my 2002 Protege ES (just a few questions)
 

i drive a 2002 protege es and i was wondering why mazda only put 4 gears in the car and not 5 because i can go 40 mph in first gear (thats just crazy). i think mazda could have gotten more hp to the wheels and better acceleration if they added another gear and reconfigured all the other gears. (probably did this to keep cost of car down)
anyway i think the car handles great and the low profile tires and alloy rims look good and add to the performance of the car.
can someone help me out with finding some anti-sway bars? should i do this to make the car handle better etc...? (for cheap)
i also want to get some more HP out of the lil 2.0 engine. i dont really want to add intake and exhaust becuase i think its a rip off for what you get.
what other mods could i do for cheap? (performance wise)

thanks

You might want to try ebay for a turbo chip.. They claim it can add 20 hp to a protege. Its pretty cheap I think only like 50 bucks. Try typing "mazdaspeed" in the seach box.

DO NOT BUY AN EBAY "PERFORMANCE" CHIP!!!!
With that said, try corksports.com or protegegarage.com for performance/suspension stuff. I also like the AWR sway bars, but I can't remember the web site addy. Just try to do a search. Congrats on the Protege.

Welcome to the Forum.

To improve handling, you could start off with a MSP Strut Tower Bar kit. This will fit directly on your car. You could also buy the MSP springs, struts and stabilizer bars but they are not cheap. I have all these mods and they make a very significant difference. These are all available from: www.mazdastuff.com

A cat back exhaust will give you a small performance gain. One example is the Racing Beat exhaust system but others are also available. Headers and cams are also available for your car but again, they are not cheap.

well thanks everyone for the reply's
but my parents bought it for my sister (she in college) and we are trading it back and forth. i dont have that much money dont have a job yet (im 17) and ill look those suspension upgrades up
thanks again

You want 5 gears and a cheap performance mod? Dude, you should have gotten a stick. :cookoo:

Listen to the decepti-creep. He's right for cybertronian's sake.

You think an intake and exhaust are ripoffs?? Wow, sounds like you've done your homework. :rolleyes: The obx 4-1 header is a great first mod as is the Ebay CAI. but I forgot you dont believe in those. Good luck to you.

it was originally for my sis she cant drive manual she already totalled one car