Winter Driving

[Lani]

I am curious as to how well the 00+ Protege models handle in the snow. Good? Bad? What should I anticipate?

Oh and another thing, how can I tell if my car has ABS? It's a 2002 ES.

[KpaBap]

get some snow tires

[ProtegeES03]

Fine with the proper tires.


I am curious as to how well the 00+ Protege models handle in the snow. Good? Bad? What should I anticipate?


Thanks,
Anna

[Lani]

Fine with the proper tires.


I have all season Toyo Proxies on there now. (uhm)

[cbcbd]

This is a great car to drive in the snow, even better with snow tires. The car lets you really feel road feedback, which really helps in slippery conditions IMO.

As for the ABS question:
http://www.msprotege.com/forum/showthread.php?t=98197&highlight=abs

[Protege52003]

with good snow tires, the protege's do great in the snow.....

edit: welcome to the forum and check out some local NEPOC meets for the future.

-R

[cbcbd]

I have all season Toyo Proxies on there now. (uhm)
I have my all season stock tires and they do fine in the snow - not the best, but they are ok.

[2zoom03]

LOL --- ABS , check it by slamming on the brakes and see what happens. If they lock up then you dont have it, if the car starts to jerk a little a make a funky noise then you have it. I prefer not to have ABS so I opted to not go with that option but many people like it... IMO

As for handdeling in the snow. I thought the stock tires sucked so I got some Pirelli PZero Nero M&S.

[cbcbd]

My stock tires feel so planted in the snow I have to constantly pull the e-brake on turns to give myself a challenge ;)

[Protege52003]

My stock tires feel so planted in the snow I have to constantly pull the e-brake on turns to give myself a challenge ;)

i believe the dunlops (stock tires) sucked in the snow after i drove through one easy winter.....glad i got some snow tires becasue the last couple winters have been pretty bad up here in MA.

[chaosProtege]

if u look at the tire side of the cv axle right at the end of the boot there will be a ring that looks like a gear. if u dont see it you dont have abs. or check for the abs fuse under the hood. stock dunlops suck in snow, buy snow tires.

[Protephile]

Stock Dunlops are teh suxorz. After one winter of never knowing where my front end would end up I bought snow tires. Much better now.

[protege02]

if you dont have abs, it's coo. i think it is better to not have it for our car. the brakes on the es are good out of the box. they dont do wonders if your trying to brake hard from 90mph, but they aren't made to be used at high speeds, but for everyday driving they are great. i've locked mine up 4 times and i've had my car for a year in a half now. they aren't very sensitive to locking up. it takes some hard braking to lock them up.

[Lani]

Protege02:
I notice that you have a MazdaSpeed Exhaust. How is it? Does it provide a nice little kick in hp or a lill rumble? I've been looking into getting one.


Anna

[Protege52003]

I notice that you have a MazdaSpeed Exhaust. How is it? Does it provide a nice little kick in hp or a lill rumble? I've been looking into getting one.

hey anna,

if you get the stock factory exhaust off a mazdaspeed it will give you car a better sound then the stock exhaust. if you get the aftermarket Mazdaspeed exhaust it will make you car a lot louder and very droning above 3k....

-ryan

[BlkZoomZoom]

Nothing beats an Rx-7 for a winter car. I wouldn't dream of driving a protege after driving an rx-7 in 2ft. of snow.

[SciFiMan]

I have all season Toyo Proxies on there now. (uhm)

Would that be the Proxies 4 ? I have those and while they do quite well in the snow and ice, and are stable at crusing speed, they are weak on launch grip or starting out up hill if it's slippery. Leave yourself extra distance when entering traffic and consider carrying some sand or kitty litter in the trunk in case you find yourself stuck on an icy patch. Or in my case, trying to get in the driveway.

[Lani]

Would that be the Proxies 4 ? I have those and while they do quite well in the snow and ice, and are stable at crusing speed, they are weak on launch grip or starting out up hill if it's slippery. Leave yourself extra distance when entering traffic and consider carrying some sand or kitty litter in the trunk in case you find yourself stuck on an icy patch. Or in my case, trying to get in the driveway.



No, I have Toyo Proxies TPT.

I am dreading tomarrow as I have to drive to Connecticut and it's gonna snow.


Anna

[Protege52003]

Nothing beats an Rx-7 for a winter car. I wouldn't dream of driving a protege after driving an rx-7 in 2ft. of snow.

could you get anywhere in 2 ft of snow brian?

[cbcbd]

I am dreading tomarrow as I have to drive to Connecticut and it's gonna snow.

