Mp3 Ecu For a protege 5

[whitepro5]

Sorry i do not have a very good understanding of what car parts do etc im just getting interested in making some small gains for a stock protege 5 apparently this is what i have been told is the best gain for its money??

Can someone please explain what is need to install the mp3 ecu. and what exactly does it do and why do you gain hp from it please help me out or I have looked for a thread about it but have not found one if there is a thread would someone be able to direct me there i have tried using the search but to no luck..

any input is apreciated Thanks!

[808MP5]

all u need is a 10mm socket and ratchet. The mp3 ecu is plug and play. It increases performance by advancing timing. Try the forums search feature and good luck finding one. Also you will have to use premium gas after installed to decrease the chance of knock.

[gimpo2]

you have to have a 5spd transmission as well.

[MixinMP5]

Also you will have to use premium gas after installed to decrease the chance of knock.

Not to thread jack...but what do you mean by knock? Because I used premium gas and i now have a misfire...i dunno if its related or not

[Metallic36]

Using premium gas with the MP3 ecu is a MUST, otherwise you will have a knock in your engine, it won't like regular gas. It's a good thing to use Premium, and I don't think the premium gas would have anything to do with a misfire..


Not to thread jack...but what do you mean by knock? Because I used premium gas and i now have a misfire...i dunno if its related or not

[MazdaSpeeder]

It's an easy install... I did it a few months back, and my car runs so much better. I have a smoother torque curve and such, but really, it just makes the car run much better. Should have been the factory ECU!

[whitepro5]

I have heard you do not need premium gas but it does make it better i take it but what exaclty does a ecu chip do ? i mean im just curious to what it actually does to enable the gain or the feel of gaining any thing.

[808MP5]

there aren't any chips out for our protege's... there's only piggybacks such as the split second afc, unichip, and such...

piggybacks allow you to control the air fuel mixture and in some cases the timing... and if you do run the mp3 ecu you should use premium gas... though you are right you don't have to but increase your chances of engine knock...

knock is when your fuel mixture ingnites before the spark and causes flame fronts to hit each other. just imaging your piston is supposed to be going up and is when a flame front is trying to push it down before it's supposed to... this is not good and can easily pop your motor...

when you advance your timing like with the mp3 ecu you are increasing your chances of pre-ignition (knock/detonation)... that's why it is advisable and often neccessary to run premium fuel...

Premium fuel is less prone to pre-ignition.

[goodfornothing]

a.k.a. Premature Ejaculation. (nervous)

[Bret2002]

well most cars, i don't know but i'm willing to bet ours has one too (not positive since i haven't been around the protege5 that long yet), have a knock sensor that retards the timing if it senses engine knock. i dunno if you put in a mp3 ecu and ran regular gas in it if it'd even be worth it since the ecu would be retarding the timing back down anyways. my dad ran plus in his g35 coupe that also calls for the use of premium and never ran into any trouble, neither did my sister in her maxima which also calls for it, untill her knock snesor went bad. I'm no expert though by any means

[Flash5]

with gas cheap now-a-days just stick premium in, odds are you still will be paying less than $2 a gallon so dont sweat it

[Plumman53]

Which Mazda does this ecu come from? Thinking of making the switch!!

[JCell]

the mazda mp3

[Guvner]

I ran 87oct in my MP3 all the time, never had any knock and only lost the small HP that you get from the advanced timing. The ECU recognizes the lower octane fuel and simply reduces the timing, thats why the gas door says "premium recommended". I could never justify the increased cost of premium fuel for a HP gain that is barely felt.

Remember the MP3 had the ECU timing increase, no VTCS in the intake and the Racing Beat axle back exhaust, all that only gave 10hp so the ECU is only part of the power increase, my guess is the ECU timing only gave 5hp.

[mx-p5]

But, it is HUGELY noticable. Mabe not the HP gains, but my car runs 10X better with it


And, seriously, you pay what, $4 more per tank? Having the reduced risk of knock and enjoying just a few more ponies in an already VERY low HP number car is worth the $4 per fill up more to me

[JCell]

the car definitely drives smoother with a mp3 ecu. the difference was night and day

[Dom 2.0L]

I ran 87oct in my MP3 all the time, never had any knock and only lost the small HP that you get from the advanced timing. The ECU recognizes the lower octane fuel and simply reduces the timing, thats why the gas door says "premium recommended". I could never justify the increased cost of premium fuel for a HP gain that is barely felt.

So what you're saying is that the MP3 ECU would give a smoother power band with regular fuel in a P5, but no real HP gain? And has anyone experienced the knock with the ECU on regular fuel? Because I read a lot about how it could happen, but never seen anyone really reporting it.

[mx-p5]

I've not run the chance.

Running regular gas on an ECU MADE for premium is like saying you know better than the Mazda engineers that designed it

[Dom 2.0L]

I use my car a lot, so going with premium fuel WOULD make a big difference for me, that's why I'm asking. I mostly mod my car with money I get at christmas, birthday, etc. As I'm still studying, I don't have a big amount of cash to spend weekly on it. 10$ a week seems ridiculous, but on a year that's 500 bucks... whick I'd need somewhere else. I like the idea of the mod, but I'm not sure it would be worth it.

[mx-p5]

Gotta pay to play

lol

Performance gains do not come cheap

[Dom 2.0L]

yeah but it's 500 bucks a year, for that money I could get a header or something which I don't pay for everytime I use the car, that's my point.

[bgibb68]

i'ld like to run the mp3 ecu but i plan on going turbo....now if i could get mine flashed or something i would do it...but i wouldn't go buy one untill my turbo rebuild fell through

[mx-p5]

yeah but it's 500 bucks a year, for that money I could get a header or something which I don't pay for everytime I use the car, that's my point.

