Mazda Protege5

douglam

I've e-mailed best kits and this is what they told me (a few days ago):

-----
Hello,
Thank you for the inquiry. We will have a kit part# BKMA1537B) available in about two weeks, it will include a pocket. The MSRP is $18.95. The harness you will need is part # BHA7902 (MSRP $15.95).
-----

I asked them if they had a picture of the kit, but they didn't. But I guess if it includes a pocket, then i'm sure it will fit nicely. (The pocket will occupy the other DIN space below the single-DIN aftermarket head unit)

Anyway, I've ordered the harness and it should be arriving today! Now I need someone to tell me how to get the factory head unit out! Anyone?

mustang87

>What more could you ask for at any age?

Power, power and more power
BTW, i think somebody asked for my email and I never posted it so here: mustangpower1987@mindspring.com
Before you email me remove the "1987", works against spammers i think. This is for anybody that wants a list of sites on protege5 that i am aware of.

mazprotege5

I've been fascinated by all the great comments on this board, and as a first timer, wanted to have my say.
HISTORY: I purchased my classic red P5 way back in June, I think I was one of the first in Richmond, VA to have one. Back then, you paid MSRP and that is what I did... and you know, the car is worth it. My faithful 87 Accord LX, with its original clutch on 158,000 miles was starting to act up. I looked at 4 door Accords, Accord Coupes, Preludes but only had a Civic EX budget. About the time I was ready to buy it, Whitten Brothers had a yellow P5 on display. I was hooked with just one look. I guess it was a relief to my wife, because she really wanted four doors, and it comes in handy with a 9 year old and a dog.
OPTIONS: it has the moonroof, mats and cargo net, (5 speed is the only way to go).
OBSERVATIONS: 1.The paint seems a bit 'soft.' So far I've collected four small rock chips on the hood, but no door dings yet. 2.The base radio/cd player is okay, but my cd player does skip when I hit a sharp bump. 3.Could use a bit more hp, but it is no slug either, 130 hp is still 20 over my old Accord. It's really a blast to drive. 4.I do 70% highway commuting, and am getting 30 to 31 mpg. Before break-in, it was getting about 28 mpg. Consumption could be better, but it is still beats our Nissan minivan. I mean the 87 Accord still did 32 mpg, but not fun to drive. 5.At 8,400 miles on the odom, body integrity is still tight...but am concerned about some new noises. My windows rattle when they are partially open. There is a really annoying metallic rattle in the moonroof when it is fully retracted. Over our rough Richmond roads, it sounds like it is about ready to fall out. It will go back to the dealership. 6.Kinda wish it had a 6th gear to lower the cruising rpms. Nice positive snick shift. 7.Great firm ride and feel... now I know what it means to ride on rails. Anyway, sorry about the long post, but if you haven't figured it out, I love this car. One of my coworkers bought a blue one after I convinced her what a great little car it really is, (yeah I know about the old GLC and almost bought one in the early eighties, but opted for a Plymouth Turismo 2.2 instead... guess I shoulda bought the Mazda)
Thanks for listening.

mazprotege5

I just reread my previous post, and unfortunately, the overall tone sounded a bit negative. Just wanted to let everyone know that this is NOT the case. The observations are more like comments on things I found interesting and not necessarily things I would want to change about this car. The Pro5 has incredible character, appearance and driveability. Even after six months, it still turns heads, and more importantly, makes me smile every time I look or drive it. Anyway, thanks again for listening to my ramblings.

revka

and thanks for sharing your story. We look forward to hearing more.... Happy motoring! ;-)

Revka
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vries

I just saw, for the first time, a zoom zoom commercial specifically for the Protege 5.
Looked real nice!

toddmon

Here's a good site someone put together with instructions, including photos, for replacing the head unit and installing speakers in a P5.

http://www.astolfo.com/p5/p5install.asp

douglam

Thanks for the link toddmon, but I've already been to that site for more than 10 times That's a great site and it taught me how to change my speakers. However, there isn't much description of the actual 'experience', like where to pull, how hard was it any troubles faced... etc.

I only heard that it's really tough to get it out... and someone actually recommended to pay someone to pull it out than to DIY!

