Protege 5 issues
 

I agree on bang for the buck. This car is "total package". I think Mazda pulled off a "Wolfsburg edition" for a Japanese car.

However, my friends have a 2002 Protege 5 (wagon) and have two big issues. First is the ride. The suspension is way too stiff for that small of a car (wheelbase) that is a daily driver. It is like riding a buckboard trailer. Every bump and road crease is painful. Second is with the roof rack. The wind noise is non-stop and gets progressively worse at higher speeds. Like a wind tunnel she says.

Is there a way to correct the ride? Maybe use Protege sedan shocks/springs?

They are considering a fairing or moon roof MOD to correct the excessive wind noise from the roof rack.

Thanks for any feedback.

The wind noise is a known nuisance, she can either remove the roof rack or get a moonroof deflector. Both will improve greatly if not elimate completly this nuisance. As for the suspension, it is the first time I hear a complaint about it. And no using the sedan will not fix the problem has they are virtually if not the same (heard of small tweaking to take into account the different weight distibution of the two cars). The only thing I can say is that the suspension is one of teh major reason the car handles so wwwweeeeeeelllllll.

Raptor

Optiums, you won't find anyone here complaining about the ride....not in that way. in fact...if anything you will find some members here stifining it up to make it corner and handle BETTER....

as far as the moonroof goes....the dealer sells a wind deflector, tell your friend about that one..

Personally....I don't find the wind noise annoying at all....course that COULD have something to do with the volume knob on the dash. :D CRANK UP THE VOLUME CRANK UP THE VOLUME!!! lol

Suspension
 

Hey TheMAN Moderator:

I am familiar with various sport suspensions, especially with my Audi. I am upgrading its stock sport suspension with coilovers (height & damping adjustable). With that said, I had to see for myself how rough the ride in my friends new Protégé 5. The ride is so stiff that it is unbearable for long errands or trips. Her and her husband recently drove to Michigan and the expansion joints in the road kept the car rocking fore and aft. I believe vomit was used as a description to the ride.

The shocks and/or springs are just too solid. To me it feels like say a new BMW right off the truck without a prep service. Meaning that the coil spacers are not removed and therefore no suspension travel creating a buckboard ride.

To clarify, she did not buy the car to tune/mod/race. However, she does like the car very much. It is just these two issues (wind noise #2) that are making her enjoyment of the car quite a bit less. So I guess if there is a way to de-tune (softer ride) the suspension via Mazda or maybe put a taller tire on the stock wheels, I’d like to help her do those?

If she ditched the factory 16 inch wheels in favor of 15's with 195/60/15 tires the ride would be much improved.

The first time I drove my ES GT I thought the ride was kind of rough, much more so than the Escort ZX2 that was my daily driver at the time. Now I absolutely love it! I think it is the perfect balance between sportiness and comfort for a daily driver.

As far as stiff rides go, my MR2 is brutal. After 30 minutes driving it on our crappy roads here I've had enough. The short wheelbase + rock hard suspension + 50 series tires = 1 bouncy ride. I remember reading a review of the 95 MR2 Turbo where the author said he tried running over pebbles on the road to see if he could feel them, he always could. Compared to this car the Protege is like a Caddy! ;)

You should blame the rough roads, not the car :D

Yep, car manufacturers have to soften the suspension in order to meet the bad road conditions here in US...

:laugh: :laugh:
That sounds like something I would say!
You the man, oh wait you already know that.
:):p

I have an 2001 ES with the same suspension. Has your friend checked the tire pressure? When the cars are shipped from Japan the tire pressure is usually pumped up to about 50-55 lbs to prevent the tires from developing a flat spot because of the long trip from Japan by boat. Sometimes the dealer forgets to adjust the pressure to the recommended 32 lbs. If you want to go to 15 inch wheels I'd recommend Discount Tires Rage Race 10 wheels. Very nice and light wheels for $75 each. I used them to mount 195/55/15 snow tires which is the correct size to maintain the stock diameter.

As has been said, the deflector for the moon roof makes a huge difference. Once I got that, I hardly notice the wind noise anymore.

As for the ride, yes, it's stiff, but I don't get that "buckboard" kind of feeling that you describe. Various folks have made tire suggestions, which might be the place to start, but I wonder if there might be something else wrong with the car?

I hope it can be worked out...

Roads in Dc suck big time ! Want your rim and tire to get stuck in a big pot hole drive to DC :( .

Transformers Robots In Disguise !

See.. there's your problem. Stay the helloutta Michigan .. their roads are crap! Especially on the way West from the Canadian border... bleh.

omg you ppl... quit your whinning.. the suspention is NOT too stiff its actually perfect, this car handles like a dream, and about ditching the 16's for the 15's? whats that about? if you don't like it then why would you buy this car? go buy a neon or something, i don't know about the wind noise though as i don't have roof rack (never needed one) couldn't be worse than sports exaust

There must be something wrong with that specific P5. The tire pressure is a good way to start. I drive an average of 4,000 miles a month, and the ride on my P5 is perfect. There are times that I drive 8 to 12 hours straight, stopping only for gas and a snack, and I can say that for a great handling car the confort of the ride is unbeleivable.

Another way to find out if there is something wrong with the suspension would be to go to a Mazda dealership and take a new P5 for a test drive and compare the ride.

Well, P5 is a sporty handling car (at least for our soft North American taste). It feels great and well controlled with superb steering responsivness but at the cost of some comfort.
If it feels too stiff and bumpy try getting wider tires on it's stock wheels 205/50 16" will fit very well and don't keep the tire pressure too high. My best advice is, wait until next Mazda3 will come out, it will share suspension with Focus/Volvo50, it will be a blast and most likely the best suspension on a mid sized car out there.
It's rear suspension will be the key, it will handle better than curent P5 both in tight corners and it will do much much better on the bumpy pathhole filled roads (not as good as our American sofa on the wheels Buicks, Crown Vics he he he)
Usually it is up to the compromise between ride comfort or thight and controlled sporty feel. Not with that new Mazda3/Focus/Vovlo50 suspension. If you want to get the taste of it test drive Focus ZX3/ZX5 where that great rear suspension does it's magic now. The set up in Mazda3 will be further improved over original current Focus design and sounds very promising.

Re: Protege 5 issues
 

I'd check those tire pressures. I've got nearly 12k miles of driving here in New England where the roads are just awfull... the ride if firm, but certainly not buckboard nd unbearable. Is the car brand new? It softens up a bit after a few thousand miles. Tire pressure should be 32psi... they ship at 50+ so check that out.

What was her last car?

I don't have a moonroof, but never found the roofrack noise unbearable, heck, it was hardly an issue at all. I took mine off because it's easier to sweep snow off without it.