we got dumped on about 8 inches here at school and I had to drive to class and coming around a curve at a snail's pace, i still slid and banged into the sidewalk curb. I couldnt' see any dents or scratches, so I'm hoping it's just the wheels i heard bumping hard off the curb.
so..anyone suggest some good all season tires to put on my stock rims? I don't want to get a whole set of 15 inch steels cuz I'd like to get a set of 17 or bigger summer wheels.
Regarding your speaker question - I think the head unit really needs to go. I don't think it provides much power, and the new speakers I installed are working MUCH below their potential. Check the required RMS power before picking up a new set of speakers. If the minimum RMS is too high, the head unit won't provide enough power to make your speakers really shine.
I've emailed both Best Kits and Metra regarding adapter units for the Pro5 - Best Kits said early January they should have the kits done. But who knows how long until they hit the stores....
Bruno says there's an article in the recent issue Motor Trend comparing the handling of the too. I just let my subscription lapse - darn. I'm going to pick up a copy at lunch - will summarize what they say.
Most cruise control mechanisms I've seen are mounted high at the rear of the engine compartment above the firewall, right where they would get in the way of a strut tower brace. Perhaps the cruise needs to be moved, or a different brace used if cruise is present? Just a guess.
both Sedan and hachback versions of the Protege have 60/40 front to back weight distribution. Though the rotation tensor of these 2 body types might slightly differ, but it's really a blind guess from my part. May be there is a simpler explanation: the driver of the mp3 took a larger trajectory so that the rear of the trunk did not touch the cones. ;-)
I must say when I read your note I had to hold back the tears. I know and feel your pain, not to this level but my P5 was only eight days old when someone thought it would be funny to take a bat to my passenger side mirror to see if swinging a baseball bat could actually knock off a car mirror. Well everyone knows that it can and will. Lucky for me it didn't do any other damage. So you will have to try and be positive and think that they could have hit you while you just started your car and didn't have your seatbelt on yet and you would have been hurt also. Hopefully they will find these filthy pigs and punish them. But as we all know they either are not found or they get probation or something like that.
Oh no! Sorry to hear this horrible story. All I can say is try to calm down and repair your P5 ASAP, I'm sure Mazda dealer can bring back its shape and you'll enjoy your car again. Hope that your insurance deductible is not too high.
Has anyone purchased (or considered purchasing) a car cover for the P5?? My lifestyle is such that my car may sit without being driven for 2-3 days. The Oklahoma sun can be brutal in the summer not to mention the occasional ice storm.
I saw that www.mazdastuff.com sells the cover for $90. I have no experience with car covers, whether they are a pain to put on, difficult to use, actually protect the car, etc.
dr r and cdnp5, thats sucks! If I ever caught someone messing with my P5, id castrate them! Is your insurance going to cover it? If so, make sure you get Mazda parts, not some cheap as crap that they try to stick you with. Someone hit me from behind on one of my older cars, and the insurance put on some non-factory bumper, it wouldnt fit right and the dealer had to "rig it". Since the P5 is a fairly new car, get original parts!
I never have a car cover, but incidentally I had a conversation few days ago with a friend who owns a Carrera 911 and put the cover on, even when the car is sitting in his garage! He told it's easy to put in. Car cover is a must to protect UV of the sun, causing the paint and plastic to deteriorate quickly.
They're easy to put on. Just make sure to get one that doesn't trap moisture, which can damage your paint, contribute to mold/mildew growth. On the flip side, this also allows moisture to get through from the outside.
I'd uncover it about once a week and air it out.
If you live in a dusty area like I do, you'll find the car gets covered after only a few hours. You don't want to put your cover on over that dirt. It will scratch your paint and the inside of your cover will hold onto that dust. I cover my '89 323 after a good wash and dry since it's mostly a weekend car anymore. When I fold up the cover, I try to keep the inside from touching anything but the car (including the outside of the cover).
Not much you can do without witnesses, although you could look for paint samples or other materials that could have come from the offending vehicle and look around for something that is bashed and looks like a possible match. I hope no structural damage was caused. People have no respect.
One of my wonderful neighbors bounced off my 2001 Protege ES when it was less than 3 weeks old. Scratched the bumper badly and scalloped the paint on the left fender. $500 almost to fix it, and one week in the shop. I took pics of the paint on the neighbor's car's bumper and turned it in to the police. Imagine his surprise when the cops knocked on his door and cuffed him for hit and run. That'll fix him!
