New member, new to Mazdas, couple questions :)

[MP5x2k3]

Hi all picked up my first Mazda about 3 months back for a song and dance. Its a 5 speed 03 Protege5 base, originally a southern car from Virginia (with original window stickers, PDI report, and checklists in the owners manual to boot, as well as the original owners registration card). Purchased it with just under 118k miles, and currently has 122350 on it. So far I have to say I love this car! Gas mileage is phenomenal (seeing about 34 around town and 38 hwy), the 2.0l is a great motor, and it handles really well. Very impressed!

Picked it up for $750 due to some minor dents and a small tear in the front bumper.cover from a deer hit in central PA. Insurance company screwed the last owners and totalled it due to being more than 40% of the value of the car, so their loss was my gain ^-^ so far I've replaced the drivers side mirror, drained and filled the transmission with 75w90 valvoline synthetic oil (grey bottle rated for limited slip differentials as well as open diff), changed oil and filter, and both rear calipers due to an e brake malfunction.

The car came with a timing kit, water pump, and new v belts, as well as brand new hankook tires. So, with that said, here's my issues that I need some help with

I've been lurking the forum looking for info on how to install the parts that came with the car. The timing belt is out of my comfort zone, although the write up I found here was excellent (thanks for that btw!). I tried tackling the v belts, as my alternator belt was squealing in wet weather. I did manage to tighten it up and get it to stop however I would like to change the belts soon. Te problem is, I cannot get the pinch nut on the power steering tensioner to break loose (although the rest of the bolts will move freely). It's also rounded over. What I am wondering is, can I replace that nut if I can break it free with a 14mm easy out? Does anyone know the size of the nut and the thread pattern (course or fine?) And can I get a new one from the parts house or hardware store (or.is it a dealer only part?)?

The other issue I have is that the clutch chatters in 1-3, mostly when the car is cold. I'm suspecting the flywheel is warped or has hot spots.in it.

I think the clutch is going out as well, since it engages about 1/4" off the floor (possibly enslave cylinder as well) and I get the occasional grinding when I try putting it in reverse (first is also a bit sticky when I downshift). At the mileage on the car and suspecting its the original factory clutch/flywheel, I'm planning to do a new one before winter. I'd like to upgrade to something a bit more heavy duty and from the threads I've read.it seems the stage 1 exedy with the fidanza flywheel is the way to go. I do plan to mod a bit down the road, nothing heavy duty. This car is a daily driver and will get suspension mods for autocross occasionally. I'd honestly like to go with a spec 2+ clutch kit and the fidanza. Can anyone provide me.part numbers for.the exedy stage 1, spec stage 2/2+ and the fidanza flywheel for the base model 03 P5? None of the threads I've read here have the part numbers listed, and.everything I've found online is for the mazdaspeed p5. Are they the same part numbers as the msp5? How do the clutch parts I'm looking at feel for every day driving? I'm not looking to have to stand on the clutch pedal but I do want a nice firm feel with parts that will hold up to abuse (2nd gear pulls, etc)...Plans with clutch also include new slave cylinder and braided line.

Are there ss braided brake.line kits available for our cars? What would be the best option out there for.the budget minded modder? How about coilover options on a budget? Are there poly motor mounts/trans mounts/shifter bushings available?

The last.issue I'm concerned about is oil use. When I bought the car I didn't.notice any blue smoke on startup. I ran seafoam thru the intake.and crankcase before I changed the oil to Castrol edge titanium extended (gold bottle) 5w30 with a purolator filter (made in USA by Baldwin, same internal media as the Bosch distance plus at half the price). Shortly after I noticed I get the blue smoke.on startup and I lose a quart about every 1500 miles (I run 7500 mile.change intervals). From what I've read this burning oil problem is.a.common issue, but what causes it? The compression is good across the board, only thing I can think of is the oil weight is too low and/or the valve guides are worn... I did read.something about the oil passages.in the rings are too small and.get clogged, is this.correct?

Any info or tips.is greatly appreciated! Thanks guys and gals!

 

[Targaryen420]

subbed

 

[x DeadTaco x]

Welcome to the forums! I hope you find everything you need here and if not, we have lots of masterminds here that will help you out .

I can answer a few of your questions aha so here goes:

SS Brake lines? Yes there are sets available for our cars.

Poly Motor mounts? Yep, AWR sells a whole set with the whole mount or inserts alone in multiple stiffness(es)?

Shifter bushings? Corksport I believe still sells some, if not then watch the FS section.

Coilovers on a budget? This is tricky as unless they are used, you are looking in the $700+ range for new quality coilovers

Best mods on a budget:
You want power? MP3 ECU, Catback exhaust, VICS removal, header.
Handling? Any rear sway bar (Racing Beat, Progress, AWR), and wider tires. Maybe a front/rear strut bar too if you can find any
Style? Plastidip rear valance (many believe it shouldve come stock this way), rims, shorty antenna, mazda 6 rear wiper mod, DG Grille, MSP 03.5 Lip, JDM Tails if you can find them

Hope this helps a bit? And enjoy your P5

 

[nickthaskater]

Mods on a budget? You can do the intake mod for nothing more than the price of some good duct tape: http://www.clubprotege.com/forum/showthread.php?1977-Modifying-the-Stock-Air-Intake-System

Header? The OBX header is a pretty common choice with a good reputation, although you're not really going to see notable gains unless you go 4-2-1 long tube from what I've seen.