Tomorrow I get to drive from ct to Boston, can't wait! Really

[Lani]

Tomorrow I get to drive from ct to Boston, can't wait! Really


Lucky you!!! You'll probably end up taking the highway which really isn't bad at all. I'm taking the back roads into Connecticut. Only a 45 minute drive but on the back roads which are rarely plowed it will take me forever. (nervous)

[SciFiMan]

Protege02:
I notice that you have a MazdaSpeed Exhaust. How is it? Does it provide a nice little kick in hp or a lill rumble? I've been looking into getting one.

Anna

It does sound nice, but be aware that on our sedan's it can seem pretty loud inside the car. Takes a couple weeks to get used to it. And it drones at high speed (70+) crusing. I put Fatmat all over the trunk but it didn't help much. I don't mind it, but it annoys my wife. I just turn up the radio. I thought I noticed a slight performance improvement but it could just be psychological.

[Protege52003]

it can seem pretty loud inside the car.
it drones at high speed (70+) crusing.
I put Fatmat all over the trunk but it didn't help much.
I don't mind it, but it annoys my wife.

agree with all above and so did the g/f after having it for alomost three years. i just picked up the factory MSP exhaust and had about 5 inches chopped off for the PR5. the car sounds perfect now in combo with the SRI intake.....no gains in performance though.

[Lani]

If the MazdaSpeed exhaust is all show and no go then there really isn't a point in me getting one.


Thanks for the reply guys!!
~Anna~
(drive)

[cbcbd]

If the MazdaSpeed exhaust is all show and no go then there really isn't a point in me getting one.


Thanks for the reply guys!!
~Anna~
(drive)
The Mazdaspeed exhaust is only an axleback. There are some catback exhausts that will give you a little kick. Getting a header would also help lots.
With an intake you'll feel more umph in the higher rpms, I recommend you start with that - you'll get a nice engine growl at wide open throttle.

ps - it's snowing here!

[Protege52003]

If the MazdaSpeed exhaust is all show and no go then there really isn't a point in me getting one.(drive)

The MSP exhaust looks much better than the tini stock exhaust pipe.....in order to get any noticable go-power you will need full exhaust including header, which will cause you to fail MA inspection and your car will be very loud. The Wagner Shorty header will not fail becasue it keeps the pre-cat, but i felt no gain when i had a shorty on my car for a short time period!

-R

[99 Pro]

I have a 1999 Protege, and we get lots and lots of snow where I live. The car handles great in the wintertime on my all-season tires. I think the biggest thing is that you just have to drive for the conditions. If it is snowing and icy out on the roads, then slow down a bit. I would rather get to where I am going a little bit late, then have to deal with pulling the car out of a ditch or getting into an accident.

[newfpw]

Protege02:
I notice that you have a MazdaSpeed Exhaust. How is it? Does it provide a nice little kick in hp or a lill rumble? I've been looking into getting one.


Anna
I installed a MSP muffler and found the car smoother not faster or more power but smoother.The sound at idle is bearly noticable when downshifting at higher speeds It's great sounding.It has a nice clean(not loud) sound.If that's what your looking for It's worth the money.

[wannabe]

so i woke up to a couple inches of snow on the roads this morning, turning left from one state route to another, the cop in front of me slid around the corner, the pro handled it wonderfully. didnt slip or anything. the cop fishtailed a bit...

[protege02]

i think alot of you are pushing the exhaust over the edge a little bit. it's not that loud for daily driving. if you are driving your car around town redlining each time, then maybe it could be considered loud, but i dont think you would think it to be annoying. the k and n typhoon intake i have seems louder than the exhaust in it's shortram form. also, it adds some type of power to the car, such as your wheels spin easier and slight throttle response, and one of the members just posted a dyno with it and an aem intake. the exhaust made 3whp. racingbeat catback claims to add 4.5whp, and racingbeat exhaust is also $400+. also, the car gets to 90mph easier. i think it's a good buy because whats the point in spending $300+ for an exhaust. you might get up to 1 - 2whp more than the axelback, but you are spending close to double the amount of the mazdaspeed axel back or more. the exhaust sounds nice to me, and i usually rev between 3000 to 4500rpm. also, it's like $148 or so with shipping on mazdastuff.com. here is the link about the dyno im talking about. http://www.msprotege.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5655&page=2&pp=15

[wannabe]

thats actually the sport exhaust, not the axle-back from the mazdaspeed. very similar, but not the same thing...

[jersey_emt]

so i woke up to a couple inches of snow on the roads this morning, turning left from one state route to another, the cop in front of me slid around the corner, the pro handled it wonderfully. didnt slip or anything. the cop fishtailed a bit...

LOL yes it's always fun to see cops trying to drive their crown vics in the snow.