citykids' newb P5 build

citykids

Always bet on black!
:
2002 Mazda Protege5
Hey guys - I've been a member here since I bought my '02 P5 back in Feb of '13. I've sat back and read through some of other folks builds and now I'm ready to begin my adventure! I hope you guys will give me honest advice and criticism as well (nailbyt)

More pics and updates to come shortly!



Mods to be applied this week:

H̶&̶R̶ ̶S̶p̶o̶r̶t̶ ̶S̶p̶r̶i̶n̶g̶s̶
̶K̶Y̶B̶ ̶G̶R̶-̶2̶ ̶s̶h̶o̶c̶k̶s̶
̶1̶7̶"̶ ̶E̶n̶k̶e̶i̶ ̶M̶5̶2̶
̶2̶0̶5̶/̶4̶5̶R̶ ̶K̶u̶m̶h̶o̶ ̶E̶C̶S̶T̶A̶
̶P̶r̶o̶g̶r̶e̶s̶s̶ ̶T̶e̶c̶h̶n̶o̶l̶o̶g̶y̶ ̶r̶e̶a̶r̶ ̶s̶w̶a̶y̶ ̶b̶a̶r̶
̶A̶W̶R̶ ̶F̶&̶R̶ ̶a̶d̶j̶u̶s̶t̶a̶b̶l̶e̶ ̶e̶n̶d̶ ̶l̶i̶n̶k̶s̶
̶M̶O̶O̶G̶ ̶F̶&̶R̶ ̶s̶t̶r̶u̶t̶ ̶m̶o̶u̶n̶t̶s̶
̶A̶W̶R̶ ̶T̶r̶a̶i̶l̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶a̶r̶m̶s̶


Mods to be applied next week

R̶a̶c̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶B̶e̶a̶t̶ ̶c̶a̶t̶-̶b̶a̶c̶k̶ ̶e̶x̶h̶a̶u̶s̶t̶ ̶s̶y̶s̶t̶e̶m̶
Revolution Wilwood Big Brake Kit F&R
626 Caliper upgrade
H&R Trak+ wheel spacers


Mods to consider
929 Brake Master Cylinder upgrade
AEM or Injen CAI
M-Factory helical LSD
OBX exhaust manifold
Black Mica respray
 
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Here she is when I first got her in Minnesota:
dsc0089jcc.jpg


Now down South:
9kyh.jpg
 
Nice, looks new.
Thanks dude, but looks can be deceiving - rust bucket underneath!

yh3z.jpg


f7fr.jpg

What the heck!?

owdf.jpg

That scares me to death!


My next door neighbor is the owner of the bodyshop at the Mazda dealership here, hopefully he'll give me a good deal on rust repair!
 
Looks a lot better than mine did when I got it! Where are you located? You said you got it in MN....

Do you have any mods in mind yet?
 
When I was up in Minnesota, I tried to find tint shops but everywhere I looked, they all wanted over $200-$250! "What - is your tint gold plated or something?"
So I waited until I got to N. Carolina and found a shop there that quoted me a price of $88! (come to find out that was the "starting at price"). It should have cost
me $150 but due to clerk's error, they gave it to me at $88

fyux.jpg

20% tint
 
Looks a lot better than mine did when I got it! Where are you located? You said you got it in MN....

I was staying in Shoreview (talk about culture shock!) I drove up to Duluth to check one out, but the dealer wouldn't budge on the price, so I found mine at Luther Kia in Bloomington. They actually had 2 to show, black and a silver one. I chose the black, the other was ate up with rust!
 
So far, the only mods I've done have been the tint and an Alpine head unit.

i77e.jpg



Mods to be applied this week:

H&R Sport Springs
KYB GR-2 shocks
17" Enkei M52
205/45R Kumho ECSTA
Progress Technology rear sway bar
AWR F&R adjustable end links
MOOG F&R strut mounts
AWR Trailing Link


Mods to be applied next week

Racing Beat cat-back exhaust system
Revolution Wilwood Big Brake Kit F&R
H&R Trak+ wheel spacers

Mods to consider
AEM or Injen CAI
M-Factory helical LSD
Black Mica respray
 
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And of course, adding a Racing Beat license plate frame is always good for an extra 5hp! lol

rn0c.jpg
 
Yeah I had the same dilemma. I was about to get a silver sedan, but there were rust holes in the front strut towers and on every fender (not very bad, but there and developing). I found mine with worse rust on the rear fenders and a touch on the hood, but other than that lots better on the rust part. Now maintenance-wise, that's a whole new story.....

And I'm really jealous of the tint. I'll probably be getting some on mine before summer, but all I have now is a stupid tint-visor thing on top of my windshield. I found a receipt in my maintenance records from a previous owner having tint ($179), but I'm guessing it was legally too dark when it went from Florida to Minnesota and got ripped off. (mad) Now I gotta find a place in MN that won't rip me off....
 
And I'm really jealous of the tint. I'll probably be getting some on mine before summer, but all I have now is a stupid tint-visor thing on top of my windshield. I found a receipt in my maintenance records from a previous owner having tint ($179), but I'm guessing it was legally too dark when it went from Florida to Minnesota and got ripped off. (mad) Now I gotta find a place in MN that won't rip me off....

Being in Minnesota was a trip, there I was in a state where they allow you to ride motorcycles with NO helmet, buy a gun and get groceries in the same place (walmart) but yet can be so anti-tint! All my friends kept telling me about how the authorities there are so anal about the correct percentage and the lack of good tint shops that makes for the prices being so high. So yeah, I'm glad I was able to get it done in North Carolina.
 
yeah I want something that's gonna be dark, but idk if I wanna get so dark that I'll be getting pulled over all the time. But I'm not surprised by the lack of good tint shops. Nobody around here advertises it at all, so maybe I'll go back to SD and do it. I've heard of some good places there, so that could be a good option.
 
I have limo tint all around from previous owner. It's AWESOME in the summer and when all my Bass gear is in there (which is two bass' and a big ole 100watt peavey),but in the winter I can't see crap at night. I got pulled over about two months ago for misusing my lights to warn fellow drivers of a hidden police man. I rolled both my front windows down as soon as those lights turned on HAHA. It saved my butt from getting wrote up for having illegal tint. But, the dark tint makes my car look fantastic. So, if you don't mind dealing with the rolling windows down during a pull over then dark is the way to go!
 
I have limo tint all around from previous owner. It's AWESOME in the summer and when all my Bass gear is in there (which is two bass' and a big ole 100watt peavey),but in the winter I can't see crap at night. I got pulled over about two months ago for misusing my lights to warn fellow drivers of a hidden police man. I rolled both my front windows down as soon as those lights turned on HAHA. It saved my butt from getting wrote up for having illegal tint. But, the dark tint makes my car look fantastic. So, if you don't mind dealing with the rolling windows down during a pull over then dark is the way to go!


I haven't had any problems since I've been here in NC, for one thing I have Minnesota tags, so no problems there. When I think of Tennessee troopers, why do I keep thinking of Sheriff Buford T. Justice?
 
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