Well I take it in tonight for the estimate at the claims centre. I only could have wished that they would have hit it harder and written it off so then I could have a brand new P5 again for $100. Instead I pay the $100 for a repair. I took it down to a shop here in town where I know almost all the staff. I used to do IT work for them so I'm sure they'll do an excellent job. I don't think I'll have much trouble with it, just really steamed over the whole thing...
Well, pretty much the whole drivers side had the biscuit. Looks like they side swiped the whole thing. Right from the rear quarter-panel up to the front drivers door. The rear door doesn't open any more and fender is pushed in on the rear just enough so the tire rubs on it when I hit a descent sized bump.
Man, sorry to hear that. That really sucks. They said it wasn't enough damage to total it eh? You should talk to your insurance company about that, since the car is so new. They might give you some cash because the car is brand new. That happend to a friend of mine, and he got money because his car was like 3 months old when it was wrecked.
Our insurance system is quite screwed up here though. Cheap, but messed up. I know a guy who was an adjuster for the government insurance agency, but has since retired. I called him the other night to see if he could maybe pull a few strings for me, so we'll see what happens.
So, on the weekend I went out with some friends and parked my 4 month old P5 in front of their house. When we returned home about 3:00 in the morning I was horrified to find my car had been hit and ran. I completely lost my mind...
What kind of inconsiderate *%$##*&@ would do this, no note or anything. I suspect it was a young kid as my friends live right across the street from a high school. There is constantly kids ripping around in the parking lot and up and down their street. I don't even feel that it is worth having a new car and taking good care of it any more. So many people out there have no respect or care for anyone else's property. I just feel violated because of this.
I have some pics of the damage which would probably make most P5 owners cringe at the sight. I'll post some of them soon to let you have a look at the disgust....
whatever the severity of the damage, the insurance should fully pay and get your car exactly in the same shape than before it was hit. Get an estimate from your mechanics and talk to the insurance. I would bring the car to Mazda since, contrary to your mechanics, they might say that it's not worth to repair the car.
Toddmon, You are right. The speakers did not make a whole lot of a difference. I could hear more treble right away, though. The man at crutchfield told me this might be the case even before I purchased the speakers so he was right on. He said I would probably need to change the radio also. This is what I plan to do as soon as the kit and harness is ready for the car. I e-mailed Best-Kits and was told ...as the other poster said....it would be ready in a couple of weeks. I really think that a new radio will do the trick. I wouldn't send your speakers back just yet. I remember changing the radio in my Chevy S-10 6 years ago, and the difference was night and day.
I actually had someone scream at me in a dark parking lot: "hey, what kind of car is that?" It was kind of embarrasing to yell out the answer, but I did. I found out later who it was. She said she thought it was the new Lexus Sportcross. So I guess this was a good complement?
To the question of what do I like about the PR5 - the front, like the MP3, looks better than the stock protege. I like the short rear overhang actually -less wagon-like, but obviously less space than full-sized wagons. Anyone else?
As to an earlier question of what cars would I shop against the Protege5 - I'm tall, and the Jetta back seat doesn't have enough headroom for me (love the front interior though - it is great). So I'd shop the Protege/Protege5 (both with good headroom for talk folks) against a Passat, as unlikely as that sounds, or an Altima. The Passat is in the family sedan/near-luxury segment, of course. A focus wagon would be on the list, if not for reliability problems.
They should wedge the VW 1.8 T engine into the Protege5 ...
I've actually had other people mention that it looks like a small Sportcross.
As much as I like my P5 more HP would be a blessing. The new 1.8t/180hp would be PERFECT. Too bad. I'm thinking about trying to get a bit more power out of my car. Of course I have to make sure that it doesn't voide the warranty.
I think all the Cars you've menioned are good choices. I think the new Altima is a VERY nice car. People are complaining about the interior but I think that super sweet engine makes up for it. Drive the 3.5 liter 6 and you'll love very second of it. The car feels very fast. The Passat is nice but I prefer higher reliability. AFter having cars that had problems anything less than exceptional has negative connotations for me.
I had my 2001 ES repaired at the Mazda dealer, and they did a wonderful job with it. Also, the dealer is going to be more expensive too. They might add a couple hundred that would push it over the top for being totalled.
