Bruce95fmla

Yeah that's true. I have seen p5's that are going for about 11 grand right now.. They may not be the newest models but hey it's a protege5 ..( A really nice car in my opinion)
You can get a turbo kit for it 3 grand (with intercooler(maybe)) some rims, suspension and msp lsd and still be faster than a msp and maybe spend at most out the door ...
imagine ,, now that's about 16,700 ..
for the skeptics... here are some ruff numbers
p5--11 grand or so..
turbo(t3) - 3k to 4k
msp lsd -- $700- $800
suspension -- 1,000-1,400(full coilovers)
rims -- 1,000 16 or 17's

and you still have money left over for your kit (if you want one)

I personally would go this route, if I felt like dealing with the FS motor...

and if money was not an option .. I would rebuild a N/A-BP and run it off of a Haltec..(turbo)

But this is just my way ... Others may be different..

Liquid_Ag

ive gotta idea

1990 protege lx shell, or with working motor 100-1500 bux
gtr intake mani-186
gtx exhuast mani-186
t3/t4 hybrid-99-300
piping-dunno how much, maybe 200-300?
turbo back exhaust-200
turbo timer-140 on ebay
bov-25 on ebay
stand alone engine management-~1000 bux
lowering springs/struts/strut bar, tie bars ~400
rims-depends, i spent about 800 with tires
nothing else really needed, unless i forgot something

so u have a custom built car that cost from 4-6 grand that will run high 11's low 12's...**** the msp

TaiMaiShu

well i wouldnt be THAT harsh. lol.

hotrod0001

Actually all the aftermarket parts are in the suspension, not the engine. Just about everything under the hood is off of other cars. Take the intercooler for example, its from a turbo desiel(sp?) It was really the only way to keep the car in the $20K range.

Liquid_Ag

i based my numbers on other threads, and looking on ebay, and i didnt want to add all of the numbers up cuz im lazy

funkdaddysmack

Everyone can always make something faster for cheaper. Like a 12sec miata for under $2000. It's the age-old debate poor folks like us tell the rich people with vettes and vipers... "yea well if I dump 10k into my (insert car here), i could toast your viper"...

It's just an excuse for shlubs like us who don't have a boatload of cash to justify our modification of the cars that we CAN afford. It's some crazy ego thing, I dunno.

My cars are both horribly slow, and will probably stay that way for a long time

arl240

Back on topic, that J-body org was pretty cool. There was no flaming involved, except a little ford bashing. I read through some articles and those guys pumped up most mazdas, including the RX-8 (most loved them), the 6 (they said slow, but handsome), the mazdaspeed (bang for buck), and the pro5 (great handling car). I thought those guys were more open minded than 90% of this club, they seemed to appreciate both domestics and imports. I read some, and a lot of people there had j-bodies due to first car/price motive, and I don't blame them. You can get into a cavalier/sunfire for $11k CAD, which is almost half what I paid, and the financing really good. Now i would never trade my Pro5 for one, but I don't hold it against people for wanting $250 purchase payments.

Bruce95fmla

you could get into one cheaply , but the quality is not the same. Insurance may be cheaper for the Cavy to ...
noone was knocking the cavs though ... sooo

Bruce95fmla

Thing is - if your gonna go the 20 k mark and you know you want a certain amount of horsepower .. if you are not getting it then look elsewhere. such as scooby, or mitsu lancer or so forth...

the mods you listed above are not cheap , especially when you have a car payment/rent/insurance/other stuff..
I am just taking an average or above average person in mind. You might as well buy a fast car and just be done 1 shot.

Mind you I am not knocking the mazdaspeed. but I just don't believe in buying a brand new fast car and moding it right away.. aside from stereo stuff. but that is just my belief..
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funk

I don't think it is an envy thing. I know I could afford a mazdaspeed (fairly easy) or a mazda 6 (nice but iffy aftermarket) pretty easy. So I really don't see myself in that catogory you were speaking off.

I still say hooking up a old car is the sweetest thing..

Like a corolla gts .. the coupe fastback ones..
I love those

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Pseudo
I hear what your saying with the tuning , but what would you have thought if they had put a new design BP under the hood of the MSP ...

I think I would have been stumped.. actually I would have one right now..
Bruce

TaiMaiShu

dont forget the what? $2k+ stereo system that probably nobody wants? Any msp I've seen so far probably don't even use it. I myself don't even like loud music (unless its 311, but who puts alternative on full blast?) I forgot to mention earlier, Mazda left the MSP with more work to be done under the hood right? Why? So if I tamper with it, like they know they want us to, they can take off the warranty? **** THAT. Build a car for the loyal pro customers only to screw us over.

carguycw

Good point. The whole point of the MSP is to build interest in the Mazda brand and get the attention of people who AREN'T "loyal Pro owners." Keep in mind that there aren't that many of us. Although interest in the Protege among the "import racer" crowd has gone up by about a factor of 10 since the MP3 and P5 came out (it has, seriously), the reputation of the car is still insignificant compared to the more established sporty imports (Acuras, DSM's, etc.)

The MSP is a transitional model intended as a teaser to build interest in the upcoming Mazda3. It's meant to get attention, hence the pimpy bodywork, ridiculous stereo and REALLY attention-getting "Spicy Orange Mica" color. Mazda is probably losing money on every MSP it sells (I just about guarantee it) and re-engineering the entire powertrain to get 200+ reliable hp was probably out of the question... keep in mind that Mazda does not have a beefy off-the-shelf 4-cyl. turbo drivetrain that they can simply drop into the car on a whim (unlike Daimler-Chrysler and VW, to name a couple).

I like the MSP, and I think it was a good marketing move. FWIW GM is doing the same thing... they are reportedly introducing a supercharged limited-edition J-body, despite the fact that the J-body is a lame duck platform due to be replaced in a year. Seems like a popular idea huh.