Note on the MP3 ECU, you'll need to run 91 octane to take advantage of its improved powerband.

SS clutch line is available and apparently makes a pretty big improvement in pedal feel and control. It's on my immediate to-do list.

Be careful on the engine mounts as too hard a durometer poly bushing will ruin your NVH. Stick with 70 unless you're planning on doing some serious modification and tracking it. If your mounts aren't torn already, you may be better off just getting a set of inserts all around rather than completely poly bushings.

My favourite styling mod for the P5 is a set of JDM tails. They look so much better than the North American tails.

Final note: You mentioned something about a "Mazdaspeed P5". Just so you know, there was no such thing. The only Mazdaspeed Protege was a 4-door sedan. The P5 was exclusively an naturally aspirated 2.0L, in North America at least.

Last but not least, I'm desperately curious as to how you're achieving up to 38mpg hwy, and even more so 34 around town... How are you calculating this? Those figures are pie in the sky relative to anything I've seen or achieved.

 

[MP5x2k3]

Welcome to the forums! I hope you find everything you need here and if not, we have lots of masterminds here that will help you out .

I can answer a few of your questions aha so here goes:

SS Brake lines? Yes there are sets available for our cars.

Poly Motor mounts? Yep, AWR sells a whole set with the whole mount or inserts alone in multiple stiffness(es)?

Shifter bushings? Corksport I believe still sells some, if not then watch the FS section.

Coilovers on a budget? This is tricky as unless they are used, you are looking in the $700+ range for new quality coilovers

Best mods on a budget:
You want power? MP3 ECU, Catback exhaust, VICS removal, header.
Handling? Any rear sway bar (Racing Beat, Progress, AWR), and wider tires. Maybe a front/rear strut bar too if you can find any
Style? Plastidip rear valance (many believe it shouldve come stock this way), rims, shorty antenna, mazda 6 rear wiper mod, DG Grille, MSP 03.5 Lip, JDM Tails if you can find them

Hope this helps a bit? And enjoy your P5

Thanks! What ss brake line kit would you recommend? I've heard great things about goodride brand for other cars, never had a chance to drive on them though...

As far as the motor mounts, not looking for terribly stiff, but I am looking for something with greasable fittings. Basically I want to stiffen up the handling as well as reduce maintenance costs in the long run by replacing rubber with more.durable poly

As for power, I'm not as concerned right now with that. I'm more concerned with eco mods (which seem to go hand in hand most often times on 4 cylinder small displacement engines) and squeezing as much mpg out as I can. Athiugh I am intrigued by the ecumenical swap, could you tell me more (or link me to a diy write up with more info and an explanation of what it does?) Header and exhaust may come later also, nothing too fancy. I'd rather keep my low end torque and it's been my experience in the past with other cars that when I've opened up the exhaust it

 

[MP5x2k3]

What would you guys recommend for rear swaybar end links that are poly? Need something that will fit the stock rear swaybar

 

[MP5x2k3]

Pretty dead around the forum it seems :/

Small update, got the new slave cylinder in and the rubber line replaced with a goodridge ss braided line. Huge difference, no more grinding 1-2 and N-R. Pretty easy job, bleeding went quick and the whole R&R only took about an hour.

Next on the list will be new motor mounts and some minor exhaust tweaks, cutting the resonator out and putting a straight thru cherry bomb glass pack in place of it. Obx header will come after.that, then a spec stage 2/2+ clutch with fidanza flywheel

 

[MP5x2k3]

Pretty dead around the forum it seems :/

Small update, got the new slave cylinder in and the rubber line replaced with a goodridge ss braided line. Huge difference, no more grinding 1-2 and N-R. Pretty easy job, bleeding went quick and the whole R&R only took about an hour.

Next on the list will be new motor mounts and some minor exhaust tweaks, cutting the resonator out and putting a straight thru cherry bomb glass pack in place of it. Obx header will come after.that, then a spec stage 2/2+ clutch with fidanza flywheel

 

[nickthaskater]

I'm really tempted to do the SS clutch line. Sounds like a great upgrade all around.

 

[MP5x2k3]

I'm really tempted to do the SS clutch line. Sounds like a great upgrade all around.

I highly recommend it. After a few days of running around with it and about 600 miles on the.car, I managed to net a few more mpg now that the.clutch isn't dragging (last tank I calculated 41.2 mpg 95% highway at 70 mph) I scored mine brand new for $25 with free shipping on eBay from sparktech motorsports

 

[MP5x2k3]

Picked up the cherry bomb glass pack today, part number 87210 iirc (will check and repost back). 2" in/out, 26" overall length (22" case size, same as stock resonator. Gets welded in Monday, half tempted to have him cut the factory muffler off and run a piece of pipe with a tip welded on. Gonna need.motor mounts soon, lots of vibrations in the front end when I slip the clutch from 2500rpm. Almost feels like wheel hop but I'm getting low traction and squeeling tires..

