Mazda Protegé

Sporin · November 2001

In my manual transmisssion P5, I tach out at exaclty 3200rpm's at 70mph on flat highway.

protegenic · November 2001

My '99 ES 5sp tachs at about 3700-3800 at 75 mph. Meade, yours seems significantly higher for some reason.

yooper53 · November 2001

I was wondering the same thing. The guy at Tire Rack said the torque was the same for alloys or steel.

zupster · November 2001

buying from Liberty Mazda. Didn't you say once you liked Pugi? I went there several months back but all the sale people were busy. I work up in Lincolnshire and Libery Mazda is close, getting a deal close to invoice. I think they may throw in the alloys/moonroof since they can't deliver the stripped down one I ordered.

mdaffron · November 2001

Pat, this ain't a slam. It's a fact, presented here because we've talked a lot about how the Focus compares very closely with the Protege (and how the 2004 Protege and Focus are supposed to share platforms). So I think it's pertinent here.

http://www.auto.com/targetnews/articles/Automotive/11_26_2001.reutr-story-N26353572.html

BTW, I do think it's funny -- in a sad kind of way -- that Ford claims that a damaged wheel bearing will only result in a "wobble" in the rear wheels. Am I surprised? Unfortunately not, after owning one of their products.

Meade

mdaffron · November 2001

I think it's kind of silly to think that two cars with the same engine and transmission will tach at two different speeds. Maybe you should go back and check yours again. I was careful to get mine going exactly each speed I listed and then WRITE DOWN the tach reading on a pad on the passenger's seat.

The only discrepancy I may suggest is, are you still on the stock tires that came with the car? If your tires are ever so slightly larger, they'll go farther and make the car go faster per turn of the engine. (I'm on my stock Potenzas which are down to the treadwear indicators, so maybe my engine's revving a little faster to go the same speed.)

Hmmm ... This might be an interesting little study here. Tell me what brand and size tires you're using, and how many miles are on them. Let's see if tire wear can equate to a couple of hundred rpms at 70 mph!

Meade

chicagopro · November 2001

Pugi? No, that must have been someone else. I bought at Jacobs Twin, and wasn't overly thrilled with the experience (or the price I paid), but the service dept. there seems pretty decent.

Good luck with your purchase!

shrique · November 2001

I drove around last night on the Dunlops and I was pleasantly suprised. I know that in the wet sloppy stuff around MPLS they did pretty well. Personally Im' going to run them for the first winter and then next winter I will probably spring for some snow's. HOWEVER I do reserve the right to buy some this winter if they stink in lighter fluffier snow. (GRIN)

fowler3 · November 2001

Ask your dealer if they accept the S-plan. If they do, go online to http://www.eaa.com and sign up for the S-plan, cost $40. You can call an 800#. You will get a PIN number, give the PIN number to the dealer. Ford sponsors the EAA and owns part of Mazda.

Meade: I had my car on cruise control to make sure it stayed exactly on the speed/rpm. It has the OEM Bridgestones.

yooper53: You could paint the steel wheels silver with Krylon spray paint. Easy to do when they are off the car. Use newspapers and masking tape to cover the tires. Allow to dry overnight. Or look for aftermarket wheel covers are parts/supply stores. Maybe find a set that uses the lug nuts to hold them on the way Civic covers do.

fowler3

mdaffron · November 2001

But I was addressing that comment to Marty. Obviously the 2-liter engine is going to tach differently from our 1.8s.

Meade

maltb · November 2001

The EAA is tired of being used as buying service but they will give you until 11/30 to get on the S-plan. After that, you will have to wait a year to get a PIN.

http://www.eaa.org/communications/eaanews/ford_partner.html

If this is Greek to you, just go about your business.

vocus · November 2001

I don't know why they would be complaining about increased membership. That makes their books look good.

mdaffron · November 2001

OK, this is getting weird. I'm about to contradict myself here. I just finished an exhaustive search for the rpm comparo this group did about a year and a half ago. My OWN post back then shows a major discrepancy between my posts of July 2000 and November 2001! Hopefully this link works. Check out my post at the top of the page:

mdaffron "Mazda Protege 4" Jul 20, 2000 3:59pm

Now, assuming I wasn't drunk either then or last night, then maybe we CAN conclude that tire circumference can play a big role in rpms/mph! At the time of that post, my Protege was scarcely a month old with brand-new stock tires. Now, 28,000 miles later, those same tires are still on the car but are worn to the treadwear indicators -- meaning they're probably about 3/4-inch smaller in circumference. Now, I'm no math wizard, but I am smart enough to figure that a tire with a smaller circumference is going to go a shorter distance in one turn than a larger one, therefore, my engine now has to spin faster to go the same distance at the same speed!

