Fenris370

Well ladies and germs, I am the proud owner of a 2003 mica blue MP5.
ABS, chrome rims, leather, manu-matic, moonroof, AM/FM 6CD/Tape and wheel locks for $18.6K. And I am Happy!

I've read so many good things you guys had to say about your Protoges I went out, test drove it and trade in my still new Corolla S within a week. Compared it with the Matrix/Vibe and Focus, no comparision for the price I was willing to pay.

Now where to start with the tinkering. Preferably in gradual, non evasive stages till its paid off in a few months. I'm thinking
immediately...
1) K&N or Mazdaspeed drop in filter
2) Should I go for the full cat-back exhaust (Racing Beat, Flying Miata, Borla or Bosal?) or just the sport muffler (Mazdaspeed, Ansa)?
Next income tax return...
3) Short Air Intake or Cold Air? Ingen, AEM, RActive, HKS or K&N?
4) Lowering Springs? Racing Beat, Eibach, H&R? or just put Ground Control Coilovers?

The ultimate goal is to put a BEGI, Spool, or even better a Mazdaspeed (hopeful) turbo kit and would to slowly build a good foundation for grin inducing zoom-zoom (not to crazy) and swerve-swerve.

Being Im the rook in a roomful of experienced zoomers, I would appreciate any bit of input on any step with careful consideration...

PhotoPro5

1) I'd stick with K&N. Everything else is just a copy of a K&N filter.
2) Go with a full cat-back system. You might see 3-7hp gain because of it. Mufflers alone get you nothing but more noise.
3) I'd go with cold air. The colder the air, the denser it will be, which will make you more horsepower. Watch out for deep puddles though.
4) Springs alone are substatially cheaper than GC's. Racing Beat, Eibach and H&R all make good products. However, your stock struts should be replaced when upgrading your springs. You can wait, but the struts will blow out much earlier than expected.
5) Don't forget about aftermarket sway bars from AWR or Racing Beat.

I don't know enough about turbocharging Protege's to comment on it. But a limited slip (LSD) will aid turbo drivability.

Rider69

Must be nice Anyway, if your plans are to go Turbo, you should not bother with any of the performance mods that you have mentioned because they will be useless once the turbo comes. If you go turbo, you will probably want a bigger exhaust for that additional flow and the Injen or AEM intakes won't work. I would stick to the suspension mods until you decide for sure which way to with the turbo. If you want adjustability in your suspension height, get the GC. If you just want a modest drop, get the eibach kit. Then throw on a nice set of aftermarket rims and a larger rear sway bar.

BTW, welcome to the club and hoep you enjoy your car.

Sir Nuke

Fenris, Welcome to the club, we are all car lovers by vitue of our nature. We hope you enjoy our company, as we will certainly enjoy yours. Make your self comfortable here in our little "home away from home", feel free to delve into all the aspects of our shared passion, the Mazda Progete.

Please, when you find yourself wanting to ask a quesiton, use the search feature, and/or the FAQ (Frequently Ask Question's) to see if the subject has been covered before.....however....if your specific question has not been ask or answered, OR you would just like MORE details....feel free to post a thread, we just ask that you attempt to put the question in the most appropriate section of the board.

We also have a FOR SALE section, as well as a Vendors Area located at the bottom of the board in our "MARKETPLACE" area..

Enjoy...and once again, WELCOME TO THE CLUB.

(stash)

BTW....Rider hit the nail on the head with the progression of your mods....if you REALLY are going to go turbo....wait on the performance mods.....believe me...the car is quite zoomy without them...and if by chance you live where the roads are twisty turny....even with our limited power...they handle so well that you can leave many a car that cost 3, 4 and even 5 times as much in the wake of your dust throught a long streach of twisties....they just can not hang.

Fenris370

Thanks for the prompt response guys.
Going turbo is my ultimate goal, but i want to wait for a while till all these newly installed turbo P5 projects have been running a while to work out all the bugs.
Will the Mazdaspeed turbo kit be the model or similiar for a P5 turbo kit?

So till then, suspensions the thing, eh Sir Nuke? (btw, cool skull)
I would like to have the adjustability of the GCs, so therefore what struts are recommended for them? Photo had a good point about changing the stock struts if I lower the car with springs. Maybe I should just go with the equipment used on the suspension mods done to the Mazdaspeed. Racing Beat seems to have that covered with a similiar setup for the P5.

I would like to have some low deep growl though. I hade a TRD sport muffler on my old Corolla S and loved the sound. Could a turbo catback system be used on a NA setup for now till I get a turbo or will it mess up the emissions? Will a Racing Beat cat back modeled on the Mazdaspeed be substantial for an eventual turbo upgrade as used on their current turbo Mazdaspeed?

Shoot, I need a reason to put on some cool decals...


These questions may seem simplistic, but I want to compare your experience with any smoke my aftermarket shop might my blow to make an easy buck.