Just got my protege...

[Serjical]

Hi, I'm fairly new here, and just wanted to say hi to all. I just bought a '99 Protege, and I'm loving it already. It is my first car, so I was wondering if there's anyone out there who could help me with some stuff. I'm looking to buy something to maybe help with low end power to give me some better push. If you have any suggestions as to CAIs or anything of that sort, please let me know. Other than that, it's nice to be here, and I hope to learn a lot.

[hawaiian_msp]

welcome!! :)

[kickniteasy]

The search function will be your friend around here. I'm sure there are tons of threads already that have the information that you'r looking for. Welcome to the club and be sure to tell us how your mods work out for you.

[protege02]

get a mazdaspeed axel back from mazdastuff.com for $149.00, or a k and n typhoon intake from vividracing.com for $209.00(no one has beaten that price yet). if you have around $500 to spend on an exhaust, i would recommend getting a racingbeat exhaust. i think it goes for like $445 to $450 for the exhaust. i would highly recommend the k and n intake because it can be converted into both shortram and cold air intake. also your not going to beat the price in the fact that this intake is really expensive any where else. there are headers, but you should have someone else break it down to you because i haven't bought one and dont know where to get a good one at a reasonable price. i was going to say the obx header, but protegegarge.com is closed down. well hope i was helpful and welcome to the forum.

[Serjical]

Thank you guys, I'll be looking at what you suggested. Also, do you know of any good sites that have articles or something I could read about to learn more about cars/their performance/anything related to this? I would like to become more educated in this stuff if I'm going to actually use it. Thanks again

[1sty]

Thank you guys, I'll be looking at what you suggested. Also, do you know of any good sites that have articles or something I could read about to learn more about cars/their performance/anything related to this? I would like to become more educated in this stuff if I'm going to actually use it. Thanks again
THere is more knowledge about 3rd gen proteges stored here then anywhere else. Just about anyquestion that could have been asked has been. Also, other then just crappy magazine articles there are a ton of real user feedback and experiences with any given product.

As for perfomance, unfortunitly with proteges, other then a turbo nothing really adds substantial power. A muffler and an intake alone are basicly just noise makers. If you want to add some decent NA perfomance then an intake, header and full exhuast are a must. The problem is that headers throw CEL very commonly.

[Slider]

Hi, I'm fairly new here, and just wanted to say hi to all. I just bought a '99 Protege, and I'm loving it already. It is my first car, so I was wondering if there's anyone out there who could help me with some stuff. I'm looking to buy something to maybe help with low end power to give me some better push. If you have any suggestions as to CAIs or anything of that sort, please let me know. Other than that, it's nice to be here, and I hope to learn a lot.

Welcome! A base model Protege is a decent little car for a first car. But, to make it go fast you are going to have to say good bye to your warranty.

[Serjical]

Oh, that's perfectly acceptable. I don't have a Mazda warranty, but the dealership gave me some kind of warranty for being pre-owned. It's a pre-owned '99 model. I should have mentioned also that it's an ES trim, so it's not horribly lacking in horsepower.

[Witchdoktor]

As for perfomance, unfortunitly with proteges, other then a turbo nothing really adds substantial power. A muffler and an intake alone are basicly just noise makers. If you want to add some decent NA perfomance then an intake, header and full exhuast are a must. The problem is that headers throw CEL very commonly.I had exhaust and intake (on my LX/1.6) which did jack shit but change noise like 1sty stated.
Only real difference felt was going turbo, night and day difference. Although I have no real experience with NA there's people on here who do. The search feature is golden. Welcome ;)

[pro00]

the racing beat exhast is the way to go for exhasts as previously mentioned

only, i think (that is if you don't mind) you could get a whole catback exhast for around $150, USED.

there are a ton of used racingbeats exhast running around, well, at least *there used to be*

[Khoga]

As for perfomance, unfortunitly with proteges, other then a turbo nothing really adds substantial power. A muffler and an intake alone are basicly just noise makers. If you want to add some decent NA perfomance then an intake, header and full exhuast are a must. The problem is that headers throw CEL very commonly.

