Mazda Protegé

dinu01

The stock stereo in my 01 ES is fine for what I need, but you can certainly hear a difference if you listen to a CD on a high-end home stereo (like one with $3000 speakers for example that I compared it with) and play it in the car right away.

It could also use a little more "oomph", if you wanna cruise with all your windows down and annoy everyone else on the road at a stoplight with your music

Otherwise don't stress it too much. Get the car, see how you like it and if you really need an upgrade, it shouldn't be too costly IMO. Of course you can always bring a CD on a test drive and try it out. But the stereo should not be the one of the top criterias when choosing a car. You can always upgrdade it. Handling, reliability and quality is difficult/expensive/time-consuming and not always possible to upgrade.

Dinu

mazdafun

My wife thought the one in her P5 was kind of flat, but she upped the high and low ranges while depressing the mid range a bit and found a setting she liked.

Of course, upgrading the speakers will make a big difference. I was plenty happy with the factory head unit in my '99LX after I upgraded the speakers to more efficient (more dB/W, and only 2-4 W needed to start them up) and capable ones (separate cones for low, mid and high etc.). I don't feel the need to get an amplifier; it gets plenty loud and punchy as it is.

boggse

See my previous response to your question:

boggse Sep 8, 2003 12:45pm

rutger3

Does anyone know the biggest tire a 1999 LX can take without causing problems? I believe the stock tires are 185/65 14's. My son wants to make his car look sportier. I want to make sure whatever he gets is still a decent and safe tire for all season. Can he put on the same tires as the ES gets?

mazdafun

Just make sure he gets wheels that match the bolt pattern and offset. You can check www.tirerack.com to see what they recommend. It's pretty handy.

boggse

Please see my earlier response to your question on the Accessories and Mods page just in case you missed it:

boggse "Mazda Protege Owners: Accessories & Modifications" Sep 12, 2003 12:26pm

If this isn't helpful, please ask any specific questions you might have. Good luck!

Ted

fowler3

Hope Isabel doesn't cause you any damage.

fowler3

boggse

We'll get some rain and sustained winds of around 40 mph, but nothing too bad. I think Meade is in more danger of flooding than I am. It looks like the storm is going to track right through Richmond. Perhaps he should equip zoomster with a snorkle, so he can get home. Is it going to hit near you?

pat

It's tracking right through SE Virginia where I am on its way to Richmond.

kaiserhead

Anyone have a third-gen with more than 70,000 miles, I think that's the highest I've heard. I'm a bit behind at 63690 miles.

vocus

Coming late to the topic, but very sorry for your loss. Please accept my deepest, heartfelt condolences and please call or email if you need anything.

vocus

Everything here in MD (schools, businesses, even public transportation) is set to be closed on Thursday. I am 25 and remember Agnes, Andrew, and Floyd as a child but not from the aspect as a property owner and adult. I am sure everything will be fine though. After all, that's what insurance is for, right?

Best wishes to everyone out there!

gee35coupe

I'd be right there with the weather channel guys. I would love to be in a Cat-2 storm (away from my property of course). Looks like fun. I tried to get to Fran a few years ago but judged it incorrectly and went to Charleston. I was a little too far south. It was awesome though.

When Opal came through Atlanta I was outside in a beach chair checking out the wind and rain. I've been a weather nut since I was a kid.

dinu01

A little bit of a storm chaser?

Weather in an interesting topic - seeing all those maps on TV, then going on sites like www.theweathernetwork.com and finding out more. Pretty cool. Of course I also like pretty much any Discovery and TLC show (except those baby, dating, makeover stories).

Everyone take care.

Dinu

tomciviletti

If you are going to keep the stock wheels, don't go up more than one size [195]. You could also probably go to 185/60-14 which would look sportier but would incresase revs/mile, decreasing fuel economy a bit. If you spring for new wheels, either the earlier es size [195/55-15, which I have replaced with 205/55] or the newer es size [195/50-16] should work.

anonymousposts

I like all of those babymaking, makeover, and decorating shows on TLC. I also like chasing storms. Like gee said, we would've been there in a heartbeat if we didn't have work. My mom is about 3 blocks away from the ocean near Wilmington, NC. As of 12PM she just had alot of wind gusts but their power was still on.

fowler3

are not the way to enjoy a new car IMHO.

Vocus, a few people west of Winston-Salem, who lost their homes when a tornado hit in 1998, still haven't rebuilt and they had insurance. Being insured doesn't always solve the worst of problems. Tornadoes are the latter, they tear a house to shreds scattering the contents across a county and making it very difficult to prove what an owner had. That causes long delays in settling.

With digital cameras available every homeowner should buy one and photograph the contents of their home. Save it to a CD-R and give a copy to their insurance agent, another family member in a different house, or keep it in a safety deposit box. Photograph everything including your clothes and stuff you consider not worth much. Everything costs something. It is also handy if you are in an accident.

Cars are repaired quickly, homes take years.

fowler3

anonymousposts

fowler: That's why you take your most used car. In our case it would've either been the 97 Dakota or the 95 GS300 with 146k. The "A" and gee's precious LS400 would've been in the safety of our garage.

vocus

I never really thought about taking pictures of everything you have in the house. That is a pretty smart idea.