I was pretty keen on the Matrix/Vibe until I've seen the latest incarnations. I don't know there just too "technoesque/boyracerish" for my taste. That and it may be faster 0-60 than the P5 but the HP tops out way too high. That means to get the 180hp you have to wind it way out. It's torque rating isn't even that high at 130ft/lbs@7500rpm. It's less than the P5 at 135ft/lbs@4000 rpms. ARound town the P5 is going ot feel much more zippy. The high RPM torque level isn't usable unless you really wind it out. I don't know I prefer a slightly larger engine than a 1.8.
I guess I just like the cleaner lines of the P5.
It's kinda funny on my honeymoon I went to England and it happend to coincide with the London autoshow. Now my beatiful wife came with me and we wandered around looking at all the cool cars. I saw the Mazda 323HB (p5 to you) and I told her that if this car was in America I would buy it in a hearbeat. Well since then I have a silver one parked in the lot outside right now.
The only reason I haven't bought a P5 is that I would like a little more torque. Not 200 lb-ft, just a bit more..though it sounds like lots of folks like it fine as it is.
If you haven't followed the rumor mill, www.veh-tech.net has reported several times that Mazda *will* introduce a higher-power (turbo?) protege sedan this spring. I'm hoping they also put more power in the P5, which I suspect is their best-selling car.
As to the Passat, Consumer Reports has recently upped their reliability to better than average (instead of avg). That and their now-lengthened warranty make it a more desirable (but of course much more expensive than the P5) car.
"I saw the Mazda 323HB (p5 to you) and I told her that if this car was in America I would buy it in a hearbeat"
Man! I felt the same way when I first saw the P5. I use to live about a 1/4 mile away from a Mazda dealer, and one day I was passing and I saw the front of the P5. I said "That looks nice, and its a hatch!". I planned on buying a hatch for my next car, and when I saw it, I said "Thats my car!". It took me almost 8 months to finally get one, but it was worth the looonggg wait! THE P5 RULES! Matrix is U-G-L-Y, and the Vibe is F-U-G-L-Y!
When driving down a highway at 35 to 40 mph, what should your RPM read? I read several places that its better to have your RPMs low. Is 2k ok? What is a good rule of thumb to know when to shift? I am still trying to master driving a stick, so tips and tricks will help out alot.
2000 rpm is right about where you want to be cruising around at in most cases. In my opinion, you don't really want to be driving at lower than 2000 rpm as it's fairly easy to lug the engine at that engine speed.
I believe some have said that they like to shift at 3000 rpm. I also think that's ok for stop-and-go city driving, but I wouldn't hesitate to rev it past 4000 rpm in passing instances.
Now, when I jump on the highway, that's a different story. My rpm's are usually up around 4000 rpm in 5th gear while on the highway.
And, since it's winter, I'll just reiterate that (from what I've heard) the engine shouldn't be revved past 3000 rpm when the engine is cold, as this could cause engine damage.
I find myself cruising around town mostly with 2500 as median RPM. On the highway, the car rev 3700 RPM at 80mph. Being cruising at 2000 RPM is all right when the load is moderate (constant speed, no head wind, slight downhill, etc..), but I don't recommend to drive lower than that very often. In fact, if the load is high as opposed to the weak torque at low engine RPM, the ignition timing will be delayed from the optimal point (in order to avoid knocking). In addition, the engine behaves like a passive mechanical member and under stress, and it's not good either. When the engine is still cold, I like to keep the engine rev not too high nor too low: 2500-3000rpm. More importantly, all acceleration should be performed as smooth as possible, i.e. the RPM should be raised slower than normal.
As for the shifting question, I though there is 4 detailed messages posted last month.
I have a 3 month old silver P5, auto, ABS & moonroof. Not a single problem with about 2700 miles driven, not even a squeek. For all of you guys complaining about the radio, my other vehicle is a 2001 X5, 4.4 sport fully loaded except for the standard sound system. If you want to hear a radio that sucks, come sit in my Bimmer. I have owned or driven many cars over the years including a BMW 540i, an Audi A8, a Porsche 944T, C2 & C4 cabs, a Mercedes SL and others. Although the P5 cannot be compared to those other expensive vehicles, it is a very nice little car for the money. My biggest complaints are that it is a front wheel drive which is common in all inexpensive cars, and the center armrest/storage bin should have been much longer & bigger. If I remember correctly, I paid about $750 over invoice, with a straight shooting no haggle dealer (the only kind I do business with) here in Southern California. The next cars that I'm seriously going to consider are the M3 convertible and the Honda S2000. I also like both the Audi S4, and S8. There are just too many great vehicles out there. Regards to all you fellow Canucks out there.