Would any of that be good for an auto protege?
ive had mine for about a month now and thats the problem I been having, not sure its even worth putting anything into an automatic

[Replica]

$450 for exhaust is retarded. That's like 2 and a half car payments. The best bang for the buck is that neato little OBX header, it REALLY helps the car rev up quicker and makes driving alot funner. Intakes don't add much power but do help gas mileage a bit and add throttle response. There are some CAI's on ebay for about $68. I like mine and it's the same design as the fancy +$200 ones. But if it is an auto...I'd probably just do a K&N panel filter and spend the rest on nice stereo stuff and a little suspension work.

[pro00]

$450 for exhaust is retarded. That's like 2 and a half car payments. The best bang for the buck is that neato little OBX header, it REALLY helps the car rev up quicker and makes driving alot funner. Intakes don't add much power but do help gas mileage a bit and add throttle response. There are some CAI's on ebay for about $68. I like mine and it's the same design as the fancy +$200 ones. But if it is an auto...I'd probably just do a K&N panel filter and spend the rest on nice stereo stuff and a little suspension work.
exactly, no engine work is needed on the 1.6L
just put an exhast (for the noise) and the K&N filter is good to have
i say that because that is excatly what i have done.

the reward in modding this car comes from suspension.

springs, struts, strut bar, sway bars, rims
and you have a bimmer(in a manner of speaking)

[Shane5425]

exactly, no engine work is needed on the 1.6L
just put an exhast (for the noise) and the K&N filter is good to have
i say that because that is excatly what i have done.

the reward in modding this car comes from suspension.

springs, struts, strut bar, sway bars, rims
and you have a bimmer(in a manner of speaking)
add a turbo to your 1.6 .. then hold on... lol

[Replica]

A turbo is so reduculious to not only buy all the parts from. but to get the damn thing tuned and dumping money on injectors and engine management...

[Shane5425]

no one ever said it would be cheap... but i would rather buy a factory turbocharged car.. its all preset.. no hassel..

[1sty]

no one ever said it would be cheap... but i would rather buy a factory turbocharged car.. its all preset.. no hassel..Other then the EVo, today thats not really true. In the good old days it was though.

Even the STi is a pesky little bitch to upgrade. Its EM or nothing.

[Replica]

Speaking of factory turbo cars that are a pain in the ass...*cough* msp *cough*

[1sty]

Speaking of factory turbo cars that are a pain in the ass...*cough* msp *cough*True, that can partialy be blaimed on a lack of dedicated and established support. Not to many big names take up the Protege as a challenge. Many that do have either closed down or given up. Its not like you guys have a Vishnu, TurboXS, ECUtec, or a Cobb pumping out EM.

[pro00]

add a turbo to your 1.6 .. then hold on... lol
true, true, that is the only work i would do to the 1.6L engine if i had the money

[Shane5425]

true, true, that is the only work i would do to the 1.6L engine if i had the money
not me, if i had the money, i would get the zm-ve (i think thats irght, don't feel like lookin it up) and take the head off, bolt it to the 1.6l block.. so it would be 1.6l with S-VT .. according to corksport they said it would work..

i would do it if it wouldnt be such a hassel to get the S-VT running

[sam1]

not really a performance mod, but my favorite mod to date is definately my kartboy short shifter. best 100bucks ive spent yet.

[Slider]

Oh, that's perfectly acceptable. I don't have a Mazda warranty, but the dealership gave me some kind of warranty for being pre-owned. It's a pre-owned '99 model. I should have mentioned also that it's an ES trim, so it's not horribly lacking in horsepower.

Um........compared to what?

[Petes6669]

expecially on a 1.6 a turbo is the only thing that will make it go faster..otherwise they are slow..PERIOD...i know cuz i have one...if i'm gonna do anything i'm going to put in an engine swap b4 i do any work...even just upgrading to the 1.8 with a bunch of NA parts ie: cams/cam gears/cai/etc would make an enormous difference

[Shane5425]

expecially on a 1.6 a turbo is the only thing that will make it go faster..otherwise they are slow..PERIOD...i know cuz i have one...if i'm gonna do anything i'm going to put in an engine swap b4 i do any work...even just upgrading to the 1.8 with a bunch of NA parts ie: cams/cam gears/cai/etc would make an enormous difference

reguarding the engine swap, we have already been through that, it is cheaper to sell the car and buy one with the 2.0 or 1.8..

[Serjical]

Um........compared to what?

Um..... the trims with lower horsepower. I was implying that the ES has more power.