So far, the wind and rain started here in MD about 6pm, knocked a tree over on a car a block away from my house. Folks just 8 blocks east lost power about 7pm and it's still not back on. I can hear the wind howling outside my window as I type this actually. I am just worried about wind damage and stuff to the house, but I think it will be okay. My house is 125 years old and still standing, I am sure it has weathered many a storm in its life. I am still praying though, you can't be too safe.

God bless all those out there weathering the storms right now, and may the best be with you.

jimsxn

Anything I should be especially concerned about/check?
Thanks.

steven39

just make sure that if the floor mats are included in the price that you actually recieve them. its not a very big thing but if you get them with the car you should be able to get them.

dinu01

Floor mats are standard on ALL Canadian Proteges.

Dinu

vocus

Here in MD, Isabel made her wrath be felt. Baltimore's Inner Harbor is, for the most part, under water still. Roads remain closed, traffic lights remain out, some people still don't have power.

One of my awnings was pulled right out of the wall at home, but that's the extent of the damages. My insurance company actually called this morning to see if everything was ok, very comforting.

Here's wishing everyone's safe and sound after the storm. Best wishes and God bless.

fowler3

you are alright, I thought about you when I saw the flooding in Baltimore on TV this morning. It's very bad in the DC/Baltimore area.

fowler3

bluong1

How's Pat and Meade doing?

ashutoshsm

... I just got through to them on his Cell (home phone, power and water are still out). They're doing fine and escaped without any damage to their home (the pre-emptive tree-felling paid off!)

They're going to be off on vacation for a couple of days and we'll likely next hear from them towards the middle of next week.

Meade said to say thanks for your concern, all

vocus

I don't know how I escaped that flood mess. That was literally 5 blocks from my house where the cars were buried up to their side mirrors in water.

As I told my insurance agent, I have had enough car drama in the last few months to hold me over forever, I don't need anymore.

Thanks for your concerns though.

I was glad to hear Meade and his family was ok as well.

Kirstie_H

We've heard from Pat - she's weathered the storm OK, but is without power at home. I know she's hoping to get back in here from her day job computer today, but I'm sure she is buried under with work too.

kirstie_h
Roving Host & Future Vehicles Host

bluong1

Good to know everybody is doing OK

mazdafun

Amazing what wonders a polish and wax will do.

I got several comments from friends this weekend who thought I'd gotten a new car (heh, heh, it's a bright red '99LX...about 4.5 years old) or wondered what I'd done to it (about 3 hours of washing, polishing and waxing...2 weeks ago!...lucky me, it hasn't rained since then, but it is today...nothing compared to what the east-coast folks have gotten).

steven39

anyone know if the rebates for the mazda protege will be extended beyond the 9/30 deadline?

nyccarguy

My Fiancee has a 2000 Protege ES Automatic with about 47K miles. Can anybody advise on a good all-season tire for the car? The STock RE92s are worthless in the snow and always spin a bit when launching in the rain. I checked out tire rack and it seems that all they have are V rated tires. I'm looking for something with maybe an H rating for better ALL-SEASON performance.

Knock on wood, the only problem she's had is a faulty CD player that was replaced 2 years ago under warranty.

Great car!

mazdafun

Meade seems to like BF Goodrich Control T/As.

Michelin X-Ones are good tires. So are Yokohama Avid T4 and H4 (though they have a rep for squealing with moderate lateral loads); the T4 is a better all-season than the H4.

I was checking out the Michelin Harmony tires for my wife's P5 (she wants better fuel economy and is willing to give up some handling). I haven't checked them for a size compatible with the ES.

I like the Dunlop SP Sport A2, though I seem to have had a much better experience with mine than Meade did with his. Perhaps the different tire sizes has something to do with it (I have a '99LX with 185/65R14 tires...I left them at the stock size instead of upsizing as I have little enough torque as it is).

boggse

Check out the Toyo Proxes TPT:

http://www.toyo.com/tires/tire_lines/conven_as/tpt.html

They come in the OEM size/speed rating. They are V rated, but I doubt going to H will offer any significant advantages. These are what I plan to put on my wife's Protege5 when the time comes. Toyo makes some of the best tires on the planet IMO.

Stick your zip code in here to find a dealer near you:

http://www.toyo.com/find_a_dealer/index_frame.html

rutger3

I have a 99 camry with bf goodrich control T/A M65. I am very happy with them. Quiet, good handling,and reasonably priced. Consumer report likes the Dunlop SP Sport A2 and the Prielli P400. ALso, you might check the consumer ratings for tires at Tirerack.com.

ashutoshsm

... the Falken ZIEX ZE-512! I had those on my car for around 10K miles, and was thrilled with their dry traction and amazing wet traction. They performed satisfactorily (or better, considering I had 50 profile high performance versions of them) through the single winter (with the Blizzard of 2003!) as well. When I sold them (and the wheels), based on just the pictures, they would have lasted through their 30K mile warranty.

Ray has them on his P5, and Meade's wife's P5 has them as well. They noticed some extra edge wear, but have been happy witht he traction in the few thousand miles they've each had them.