Is my logic correct? And for extra credit, would that affect my rpms at 70 mph by as much as 200 to 250 rpms?

No matter what, I will DEFINITELY take note of my rpms at 70 mph just before I put on my new Yokos in a month or two, and then take another reading after they're installed. Should make an interesting little study!

Meade

protegenic · November 2001

I am certain of the 3750-ish rpm at 75 mph and it has not varied too much since I have had the car. I am still on the stock Potenzas (although I am planning to get the T4's next week) with about 28K miles. Your car still seems to run at a higher RPM regardless of the tire wear. Don't ask me why!

We'll have to compare notes on the Yokos after you get them. They seem to match pretty well with what I am looking for and the reviews seemed pretty positive.

mdaffron · November 2001

Great -- I'd like to hear your personal review of them after you get them. I'm still probably a month or so from getting mine. Are you getting yours from TireRack? If so, I'd like to hear of your experiences dealing with them too.

Maybe it's not that our engines are running at different speeds -- maybe the stock tachs aren't the highly accurate instruments we're believing they are! Maybe just good for reference only -- still an interesting dilemma, however.

Meade

protegenic · November 2001

Yep. I have a little extra cash this month since we get to skip the December house payment due to re-financing our house. Figured I better do it now while I have some spare change. Besides, last time it rained here, I had more excitement than I wanted on the Potenzas. They don't really look that bad, but they were really dangerously poor on the slick streets. I am not going the Tire Rack route on this since a local shop sells the Yokos. All told, it will be right at $400 for the new set and installation. Probably a little higher, but worth the piece of mind to have a shop I can [non-permissible content removed] at should things not go well.

nematode · November 2001

01 Protege ES 2.0 (auto): 70mph = 3000-3100rpm. I set my cruise control there every day. At 3900rpm I'm near 80mph.

vocus · November 2001

My 01 Protege ES was automatic too, and it ran around 4000 rpm at 80mph.

I did notice something weird though. I changed to synthetic oil at 7500 miles, and the rpms at 70 mph went from 3000 to 3100. I thought that to be strange, with synthetic oil to be the only difference.

On the synthetic note, I couldn't tell any difference between regular and synthetic oil and dyno in the engine. No quieter or better fuel economy, in my opinion. I hope the new owner puts in synthetic like I did, but bet they won't.

doctor_r · November 2001

I hate to say it but none have you have obviously driven in Regina. The potholes are almost big enough to swallow my P5. I've hit a few nasty ones already and nothing seems to be worse for wear. I'm just glad that winter is coming so's the potholes are all covered up. (makes driving much smoother in this city.

check this out: http://www.clubsask.com/

We've received an average amount of snow and ice so far. The dunlops seem to handle decently on the ice, (actually a lot better than I would have thought.) I now have synth in my P5 and notice the cold starts to be quite a bit better (a lot less engine noise while running for the first few minutes). I guess I will really test that tommorow morning, it's supposed to hit -28C with the wind chill tonight.

R

dinu01 · November 2001

That Sask site is pretty funny! Don't know how it related to the Pro, but definitely worth checking out.

As far as potholes go, I've been in Mtl this summer and I can honestly tell you I got a sore throat from swearing at how bad the roads are. Haven't been to Regina yet, but I'm not sure you can rival Mtl with road "quality". The local gov't didn;t have $ to pay for fixing the potholes, so they spray-painted a circle around them so motorists at least could avoid them. How's that for public finding?