A few days ago, my wife remarked that it's the second week of 2002 now and we haven't heard anything from our Mazda dealer. You may remember that we're buying a Protege5 for my wife, but they had to "find" the one she wants -- it's not at the dealer. My salesman promised a call the first week of January, so having not heard from him, we picked up the phone and called him.
After asking him about the status of our P5, he put me on hold for about five minutes (a long time) and checked with his manager. He came back and said, "Well, it's been built ..."
"What do you mean by that?" I asked.
His answer: "It's sitting on the dock in Japan."
LOL!!! My, aren't we gonna get a fresh P5! He said it oughta be here in about three or four weeks. New car smell, here we come!
In all shifting, the clutch pedal is operated by left foot whereas the right foot is in charge of both break and gas pedals.
First rule: always upshift gears one by one consecutively, never skip intermediate gear in any case. Up shifting at the moment where the engine is running at 3000-5500 RPM. The optimal RPM depends on several factors. Late up-shifting is recommended when: - you are in a hurry mood, - you are going up hill (or heavy load from wind, etc ...) - when the gas price is low! There is one exception: in normal driving condition, you can upshift quickly from the first to the 2th gear. There is no need to stay very long on the first gear. The torque of the 2th is large enough to drive as soon as the car get moving. The first gear is mostly used for start the car from stopping and climb on a very steep road (+20%). Usually you don't need to apply the gas before release the clutch when upshifting. Here is how it works: Press down the clutch and release the gas pedal in the same time by using opposite movements on both feet. During that (short) time, upshift at the moment where the engine starts to be decoupled to the wheels. Do not apply any force to manipulate the shifter, you just need to guide it gently up and down and a little bit diagonally for 2-3, and 4-5. When the clutch pedal is at the bottom (or not too long after), the shifter should be completely shifted up. During and after this period, engine RPM is dropping (no action on the gas pedal then). The clutch must be released in such way that the engine RPM (dropping) is matching the car speed (for the upper gear) when the clutch starts to engage again. Usually it imply a "right" (fast) speed clutch release from the bottom to 1-1.5 inch off the floor, and then a smooth release afterward together with an acceleration with the right foot. OK, I hear your question: what is a "right" speed for clutch release? Usually the right speed is slow for small gears (1-2) and faster for bigger gears (4-5). Why? Because the ratios of the gear-ratios (hem, still follow me?) are larger for 1-2th, than 2-3th, which is larger than 3-4, etc... For Protege/MP3/MP5, these ratio-of-ratios are: 1.8, 1.4, 1.35, and 1.3. The larger is this ratio, the lower RPM needs to drop at, i.e., you have to release slower.
It sounds complicated but with little practices, it will become very quick a second nature and you don't have to even think about it. If you do it right, you can shift fast and the clutch will last longer.
Down-shifting while slowing with matching engine RPM and car speed is another story, and it requires much more driver skill. It's called something like heel-and-toe technique. But until then...
First, IMHO down-shifting is an excellent habit for three following reasons: 1) the passive compression of the engine helps the car to slow down: the "engine break" effect. 2) unlike the normal break, the "engine break" preserves entirely the traction of the tires, so you can better steer while slowing down. It's the same function than ABS with one major difference: the car is under your control and not an electronic circuitry. 3) the engine is running all the time at its efficient range of RPM, thus you can for instant re-accelerate quickly at anytime. There is a con argument concerning greater clutch-wear, but I don't think it's true that the life-span of your clutch is significantly shorter, at least when shifting are performed correctly. From personal experiences, I never have to change any clutch of my cars in 15 years.
