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http://www.racingbeat.com/FRprotege.htm
They are considering Protege-specific performance parts, but they would like input on it before they venture into that market. At the end of the article is a contact link. LET THEM KNOW WE WANT IT!!!!!
So now my Protegé Boom Booms as it Zoom Zooms!
Most important, where do you park your car at night? (Just joking on that one!)
Racing Beat, in joint co-operation with Mazda North America, participated in
the development of the 2001 Protege MPS vehicle. This vehicle, later
introduced as the Protege MP3, signals Mazda's serious efforts to compete in
the import performance marketplace. Parts that were developed for the 2001
Protege MP3 can be purchased through local Mazda dealerships.
Racing Beat will continue to monitor the response to the Protege in an
effort to determine the potential demand for Protege performance parts.
Remember, up until recently the Protege was being marketed as an economical
commuter car, not a import performance racer! We certainly do not wish to
produce a warehouse full of expensive parts, only to sit on a slow moving
product line.
Best regards,
Jim Langer
Racing Beat, Inc.
714-779-8677 Ext. 219
The amp's front channel is set to high pass and is powering all four factory speakers. The rear channel is set for low pass, bridged, and of course powers the sub. Hence, I gave up front / rear fade control for main / bass speaker control, and it works well. I was planning on replacing either the front door or all speakers but left the factory ones in for now to measure the performance, and frankly it sounds damn good!
It's not competetion quality but delivers outstanding volume for interior enjoyment with solid, punching bass (or deeper if the amp bass gain is turned up a bit).
Everything was purchased and installed by Circuit City Roadshop for just under $600.
Like I said, nothing like adding a little boom to the zoom.
Dave
Stock:
6x8 Pioneers up front. Paper cone with whizzer-cone-type tweeter. Surround is coated fiber mesh. Rated 25watt continuous.
6x9 Pioneers rear deck. Paper cone. No tweeter. Coated fiber mesh surround. 25watt continuous.
New units:
6x8 Pioneer 3-way up front. 80watt continuous (hey, I may add an amp later).
6x9 Pioneer 3-way in back. 100wat continuous.
Both sets have butyl rubber surrounds and foamed injection-molded polypropylene woofers with mylar or compression-horn tweeters. Bass is better defined and has more oomph. Highs are much, much clearer and louder. Sound is also much better at lower volume settings than with the stock speakers.
Give yourself about an hour for the first front speaker to figure out how to remove the door panel without busting anything. The second front speaker takes 15 minutes. You'll want to re-use the plastic splash guards on the backs of the front speakers. The rear speakers take about 45 minutes (it did for me because I didn't want to disconnect some wires that are clipped to the underside of the rear deck cover, so I had to manuever around it). I tried to post details about how to remove the door and rear deck panels a couple weeks ago, but the server trashed all messages that night. I can re-post if anyone is interested.
It's been over a month, so I may have forgotten a screw or two. If you feel much resistance, don't force it; there's probably still a screw attached.
First, roll down your window.
Inside the door-pull assembly, use the #1 philips head to remove the small screw. Use the small flat-head screwdriver to pry open what appears to be a plastic button-head under your side mirror. Use the #2 philips-head screwdriver to remove this screw. Use this screwdriver to remove the 2 or 3 screws that hold the door grip in place. This is the hard part: pull out the door grip, starting from the front end. It is held in place with plastic snap fingers and metal clips, so it takes a little persuasion to yank it out (this stumped me for a while). Remove the two revealed screws with the #2 philips driver.
On the back edge of the door panel, near the top, use the small knife to start prying up the central pin in the plastic fastener. After you have pulled this out enough, use the small needle-nose pliers to pull the entire fastener out of the hole.
Starting near the bottom-rear of the panel, use your fingertips to pry the panel away from the door. I found and fixed a misinstalled plastic fastener this way (which was the culprit behind the rattling sound I heard from the passenger door).