Would be great if someone with 'experience' could enlighten me and others who are planning to upgrade their head units.

bigfish2178

douglam,
In order to remove the head unit you need two sets of din removal tools, they are u shaped pieces of metal that I bought at wal-mart for somewhere around $6.00. Then all you do is pop the side covers off the factory head unit (little black strips that just pop off with a little prying), insert the tools in the now exposed holes until you feel a little click, push outward on the tools as you pull the head unit straight out. That's it. It's a lot easier then getting to the speakers in the doors.

vilainefemme

I took an MP5 out for a test drive last night wanted to know if the manual transmission feels that way normally. The stickshift was a little hard to move between gears. Like going from first to second felt hard to pull and "bumpy" as I went out of each gear and into the next. It was very cold out, maybe 20-degrees but the car had been warmed up for a few minutes before I drove it. I attribute it to coldness because that's the way my current manual feels when it's cold out, but I just want to make sure. Thanks!

protege_fan

Hi all,
I have a friend buying a new car. On the one hand he's condsidering cars under $20k (CDN), such as the Pro LX, Honda Civic, and Toyota Corolla. On the other cars over $20k (CDN) such as the Pro5, Golf TDI, and the Impreza TS.

My question to all you P5 owners is what cars did you consider when making your purchase? Why the P5 over your other choices?

He feels that with the P5, the money you're paying is mostly for cosmetic features (lights, side moulding, etc.) whereas with the TS, the extra money is for the AWD system.

I'd appreciate any input. Thanks all.

PF

ateixeira

Tell him to stretch if he can. The P5 is far more interesting than any of the first three choices, IMO.

I'm not a big fan of the TDI. They are torquey but run out of steam fast. It's not the powertrain for an enthusiast, so get it only if MPG and range is your top priority and diesel is cheap where you live. Here it costs more than premium fuel right now, so you lose any advantage you thought you had, and pay more for a slower car.

The TS is another good choice. 165hp is easily the most on his list, and the 166lb-ft of torque is even more significant. If he's also in Canada the AWD is a no-brainer IMO.

-juice

tincup47

weighs over 300lbs more, which negates most of the HP and torque advantage over the P5. Also cruise control is not available on the TS, and owning both an 01 Subaru Forester with upgraded Stereo and a P5, I find the P5 sound system better than the Subaru's. IMO, the P5 also outhandles the Subaru (I did look at and drive the TS) and also looks better. But either choice would be very good, the differences I cite may not agree with your friends priorities or feelings.

protege_fan

Great comments guys...please keep em coming!
Oh, BTW, I should mention that he's after a manual tranny as he thinks it'll be more fun to drive.

ateixeira

I've test driven both, and the P5 may have felt a little sportier (perhaps due to the weight), but the torque from the 2.5l (Outback Sport, actually) was more accessible. You gotta rev the P5 more.

Mazda's stereos are better than Subaru's. No doubt.

What I was saying is that the AWD may be the deciding factor if the climate he's in calls for lots of snow in the forecast.

-juice

protege_fan

Snow is a factor here in Calgary, Canada. However, I've read that a FWD car w/ winter tires will handle much better than an AWD car without winter tires. Is that true?

bluong1

protege_fan: I test drove the Civic and Corolla. What's a boring cars!

What make me decide the P5:
1) reliability (I eliminate the Golf 1.8GTI because of this specific reason).
2) practical side of an hachback and 4 doors
3) fun to drive. The chassis and suspension of the P5 get reinforced in several points, and it makes the car very rigid, nothing is hardly flex. The suspension (TTL), steering, break and manual transmission gears are excellently designed. The wheels are better than average (low profile, big size, good tires)
4) look: what's a cute and sexy car.
5) interior seems to be very tight and parts are well put together. Materials used are beside any critic. Contrary to several complains in this board, my 6 month old P5 runs 11kmiles rattle free. May be I'm just lucky.
6) decent gas mileage.

I'm not looking into a AWD cars, since here in Houston, it's an unnecessary investment (car price, gas, ...).

I think the Protege/P5 design philosophy is a little bit like that of an BMW 3 model, i.e., the new model is mostly based on the old model, and the designers keep improving the car to a close perfection. That gives me a feeling of confidence on the car, even in any single details, no matter how little it is.

I think if the P5 engine would have 20-30 extra hp and coupled with a 6 speeds gear box with shorter lever, it would be a dream car. However I'm satisfied with the current performance. Other small details that I don't like: the cheap speakers. The door lock buttons should be on the side of the door.

Bruno

Sporin

2516 of 2517  Snow by protege_fan  Jan 18, 2002 (08:42 am)

Snow is a factor here in Calgary, Canada. However, I've read that a FWD car w/ winter tires will handle much better than an AWD car without winter tires. Is that true?

That is 100% true and has been proven in magazine tests.

My Pro5 with Arctic Alpins at all 4 corners is a demon in the snow and ice. Very secure and predictable.

bluong1

it's must be due to the low temperature. The gear box in my P5 is very pleasant to play with. When the car was still new, passing 2th to 3th is a little slow, but I can now confirm this is no longer true.

