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Mazda Protege5

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Comments

  • anz36anz36 Member Posts: 2
    I took a look at the rims and they're just standard no-name 5 1/2 JJ x 14 inch steel rims. Hope this helps.
  • little9little9 Member Posts: 30
    For those who looked at the Pro5 and the Elantra GT, what led you to buy the Pro5? Reliability history, shape of the cargo area, what?
  • boopoppaboopoppa Member Posts: 48
    got my car from Don Allen.
    went to Carnegie Mellon U.
    currently at WVU School of Med
  • mnkyboymnkyboy Member Posts: 108
    Well, first things first. Mazda is a better company, IMO. Next, if you like style, the P5 wins hands down (damn the elantra is fugly!) If you just want a car to get from point A to B, then the Elantra GT might be your pic since it has a long warranty. Hyundai hasnt been around long enough for me to trust them yet...
  • dwryterdwryter Member Posts: 87
    Greetings, fellow P5 owners. I've got a couple questions I hope you don't mind answering, ones I hope haven't been answered dozens of times here already. I don't see a FAQ.

    1. Tire recommended pressure is 32psi. The dealer had about 36psi in them at purchase. What is the optimal pressure for good handling without making them go bald even more quickly than their owner?

    2. How long did your first set of tires last, with what did you replace them, and are you happy with the new ones?

    3. Will removing the horizontal roof rack rails decrease that infernal wind noise when the moonroof is flipped up? (I sure hope so.)

    Thanks in advance for your words of wisdom.

    - Dwryter
  • mnkyboymnkyboy Member Posts: 108
    1. Tire recommended pressure is 32psi. The dealer had about 36psi in them at purchase. What is the optimal pressure for good handling without making them go bald even more quickly than their owner?

    Well, I have 32psi in my tires, since this is the average pressure on most compact cars. Too much pressure or too little pressure is bad for your tires...

    2. How long did your first set of tires last, with what did you replace them, and are you happy with the new ones??

    Well, I only have about 2500 miles on my P5, so I have awhile before I have to replace them.

    3. Will removing the horizontal roof rack rails decrease that infernal wind noise when the moonroof is flipped up? (I sure hope so.)?

    Yes, removing the roof rack will decrease the noise, even elminate it most of the time. I recommend you buy a moonroof deflector. They are about $40 bucks. You can buy it online at www.mazdastuff.com. I have no whistle with the roof rack off and the deflector on.

    As for your question about FAQs, www.protegeclub.com has a great FAQ for the P5.
  • sunbyrnesunbyrne Member Posts: 210
    I briefly looked at the Elantra. The vinyleather is awful, and I didn't like the handling nearly as much as the P5, and fit and finish didn't exactly wow me.
  • estoesto Member Posts: 136
    I see the Dunlops can take up to 51 psi (!?!). Has anyone had them above 32 psi (attempting to get better gas mileage)? Any comments? Thanks.

    Erik
  • krotinekrotine Member Posts: 93
    Dealership: Don Allen (jeff pepper / al white)
    College: Univ of Pitt - Johnstown
    Job: estimator at Limbach Company
  • douglamdouglam Member Posts: 67
    I'm running at 36 PSI. Runs great! Definitely improved handling a little. Not sure about the gas mileage though because I drive my P5 like I stole it. (after since I had 5K miles on it and the engine has loosened up a bit). yep, revv to redline whenver I get on the highway on ramp :)

    But probably need to slow down a bit because of increasing gas prices :(

    Anyway, i've been running 36 PSI for like 3 mths now and no signifcant noticable increase in tire wear. As you said, the max pressure is 51 PSI, so I don't see it'll be a big problem as long as you keep it under 40PSI. (to account for the increase in pressure when the tire heats up)
  • pciskowskipciskowski Member Posts: 155
    I've had really good luck with mazdadiscountparts.com. I got the cargo tray within one week. It is great! I definitely recommend getting one. Their prices are slightly less than mazdastuff.com.
  • birdman_1birdman_1 Member Posts: 14
    I just caught a spot on the P5 on Car and Driver's TV show on TNN.

    Naturally, it got GLOWING reviews. They did sorta make it seem like it is only available in yellow (a good lookin color, though).
  • mudflatmudflat Member Posts: 47
    The optimum tire pressures for a given car are selected by the car's manufacturer. It's generally what has been determined to give the best compromise between ride and handling. You can play with the pressures to suit yourself, but be forwarned that if you run the tires too hard or too soft you'll affect their longevity, as well as create other problems.

    If you want to improve gas mileage at the expense of most everything else, put on the skinniest tires you can find, overinflate them, and change driving habits. Is this worth what gets sacrificed in the process?
  • tinytorytinytory Member Posts: 6
    I was wondering if anyone knew how extended warranties are priced. Is there a dealer markup on these as well, or does the money go straight to Mazda?

