16" and not directional, you have to be able to use it on either side.

krotine

You wouldn't happen to be talking about Dale again, would you?

HA HA

bluong1

But it's not totally absurd to equip the car with a non-directional full-size spare tire, right? So VW put 16"-down-sizing just to remind the user that's indeed a spare one?

It's still better than the P115/70R15 on our Proteges.

Bruno

dinu01

P115/70R15 in a PRO? Uhh...no! Joke rite? Slow to catch those sometimes, especially when you're tired.

Dinu

maltb

I was commenting on the Quattro's requirements...but keep dreaming. :-)

bluong1

I have a silly question

The Dunlop stock tires are supposed to be non-directional tires. However when I look at the threads, they are diagonal and alternate to for a V pattern, pointing in one direction. Obviously, if one flips the tire, the V will be pointing in the opposite direction. Does anyone have a convincing explanation about this paradox (to me)? (PS: actually I have one, but I'm not certain about the validity).

Bruno

meinrad

I've noticed the same thing. I even spent the time to draw some diagrams once to convince myself what was happening.

mazdafun

I'll have to check the stock Dunlops on my wife's P5 tonight to see if they are unidirectional.

My aftermarket Dunlop SP Sport A2s aren't unidirectional, but they have to be mounted on the so the "outside" faces out.