How important is the Warranty?

How important is the Warranty anyway?

I'm just a little curious to see how highly some my fellow MP3 owners value their warranty. We all agree, we want more power, but I'm seeing a few people bring up the issue about voiding the warranty. I've read thing like people being interested in a turbo, but in another post that very same person would say something about a performance part voiding the warranty.

I personally don't give a mean, big green sh** about the warranty. I'm gonna mod the car either way. Better to do it now and possibly break something and de-mod the car to have it fixed by the dealer while the car is still under warranty.

And if the warranty is the issue, then we should all really reconsider the whole Turbo thing. Because I know for damn sure a turbo will void your warranty. If you think otherwise you should be wearing a dunce cap.

im 100% with you apexi, sometimes i even consider getting another car as soon as i finish to pay this one, seems like most of the people that bought this car want a "reliable daily driver"... no wonder why the aftermarket hardly care about our cars...

man, i have tried, called mr. bell, called here, called there, posted in this forums, posted in the yahoo groups, but seems like the most ppl r willing to do is an intake and a exhaust...

for example, im almost 100% sure that if we call AEM or unorthodox asking for cam gears or pulleys for our cars, with a good customer list, they will do it in a snap, is just a matter of putting DEMAND!!!!

anyway, im frustated mainly because i was expectin SEMA to be the event where we will see something for our 2.0 engine, seems like the whole event was about the Acura RSX... and i just did a test drive on a dessert silver type s last night... if i knew that you could put an OEM body kit in those cars before buying my mp3 i would have probably go with it, its not the fastest thing around, but at least it has support, or should i say enthusiasts?

Since I am a student, and a broke one at that, until I get out of school I need to have a reliable car with a warranty. I can't afford to be getting a car fixed left and right. Now, when I get out of school, I'll have the extra money, but right now, no. Getting this car was like an extra bonus, got all the reliability with some really neat modifications. I plan to do more to my car later, when I can afford it, but right now, I need my warranty.

In my case, I'm still debating on several factors, and also waiting for parts to come out before I do my modding. For now, I'll be happy to add more cosmetic stuff, ie. lip/grille, clear markers, leather seats, lightweight Racing Hart CP 035's (which do help performance!). That should keep me and my bank account busy for at least half a year or more. If pulleys come out, I'll be sure to get the accessory pulleys at least, though I am leery of crank pulleys (they show more gain, but have higher risk of screwing the engine up).

The factors I am debating are: yes, I do need a reliable daily driver, so should I do the cams/pistons so early in the life of the car? I agree with Apexistud that de-modding the car would probably work if anything goes wrong, but the whole process costs time and $$ to de-mod, and certain dealers could still give you a hard time if you're not lucky. So, is it worth the hassle? I'm going to wait around for a bit on this one (to see the results of others' mods) and I've got to check out how my dealer views stuff like this.

Secondly, with the issue of cams/pistons, I don't know if I will have trouble with smog tests. I live in one of those areas that enforce the test every two years, and I hear that cams will increase emissions and possibly fail the test. Based on past experiences, what do you guys think? The tests in my area aren't as strict as the California regulations, but they're not too lenient either.

In my last car, failing smog tests was a big issue. I had to pay for the test (and re-tests) and bring the car to a 'certified' repair shop to fix (they'll charge an arm and a leg) everytime or else I couldn't buy insurance for the car. SUX!! Thinking of it that way, wouldn't it be a bother to take out your performance pistons and replace them with stock ones everytime you had a smog test? That's both $$ and time wasted. Cams might be a little easier though.

There's my opinion, living in an area with smog tests and the like...I hope you guys are luckier than me! But with all this, I'll still consider doing performance mods (after I do the cosmetics) and when I've got some extra $$$ set aside just in case something fudges up.

well, im a student too, pretty broke too, but im willing to do some extra efforts in order to give more ponnies to my car, because, as hard as it can be to admit it, this car is one slowwww car. Im thinking about the cams, but i will wait to see somebody else doing it and if it really gives you a good performance gain, other than that i will not consider risking the test just for 5hp... but im truly waiting for a carb legal, well engineered turbo kit!

i got the 6 year warranty on mine. all i plan on doing is an intake. i got the warranty cause i dont have the money to pay for anything if it ***** up. I got the car as a play toy to throw around in the corners, im not much of a drag racer. I am married with a child with two car payments and a house payment i cant afford to do to much to the car anyways. also im saving my money so i can import an Escort Cosworth over here. i got the car planning not to do anything to it.

this confirm my assumptions.... man, im selling this car or trading it in as soon as im done with the payments....