    I was thinking about possibly asking the dealer to throw in an extra year or two of coverage as a bonus. However, I don't know what sort of wiggle room dealers have on warranty prices
  • estoesto Member Posts: 136
    I too am finally now a P5 owner; bought a "Saturday ad special" yesterday. It's a red 5-speed with moonroof and polished alloys. My calculations show me I got a price that's "internet invoice" (i.e. no regional ad fees) minus the $750 rebate. I'm very happy with it (so are the wife and kids - an important consideration :-) ). This is my third Mazda, all of them on the same basic "compact" platform: I started out with a GLC Sport (in Canada) back in the early 80s, then a 323 sedan that's 15 years old and still running strong, and now the new P5. I hope the P5 will be as trouble-free and reliable as my GLC and 323. I spent a lot of time looking at various 4 door hatches/wagons, including the Elantra GT, Focus ZX5, Impreza TS, Suzuki Aerio, and Golf TDI. It was hard deciding between them, they all have some very good points. I finally said screw it, I know Mazdas, and got the P5 (the good price didn't hurt either). I'll keep you posted on how things go.

    Erik
  • SporinSporin Member Posts: 1,066
    Finally got my steel rims and snow tires off. Sprayed them good with PB Blaster the night before, then drove gently up and down my driveway a few times with loosened lug nuts to break them free.

    The Arctic Alpins were nothing short of AWESOME this winter, but they sure were noisy. Glad to be back to my quiet, summer rubber and sexy alloys.
  • meinradmeinrad Member Posts: 820
    I really liked the GT and especially the price. The kicker for me was at 6'2 I could not sit in the backseat of the GT without hitting my head on the roof. I don't have that problem in the P5. Even though I usually drive, I was looking for a car that could haul my friends comfortably and the P5 fits the bill.
  • mdaffronmdaffron Member Posts: 4,421
    OK everybody -- it's official. The third installment of the infamous Mid-Atlantic Protege Picnic will be held on Saturday, May 18 at a beautiful, new state park in the mountains of northern Virginia. For more information, go to:


    http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mazdaprotege


    Last October we had more than a dozen Proteges of all generations and about 20 people. Let's go for 20 Proteges and even more people this time! Food, fun and fellowship at MAPP III -- mark your calendars and let me know (on the Yahoo group) if you plan to attend!


    Meade

    Moderator, mazdaprotege group on Yahoo! Groups

  • douglamdouglam Member Posts: 67
    Anyone know how the car manufactures determine the optimal tire pressure? I'm asking because the car manufactures don't make the tires, so how can they say that we should keep the tires at a certain PSI? I'm sure the optimum pressure is also determined by the tire itself.

    For example, the recommended pressure for our P5s is 32 PSI. But if i were to do a plus sizing on my wheels (get larger wheels, lower profile tires, maybe wider too). Should I still use 32 PSI?
  • protege_fanprotege_fan Member Posts: 2,405
    Just guessing here, but I think it has to do with the vehicles weight, suspension set-up, etc. and that determines the "recommended" tire pressure. Tires themselves can handle a range of pressures.
  • little9little9 Member Posts: 30
    Thanks for the feedback.
  • meinradmeinrad Member Posts: 820
    to check my gas mileage. 80/20 city/highway and I (and my wife) got 29.5 mpg.
  • the_big_hthe_big_h Member Posts: 1,583
    Since this IS a Pro5 forum, I figure there'll be more responses/reactions here regarding this sport wagon comparo done by Motor Trend in its latest issue. Anyone that read it has any comments?
  • bluong1bluong1 Member Posts: 1,927
    I brought my 10 month old P5 to 15 kmiles service this morning: oil change, oil and air filters change, tires rotations (2th time), tire, break wear evenly, battery is OK. Everything is OK.

    Bruno
  • jim_loves_carsjim_loves_cars Member Posts: 190
    I thought it was a fair evaluation of the three vehicles. The P5 suffers from a lack of power but is otherwise a great value. Nothing new there. The WRX is a tiger and the Matrix is an attractive-right-now boyracer wagon that offers all the benefits and detriments of the Celica GTS drivetrain (a wheezy but powerful engine mated to a mushy 6-speed gearbox).

    I appreciated the fact that the P5 was the only car of the three that doesn't require premium fuel. For the amount of mileage I drive a year, the difference between regular and premium fuel is a car payment (about $400).

    And I think the P5 is the most handsome (and conservative) of the three.

    Also, a heavily-optioned P5 runs about $5,000 less than the WRX, sips regular gas and has lower projected maintenance costs. It's clearly the value "winner." That said, I'd buy the WRX wagon in a heartbeat if I could afford one. :-)

    -jim
  • bjewettbjewett Member Posts: 62
    I also thought it was ok. Of course it wasn't a "fair fight", but as pointed out, the mazda costs a whole lot less. And I can agree with them that if the P5 had another 20-40 hp (or even just 10) it would be that much more desireable.