For the beginner, it's good to practice down-shifting the gears one by one. Dropping two or three gears at once is possible in some cases (hard breaking, panic stop, ...). But let's assume for now we are in a normal driving condition, and want to slow down at a "Stop" sign, before a curve, etc,... When the deleceration is moderate, a good range of engine revolution for down-shifting is 1900-2500 RPM. It can be performed around at 3000 RPM if the breaking from engine is more desired (e.g., driving down hill), but down-shifting at above 3000 RPM is usually not recommended. Here we have the second shifting rule: never downshift to the first gear unless the car is almost at complete stop. If you break harder, you could add about 500 RPM on the above numbers. The bottom line is you should aim so that the engine RPM will not raise too high after the clutch is released. Here is how the the driver should do:
Start to slow down the car by breaking with the right foot. Wait until the RPM drop to a desired target number. Push the clutch pedal with the left foot while maintaining the right foot on the break pedal. Downshift at the moment where the engine starts to be decoupled to the wheels. As always, do not apply any force to manipulate the shifter, you just need to guide it gently up and down and a little bit diagonally for 3-2 and 5-4. If the force is applied more than necessary, a common mistake one could make is downshift from 5th to 2th instead of 5-4 and it will not do any good for the engine. If it happens, you must push down urgently the clutch as soon as you see (or hear) the engine RPM go higher than expected and then correct the position of your shifter. When the clutch pedal is at the bottom (or not too long after), the shifter should be completely shifted down. Release *slowly* the clutch pedal. When the clutch starts to engage again, the engine RPM will increase. One can applied less pressure on the break pedal as the engine compression naturally slows down the car. For references, while driving car of the Protege family, if the shifting is performed at 2000 RPM, the RPM will go up to 2800, 2700, 2550 for 2th, 3th, and 4th gears respectively. If the shifting is performed at 2500 RPM, we will get 3500, 3350, 3200 RPM.
Press down quickly the clutch and release the gas pedal in the same time by using opposite movements on both feet. During that time, downshift quickly at the moment where the engine starts to be decoupled to the wheels. When the clutch pedal is at the bottom (or not too long after), the shifter should be completely shifted down. Release clutch and press down the gas pedal in the same time by using opposite movements on both feet to accelerate. The release can be performed faster than in the previous case. Note that before the clutch is engaged, pressing down the gas pedal will help to bring the engine RPM up and matching the car speed. Finally accelerate to beat the automatic mustang next to you. ;-)
As you have noticed, the only time you cannot (a priori) match the engine and the car speed is when you downshift while slowing down. In consequence, it requires the driver to release the clutch slow and gently, otherwise your car will jerk backward. When cornering, sometime you might not wish waiting the engine RPM to drop too low, nor your car bucking or slowing down by engine-break, and still be able to downshift quickly to a lower gear and be ready for a fast acceleration when exit the corner. In short, you are in a big hurry at the corner! Question: is there anyway to accomplish that? Answer: yes! Before approaching the corner, start slowing down with your break and clutch as described above. If you are born with 3 legs, just before releasing the clutch, you can push the gas pedal (using the third leg) to raise the engine RPM, matching the car speed and then release quickly the clutch pedal. Unfortunately, you don't have 3 legs! Here is the solution for two-legs-human-being: while your right foot is still applying pressure on the break, roll the outside edge of your foot outward to touch the gas pedal temporally and raise the engine RPM. This short boosting of the gas pedal should happen just before you release the clutch. With a good coordination, usually it happens exactly when your shifter pass through the neutral position in its course, and the engine starts to be decoupled to the wheels, i.e., when the clutch pedal is pushing at about one inch off the floor. Another difficulty - beside a complex coordination - for the driver is to raise the engine RPM by a right amount to match the new gear. That means that the side of the right foot must apply the right pressure and duration on the gas pedal as well as the ball of the same foot for controlling the right pressure on the break pedal. With too little RPM raised the car is still bucking a little; too much RPM, the car will jerk forward! It took me few weeks of practice to finally do it properly, but afterward, it's a great fun. As someone have said: "happiness is not around the corner, happiness is the corner!". This technique should also reduce clutch wear as compared to the classical down-shifting - if there is any. The only (suspicious) drawback of down-shifting is finally eliminated, you don't have any more a single excuse for not doing it.
Final remark: as you have noticed, in all shifting operations, you should keep your eyes on the tachometer instead of the speedometer, and of course the road and the traffic.
Hi, I've been in the process of picking out my next vehicle. Although I don't truly "need" 4 doors, I do need the utility of a hatch or small wagon. I've pretty much narrowed it down to the P5 and the Subaru Impreza Outback Sport (OBS). And I was wondering if any of you folks had specifically cross-shopped the OBS while searching for your P5 and was wondering what made you choose the P5 in the end.
