New to the Protege Word
 

I just got a 2003 Protege LX (my 85 CRX finally died) and I had a few questions.

I was on the mazdausa.com site and noticed that the 2002 accessories have the Performance stuff such as the Strut Tower Bar, Stabilizer Bars, blah blah. Are the upgrades for the 2002 model the same as for the 2003?

I assume they work on the 2003 as well but you never know. Which of the upgrades would you recomend me getting first? My car came with the Sport Exhaust on it already and I am not quite sure if it has any of the other accessories on it. I know it does not have the Strut Tower Bar though ( that one is easy to see :) ).

If I was to buy thr products through my Mazda dealer about how much does it cost for the to install it?

Hey Guys thanks for the help. Hopefully I'll be seeing a lot more of you guys :)

Good news, yes they all fit the 2003. Bad news, many if not most dealers can't get those parts anymore. MazdaSpeed handles that now I think. Maybe you can get them at an "Authorized" MSP dealer, I know my local dealer cant cuz their Customer Service Index is in the toilet, apparently a requirment to be a MSP dealer. If you can get the tower brace, do it yourself. And odds are it'll have the wrong Cruise Control bracket in the kit. Good luck :)

Thanks

Yea I have read about the bracket problems. The Mazda Dealer I bought my Protege from is a MSP dealer so order from them shouldn't be a problem :)

So the tower brace is easy enough for a novice *as in I know how to do stuff like change my oil and general maintaince* could install it?

you shoudl be able to manage, also you might just be able to find someone with a speed or P5 who's looking to upgrade. It'll save you a good bit of money. and fortunately this is an install that's got little potential for causing warranty-related issues. matter of fact they may not even notice it's out of place. So yes do it yourself friendly. VERYmuch so.

If the Mazda people do it as opposed to me would it void my warrenty still? I am kinda worried about voiding that warrenty. I think I would be able to put it on myself but I don't wanna mess up the warrenty in case something else goes wrong.

The only way to mess up the warranty is if the part you installed directly causes the problem needing warranty work. Check out the Magnuson-Moss Act for further information. Also, these are official Mazda parts...they come stock on many other trim levels. Chances are they will never void your warranty. Plus, just the strut bar and stabalizer bars....you would be fine without them, so I don't see them causing any trouble whatsoever. The strut tower bar on my car was my first modding experience ever. Nice and easy job, just follow the directions. The rear sway bar isn't too bad, but the front is a bitch! Good luck and happy modding!

EDIT: http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/...s/warranty.htm

Thanks :)