Razhael,

Your reasoning is flawed. There are a hell of a lot of people with Protege 5s. Same engine but different ECU & intake manifold. Parts are definitely going to come out for our engine regardless of MP3 owner demand. Either way, why sell the car if nobody else is doing the same mods?! Don't you want a unique configuration!?

As for me, I'm going to do intake (AEM short ram) in the spring and probably intake cams later next year. I don't want to risk the warranty just yet with all kinds of craziness. Maybe after 1.5-2 years, but not just yet. Sorry to burst your bubble, but modding a car is expensive, and not everyone can just throw money at it.

I suggest you stick with the car and wait for the parts to come out. This thing has been out for like 4 months and everyone's bitching about no turbo being available ...

Good things come to those who wait

DooMer_MP3

have fun sell your car man. good luck.

It's cool that people agree on here. We all want more ponies, but we don't want to give up the daily drivability. Ragardless of the warranty, I'm still gonna get the cams, but I also want to address the timing issue so, I will most likely look into cam gears. I called AEM about cam gears and they gave me these numbers.

Modern Performance (203) 878-5961
Steeda (954) 960-0774
Mazda Competition 1-800-435-2508

They said to ask about having a cam gear made. I say we all take some time out and start calling these places up and ask for a cam gear, Remember to mention the companies, that the cam gear will fit P5's as well, so it's worth looking into.

If we get lucky, we might do what the I-club was able to do with Autometer. A bunch of people starting calling and E-mailing Autometer asking for a gauge pillar for the WRX and 2.5RS. 3-5 months later, Autometer released their guage pillars for the WRX and 2.5. It's a long shot, but well worth a try.

Im a senior in high skool and i just put a $3000 deposit on my car, so im kinda broke, and i just started workin again a week ago. So right now im just gonna do the lil performance mods and things like graphics (like the one in the hot import show, montrealracing.com). When i get into college and get a better job ill consider gettin a turbo, by that time parts would be out and tested to see if they're good or not.

i dont plan on doing anything to my car. like i said before. But since my last car (ZX2 with I/H/E, springs, brakes) the performance bug still has its effect over me. hell today i say im not doing anything tomorrow it might be different. if anything all i might do is intake, intake cam, high compression pistons, flywheel, better clutch, rotors and pads. i plan to autox my car so i really dont want forced induction.

Well well well...! hehe... I WONT VOID MY WARRAnty FOR 5 or 10 HP.....
but for a TURBO (i cant go to CAL and left my car there for a months cuz im in canada) i would be ready TO VOID IT!!!!
but right now im getting a better sub and amp ...next spring new spoiler and bodykits + drop suspension + exhaust + CAI....
and if at that time i could get a turbo....I WILL GET IT!!!!

a nice car with good performance is all i ask!

Personally, I wanna hook up my ride pretty well. It's the least expensive car on my list that I was looking at, which leaves more $ to spare for mods. BTW, don't flame me or anything, but my 3 cars were:
-Camaro
-Subaru Impreza WRX
-Protege MP3

For all you out there who hate the Camaro b/c it's a big bad American muscle car...get with it. You have to at least give it credit for being able to haul ass. 0-60 on a 2002 Z28 is like 6.2 give or take .1 seconds.

Anyway, the reason I chose our car is because for just over $18K, you can't beat it. It has everything I wanted (down to the head unit) except for speed. So since I saved tons of $ in NOT buying a $26K WRX or a $28K Z28 (both of which I would have spent even MORE money on top of that due to extra mods), I can afford to put at least a few grand into this one. I've already looked into getting a custom turbo+forged pistons installed for over $8K, and that would about double my HP. According to the tech, it would be a 13 second car, capable of keeping up with a Corvette Z06. 'Aint nuthin' wrong with that.

So in other words, while this is going to have to be a reliable daily driver for me (I have no real reason to own 2 vehicles), I want it to be a QUICK one. I don't wanna really mod it until this summer, but I definitely want to break 190HP, at least.

hehe 8000$Us....that's 13000$ CAN....God half the price of my car!!!

but it sure worth every peny when push the gaz pedals to the bottom!!

keep us inform on that!