Dinu~

elec3 · November 2001

That was me who liked Pugi. My Pro5 is from there as is my dad's B2300 (formerly my B2300), my mom's Tribute, and my little bro's 626. I guess you could say we're a Mazda family. I would highly recommend Pugi as a good place to deal with though I admit we probably get better than average treatment having bought 6 vehicles from them.

zoomzoom79 · November 2001

Quick question: I have right at 6300 miles on my 01 ES ... it seems that any time I shift gears at low speeds I am getting a squeaking noise from around the shifter. It seems to be getting more frequent. Any ideas?

newcar31 · November 2001

I agree that this slushy stuff isn't that bad, but when it gets just a *little* bit colder I am confident that the stock Dunlop SP 5000s won't be able to handle it, especially when its icy out. I have driven a friend's Celica with blizzaks in the snow and ice and they are incredible. I guess I just don't see a 50 series tire being all that good in the winter and I am somewhat surprised that Mazda would put this kind of tire on a $16K sedan....I am not complaining though, I like the stock Dunlops.

protegextwo · November 2001

Well, I'm back from a family vacation to visit my Dad and his wife, over Thanksgiving. My wife, son and I caught a flight from Baltimore to Fort Lauderdale, last Wed. and returned home last night. My Dad lives in Key West, so we rented a car and drove down the Florida Turnpike to famous Route 1A and south thru the Keys. We had an awesome week in paradise and a great Thanksgiving with my Dad and his wife. Glad to be home and needed to catch up on 200+ posts here! Hope everyone had a safe and joyful Thanksgiving!

-Larry

mdaffron · November 2001

First of all, to Larry -- Happy Belated Thanksgiving! I'm glad you had fun down in Margaritaville. Now get back to work. Oh and the check's in the mail. (BTW, you shoulda waved as you passed over my house. Or was that you I saw ...?)

;-)

OK everyone, I think I had a real case of the brain farts the other day -- or I WAS actually drunk when I looked at my odometer the other night. (Hey, it WAS a long day.) I checked again last night and this morning, and here are the REAL figures for my 2000 ES 5-speed:

60 mph: 2950 rpm
65 mph: 3200 rpm
70 mph: 3450 rpm

Sorry for the confusion. I think these fall more in line with other 1999 and 2000 ES 5-speed owners.

BTW Paul, changing your oil will have NO effect on your engine rpms. Gears don't magically change size with a different lubricant. Nothing you can do to your car, other than going into your gearbox and swapping out the stock gears for gears of a different size, is going to change what speed your engine revs at a certain mph (other than shifting up or down a gear).

Meade

protegextwo · November 2001

Would you do me a favor? When I updated my AOL account, I lost my e-mail address list. Would you please send me, your e-mail address? Thanks in advance!
:-}

-Larry

mdaffron · November 2001

Or, I'll make it easier ...

mdaffron@the-rma.org

Meade

P.S. BTW Larry, when did you move to Germany?

Sporin · November 2001

All right.... so I've sone some research on the AC/Defrost issue. Sitting in my garage last night, idlling, temp set in the middle, fan on 1, AC button not lit. Cycling through the settings, I confirmed that the AC compressor kicks on with Defrost, Defrost-Feet, and Feet. But not with Face-Feet or Full Face.

My manual says nothing about this. It only says to turn on the AC when defrosting. No mention of it doing it automatically. This is in the manual for my '02 P5.

Now you can make an argument for the Defrost settings, but why Feet Only?

vocus · November 2001

I found that out about my 2001 ES about 4 months ago, by accident. I was idling one time, switching through the modes. I think it's weird that the compressor would come on in the "feet only" position. No need for it there. Oh well.

shrique · November 2001

It still drives me nuts that you cannot recirculate air in defrost mode. I thought the switch was busted until someone at the service center (was there for another reason) pointed out that it was fine and would work in recirc mode if you had it in something other than defrost.

I looked and it wasn't in the manual. Jeez. (GRIN)

protegextwo · November 2001

Meade

5980 of 6133 Fowler,... by protegextwo Nov 17, 2001 (06:27 am)
Jim, both sets of my Grand Parents spoke Penna. Dutch. My brothers and I are in the process of tracing our heritage thru our family tree. Turns out, as we expected our heritage is Penna Dutch German. Our forefathers left Germany and moved to the settlement of Fleetwood Pa. in and around 1835. Just flying the German flag to celebrate my heritage. I will resume with "old Glory" soon, however!

-Larry

mdaffron · November 2001

Now, I don't want to start a "heritage war" here, but my friend, now more than ever we need to celebrate the fact that we are AMERICANS. Living in Richmond (the Capital of the Confederacy, as it was) we're still fighting the Civil War here -- or at least it feels that way sometimes. I am frankly tired of those who proudly proclaim their own heritage over their nationality. We're AMERICANS, dammit. Sure, I'm of French-German ancestry myself -- but you won't see me flying those flags at my house. It's time for this nation to unite on a common front!

