Mazda Protege5

Sylvia · November 2003

The Protege 5 discussion(s) appeared in both Hatchbacks and Wagons for a while. It was moved to Wagons since it is classified as a Wagon at Edmunds.com (4 door Wagon/Compact Wagon) and not as a Hatchback.

The majority of the members browse by make/model and not by message board (wagon, van, hatchback) so rest assured, people are getting to the Protege5 discussion.

bluong1 · November 2003

but then the 5-door Mazda3 remains in the Hatchback board? Weird! well may be not weird, but rather inconsistent.

meinrad · November 2003

"eh no, the 6 hatch doesn't have "substantially straight rear door". So my definition still hold for the Mazda6"

eh, yeah, and your point is?

6 hatch is a hatch, 6 wagon is a wagon. P5 has a back like the 6 wagon, so to me it is also a wagon. The p5 doesn't resemble the 6 hatch in any way.

Sylvia · November 2003

Edmunds.com classifies the Mazda3 (depending on the style) as a 4dr Hatchback.

I'm just going by the site classifications...it gets murky in the coupes/hatchbacks, hatchbacks/wagons, mini-SUV/wagon vehicles.

As I said, the majority of people browse the message boards by make/model and not main category (vans, sedans) so people do find their way to the right discussions.

ashutoshsm · November 2003

Ray said The p5 doesn't resemble the 6 hatch in any way.

What a load of ^%&&*&)*

What about the gull-winged M logos on the front and rear?

The 4 wheels? (which have similar 5-spoke designs)

And, and .... you get the point.

nickg4bruins · November 2003

This might be the wrong board for this question but does anybody know what size the lug nuts are for the P5? Im putting my snows on this weekend and want another set of lug nuts and they didnt come with my tire/rim set from tirerack. NICK

dinu01 · November 2003

HA HA!

Wagons: The P5 is a HB by all means. A wagon is a larger HB. What's a HB? A small wagon. Yeah it's pretty murky

Dinu

bluong1 · November 2003

12mmX1.5

nickg4bruins · November 2003

Thank you

novascotiap5 · November 2003

I have a 2002 Protege 5 , we have 23000km and it is super. as is our Dealership (Kentville Mazda) here in Nova Scotia We feel we are lucky to have a dealership who are willing to go that extra distance to keep a customer happy nuff said. Question ......When I look at the US advertisements ,the roof rack on the P5 looks streamlined and sleek however the one offered here in Canada is clunky and does not suite the car ....Any suggestions?

bobinwi1 · November 2003

nickg4bruins
I've seen the ads from the Tire Rack & need to change out the Dunlops for the winter. What did you get from them? I only saw 15" tires for the P5 & I assume I'm not the only one with 16" wheels/ tires. How bad did they nail you for freight? I can't decide whether to go local or mailorder & I'll need to do something real soon.

jmcknight2 · November 2003

- I got Pirelli snows from Tirerack mounted on alloys in the 205/50 - 16 size, about $ 900. They are relatively quiet and handle nicely in wet and dry conditions. Haven't had snow yet! -

nickg4bruins · November 2003

I got Pirelli winter 210 snowsport 195/55HR15 mounted on steel rims. I can't comment on the ride because i havent put them on yet, but have heard good reviews about them. dropping down to 15 inch saved me about $15/tire and the speedometer difference is minimal. The shipping cost is what got me, $90 to NH. Im going today to find some lug nuts, which i wish came with my wheels. Price your package online including shipping and then go and get a quote locally including mounting and balancing before you make your decision.

boggse · November 2003

I am not sure what to tell you Gray. We used to be able to add the Roof Rack as an accessory in the US, but now that doesn't seem to be an option any more. You may be able to call some US dealers to see if they have any still in stock. Some people have reported minor rust issues with their roof racks. Perhaps the US model isn't designed to handle Canadian winters?

meinrad · November 2003

Tire Racks 15" package is pretty nice and is easy to deal with. Get it shipped and put them on. It might be a bit more expensive due to shipping, but it is darn conveniant.

But you could look around local if you have places around that you want to deal with. You probably would save some money.