Sporin

The gearbox does smooth out a LOT once broken in.

mp5freak

So....did you get the kit? What is it like? Where did you get it from? I'm hoping to get one from a local dealer, but I stopped by a few and they didn't have it yet...

revka

" took an MP5 out for a test drive last night wanted to know if the manual transmission feels that way normally"

It may not be a bad idea to test drive another Protege5 just to compare.... Good luck. ;-)

Revka
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Sporin

They're doing some rants & raves over at http://www.protegeclub.com/ so I thought I'd cross-post mine here...

RAVES:

+ Price ($17.5k out the door!)

+ Handling (Incredible stock suspension!)

+ Equipment level (power everything, CD, 16" alloys & sticky rubber)

+ Reliability Reputation (Truly Japanese)

+ Looks

+ Room

+ Versatility

+ Cheap Insureance

+ 4.9% financing (for 60 months)

RANTS:

- Could use another 20hp (but I honestly don't mind it the way it is)

- The back get's VERY dirty. (a problem with most wagons)

- Aftermarket is tiny (but getting better)

ateixeira

Well, if you're going to buy snow tires, I'd get them regardless of whether you chose FWD or RWD.

For braking and lateral grip, snow tires give you the edge. AWD will probably climb an icy hill better, though.

-juice

mazdafun

Here's what is listed on MazdaUSA's owners site (no chats there, but at least it runs now):

Phone
800-222-5500 (M-F, 9AM-5:45PM ET, 9AM-5:45PM CT, 8AM-4:45PM PT).

Land
Mazda North American Operations
P.O. Box 19734
Irvine, CA 92623-9734 (Hey, nice location! Color me green with envy.)
Attn: Customer Assistance Center

Oops, I forgot to note their e-mail address. It's a hypertext link, so it naturally didn't come out in my print-out. I'll come back with a post later.

Also on the MazdaUSA site, if you click on the new models (or future) models links, you will find images (including 1024x768 wallpapers) and movies of the RX-8 and the 6. They also have a VERY COOL CG animation of the twin-rotor Renesis rotary engine being assembled and running.

viccho99

check out some pics of the p5 wing:

http://www.pbase.com/chapel/vics_car_pics

mustang87

Has anybody dynoed their car? I doubt we are making 130Hp at the crank. One guy on mazdamp3.com got his dynoed and the numbers looked really low. Any comments?

ateixeira

I saw the ring, but what's with the black steel rim?

Miatas from 1990-1993 has 116hp, but make about 95-99hp at the drive wheels. So you lost about 20% or so to figure net power. I bet the P5 puts about 105-110hp to the wheels.

-juice

theparallax

The Miata is front engine, real wheel drive; while the Pro5 is front engine, front wheel drive. If I'm not mistaken, FF layouts have more drivetrain loss due to the complexity of the transmission/engine all stuffed into the front. I'm betting the Pro5 puts about 90-95 at the wheels.

protege_fan

Hmmm...I'm no car expert, but wouldn't there be less HP loss in a FF layout because there is less loss driving the axle right under the engine as opposed to having to drive the rear axle. I would think that distance from the source (i.e. engine) would play some part in HP output.

Sporin

Average HP loss in a FWD car is between 15% and 20%. That's the generally accepted rule anyway.

protege_fan

What about RWD cars then?

mnkyboy

I noticed something scratched an area between the the driver and passenger door of my car. It is on the black strip on the drivers door, along the edge. I can see gray, im not sure if this is the primer or not. Does anyone know what i can use to fix or touch this up? Should I bring it to a bodyshop or dealer to fix it? I may post a pic later to better show what I am talking about.

Here is a pic, i dont have a pic of my car yet, but here is another P5 that I am using for illustration.

http://home.dal.net/mnkyboy/scratch.jpg

bluewolf

Is it tough to find the P5 without ABS, side airbags and sunroof? Seems these all go together the way Mazda packages them. I'm just trying to keep the price down. Looks like I could get one for about $16.5k without these options in the 5 speed.

Good looking car guys. I test drove the auto, but I think the 5 speed is just the ticket with the rev-happy engine in the P5.

Plan to buy this spring, and the P5 is one of a couple choices left on my list.

revka

For more feedback, you may also want to post (copy/paste) your question on our Maintenance & Repair board. To start, here's Detailing Experiences: share your tips or ask your questions. Good luck. ;-)

Revka
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pgill

I have a silver 5 speed without any options except for 6 CD changer. I didn't have any problems finding this car and I thought a "stripper" P5 was common as dealer had few for me to choose from. I purchased mine in December for about $16.3 plus TTL. I live in NJ.

protege_fan

Here's an snipet from an article regarding FWD that can be found right here at Edmund's:

Less distance and fewer parts between the engine and the driven wheels means less horsepower loss through mechanical inefficiency


Also, regarding RWD:

As mentioned earlier, RWD cars require a driveshaft (and dreaded interior "hump") and a differential to get power from the engine to the rear wheels. These components add extra cost and weight to a vehicle while robbing horsepower and making RWD cars generally less efficient than FWD vehicles.