    Also, the may issue of road and track reviews sport wagons. The P5 isn't a part of the regular comparo but a sidebox talks about the under $20k alternatives and calls the P5 the best in that price range, and says the rear-seat room and comfort exceeds the WRX.

    The WRX is an impressive car but if you read the WRX boards you get the impression people are getting less than Epa mileage. Picture long trips at 20-25 mpg of premium gas (prices expected to rise this summer) for a car costing $6-7k more than the P5. Still, if you can live with the cost difference and the turbo lag (some say you have to stay above 3000 rpm, some say 4000 rpm) it is apparently a ball to drive. I'm going to test drive the P5, WRX and some other cars.
  • barresa62barresa62 Member Posts: 1,379
    Yeah, the gas mileage takes a beating when you're mostly stop and go and hitting the turbo boost continually (around 3k). I have 13.5k miles on my wagon and the worst mileage I've gotten is 15.6 (all city, all boy-racer takeoffs...couldn't help myself, LOL). The best is mostly freeway at about 70mph avg; 24.7mpg. Having said all this, would I get rid of the WRX for better mileage...no way in Hades! :-)

    Stephen
  • shriqueshrique Member Posts: 338
    I stopped by my dealership for my first oilchange and they actually had one of these in stock. I brought it home and was going to install it when I realized that it's held on with double-sided sticky tape. I was wondering if I should bother sealing the edges with a little silicon or something. I just don't want dirt and grit getting under there over time and wearing out the paint on the top of the bumper.

    Does anyone think it's worth bothering with to seal the edges?
  • seamus53seamus53 Member Posts: 13
    I also read the Motor Trend article and thought it was pretty fair. There really isn't a bad wagon in the bunch. I was surprised to see the WRX (even with its 17" wheel/tire upgrade)and its AWD traction finish behind (if only slightly)in the handling tests.

    On the other hand, I wish they had tested the Outback Sport or TS Wagon instead of the WRX. Either of those two would have made a more comparable and interesting price/performance choice when testing against the P5 and Matrix. Seems that with the Subarus, the WRX steals all the attention from the OBS and TS, which are fine cars in their own right.
  • silver_bulletsilver_bullet Member Posts: 1,339
    If you are worried about damaging the paint on your bumper, I don't think I'd put one of these guards on the car -- when are you ever going to look under the guard again? The double-sided tape is quite strong, and might possibly damage the paint in the long run more than trapped grit.
  • protege_fanprotege_fan Member Posts: 2,405
    If you put that bumper guard on, forget about taking it off. After years of having it on, the adhesive will destroy the paint underneath. I think the bumper guard is a "permanent" mod.
  • barresa62barresa62 Member Posts: 1,379
    I find it funny and a bit uninformatively random that the testers chose to get the 17"BBS wheels from the dealer and not also get the 20mm rearsway bar from the WRX sedan (a measly $87)to replace the inadequate (IMHO)17mm std rearsway bar. With this change you would have seen a higher slalom speed. I have both the 17"tire/wheels (albeit, not the overpriced BBS ones) and the sedan's 20mm rear sway and I can tell you it transforms the WRX wagon. It's easily the biggest bang for the buck!

    On a similiar note, the WRX is designed w/a large amount of suspension travel due to its rallying pedigree. This tends to hamper the slalom speeds. Not to whimper or make excuses for the WRX but slalom speed is only one small part of the handling picture. Mind you, the slalom course is on smooth tarmac. Put all three vehicles as tested on less then smooth rodes (can you say "real world")and you will see the WRX well on top. :-)

    Stephen
  • pciskowskipciskowski Member Posts: 155
    They were really politically correct. I think they referred to the styling of the Matrix as "quirky" or something like that instead of "butt ugly".

    They also made it seem like the Protege5 is only available in yellow.
  • the_big_hthe_big_h Member Posts: 1,583
    in case anyone missed my tirade on the Protege sedan board...

    the_big_h "Mazda Protegé" Apr 8, 2002 10:24pm
  • bluong1bluong1 Member Posts: 1,927
    Are those stock Dunlop tires unidirectional? If yes what is the easiest way to check if they are mounted in the right direction?

    Thanks,

    Bruno
  • silver_bulletsilver_bullet Member Posts: 1,339
    All unidirectional tires have some sort of marking on the sidewall showing the correct direction of rotation. For tires that have an "outside" and an "inside" mounting surface, the sidewall will indicate which side faces outward.
  • bluong1bluong1 Member Posts: 1,927
    Actually I don't see any marking on the side wall after a quick look this morning, however the tire grooves are sort of oblique, i.e., they are designed such that the water should enter from one side and exit to other. I wonder if it's matter to correlate each of those sides with the inside/outside. I know the answer from most pedestrians, but still want to get a second opinion from drivers. ;-)

    Bruno
  • barresa62barresa62 Member Posts: 1,379
    Re: Motortrend article. And for once, the WRX wasn't described as having the looks only a mother could love! LOL!