If you don't want to buy wheels and you don't want to change tires sizes there are some that come in stock size. Pirelli 210 Snowsport, Toyo Garit HT, Yokohama AVS Winter V901 all come in 195/50-16 and are available from 1010tires.com. Not cheap and you still have shipping and mounting to deal with, but at least you have those choices.

Since I have a brand new set of all-season this year, I'm going to try and make it through winter. But I'm on the look out for another set of OEM alloys to put snow tires on next year.

novascotiap5 · November 2003

Thanks for the info Ted ,I will Be taking a little hop to BC next summer ,perhaps I will take a look south of the home line and take a look.

bobinwi1 · November 2003

Thanks for the feedback. I'll see what I can dig up locally Friday. $90 shipping seems kind of steep.

cogs25 · November 2003

I was unsuccesful in a search for any previous discussions of this option. So, I have two questions.
1) For those who got it with their car, what do you think, good and bad?
2) If I was to purchase one from Mazdastuff or elswhere, can it be installed by me, or is it something for a real mechanic to do?

Thanks.

cdnp5 · November 2003

I'm not sure what you are planning on using your roof rack for but the Cdn model (which I have) is already Thule compatible (square bars). So if you are getting the rack for bikes/kayaks then you won't need any adapters. But if its for a roof box, they go on almost any bar design.
I understand what you mean about the look/design though. Once our bikes are on the car I tend to forget about the look of the roof bars because the car looks even better with bikes (or kayaks) on top.
Plus, if you are going to put bikes on your car, go to Canadian Tire as they have a Thule bike set that comes with two bike holders for $190. Its worth a look.

cdnp5 · November 2003

My P5 and I have been travelling around the USA for the last three weeks and have had an amazing time. I've driven from -280 to over 11,000 feet in elevation. Have had hot days, some cold days and even a good snowfall in Colorado while crossing one of the passes. I put my snows on before leaving as I knew I would be in Colorado (which isn't much fun now as I'm in California) plus you never know what the weather will be like when I return. The car has been amazing giving no problems. By time I return home (London Ont, Canada) I should have approx 98,000 kms on the car. Not bad for just over two years of driving.

dinu01 · November 2003

98K is a lot for 2 years but I had almost 40K in my first year with the PRO, so some of us drive it quite a lot.

Glad to hear the PRO did well and I can inly assume you had a great time.

Dinu

boggse · November 2003

I have the auto dimming compass mirror on both my Miata and Protege5. Previously, I had one on my 2000 Jetta.

1. Very good and worth the money. 2 thumbs up!

2. It came installed on the Protege5. I added it after the fact on the Miata. If you feel comfortable running wire through the headliner and firewall, it isn't very hard. My Miata was not pre-wired. I assume the Protege5 is the same way.

Ted

cdnp5 · November 2003

Thx Dinu. Most of my driving is hwy from all of the trips that we do (hiking, biking). I have a couple of pics with the P5 in it, at sea level in Death Valley (can't drive to the lowest point you have to walk so I choose this spot) and the entire front covered in snow and ice after coming through a mtn pass in Colorado. Yes, the times are great. Last night I got to come through a mtn pass that was nothing but short switchbacks (think Corsica rally), never got it out of second gear but it was sure fun!
Sorry to hear about your weather back home. Or should I say that I will be sorry to be back in it soon. LOL.

bobinwi1 · November 2003

After some hunting around locally. I placed an order with tire rack for 4 Michelin Alpins on steel wheels with wheelcovers. They come mounted & balanced so all I have to do is slap them on. Theres a $40 rebate form on the Mich. website. Best I could do locally was $125/ tire mounted & balanced & I still had the original wheels so I'd have to pay to put the OEM tires back on in the Spring. Total price for the new tires & wheels was just under $575 for p205/50/16. The P195s are a freak size, I suppose I'll be replacing the alloy wheels when the Dunlops need replacement. Thanks to all for the feedback.