The Subaru is a bit more expensive, but not by so large an amount that it's not comparable for me. The OBS offers a 2.5 liter, 165hp engine with greater torque and AWD. The P5 is cheaper,with an arguably better looking exterior (although the OBS has grown on me somewhat)and seems to offer better dry road handling, at least in stock form. But some admittedly brief test drives, both seem handle well enough for my needs. At the moment, I'm leaning somewhat toward the Subaru, but I'll be driving both again before making a final decision this summer.
Neither the Vibe nor the Matrix interest me at all, although I'm sure they'll each have their fans. The one other model that does interest me is a 2002 GTI 1.8T, 6-speed. Great little car to drive. But I admit that reliability issues with the VW might make me think twice about getting one. Reliability is a strong point with the Subaru.
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Comments
so..anyone suggest some good all season tires to put on my stock rims? I don't want to get a whole set of 15 inch steels cuz I'd like to get a set of 17 or bigger summer wheels.
zooming carefully in snow,
boopoppa
I've emailed both Best Kits and Metra regarding adapter units for the Pro5 - Best Kits said early January they should have the kits done. But who knows how long until they hit the stores....
Bruno
d.
I saw that www.mazdastuff.com sells the cover for $90. I have no experience with car covers, whether they are a pain to put on, difficult to use, actually protect the car, etc.
Any feedback would be appreciated.
Bruno
I'd uncover it about once a week and air it out.
If you live in a dusty area like I do, you'll find the car gets covered after only a few hours. You don't want to put your cover on over that dirt. It will scratch your paint and the inside of your cover will hold onto that dust. I cover my '89 323 after a good wash and dry since it's mostly a weekend car anymore. When I fold up the cover, I try to keep the inside from touching anything but the car (including the outside of the cover).
R
Wish me luck...
R
So, on the weekend I went out with some friends and parked my 4 month old P5 in front of their house. When we returned home about 3:00 in the morning I was horrified to find my car had been hit and ran. I completely lost my mind...
What kind of inconsiderate *%$##*&@ would do this, no note or anything. I suspect it was a young kid as my friends live right across the street from a high school. There is constantly kids ripping around in the parking lot and up and down their street. I don't even feel that it is worth having a new car and taking good care of it any more. So many people out there have no respect or care for anyone else's property. I just feel violated because of this.
I have some pics of the damage which would probably make most P5 owners cringe at the sight. I'll post some of them soon to let you have a look at the disgust....
R
Good luck...
You are right. The speakers did not make a whole lot of a difference. I could hear more treble right away, though.
The man at crutchfield told me this might be the case even before I purchased the speakers so he was right on. He said I would probably need to change the radio also. This is what I plan to do as soon as the kit and harness is ready for the car. I e-mailed Best-Kits and was told ...as the other poster said....it would be ready in a couple of weeks.
I really think that a new radio will do the trick. I wouldn't send your speakers back just yet.
I remember changing the radio in my Chevy S-10 6 years ago, and the difference was night and day.
It was kind of embarrasing to yell out the answer, but I did.
I found out later who it was. She said she thought it was the new Lexus Sportcross. So I guess this was a good complement?
As to an earlier question of what cars would I shop against the Protege5 - I'm tall, and the Jetta back seat doesn't have enough headroom for me (love the front interior though - it is great). So I'd shop the Protege/Protege5 (both with good headroom for talk folks) against a Passat, as unlikely as that sounds, or an Altima. The Passat is in the family sedan/near-luxury segment, of course. A focus wagon would be on the list, if not for reliability problems.
They should wedge the VW 1.8 T engine into the Protege5 ...
As much as I like my P5 more HP would be a blessing. The new 1.8t/180hp would be PERFECT. Too bad. I'm thinking about trying to get a bit more power out of my car. Of course I have to make sure that it doesn't voide the warranty.
I think all the Cars you've menioned are good choices. I think the new Altima is a VERY nice car. People are complaining about the interior but I think that super sweet engine makes up for it. Drive the 3.5 liter 6 and you'll love very second of it. The car feels very fast. The Passat is nice but I prefer higher reliability. AFter having cars that had problems anything less than exceptional has negative connotations for me.
The Matrix arrives soon, and will rival the P5 for best looking wagon honors.
-juice
I guess I just like the cleaner lines of the P5.
It's kinda funny on my honeymoon I went to England and it happend to coincide with the London autoshow. Now my beatiful wife came with me and we wandered around looking at all the cool cars. I saw the Mazda 323HB (p5 to you) and I told her that if this car was in America I would buy it in a hearbeat. Well since then I have a silver one parked in the lot outside right now.