 

[MP5x2k3]

Glass pack is in. No real change in sound, revs a touch free-er and a bit less bucking when I'm in 1st or 2nd when I step on the gas at a slow roll. Need to do headers and delete the front cat and cut the muffler off to notice much more of a difference, that will happen in 2 weeks. Also did the mod to the upper radiator support plastic, noticed a big difference after that was done. The ole gal hits 4k rpm much faster now. Going.to seal off the 4 holes in the intake piping today with some gorilla tape to finish it up.

Eyeing up a lightened crank pulley and cam pulleys in the near future. Looking at a rear swaybar and the mp3 ecu mod too, with the latter coming once I pay off a purchase for my other hobby in 2 weeks (scored a good deal on a kahr cw9 so my car slush fund is a bit limited right now lol)

We'll see how she fairs on mpg over this tank of gas, see if there are any improvements from the free mods. Last highway trip I took I pulled down just under 41mpg at 75 mph on cruise using 87 octane

 

[nickthaskater]

I'm curious to know how you're calculating fuel mileage. 41mpg is ridiculously high, especially since the 5th gear in the P5 is far from optimal for economical highway cruising.

 

[x DeadTaco x]

Maybe hit the 4 instead of the 3? If not, then id love to know what he did to get 41 mpg cuz id kill for that lol

 

[nickthaskater]

Totally. I calculate by tank and distance and I average ~28mpg with mixed city/highway driving. I rarely, if ever, even drive it "hard".

 

[MP5x2k3]

I'm curious to know how you're calculating fuel mileage. 41mpg is ridiculously high, especially since the 5th gear in the P5 is far from optimal for economical highway cruising.

I reset my trip meter every time i fill up. Divide total miles on the trip meter by amount if fuel pumped and get mpg.

I also don't race my car around and I keep my rpms below 3k when I shift (usually downshift at ~2500rpm), and I upshift from 5 to 3 and engine brake as much as possible and coast to a stop. When I'm in traffic I sit in neutral. Tire pressures at 32 psi all around. I cruise in 5th gear at 75 mph around 3500 rpm and have everything switched to synthetic fluids.. I'm a member at ecomodder forums so I've picked up a few tips and.tricks on how.to drive 5sp more economically.

I should note that I have no idea what was done to this car before I bought it, so the last owners could have installed parts that I don't know about that allow for less rotational mass (lightened flywheel, etc)

 

[MP5x2k3]

Well, just scored a new set of wheels and tires for free from a buddy, picking them up today falken ziex re912 on a set of 16" 10 spoke wheels that he's had laying around since his son sold his 96 probe gt can't beat free lol, especially since my.hankook optimos on stock wheels are terrible and break free on dry pavement with 3/4 tread at 2000 rpm starts

Which reminds me, that's something else that could be affecting my mpg. Currently running 195/50 tires on stock wheels. Iirc my door card says it should have a 185/65 series tire... I pulled down almost 43 mpg again yesterday on my trip to my mom's doing 75at 3300 rpm this time (intake free mod made a difference, lowered my cruise rpms by about 300-400 average). 150 miles driven, filled tank with 3.485 gal and drove another 100 miles without even putting a notch in the gauge again

 

[MrGiggles]

The stock size is supposed to be 195/50-16, as far as I know.

I don't know how an intake mod could lower your cruise RPMs. With a manual, if you're going 75, the engine is spinning 3500, regardless of what intake is on there.

I have yet to break 30 with mine. I have a heavy foot though, and an exhaust that I like to hear.

 

[MP5x2k3]

The stock size is supposed to be 195/50-16, as far as I know.

I don't know how an intake mod could lower your cruise RPMs. With a manual, if you're going 75, the engine is spinning 3500, regardless of what intake is on there.

I have yet to break 30 with mine. I have a heavy foot though, and an exhaust that I like to hear.

More airflow means the engine has to work less? That's.the only thing I can think of that would cause the rpms to drop while cruising...either way, I'm not complaining lol. The free mod did make her.rev a bit quicker and easier to hit 4k rpm...

 

[nickthaskater]

The intake mod does nothing to affect your RPM at speed. It may help the car rev a bit freer, but as far as at cruising speed, that's gear/wheel/tire related.

Are you starting the trip meter from a completely full tank each time? In other words, before you drove those 150 miles, did you start with a freshly filled tank, then pump 3.485 gallons back into it to fill? Just curious.

You must have some sort of mythical MP5 to be regularly getting any sort of mileage north of 30-35 mpg. Highway cruising at anything above 70-75 on these cars is brutal on mileage... As for your other driving techniques, those are pretty common sense and aren't really particular to any sort of hypermiling. I'll also say that sitting in neutral in traffic is dumb and in some cases (I believe) illegal. You're not saving any gas by being in neutral vs. 1st gear with the clutch disengaged. Saving wear on your drivetrain, sure, but not on your gas tank.

Regardless, if you are getting that kind of mileage, congrats, because that's amazing.