Red Pro5 Semi-Build

[itsjbeck]

I had a previous thread on here but nothing came from it. This is my 2002 Mazda Protege5. Classic Red, 127,xxx, 5 Speed with some cosmetics done to her. I plan on adding more things as time goes on, but I am a college student and I haven't had a chance to inherit millions yet. So this may take some time to get her where i want her at. With what i have had done to my car, only makes me want to do so much more. I was originally on the VWVortex forum, since my prior "money pit" was a Mark3 VW Jetta. After a motor swap and tranny swap, i sold the bucket and moved to my Mazda. With this being said, I can navigate the forum pretty well but will still be asking questions. Im looking forward to giving opinions and advice(on what i know about) to you guys and i hope i can receive the same.

I have a few things already done to her:

• Tokico Hp's
• Eibach Pro-Kit
• Racing Beat Bump Stops
• Moog Front/Rear End Links
• Fog Light Mod
• M6 Wagon Rear Wiper Mod
• Plasti-Dip Rear Valance
• 20% Tint All Around
• Alpine Headunit
• 10" JL W3 Subwoofer
• Clarion 500W Amp
• Polk Audio door speakers
• Stubby Antenna
• Rage "Euro" 17x7 +45 in GrimmSpeed Gold
• Celica Side Markers
• Hardwired Radar Detector
• Roof Rack Delete
• Sylvania Silverstar Ultra High / Low Beams
• In-Dash DVD/Navigation
• SickSpeed Supertones
• SickSpeed Red Anodized Tuner Lugs

And a few on the To-Do list:

• 5% Tint
• Short Throw Shifter
• Leather Seats
• Retro HID
• Custom Subwoofer Enclosure / Amp Rack
• Roof Rack Base Delete
• eBay Exhaust

Her first day home. This was about 11 months ago.




Switched from the metal rake to the M6 wiper.


Saw HatchKitten plastidip her rear valance and had to do the same.


While I had the plastidip out, I sprayed the stubby..


Got a lil crazy with the plastidip and my mirrors weren't in the best shape anyways.


There was one night when we had some bad ice...and I caught some of it...
Turned her into Frankenstein until insurance could take a look at her.


One week later...


Bump Stops came in the mail!!


F the winter im ready for SPRING...Eibach Springs that is. (Pro-Kit)



To compliment the Pro-Kit...Tokico HP's



MOOOOOOOOG


Eibach Pro Kit with Tokico HP's


Front done, mid process of rear.






And now some after pics..







Short Throw on the to-do list...


Give her some character...


Hardwire Radar, Cleans up the dash and frees up the 12v outlet.


And for a comparison of stock vs this combo

STOCK


Eibach/HP's


Any Suggestions/Comments let me know!

Happy Motoring!!

[booboo0809]

Have you decided which short shifter you want? I highly recommend the tmw and weighted shift knob. Makes the car shift like a dream and its short :P what about an exhaust? Looks like a stocker on there!

[TEH_ALMIGHTY]

Nice!

[itsjbeck]

tmw is what i was thinking, or a msp.

exhaust will come along, hopefully soon. ive been eyin the ebay exhaust for awhile now..its tempting..

[hat1018]

There is a thread about Ebay exhaust. The people that have it seem to like it.

[itsjbeck]

There is a thread about Ebay exhaust. The people that have it seem to like it.

That's what I have noticed. And for under 130$ shipped its hard to pass up.

I am talking to a guy right now about some wheels that he has for sale, pretty cheap

17x7 +45, any suggestions on tires i should run?

ill be sandblasting these and having them powdercoated gloss black, bronze, or clear and keep the brushed looked.

[Jackie chan]

205/40/17 and I deff recommend the ebay exhaust

[itsjbeck]

i was on tire rack today and looked at some 205/40/17's i think those would be fine, as far as the exhaust goes...its going to have to wait a bit since i just bought tires for the stockers and now i have to buy more for the 17's.

but ebay exhaust is where its at!!

Another question i had is, when running the 17x7's i would like to be as flush as possible. offset is +45, so how big of a spacer should i look at, or better yet, can out teach me the ways of offset??

[hat1018]

Offset, well lets see. The lower the number the farther out the wheel lip will be. It has to do with the relationship between the wheels centerline and the mounting surface of the wheel. For example +40 (40mm from centerline) will sit out 10mm more than a +50 (50mm from centerline). So your +45 wheel is 7mm farther out than your stock wheel. At least I am pretty sure P5 wheels are +52. I know most Mazda's are.
As far as a color for your replacment wheels I would go with anything but black. To me it makes the whole tire/wheel assembly blend together. Afterall we change wheels to make them stand out, not blend in. Gold or bronze look great with red.
A suggestion for tire to use, I would say a good quality all season or touring type tire. I had Dunlop Dirreza star specs on my 2006 3 hatch and they lasted about 1 year give or take. Don't get me wrong the gripped like a mother but wore too fast for me. If I am going to buy tires (and I need to) they will last at least 2 years.

[itsjbeck]

thanks for the quick lesson, i've been leaning towards bronze lately, it definitely looks good with red. Saturday is the day i'm picking up the wheels, sand blasting or using some paint remover, then sending them to get powder coated, or i might do the paint job myself aka spray bomb the shit out of them. ill have to see what the money is looking like after this weekend.

any suggestions on paint? i'm thinking more of a satin or matte bronze..but the gold STi BBS wheel color is pretty sexxy





if anyone would like to post some pics of bronze wheels on a red car(doesnt have to be Pro5 or Mazda) that would be appreciated...or if anyone has a different suggestion(pics would be nice ) let me know, my options are still open!!

[itsjbeck]

well i bought the wheels this morning, they where in good condition, only paint chips as the pictures showed. i cleaned one of them up, not too bad for a spray bomb job by the P.O.

some pics!

dog




had some plasti-dip left over, just to see what a matte black would look like.



next step is to sandblast, then paint. and the color is still undecided...

[itsjbeck]

well instead of going to a sand blaster, i picked up some aircraft remover. it looks like its working pretty well, its been sitting on the wheels for about 15 minutes now..can says 5-15 is recommended. still need to scrape off the paint, wash,dry then prime to avoid flash rust. pics will posted shorty.

[hitncry]

Nice score on those wheels. I'm considering doing a mesh style wheel like that too.

[IshSonP5]

sub. Nice stuff

[RADthompson07]

hey, much did the new suspension lower your car? and how does it ride and handle now? Is your suspension tighter or looser?