If you haven't followed the rumor mill, www.veh-tech.net has reported several times that Mazda *will* introduce a higher-power (turbo?) protege sedan this spring. I'm hoping they also put more power in the P5, which I suspect is their best-selling car.
As to the Passat, Consumer Reports has recently upped their reliability to better than average (instead of avg). That and their now-lengthened warranty make it a more desirable (but of course much more expensive than the P5) car.
the "Best buy"? I stop reading them.
Man! I felt the same way when I first saw the P5. I use to live about a 1/4 mile away from a Mazda dealer, and one day I was passing and I saw the front of the P5. I said "That looks nice, and its a hatch!". I planned on buying a hatch for my next car, and when I saw it, I said "Thats my car!". It took me almost 8 months to finally get one, but it was worth the looonggg wait!
THE P5 RULES! Matrix is U-G-L-Y, and the Vibe is F-U-G-L-Y!
http://www.geocities.com/doctor_r2002
R
I believe some have said that they like to shift at 3000 rpm. I also think that's ok for stop-and-go city driving, but I wouldn't hesitate to rev it past 4000 rpm in passing instances.
Now, when I jump on the highway, that's a different story. My rpm's are usually up around 4000 rpm in 5th gear while on the highway.
And, since it's winter, I'll just reiterate that (from what I've heard) the engine shouldn't be revved past 3000 rpm when the engine is cold, as this could cause engine damage.
Just my opinions.
Happy Zoom zooming.
PF
As for the shifting question, I though there is 4 detailed messages posted last month.
Bruno
http://www.racingbeat.com/FRprotege.htm
I asked them how much more horsepower this would bring and was told they will be doing a test shortly and would post the results on their page.
Can someone give me a general idea of how many rpms you should have in each gear?
After asking him about the status of our P5, he put me on hold for about five minutes (a long time) and checked with his manager. He came back and said, "Well, it's been built ..."
"What do you mean by that?" I asked.
His answer: "It's sitting on the dock in Japan."
LOL!!! My, aren't we gonna get a fresh P5! He said it oughta be here in about three or four weeks. New car smell, here we come!
Meade
krotine
Bruno
First rule: always upshift gears one by one consecutively, never skip intermediate gear in any case. Up shifting at the moment where the engine is running at 3000-5500 RPM. The optimal RPM depends on several factors. Late up-shifting is recommended when:
- you are in a hurry mood,
- you are going up hill (or heavy load from wind, etc ...)
- when the gas price is low!
There is one exception: in normal driving condition, you can upshift quickly from the first to the 2th gear. There is no need to stay very long on the first gear. The torque of the 2th is large enough to drive as soon as the car get moving. The first gear is mostly used for start the car from stopping and climb on a very steep road (+20%). Usually you don't need to apply the gas before release the clutch when upshifting. Here is how it works:
Press down the clutch and release the gas pedal in the same time by using opposite movements on both feet. During that (short) time, upshift at the moment where the engine starts to be decoupled to the wheels. Do not apply any force to manipulate the shifter, you just need to guide it gently up and down and a little bit diagonally for 2-3, and 4-5. When the clutch pedal is at the bottom (or not too long after), the shifter should be completely shifted up. During and after this period, engine RPM is dropping (no action on the gas pedal then). The clutch must be released in such way that the engine RPM (dropping) is matching the car speed (for the upper gear) when the clutch starts to engage again. Usually it imply a "right" (fast) speed clutch release from the bottom to 1-1.5 inch off the floor, and then a smooth release afterward together with an acceleration with the right foot. OK, I hear your question: what is a "right" speed for clutch release? Usually the right speed is slow for small gears (1-2) and faster for bigger gears (4-5). Why? Because the ratios of the gear-ratios (hem, still follow me?) are larger for 1-2th, than 2-3th, which is larger than 3-4, etc... For Protege/MP3/MP5, these ratio-of-ratios are: 1.8, 1.4, 1.35, and 1.3. The larger is this ratio, the lower RPM needs to drop at, i.e., you have to release slower.
It sounds complicated but with little practices, it will become very quick a second nature and you don't have to even think about it. If you do it right, you can shift fast and the clutch will last longer.
Down-shifting while slowing with matching engine RPM and car speed is another story, and it requires much more driver skill. It's called something like heel-and-toe technique. But until then...