(You can stop the background fife music now.)

Meade

marnwine · November 2001

Must be an athletes foot preventative measure by absorbing all the moisture in the air prior to blowing it on our feet.

Boy, they think of everything at Mazda!

protegextwo · November 2001

Now, I don't want to start a "heritage war" here, but my friend, now more than ever we need to celebrate the fact that we are AMERICANS.

-Meade

Meade,I respect your opinion, nonetheless, I disagree with your premis, my good friend. IMHO, the flag you fly, the religion you worship, etc. are not relevant to your patriotism. Just my 2 cents, but than again my wife tells me; I know nothing! :-)

-Larry

mdaffron · November 2001

I can handle that, since we are friends. And friends have differing opinions -- that's what makes life interesting!

So I'll drop it. (Guess I have to anyway -- I'm sure Pat already has zeroed in on this infraction of Town Hall on-topic etiquette!!!)

Back to Proteges! How's yours doing since it got -- er -- "tired?"

Meade

protegextwo · November 2001

It's gettin fixed again, next week! I'm kinda heartsick over the whole fiasco. $550.00 down the drain. Sometimes life just ain't fair? On the brighter side, I have a great family at home and lots of blessings to be thankful for!

-Larry

protegextwo · November 2001

I really don't think Pat_Host interferes, unless a post or two becomes a big thread in the discussion and gets everyone off topic. I
love my country and my Protege!!! Now lets talk about Mazda Protege's!

-Larry

ashutoshsm · November 2001

He He, that was a funny comment - about the Athlete's Foot prevention!

In my 95 (just thought I'd mention it), Mazda didn't sumb anything down - you are free to use all combinations of the recirc, defrost and AC modes, with every directional setting of the fan.

On a side note, my rear defroster (or atleast the instrument panel indicator for it) doesn't seem to be working any more. It flickers sometime, and I can't tell for sure if the heating element wires running through the rear windshiled are doing their job. I'll check, and if they aren't - any suggestions on how I should open either the panelling in the dashboard or near the windshield to take a look at the wiring and confirm its all fine? How important/effective is the rear defrost anyway - wouldn't having the AC on, the heat high and blowing on face or face-feet defrost all interior surfaces anyway? Does the rear defrost exist to help with snow OUTSIDE the rear window?

Hmm, I just remembered that I installed a CD changer back there some time ago, perhaps I jarred something loose then, and didn't notice until I used the rear defrost switch when it (finally!) snowed last weekend.

protegextwo · November 2001

I bet nobody can guess or believe what make/model of rental car, I drove while in the Keys? Here's a hint, my weekly rental was only $105.00 plus taxes.

-Larry

notminehers · November 2001

Ford Focus?? No....with it's latest recall you would still be stranded in the "Keys". That is what I rented last time in L.A. for about the same rate....Greg

elec3 · November 2001

I actually saw an old Geo Metro the other day and was thinking to myself that it was an awfully small car and starting to show its age. Then I looked down and saw the license plate holder which said simply, "Don't laugh...it's paid for." I couldn't argue with that so I went on my way

Meade: I agree with you and yet I don't. The problem is that there really is precious little "American Culture." With the exception of Native Americans, everyone here came from somewhere else and brought with them food, language, religion, culture. America is such a diverse nation and I like to think that without our diversity, we'd be a much more boring place. On the other hand, it would sure be nice if people would emphasize being American over being . It doesn't bother me that people wish to preserve their national heritage after moving to America but it DOES bother me when people fail to acknowledge that they are living in America now and not wherever they came from. I fully expect any American to understand the language and law of the land as well as the freedoms and responsibilities of being an American. It bothers me when I'm working in Chicagoland, USA and someone gets angry at me for not speaking Spanish. I don't suffer from typical American syndrome - I'm bilingual, but Spanish isn't one of them. It bothers me when my dad goes into WalMart and the cashier doesn't know what to do with a $20 bill because it's the old kind from before the redesign. It bothers me when someone in El Paso, TX flies several Mexican flags and not a single American one at their house. But that is their right, and the beauty of our American system.