Once you have done this, you have two choices concerning the connectors to the window switch. You can lie on the floor and reach behind the panel to disengage the connector and leave the switch panel in the door, or you can try to pry the plastic panel out of the door and then disengage the connector. I found the former easier and less likely to damage the plastic. For the driver-side door, remember to disconnect the wire to the power door-lock switch. I almost forgot to do this.
The panel is now hanging off the window frame. Start lifting the rear of the panel upwards and slide the panel towards the rear simultaneously. Move the panel only a little bit at this time. Now pull out the door-pull assembly and twist it roughly 90 degrees so you can shove it through its hole in the door panel. Now remove the door panel.
Use the #1 philips screwdriver to remove the screws that hold the speaker in place. Disengage the connector using the flat-head screwdriver to lift the snap finger. I find the factory screws much nicer than the screws that come with replacement speakers, so keep these. Also, the factory speakers have plastic splash shields to keep water and dirt from falling into the speaker (nice touch Mazda!). They also help to stifle metal-on-metal vibrations between the door and the speaker. Use the knife to carefully cut the glue that holds these in place. These fit nicely onto 6x8 speakers.
Test your new speaker's connection. Perhaps the most difficult part of reinstalling the door panel is sliding it back into place on the window frame. It's easy when your approach angle is right, so take the time to wiggle it around, starting by feeding it under the plastic panel near the side mirror. Feed the door-pull assembly back through the door panel. Reconnect your switches. Once everything is lined-up, just push the panel against the door so the white (or peach) fasteners pop back into place. Replace the screws that were hidden under the door grip first so you don't forget them.
I'm curious to find out if they made changes to the door panel construction. The top third of mine are made from sealed, compressed wood chips (like OSB). I thought that was interesting.
Next installment: the rear deck panel.
I don't have the ISOFIX child seat connectors, so someone will have to fill us in on how to work around these. I'm curious about how they work.
Disengage the center-seat shoulder belt (you can poke a key through the slot on the backside of the buckle that holds onto the end of the shoulder strap).
Flip down the rear seats and open your trunk. Get into the trunk and use the pliers to push the central pin in the plastic fasteners back out. This works for the fasteners in the center. For the outboard fasteners, you need to pry out the center pin with the knife enough for you to grab the neck of the fastener with the pliers and yank them out, as you can't get at these from the trunk.
Use the pliers to squeeze the 2 or 3 plastic fasteners back through the top of the rear deck. Remove the cover of the trunk light and push the bulb and its socket back through the hole in the deck. Disconnect the speakers while you're down there.
Now you can lift up the rear deck. Work it past the side shoulder belts. I left the deck panel hanging off the rear deck, as I didn't want to bother disconnecting the wire harnesses from the underside of the deck panel. There's enough room to work on the speakers with the deck panel hanging off the deck.
Remove the speakers. Lay down any insulating foam or mat around the speaker hole. Connect your new speakers and confirm they work (check each side by using the balance adjustment).
Move the deck panel back into place. Push the trunk light socket back into its hole before replacing the panel. Refasten everything. Push down on the panel to re-engage the plastic fasteners. Replace the two-part fasteners that hold down the front face of the deck panel.
It felt kind of good after I'd gotten it done.
If you can convince someone to let me fly a shuttle, I'd be happy to write that down too , assuming I can walk away from the landing...
When the window is down, it is sandwiched between the exterior sheet metal and the interior reinforcing sheet metal and bars. You won't scratch it when removing any screws.
I don't recall seeing the window behind the speaker area. If that's a problem, you could always raise the window after you get the panel off. Reconnect the switch assembly to do this. I'm not sure if the switch has any circuitry to protect the motor, so better safe than sorry. You can pop the switch panel off the door panel pretty easily from the back side. Just be careful when you place it back into the door panel. I scratched my door panel with the metal clip that's at the rear of the switch panel when I got careless putting it back in.
Maltb, the electrical tape is a great suggestion. Putting it around the pliers would be good too.