gabrielmoza · November 2003

Hey Guys,

I've been following this board for about 2 yrs now, and I think that this is the best web site. Thanks to you guys, and mostly my Romanian brother Dinu, I purchased my first new car, which is a 2003 Mazda Protege 5. It's laser blue, and according to my dealer I got the second last one in Ontario with 5-spd and AC! So far the car is awesome. It handles better than my old 95 Integra, but it's not as fast. I think that's because I haven't really pushed it yet, as I'm trying to break the engine in. Anybody have any suggestions on how to break in the engine. So far, I haven't driven it on the highway, and not above 80 KMS per hour yet, and I hvent revved it past 3700 RPM. It only has about 1200 kms on it. Any advice?!

protege_fan · November 2003

I'd start driving it a bit harder now. The specified break in is,IIRC, 1000 kms.

bluong1 · November 2003

Congrats! You ony wonder about the break in after 1200 km? I think it's too late now, hope you vary your cruising speed now and then during the first 1000 km. Also go easy with your brakes, the pads and rotors still need time to be fully adjusted with each other. Always be be light with right foot when the engine is still cold (no need to warm up the engine without driving, just take it easy for the first 5km or so). Don't forget to change the oil and filter when the due time comes, probably around 6000-7500 kms for most people (please check the manual and you driving condition.) Wax the car once every 6 months. Use the pressured water hose to clear any road dirk accumulation when you wash the car, and don't forget the bottom: wheel axles, brakes, ... especially during winter time.

dinu01 · November 2003

Congrats!

I would write to you in RO but Edmunds doesn't allow it.

After 1200kms like Bruno said, if you took it easy, the P5 is ready for a little fun. I barely held off for 800kms or so when we got the PRO in 2001 and now at 68.000kms it's a "smooth operator"

If you park outside, when parking overnight, take your snow brush and clear as much of the ice and snow as possible from the wheel wells - I had some ice that formed inside the rear well and on the rear supension parts that didn't allow ANY rear suspenion travel last winter!!! Had to go to a DYI car wash and spray warm water to melt the ice - not fun.

Besides that, Mazda recommends an oil change at 8000kms - I do it at about 4000-5000kms and I also do the coolant flush at b/w 40-48K along with changing the spark plugs. As for the air filter, check it every few months. I would change it when it's contaminated.

Enjoy the P5! I see you got a 5-spd. Excellent choice!

Dinu

PS: I usually hang around the Mazda3 boards now that I want to get a 3 this summer.

gabrielmoza · November 2003

Well so far, I have been doing all that. Varying my cruising speed, not using the brakes too hard, as it is a 5-spd. Waiting for the car to warm up for 5 minutes or so. So I think that it should be OK. I was going to take it easy until about 4000 kms or so, after my first oil change. One thing I really like is that it handles so well. So much better than my lowered integra. Really surprised me. I also love the colour, which my wife picked out. I was gonna get white but she said we should get blue. All in all so far, I've had no complaints about the car. Well I'm gonna check out the modification boards. I could barely wait 4 days before I got some mods for our ZOOM ZOOM. CYA!

mazdadude · November 2003

Hey P5 lovers;

Have not posted in a long while. Currently got 25,000 miles on my '02 silver automatic P5. No problems to date. My original Dunlops wore down to the wear mark at 25,000, even after proper rotating schedule. Mostly city driving here. Opted to replace with Falken 205/50/16 ZE 512s all around just before Thanksgiving holiday. Took the advice of earlier post. That post was right on the mark when it stated that P5 no longer drives like it is on rails with the Falkens. Higher sidewall of Falkens to blame, I suspect. Just returned from a 400 mile trip on the new Falkens and no problems. (At a gas stop, someone was checking out my car and grinning ear to ear; "That's one sharp car you got there.")I had no problems with the original Dunlops, except the early wear out. Ride on the new Falkens might be a tad softer, but Falkens fall short of the Dunlops on responsiveness and handling. If you like quick, sharp, rail-like response to your steering wheel inputs, forget the Falkens. The front end lags now with my sharp jerks of steering wheel and the rear end swaggers some; never did that on the Dunlops. I understand Falkens are better traction-wise, but in the sunbelt, not as much an issue. Hope this input helps. Falkens are quiet on the interstate at up to 75 mph. Still loving my P5 and after reading up on Mazda3 and the Car and Driver report, not that anxious to trade.... later

