Jomero

Never in my wildest dreams did I think there was a place where Protege owners convened to talk about their cars. But, I should have known better!

I've owned a '96 Protege LX since 1998. It's been a great car and very good to me. Great gas mileage, smooth ride, virtually zero problems.

A couple months ago, some punk broke into my car and stole 3000 dollars worth of CDs, my 200 dollar sunglasses, and attempted to rip off my head unit (stereo deck) but only succeeded in mangling it beyond repair. This was the price I paid for feeling safe all these years and not taking precautionary measures (not leaving stuff in the car, making copies of my cds, etc).

Well, the bright side of this story is that it made me decide to make my ride sweeter than it ever had been before. I had been listening to the stock speakers for years. Since I ripped my entire CD collection to MP3 to listen to at work, I decided to get an MP3 player and get a stereo system that played those songs better than my CDs ever sounded.

To make a long story short, once I got "upgrading my car" in my blood, I couldn't stop! Once my car sounded better, I wanted to make it look better. I tinted my windows (legal tinting up front, limousine tinting in the back), got blue halogen lights for my headlights and parking lights, and got a pimp-ish license plate holder (nope, plate doesn't rattle after some modifications).

I do have two questions for you guys though. I am thinking about improving my gas mileage even moreso. I know that a lot of modifications that other people do to make their "rice burners" go faster also help save gas if they drive conservatively (which many don't). I am not interested in making my protege going super fast. If I wanted to race cars, I would have bought a faster car and upgraded that! No, I am wondering what would improve my gas mileage BUT not make my car much louder. Sound Quality of my music is very important to me, so any outside noise that is added to what I have is something I don't want. So, loud exhausts, to quote Monty Python, "are right out." How well do after-market air intakes work, and is this something I may be looking for? Where are they purchased and for how much?

I've begun sound-deadening my car and eventually plan to do my entire floor/firewall. Still, I would prefer not to have any extra noise already on top of what I have to work with (unless it's barely, barely noticable).

What would you guys suggest, knowing this? Where can I order your suggestion (or would it be something that local shops may have), and what is the average price for the piece in question?

Also, one of the things that was stolen out of my car was my entire glove compartment contents, one of which was my owners manual. Do you guys know of any books that show how to take apart my entire car? I saw someone post scans of a page about how to take off a headlight and bumper. I am looking for a book like that, and I think even my owners manual wasn't very detailed. I remember owning a "Chilton" for my old Chevy Cavalier. I'm looking for something like that for my Protege! Anyone know where to get one, and what prices are?

Anyway, I appreciate anyone's help and suggestions. Is nice to meet you fellow Protoge owners. Now I don't feel so alone in the world! Heh.

Take care.

-Jomero

turbonium959

Hello, and welcome. To address one of your questions, about better mileage. If you install an intake on your car, you are supposedly should have a better mileage. Though our vehicles are equiped with Air Temp Sensor, and from personal experience, by removing it from stock air box, reduces the mileage noticebly. But for some people it worked the other way. Read a thread I started a while back about intakes and mileage here . Good luck!