The link for the article is:

http://www.edmunds.com/ownership/techcenter/articles/43847/article.html

meinrad

I asked this question a while back, but now that I'm serious I figured I'd ask again now that I know specifics. We bought a Fisher Price Stay-in-View car seat because we liked the over the shoulder strap. The base though can be a pain and is not easy to level. Has anyone used or seen used one of these in a P5? I'm not too worried about having enough space, but I'm not sure what the angle of the rear seat is, the closer it is to flat the better. I'm sure I'm going to have to take it to the dealer with me and test it out, but I thought maybe I'd find a success story here. I checked the car seat databases online but nothing was listed with that seat and car combo. We had hoped to hold off buying the new car for a few more months, but on the arrival last week of the little one, we've realized our current cars just don't cut it. The P5 is at the top of a short list so I'm hoping I can make the seat fit.
Thanks for any help and hopefully we'll be a Protege family before too long.

ateixeira

The Miata may be on the high side of efficiency because it has a longitudinaly layout. That means there are fewer 90 degree bends in the path to lay down the torque. It also has a short wheelbase, and the engine is mounted mostly behind the front axle, so the driveshaft is short.

95-99 from a 116hp engine means it loses 15-18% or so based on dyno results shared on Miata.net. This may be an exception.

The article says that RWD cars need a differential, but all cars do, including FWD. In FWD applications, they usually share the gear oil with the transmission.

-juice

Sporin

My car was 1 of 2 manual Pro5's with no options within 100 miles, so I bought it.

That was in Sept. though, and perhaps supply has changed.

douglam

I didn't get the kit (the kit won't be available until late Jan). I only got the harness. I bought it from www.autosoundgear.com . I think they ship to canada also.

I'll probably just get a Metra pocket to fit under the aftermarket head unit. That's what most people did, i believe. Some actually bought a OE pocket from proteges or MP3s, but they're like $80!!!

bigfish2178. Thanks for your help. i've seen those U shaped pullers at Walmart. I'll be getting that later. Anyway, so what did you fit under the aftermarket dash to fill up the remaining DIN space?

bigfish2178

Does anyone have more info on the p5 mid-wing? Where available? Price? etc

douglam. I didn't replace my head unit, I added an amp and some subs and accessed the speaker wires behind the head unit.

birdman_1

You just put an amp on to the existing head unit? What amp did you use, and did it have speaker level inputs? I just got a Profile Clarus CL440 with speaker level inputs, and plan on installing it when the weather outside becomes survivably warm again (no garage here in WI). Where did you route your wiring, and did you have any interference?

I hope to keep the current head unit's looks and functionality but work on the weak sound.

Drive safe you all!

mdaffron

We will be purchasing a "Pure White" 2002 Protege5 for my wife this Saturday! It will join my flawless, way-cool 2000 Protege ES 5-speed (now at 31,000 miles) in our driveway.

Anyone need to sell anyone else on long-term Protege satisfaction? Tell them there's at least one person out there (me) who's so pleased with Proteges that he has purchased FOUR of them since 1992. And I can attest to how well they do in a 45-mph head-on collision, too. And that was back in 1992 when they didn't have air bags -- just those motorized "passive restraint" belts. (Let's hope we don't have to test the P5 like that.)

Can't wait till Saturday! Zoom zoom zoom!

Meade

ateixeira

I hated those motorized mice. But glad to hear the Protege held up in the crash.

-juice

mdaffron

... plus some other pics of me (before I lost some weight recently -- ugghhh!!!) and the other Proteges I've owned. Don't laugh too hard.

http://www.geocities.com/negatize/specialty_old6.htm

Meade

krotine

Will you be driving the "new car" to mapp3 this year?

krotine

mdaffron

It'd be nice to bring it to MAPP though. And why don't we schedule a springtime meet? Why do we have to wait a year?

Hey -- I'd like to take some pics of the new car this weekend. Since I don't have a web site, would you be willing to post them on your site?

(Ya never did link my MAPP pics to their larger versions, ya turkey!)

Meade

protege_fan

Grats on the new car! I know you're gonna love it. Let us know the details (options, colour, etc.). Have fun zoom zooming!

mnkyboy

Does anyone know where i can get a diagram or pics on how to disassemble the calipers so I can paint them? I have never changed breaks before, but I am mechanically inclined.

ANY help would greatly be appreciated. Thanks.