bobinwi1 · November 2003

gabrielmoza
Congrats on your 1st new car. Over the years, we've had quite a few bought new & IMHO, the P5 has the best balance between fun to drive & practical as any car I've owned. Good luck with it.
mazdadude
There was some complaining in earlier posts about the Dunlops wearing out. I think this normal for sport tires. My prior car was a Sentra SER that came with Goodyears. They stuck like glue & were toast at less than 30K miles. Thanks for tip about the Falkens. Wouldn't the sidewall be the same for all 50 series tires? I thought the 205 referred to the tread width & the 50 to sidewall. Once you get some wear on the Falkens, they may get more responsive.

bluong1 · November 2003

Wouldn't the sidewall be the same for all 50 series tires? I thought the 205 referred to the tread width & the 50 to sidewall.

well, "50" means the tire wall is 50% of the width. As the Falkens is wider (205 vs 195 mm), its tire wall is therefore 5 mm taller.

gabrielmoza · November 2003

I'm not surprised that the Goodyear tires suck on this car. When you buy an economy car, the tires ussually suck. I'm hoping that they will last me through the winter, then I'm going to get some Toyo FZ4's. I had those on my old Integra and they were really awesome.

irishbk · November 2003

Greetings all! Just bought a silver '03 PR5!! I'm pretty excited about it.

As part of the deal, I got the dealer to throw in the moonroof wind deflector for later installation. (since I wasn't sure if I definitely wanted it or not). Can anybody comment on what it takes to install the deflectors Mazda is currently offering? I've heard some say it's a clamp, other say it's an adhesive and still others say it's a drill-in style. Anyone have any conclusive answers? I'd like to be able to put on and take off if I don't like. Thanks alot!!

protege_fan · December 2003

They make all 3 styles out there...it really depends on what your dealer has in stock. You'll have to see what kind they use. I know for sure they make one that is a clamp style that doesn't require drilling.

dwryter · December 2003

Many thanks to mazdadude and others who report on their tire-replacement experiences. There's no other good way for the rest of us to know how our P5s will drive on particular tires when we need to make the change except for first-hand reports such as these. Since the car's fast turn-in and rail-like cornering is important to me, I now know to cross the 205/50 Falken's off the list of potential replacements.

the_big_h · December 2003

about the effect of oversizing tires on stock wheels on the handling of mazdadude's P5, then I realized Falken doesn't make the ZE512 in 195/50/16. By making his tires wider AND taller all at once, the driving feel of his P5 has been noticeably altered. The ZIEX, by itself, is a very very good tire.

I'd highly recommend searching for OE size tires if you want to keep the same steering feel as your current Dunlops.

www.discounttiredirect.com have a wide selection of tires, they should definitely have the less common 195/50/16 size your P5 needs.

good luck.

bluong1 · December 2003

I'm in the minority of people who opt for 205/45R16 (Miata tire size). In the process I loss 5 mm in the side-wall, thus the steering feedback and acceleration doesn't suffer. But it causes me some problems with the french authority in importing my car.

ashutoshsm · December 2003

They're new, much hyped and much-praised by those in the know, cheap (same pricing as Falkens) and available in the elusive 195/50-16 size.

http://www.toyo.com/tires/tire_lines/high_perf/proxes_4.html

Your main problem may be finding a local dealer, because Toyo refuses to resell through online tire superstores, apparently.

boggse · December 2003

OOoohhh! Nice! We have a new front runner for the replacement tires on my P5. The size 195/50R16 in this tire get an 88W load & speed rating. That should mean even better handling. Drool...

Ted

meinrad · December 2003

1010tires.com has them but not in the P5 size.

The 205/50-16's which is the size Falken's I bought are $110 each which is $29 more than I paid for the Falken's.

They do have the Proxes TPT in 195/50 size, but they are $108 each. Still significantly more expensive.