As for my Protege5, I was hoping to take it out in the snow today after seeing some flurries last night but in all, we only got a tenth of an inch and it was all gone before noon. Probably the most snow we'll see all year - the price one pays for living in the desert

newcar31 · November 2001

When my 2001 ES was being fixed I decided to take up the offer of a free rental car "equivalent" to what I was driving. What did they give me as an "equivalent"? A Chevy Metro *without* power steering. I don't want to be the guy who complains about a free rental, but I found that rental to be far from "equivalent" to my 01 ES....so they gave me a Corolla.

protegextwo · November 2001

It was not a Foci or a Metron. It was worse, hehe!
Yet, it wasn't all that bad either? Come on you guys can guess. Now remember, $105.00 for a week car rental over Thanksgiving in South Florida?

-Larry

silentguilt · November 2001

How about an Accent?

sandman46 · November 2001

Living in South Florida we see a lot of these as rentals lately.

protegextwo · November 2001

a Kia Rio!!!

fowler3 · November 2001

Here's my report after making a 407 mile trip today. I checked the tire pressure a got all four to 32psi.None were below 30 when I checked. Topped the tank and took off.

It was a great trip and, now, I fully understand why you guys like stiff suspension. My '01 Pro LX 2.0L goes around mountain hairpin curves like it's on rails. No bouncing, no bumps, no leaning in curves, and always well above the safe posted speed for the curve. (Other cars)

The trip involved 10 hours driving time, 14 hours total time out. And here's the surprise, with the A/T it got 36mpg! Average speeds 55mph to 62mph. Hey, those were very twisty mountain roads with reverse camber on many of them. Reverse camber is when they are banked the wrong way.

One nasty one was a 90-degree turn at the bottom of a very steep, straight downhill grade. Flashing amber lights on warning signs for truckers not to exceed 40mph, big signs with graphics showing trucks turning over. I was so busy going around that curve I couldn't afford to glance at the tach or speedo.

It's on these kinds of roads that FWD shines. Don't brake. Hold what you have, and at the apex (halfway point of the curve) give it more gas so the FWD pulls the car through the curve and out. Passed most everything else on the road. Zoom!

By the way, that seatcover shop that was going to make a lumbar cushion for me ( est. $65) never called. I took an old, small pillow, and bought a foam pad for it. Cut the foam to 11-inches square. It worked perfectly for my trip, NO back pain at last! Cost $7.19.

Now for some sleep. Got six hours sleep last night and it's now 18 hours later. I'm bushed. Glad I don't make many business trips.

fowler3

protegextwo · November 2001

Nice report on your road trip. Good for you, my friend!

-Larry

mdaffron · November 2001

There. That got your attention. Actually, it wasn't a Protege problem. It was a POORTENZA problem. I got home yesterday after my 20-mile commute from work, having noticed that SOMETHING felt a little amiss with the handling of the car ... almost felt like my butt was sliding ever so slightly SIDEWAYS on the road. I thought I was again under the influence of whatever I was under the influence of when I took those tach readings the other night.

Well, I got home, took in some stuff from my trunk, and when I came back out to the car, the cause of the problem was staring me flat (pun intended) in the face! My rear left Poortenza was FLAT as a PANCAKE!!!

I had my first fun experience with my donut spare. Actually the tire change went quite fast -- I had the whole thing done in about five minutes. Then I was off to my tire dealer, where I was charged $8 for the repair of not one, but TWO nails! Now, a question ... How do TWO nails get by your front tire, only to impale your rear tire?! (Actually, I guess the front tire kicks 'em up from laying on the pavement just in time for the rear tire to take on the duty of pincushion.)

Oh well. Those Yokos are looking MUCH more attractive today.

BTW, a few hundred posts ago I was raving about the durability of TOYO tires. I was astounded to see that my donut spare was a TOYO! (You'da thunk since the rest of the tires on the car are Bridgestones that Bridgestone would've worked out a deal with Mazda to provide the temp spare too. Oh well! I feel I've got a first-rate temporary spare, fwiw!!!)

Meade

fowler3 · November 2001

Meade Gets Nailed! LOL Just kidding.

By the way, I left out all the stops I made on the trip. When it's a long drive, I make frequent stops which turns it into a mini-vacation, sort of.

Stopped for breakfast. Stopped to buy homemade banana bread for Christmas, two loafs. Stopped for dinner at a great place where you can eat all you want for $7.50. I had roast beef, chicken and dumplings, pasta salad, 3 vegetables, wonderful breads, and two desserts: banana pudding and chocolate cake. Yummm. Would you beleive I'm losing weight?

fowler3

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