Bolt on mods are all pieces to the puzzle that is our motor

Header will DEF. net you greater gains if you dont want to spend the money on premium gas!

Plus, you can source a header cheaper than an MP3 ECU

So far, you've got a few guys saying they ran the MP3 ECU with regular gas with no problems

But, if you also choose to do this, and the motor does start to knock, you know where to point the finger


Me personally, i am gonna continue to run premium fuel, since that's waht the ECU was designed to run on

[Dom 2.0L]

yup, that's why I've got the stock ECU right now lol

[mx-p5]

Then, i suggest, in your case, stick with the stocker.

Go pick up a header and enjoy!!

MP3 ECU and header are the 2 best mods engine performance wise you can do

But, as it is still a puzzle, add an intake, high flow catted midpipe, and catback exhaust to gain the most out of it

[Guvner]

Like I said the MP3 gas door says "premium RECOMMENDED" not "premium ONLY". And something here that I thought was interesting to read.

An interesting read I found from http://www.triplezoom.com/news/publish/printer_247.shtml

"Mazda released the MP3 with 10 more horses and 7 additional lb-ft of torque compared to the standard Protegé and Protegé 5 with the 2.0-liter FS-DE motor. The 140 hp and 142 lb-ft of torque were attributed to a few factors, consisting mainly of a slightly modified intake manifold, a different exhaust and slightly advanced ignition timing.

The intake manifold flowed a little better than the standard Protegé due to the lack of VTCS, or variable tumble control system. The VTCS is composed of a set of butterflies positioned right at the head, inside the intake manifold and helps with emissions for cold start up. In the standard Protegé, this set-up affords the model ULEV classification, the MP3, however, came to market as an LEV instead.

The exhaust was originally thought to have been only an "axle-back" section with a tuned Racing Beat muffler. However, clever eyes would see that the rest of the cat-back pipe on the MP3 is a different part number than the regular sedan. It flows slightly better than the regular exhaust found on the standard Protegé.

The advanced timing is very small and doesn't give much of a change until over 5000 rpm. The difference is hard to notice, but it is there and accounts for a small part of the extra ten horsepower that the MP3 has. It is a common misconception that the MP3 ECU alone will net the ten horsepower difference over a regular Protegé, but that is simply not true.

[MazdaSpeeder]

I had this debate with myself for a while before I finally got this ECU, and I'm with Pro5x2- Pay to play. Regular is always about 20 cents cheaper than Premium, whether gas is $1.50 or $5 a gallon. With advanced timing and the factory recommendation, I decided I would use premium all the time. I would get an intake and header instead if you're not going to run the recommended fuel. They didn't recommend it because they thought it would sell more MP3s, they recommended it because the engine is set up for it in some way. That's my 2 cents.

[murda79]

There is no engine knock using regular fuel with the mp3 ecu. 2 years of running regular fuel with an mp3 ecu to back it up.

[mx-p5]

So, you got people saying both


It's your car, you make teh call

But, me personally, i'ma side with the Mazda Engineers

[spotthedogg]

I've wanted a MP3 ECU for a while but no luck finding one.

[bgibb68]

i've seen like 3 FS on here in the last month....unless you see it the first day they are gone

[808MP5]

If it's still there. There's one in the FS section going for $300or$350 can't remember

[pfiver]

you have to have a 5spd transmission as well.

is that a fact though, cause i was thinking that after i add my header and intake, i would throw one of these in, (the premium thing is not biggy) but if you need a five speed then that idea is out the door. =[

[808MP5]

5spd manual transmission is mandatory

[FunkyBuddha]

I had an mp3 ecu on my old p5. The noticeable gain for me was in 3rd gear between 3500 and 6000rpm. Car pulled a lot better. I ran premium all the time after i got it because I didn't want to take any chances. It was a definitely smoother power band and the torque felt a lot better.

Of course I had some supporting mods as well. Advanced cam timing, exhaust, header, intake, cams, and better plugs/wires.

If you are trying to justify gas, then I suggest going a different route and not get the ecu. Stick to other bolt ons and modifications. Me, personally, I don't want to take chances. People here say they've run regular gas, but what's the point if the ecu recommendation is premium. Almost like throwing away 300 dollars of your money to get advanced ignition timing. I'd rather go get an all out ecu that can do that PLUS some, for 1000 bux and at least you'll know there are power increases beyond the mp3 ecu.

[mx-p5]

I also have supporting mods

Intake, header, and catback

And YES, 5SPEED IS MANDATORY

[Dom 2.0L]

Yes I'll probably stick with bolt-ons, but I still like the idea of the smoother power band... Answers like murda79's are the kind that makes me think Oh well maybe it isn't that much of a stupid idea.

[mx-p5]

Murda79, have you filled up lately with a tank of 93(or 91 if available) to compare?

[MazdaSpeeder]

I've wanted a MP3 ECU for a while but no luck finding one.

Watch car-part.com. They come up there fairly often and are normally cheaper than here. That's where I sourced mine from.

[spotthedogg]

Watch car-part.com. They come up there fairly often and are normally cheaper than here. That's where I sourced mine from.

Is there a difference between the 881, 881b or 881c? I look there sometimes, there is one on there but condition says CORE, does that mean it's no good?

[MazdaSpeeder]

I think core means core exchange, as in they want your current ECU for trade + $. As far as the three versions, I do not believe there is any difference between 881 (sometimes listed as 881a) 881b AND 881c. I'm running b I think.