But it's definitely good to have choices.

reitrof · December 2003

I got mine from Sears in 195 50 16. They did price matching with Tirerack even though Tirerack does not carry the same size. I just brought in a printout from their website. They do not carry the tires in stock but they ordered them and had them in a week.

bluong1 · December 2003

http://www.rallipesakond.ee/rain/mazdamovie.wmv

(Save the link then play)

cdnp5 · December 2003

Since you have these tires, are you going to write a report about them.

reitrof · December 2003

Well cdnp5, in short Fantastic.

I have the 195 50 16 size and a buddy of mine has the 205 50 16 size on a P5 as well.

I was up in Quebec over American ThanksGiving and drove in dry, wet, slush, snow, and ice and they performed very well. I find in dry they handle better than the orignal Dunlops. Snow handling was very predictable. The car felt sure footed in the snow and slush. On the ice, which was also during heavy cross winds, the car handled well, breakway when it happened was controlled. I was also towing a small trailer, along with my wife and 2 teenagers and luggage. At some points I was passing other cars that wouldn't use the other lane.

I am running them at 34 PSI front and rear. So far very happy. My buddy is also very happy with his in dry and snow handling. I have had them up to 100 mph and they felt great, not has good as my Kumho 712's but that was to be expected.

bobinwi1 · December 2003

Just had 205/50 16s on steel wheels put on tonight. FWIW, the sidewalls have snowflakes & igloos all over them but not the snow on the mountain symbol; I found that odd. So far they seem fine on dry roads. Snow anticipated by the morning. I'll report how they manage that later. Very curious tread design & seems like a very soft compound. It'll be interesting to see how they wear over the winter.

ginto · December 2003

My OEM Dunlops were wearing down after 36K kms, and I was fearful about going through another winter on them in the Toronto area. Roads here are normally quite snow- and ice-free in winter, with dry and slush the norm, but dedicated winter tires are still the way to go. Besides, I figured I'd save my precious V-rated rubber by burning up cheaper dedicated snows instead.

My local tire dealer recommended Sava Eskimo S3 tires. Never heard of them. I did a search on the internet, and found they are manufactured in Slovenia. No reviews anywhere, good or bad. The dealer said he'd been recommending them for a couple of years with good feedback, so I went with them. By the way these are snowflake-in-mountain designated and H-rated.

I decided on going minus-1 to save a few bucks, so ended up with the H-rated 195/55-15's on Panther alloys. (I really really really detest the post-apocalypse look of the black rims.) All-in price, including mounting, balancing, taxes, etc., was C$1000.

It has only snowed once since I've had them on, and I didn't get to go out much, so I can't really say how good the tires are just yet. In dry conditions they squirm a bit more than the OEM tires (which I expected), and are less stable at 130km/h. I must admit, when the snow was falling, I had this weird urge to go drifting in a parking lot for fun.

I'll report back when I've had some more time on this combination.

Ginto

Sporin · December 2003

Just checking in from the great white north.

48k miles and not much new to report. I have an early 2002 P5, Silver, 5 speed, no extra options. Am 110% happy with the car. It's been perfectly reliable and has help up well. I will keep it a long, long time I suspect. Kudos to Mazda.

I replaced the stock Dunlops at around 36k with a set of same size Kumho Ecsta's and was VERY pleased with them. Quieter, with better grip in the wet and the dry. GREEAT tire at a great price. They are a bit more square shouldered then the Dunlops so they even "look" a bit bigger, filling up the wheel well nicely. I considered going slightly larger but eventually decided to just stay stock size and not mess with success.

Be careful come late Fall though for those of you (us) up north. These are NOT a high performance "all-season" like the Dunlops. Temps below 40 or so and they are hard as rocks with NO grip in any sort of slush or snow. Change to your snows a bit early. I run Michelin Arctic Alpins 205/50 16s on steel wheels for winter. Starting my 3rd winter with them and they are incredible still.

Just bought an old Range Rover Classic for offroading so the P5's reliability will be a nice constant.

later all,
dave

erics6 · December 2003

About to join the P5 fold. I've looked at a couple used P5's, and the inside of the oil cap is a white color. Almost like the plastic has changed color. Is that normal?

bluong1 · December 2003

in the oil cap is the sign of oil contamination. This happens when the car is driven in short trips and the engine is not hot enough to evaporate the contamination. Not a good sign.

Mazda Protege5

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