The Old Guy

Hi everyone,

I'm probably the oldest person here. I just bought my P5 a couple of months ago and I love it. I want to make some mods to it, but since it's my first Mazda in a long time ( I had RX2s, RX4s, RX7s, R100, Cosmo etc) I don't know much about it. I would like to start with the performance. ( I removed the air intake silencer and put synthetic oil in it and it feels a little stronger ) What do you guys suggest for a cat back system? Are there any headers out for the p5s? Does anuone makes a turbo for it? Any suggestions will be great. Thanks

Eric F

I think Bosal is working on a stainless steel cat back exhaust for the Protege5. It might be done already. The Protege5 is several inches shorter than the sedan, so you will need an exhaust specific to the P5. Bosal makes ceramic mild steel headers for the FS engine in the Probe/MX-6/626 cars which has a connection for the EGR pipe and one O2 sensor. The headers will replace the first cat on your engine, so you will need to add one behind the header if you don't already have another one. You will need to and a bung to the exhaust pipe after the cat for the second O2 sensor. I have the Bosal exhaust on my '0 ES sedan and I'm very happy with it's quality, performance, and Bosal customer service.

jking

Bosals Cat-Back Stainless Steel

Part # 112-214 Federal emissions.
Part # 112-215 California emissions.

4% HP increase to wheels. (4 hp to the wheels)

Eric F

Jeff, are you sure about that 112-214 part number? Bosal's website shows that being for a Mitsubishi Eclipse.

jking

This is exactly what the wrote in the e-mail

Jeff,
We have a full polished cat back exhaust available.
Part # 112-214 Federal emissions.
Part # 112-215 California emissions.
Here are some good mail order companies.
Exhaust Systems Technology 973-464-2719 *
Summit Racing 1-800-230-3030
Strano Performance 1-800-729-1831
Olympic Imported Parts 1-800-370-0041
Hp gains we've gotten a 4% increase over stock at the wheels.
Thanks
MICK

Protege5online

Whatever the part number is, I have the bosal cat backs for the Pro5 ready to ship right now if you want it. Its 385.00 shipped in the US (MSRP is 500.00). I think its a great system & I dont even have it on my car yet (will soon). I've just been very impressed with bosal & the loyality of their customers. I've talked to many Bosal customers with the cat back on their pros that can sell the exhaust better than any salesman. They love it. So I went to bosal & talked to them & was very very impressed. So I set up dealership & Im now ready to sell it. E-mail me if you are interested. And to answer your thread about other performance parts, I have the Injen cold air intake coming in within the next 2 weeks. This will be a very good mod. Other than that, besides some good Iridium plugs, there isnt much left. Im trying to find a header that isnt over priced.

The Old Guy

Guys
Thanks for all the feedback. If anyone has the Bosal catback system installed in their P5, please let me know how you like it.

Protege5online

Why did you go with the racing beat exhaust & how much was it? Also, What about the Eibach springs or the Ground Control coil overs (if you want adjustable). Eibach seems to be one of the best springs on the market.

Protege5online

I understand only wanting 1" drop. I havent yet decided how much I want my dropped but I dont want much. The Eibach is a 1.5" drop but I dont exactly know how much that would drop it. It may be too much for me as well. Im still waiting on Racing Beat to reply to me about how I can go about setting up dealership so I can start selling these parts. I have asked multiple times & I never get an answer.

Eric F

Good choice. I have the Eibach Pro Kit springs and MazdaSpeed adjustable struts already installed. The Eibachs only drop the sedan about 1.2". it might be slightly more for the Protege 5 because of the additional ~150lbs. That may also be true of the MazdaSpeed springs though. No one can tell you exactly how much they will drop your specific car, just an estimate. Since they are both made by Eibach, I really don't there is much difference, so I went with the Eibachs because they were less expensive. The MazdaSpeed struts are great. The adjustability is great for a street car. You will still need a larger rear anti sway bar to achieve neutral handling though. I have one designed by AWR on order through Mazda Motorsports now. It's .75" thick with .2" thick walls.

obender66

Difference in weight is 80 lb. Because I weigh 125 lb, difference between my P5 and "average" 4 door is 20lb
I ordered Racing Beat springs for the same reason-they offer very small drop-just .75 front, 0.87 rear. Looks like they decided that it's not cost effective to have two separate sets for 4 and 5 door . Well, I'll wait and see, according to tracking info they are in customs. I hope they didn't cheap out and sell me Intrax-like crap.
Alex

YANGU23

I was thinking about going with a 1" drop as well. Any suggestions on which to go with, the Racing Beat Springs or the MazdaSpeed? How much are the Mazda Speed springs and where did you get them? Anyone else out there that has put new springs on?

Eric F

The MazdaSpeed springs are $365 on Corksport. They should also be available from Mazda Motorsports, and they might be cheaper from them. I have seen a price on the Racing Beat springs yet. They should both be excellent springs, but I have a hard time justifying the extra cost when Eibach makes the MazdaSpeed springs and Eibachs only loer the car about 1.2". I have the Eibachs on my '00 ES and I've had no problems with bottoming the suspension or chassis on anything yet.

Protege5online

Called H&R today & springs are available for pretty much all pros I think. I know for the 3rd gen since thats what I was mainly looking for. Im going to try & figure out my price on them tomorrow.

StuttersC

Racing Beat had to modify the front struts to handle the thicker sway bar there. They also had to modify the rear suspension for better ground clearance and beef up the strut mounting to accept the bigger bar.

You would have to modify your struts in order to accept the bigger MP3 bars, otherwise you risk damaging your suspension. That's a bad thing.