If anyone puts speakers in the rear doors, let me know how it's done.
Also, I'd like to project more light for night-time driving (brightness and larger spread). Any advice here? PIAA bulbs? Fog lights?
Someone asked what the power rating of the stock stereo is, but I didn't see the response. Anyone know? Is it the same for the '99 models?
I did have to fuss with a rubber boot that took a bit of work to get out. Luckily, the smaller engine in the LX leaves me more room to work with than in the ES engine bay. I guess that makes up a little for lacking the zooming power you ES guys have!
It's still a hoot to drive though.
I'm looking for an all-season tire (I don't have space in my garage for an out-of-season set of wheels). Ones I'm considering are Avid T4s and Bridgestone RE910s. Anybody have experience with either? I think the T4 is available in 185/65R14 and 195/55R15, while the RE910 is available only in 185/65R14 (they have 195/60R15, I think).
I hear that Yokohamas tend to squeal on dry pavement when they're pushed close their limits. How bad is it?
I was thinking of upsizing from 185/65R14 to 195/55R15, but there's quite a premium to do that so I'd be happy with either size. Since my wife has so far had good experience with her RE930s, I might go with the RE910s. I saw on The Tire Rack site that they and the Yoko T4s are closely ranked in side-by-side tests (and in the consumer polls), and the T4s are at least $10 less each (more for the 15in size). That's why I'm inquiring about the T4s.
How easy was it to make your H4s squeal? I expect some feedback when I'm pushing them, but I can't stand tires that squeal at any little bit of sideways motion.
way to go. Now I don't have to crank up my stereo as much as I used to before on the rough roads.
also since the stuff is a bit heavy, the rears of the car now stays more adhered to the road than before - previouly it felt like the rear is a floating portion with no luggage in the trunk.
I was considering it myself- or just taking it to Zeibart.
bTW, I did a very simple job of lining...not an extensive "get all the nook and crannies job". cover up all the soft sheet metal in the trunk floor - that is the one that vibrates!!
!ZoomooZ!
Regarding the Flaps and Net, I was almost disappointed on how they were so easy to install.
The net strings up kind of high, I'd like to find another set of the little T-hooks with the screws and install them in the lower set of holes in the panel. Then I could have a little more flexibility.
My next project will be strut stabilizers.
*
I had to put the drop down 60/40 seats to use this weekend for the first time. I needed to haul a few small sheets of plywood. I noticed that while they were down, it REALLY enhanced the DEEP LOW frequencies of the stereo's bass. I'd have thought that the backside of the speakers would phase out the sound from the bass, but there must be enough separation to avoid phase cancellation. I am not a loud bass fan but I do appreciate deep bass. It sounded good to me. I'm going to have to check it out with some Bach organ music which really probes those nearly inaudible freqs.
Something has gone askew. Like Maltb sez, call them.
Literally speaking, I got my REFRESH free of cost!!
PLUS NO SHIPPING AND HANDLING CHARGES!!!
I doubt the dealer would remove it free of charge since it's been over 10 months since i bought the car.
any comments are welcome
H
(gitarzan) - Yeah, too easy. Don't quite get the position of the net either, so I just leave the tops unhooked until needed.
(conheady) - Best to contact them to find out what's up - ordered my stuff on a Tuesday, received Friday, installed Sat, zoomed Sat night.
so I went ahead and insulated the floor of my car...and guess what....boo..hooo..
Now I find the window glass to be too thin to stop the noise of my own tires as well as other cars passing by on the rough roads....
I'm considering doing what you did to your trunk. What sound proofing material did you use and how many Square feet did it require?
I ordered 2 asphalt/rubber sheets from McMaster-Carr - total cost of 25 bucks.
One went in the trunk and second on the floor.
Mind you, I only insulated the major floor area -- the one I believed made all the noise- not all the nooks and crannies.
I'm going to try sound proofing the trunk like you said. Thanks for the advice.