HELP! Dont no what im doing!!!
 

Hey there,

I need some help, suggestions, advice anything.

First off I have a 1998 1999 protégé se, I don’t know what year it really is, the sticker on the door frame says 98 but the dealer and others say it was "made" in 98 and is the 99 model, i wanna clear this up once and for all, does anyone know?

Second, this car was my moms and i just got it, now id like to put some guts in it without spending to much (under $1000), i was thinking supercharger of some kind. What do i need, what’s good, what’s gonna last? I’m handy but no mechanic so i can handle a pretty basic install but that’s about it. I'm also hard on my stuff so i need something that wont brake, im already worried about the transmission :sad:

Any advice would be awesome! Thanks

well u aren't going to be able to supercharge it for under 1000 dollars thats for sure. In fact u probably won't be able to gain even 20 horsepower for under a grand. Welcome to the life of a Protege owner!

It's a 99...You shouldnt consider forced induction if you are worried about something breaking....If you only have $1000 to spend, I would look at Intake/Headers/Exhaust and be done with it ...You have a 1.6L or 1.8L ???

i donno where do i find that ? i think 1.6L the car has no up-grades so thats what i would assume. I was actually thinking of forced induction cuz it was cheep and looked easy to install. (atleast on ebay under $100) i hope im thinking of the same thing, lol, it said electric super charger and its attached to the air filter so logically forced induction makes sense?? if i did intake, headers and exhaust how much extra hp could i expect? and what does that mean, i assume fuel intake, piston heads and exhaust, lol but what gets done to them to improve over all performance?

wow..you're original post makes sense now....the electric superchargers are crap..they DONT work.....Intake, as in AIR intake with a cone filter to increas air flow..Headers, as in aftermarket exhaust manifold to increase air flow, and Exhaust as in aftermarket exhaust pipes and muffler with a larger diameter to increase air flow...expect maybe 15whp with all 3

PLEASE do dome research before slapping parts on your car...you could either break something or just waste a whole lot of money

oh ya... DO NOT buy an electric supercharger! a real supercharger runs into the thousands of dollars range and isn't even made for your car. electric supercharger = wasted money.

wow, ok well im learnen, soo could i do all 3 under $1000 or will the quality of parts be crap? if so id rather wait save up and then spend more on something better.

well you can get the header for about $385 from Kargoboy(gary),along with the soon to be offered exhaust he will be doing a GB on too, or there are other caback exhaust options available for about $400....intake can be had on ebay for about $100...what's that work out to ??? Like $885....All easy bolt- on's, even for a novice

Welcome...and yes, please do a lot of reading and learning before you go about bolting things up to you engine! This is the best place on the intraweb to learn about your car.
By the time you catch up, I'll be doing another Group Buy for Headers and Exhausts for your car--(Header is 285.00 BTW).

typo...

chemicals
 

well thanks for all the input, due to money the most ive done so far is put in a k&n hi flow filter which was shocking how much of a difference that made! But now i think i should have just went to a cold air intake but maybe later. Right now ive got a question about engine chemicals, what works, is there anything you guys use and would recommend using, ive heard stuff like zmax is crap so is there a preferred type of oil or something...???

Thanks

the type of oil/filter you use isn't nearly as important as the CONDITION of the oil/filter you use.

Make sense? If you're running a 30weight oil just use a good 5w-30/10w-30 and keep it changed on time. If you want to you can spend the extra money on synthetic like Mobil1 or Royal Purple but you won't notice any differences.

new engine
 

thanx for all the help so far, ive been trying to figure out what i want to do with that stupid 1.6L peace of shit engine and i think instead of wasting my time trying to tune the hell outa it with turbos and what not ill just replace the dam thing with a 2L or something bigger if possible and then maybe turbo that at a later date. i just wanted to get some feed back on this idea.... and also if somebody could tell me what engines will fit in there? i know the 1.8&2L will fit but is there a 2.3L or something maybe a 195hp 626 engine?????

thanx again

You have not been reading, my friend...the 1.6L is crazy-boost-friendly.
Do NOT swap it for something else if you want to turbo it.
You really really need to read "Maximum Boost' by Corky Bell. Then re-read it.
By the second go-round and reading more about the 1.6 on this forum you will understand why you should boost the 1.6 and not worry about swapping in a different engine.
Swaps are not that easy, the HP gained:$$spent is not worth it.

If you really just want a bigger engine, buy a different car.

ohhh, lol i keep getin dif info from people i asked a parts place about boosting a 1.6 and he said i could gain up to 75hp with some serious engine mods and then i went straight to mazda and talked to them and they told me that theres to many problems that will arise and that it cant take the heat and may explode under the high psi, also that with all that torque it will bend the cam shaft!!???? this is really getin confusing lol i can get my hands on a good condition 2L for 1grand or so but i dono now i guess lol AHH!!