Bruno
1) the passive compression of the engine helps the car to slow down: the "engine break" effect.
2) unlike the normal break, the "engine break" preserves entirely the traction of the tires, so you can better steer while slowing down. It's the same function than ABS with one major difference: the car is under your control and not an electronic circuitry.
3) the engine is running all the time at its efficient range of RPM, thus you can for instant re-accelerate quickly at anytime.
There is a con argument concerning greater clutch-wear, but I don't think it's true that the life-span of your clutch is significantly shorter, at least when shifting are performed correctly. From personal experiences, I never have to change any clutch of my cars in 15 years.
For the beginner, it's good to practice down-shifting the gears one by one. Dropping two or three gears at once is possible in some cases (hard breaking, panic stop, ...). But let's assume for now we are in a normal driving condition, and want to slow down at a "Stop" sign, before a curve, etc,... When the deleceration is moderate, a good range of engine revolution for down-shifting is 1900-2500 RPM. It can be performed around at 3000 RPM if the breaking from engine is more desired (e.g., driving down hill), but down-shifting at above 3000 RPM is usually not recommended. Here we have the second shifting rule: never downshift to the first gear unless the car is almost at complete stop. If you break harder, you could add about 500 RPM on the above numbers. The bottom line is you should aim so that the engine RPM will not raise too high after the clutch is released. Here is how the the driver should do:
Start to slow down the car by breaking with the right foot. Wait until the RPM drop to a desired target number. Push the clutch pedal with the left foot while maintaining the right foot on the break pedal. Downshift at the moment where the engine starts to be decoupled to the wheels. As always, do not apply any force to manipulate the shifter, you just need to guide it gently up and down and a little bit diagonally for 3-2 and 5-4. If the force is applied more than necessary, a common mistake one could make is downshift from 5th to 2th instead of 5-4 and it will not do any good for the engine. If it happens, you must push down urgently the clutch as soon as you see (or hear) the engine RPM go higher than expected and then correct the position of your shifter. When the clutch pedal is at the bottom (or not too long after), the shifter should be completely shifted down. Release *slowly* the clutch pedal. When the clutch starts to engage again, the engine RPM will increase. One can applied less pressure on the break pedal as the engine compression naturally slows down the car. For references, while driving car of the Protege family, if the shifting is performed at 2000 RPM, the RPM will go up to 2800, 2700, 2550 for 2th, 3th, and 4th gears respectively. If the shifting is performed at 2500 RPM, we will get 3500, 3350, 3200 RPM.
Bruno
Bruno
temporally and raise the engine RPM. This short boosting of the gas pedal should happen just before you release the clutch. With a good coordination, usually it happens exactly when your shifter pass through the neutral position in its course, and the engine starts to be decoupled to the wheels, i.e., when the clutch pedal is pushing at about one inch off the floor. Another difficulty - beside a complex coordination - for the driver is to raise the engine RPM by a right amount to match the new gear. That means that the side of the right foot must apply the right pressure and duration on the gas pedal as well as the ball of the same foot for controlling the right pressure on the break pedal. With too little RPM raised the car is still bucking a little; too much RPM, the car will jerk forward! It took me few weeks of practice to finally do it properly, but afterward, it's a great fun. As someone have said: "happiness is not around the corner, happiness is the corner!". This technique should also reduce clutch wear as compared to the classical down-shifting - if there is any. The only (suspicious) drawback of down-shifting is finally eliminated, you don't have any more a single excuse for not doing it.
Final remark: as you have noticed, in all shifting operations, you should keep your eyes on the tachometer instead of the speedometer, and of course the road and the traffic.
Bruno
The Subaru is a bit more expensive, but not by so large an amount that it's not comparable for me. The OBS offers a 2.5 liter, 165hp engine with greater torque and AWD. The P5 is cheaper,with an arguably better looking exterior (although the OBS has grown on me somewhat)and seems to offer better dry road handling, at least in stock form. But some admittedly brief test drives, both seem handle well enough for my needs. At the moment, I'm leaning somewhat toward the Subaru, but I'll be driving both again before making a final decision this summer.
Neither the Vibe nor the Matrix interest me at all, although I'm sure they'll each have their fans. The one other model that does interest me is a 2002 GTI 1.8T, 6-speed. Great little car to drive. But I admit that reliability issues with the VW might make me think twice about getting one. Reliability is a strong point with the Subaru.