    It seems I always see the P5 tested in the yellow color and any WRX tested in the Rally Blue. Like you said, it's as if no other colors exist.

    Stephen
  • douglamdouglam Member Posts: 67
    For the Dunlop SP 5000's, there are 2 thread patterns -- Asymmetric and Symmetric:


    http://www.tirerack.com/tires/dunlop/du_s5000.jsp

  • deputy3deputy3 Member Posts: 1
    I recently purchased a blue P5 with an automatic (used), and I love it. I noticed that many of you are looking for performance upgrades as I am. I came across a pretty good site and thought you might be interested.

    www.protege5online.com
  • mdaffronmdaffron Member Posts: 4,421
    I put one on my wife's Pure White Protege5 about a month ago. Yes, that tape is quite strong; it's a permanent addition to the car. The way it's made, the edges curve slightly to form a pretty good seal -- not perfect, but pretty good -- around the edges. We installed it to keep the baby stroller from scratching the white bumper when we're putting it in and taking it out of the hatch. If you want to see some pics of it, I've got several from up close and far away in the Photos section in the Yahoo! mazdaprotege group. (There's a link to the group in the next post.)

    Meade
  • mdaffronmdaffron Member Posts: 4,421
    For more information, go to:


    http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mazdaprotege


    Meade


    (And yes, I WILL be counting down to it each and every day.)

  • bjewettbjewett Member Posts: 62
    Re: motor trend - isn't it interesting that the P5, "despite" the yellow color, ended up on the cover rather than the WRX and Matrix?

    Perhaps we can blame mazda for the yellow everywhere. When a magazine solicits a car - does Mazda ever hand them a blue P5? Yellow stands out, but isn't for me.

    Re: performance upgrades: I gather we don't know yet whether a turbo kit will ever be offered for dealer installation? The 'performance options' now look like suspension and visual options only.
    Does the muffler buy you anything in performance without ECU modifications?
  • protege_fanprotege_fan Member Posts: 2,405
    As far as I know, changing just the exhaust will make you some gains. Probably not very much, but some.
  • the_big_hthe_big_h Member Posts: 1,583
    this guy here put one on his P5 and he loves it. He's got pics of them too, take a look!

    http://www.protegeclub.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=5007
  • mnkyboymnkyboy Member Posts: 108
    Yellow may not be "your thing", but it catches more peoples attention than a plain colored car (like blue). I own a Vivid Yellow, and it truly is an attention getter. So why wouldnt Mazda advertise this one, versus a blue/black/white/red/silver one? Toyota advertises its Blue/Silver color most of the time, since its different.

    One word, Marketing.
  • shriqueshrique Member Posts: 338
    I just gave up and put it on. As usual I was over thinking the decision. (GRIN)
  • mdaffronmdaffron Member Posts: 4,421
    Will you please explain to me then, why Dodge INSISTS on advertising EVERY FREAKIN' CAR IT SELLS in RED? Man, that's starting to get on my nerves!

    ;-)

    Meade
  • cdnp5cdnp5 Member Posts: 163
    I only glanced at the MT article about the P5/Matrix/WRX but I thought the the WRX would win. I guess when you factor in money it does change things. I also agree that they should have used the Matrix XR and the Subaru TS as these are very close to the same price as the P5 (and close to the same HP). I know that in Canada the WRX cost $35,000 which is $15,000 more than a P5, I think the XRS is about $26,000 which is $6,000 more than the P5. Considering this the P5 did exeptionally well. I imagine if I had a lot more money I would be driving a WRX right now but since I don't the P5 is the best for my money. On a side note, the sun is finally shining here in London Ontario Canada and the temp is about 15C which means that I can finally take off my snow tires. A couple of days ago I parked my silver P5 in front of my house and come outside to find a blue P5 parked in front of it. I go to my indoor beach vollyball game and come out to find a yellow P5 park a couple of cars away. Somedays you don't see any, other days they are everywhere.
    11,000 km and loving every one of them.
  • shriqueshrique Member Posts: 338
    I think the WRX would have been closer in price had they not added the $3000 wheel upgrade. An upgrade I may add that you could do for far cheaper on your own. (GRIN)

    I think your right though if they would have done the comparo as a sport-for-the-money comparo they would have chosen the P5, XR, and the Subi TS wagon. In that comparison I think the P5 would have won hands down.

    Has anyone found a place that actually dyno-tested a catback on 2.0 liter engine either in a Protege or Protege5? I would like to know what a $350 cat-back will do for me.
This discussion has been closed.