They're a good bet (as are Toyos, Kumhos etc) because they're as good as, if not better than, the overpriced junk from Michelin and Dunlop, and have a decent warranty - while being MUCH cheaper!

dinu01

Had them for one year and 18K miles - show very little wear, perform very well on dry pavement (good sidewall design allows sharp cornering even if I went from 195/55/15 to 195/60/15), decent in rain (no ABS, so I'd rather not really TEST them to their limits) and good in snow.

Dinu

boggse

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/3131800.stm

dinu01

Nice one!

Let's hit the comparo boards

Dinu

Sylvia

Hello everyone...I'm happy to say that we can once again have a weekly Mazda chat (for those of you who remember!)

The chat will be for all Mazda owners. We are talking with the folks at Mazda to see if we can entice a few of the Brand Managers to stop in every once in a while and participate (no promises, but we are working on it!)

I'm trying to find out from the various Mazda vehicle owners the following:

1) what night of the week would work best?
2) what time? (please give the timezone)
3) what would you like the chat to be called? (e.g. the Subaru chat is the "Subaru Crew" chat)

We hope to have the Mazda weekly chat going by mid-October.

I'll check the discussions I post this announcement in - but to not distract you with scheduling details, feel free to email me your choices at sylvia@edmunds.com

I'm happy this weekly event will be back.

meinrad

It's been 3 weeks already? Seems that's about the time in between tire rotation.

But yeah, I do like the Falken's Ashu mentioned. Now that I am driving the P5 full time I've had more time to test them out. They really do stick in the rain. We've definitely had enough rain to get a good feel for them.

I was noticing some wear on the outside edges, but at the same time realized they were running about 28 psi. Since I've upped them to 33 psi, I've like the handling better but really don't know if it's helped the wear, since it hasn't really been long enough to tell.

I'm hoping they are somewhat decent in the snow.

ashutoshsm

Mazda Chat! I remember those! It was one or two of those that prompted met o add the car to my list of used cars to look at. The rest, as they say, is history So - finally someone from Mazda heard our complaints about how Mazda generates more traffice than any other brand on Edmunds (it would appear, to my untrained eye), and still doesn't get a chat, eh? Or did Mazda finally ante up? Whatever - that's interneal business stuff - I'm glad the chat is making a comeback

ashutoshsm

Yeah - remember i mentioned how people would back off BIG TIME because the Falkens threw out so much water in the rain? I really missed that driving the beltway last night with the Michelin XH4s on my Mazda 6! I could feel the difference in wet grip, and had a big honking SUV tailing me for miles

And the dry traction truly is mind-boggling, for a tire priced at approximately the halfway point (half the Michelins' prices!)

mazdafun

In answer to the poll:

1) Any night but Fr and Sa.
2) 8-10pm (ET) works best for me.
3) I'm flexible. I'm fine with "Mazda chat". How about "Mazdatime", "Mazda Masses", "zoomsters", "Mazda Mania"?

I'm looking forward to it. The previous chat was sometimes a lot of fun (and sometimes informative).

moparbad

2003 LX with automatic, abs & airbag pkg., and moonroof & CD changer pkg. for $14,000. I've done some research and feel the price is about as good as it will get. Correct me if you think a better price can be obtained. The Protege I test drove was not the one I would purchase. Would like to have some input on the quality of the stereo? How is driving comfort for longer trips?
It seems as if the stock tires are not well liked. Is this the Potenza tires? What is wrong with them?

ashutoshsm

The Poortenzas supposedly wear super quickly, and hydroplane very early in their lives (10K onwards?). I've never had them, but a lot of people who have feel very strongly about them!

protegextwo

"Mazda Chat making a comeback! by Sylvia STAFF"
I'm trying to find out from the various Mazda vehicle owners the following:

1) what night of the week would work best?
2) what time? (please give the time zone)
3) what would you like the chat to be called? (e.g. the Subaru chat is the "Subaru Crew" chat)

My Feedback:
1.)Monday
2.)9:00pm EST
3.)"The Mazda Spirit"
 
-Larry Kline

telltom

I've been driving my 2k ES here in Jersey with the original tires. 40K on them. Rained heavy last month for days and i'm back and forth on the turnpike and parkway. Keeping with traffic means 65+ mph. Never skid, never feel like they are losing traction. Took the exit ramps probably faster than i should, and no problem. So what's the bad word with them? I'll need to buy new tires soon and need advise too.

Kirstie_H

Larry - I like the name you've suggested. Very clever!

kirstie_h
Roving Host & Future Vehicles Host

hayrigon

My '00 ES has ~42,000 miles on it and I decided to replace the RE92 before this winter ..I talked to a couple of local tire stores and realized that TireRack offered the best deal on a set of Avid T4's. I understand that the speed rating of the new tires are T instead of V ...
The RE92's still had ~3/4ths of their thread life but my wife had been complaining about the wet traction.
I will let you guys know what I think about T4 (which are very reasonably priced compared to Bridgestones); today we experienced severe rattling at 65+ speeds; this means that I need to go back to the mechanic and have them re-balanced.