Called Callaway

kcagle

Member
I told the receptionist that I had a couple of technical questions about the car and she told me to call Mazda. I told her that Mazda would not be able to answer my questions so she put me through to an engineer's voicemail and he actually called me back!

I think he thought I was a little crazy at first. I wanted to ask him about how much more modification the engine could take. He was obviously hestitant to discuss anything with me, but he did offer this:

- He first made it clear to me that nothing has been agreeded upon with Mazda yet regardless of what is being said.

- Mazda was very concerned about reliability and Callaway is positive that it will not give any problems within the first 3 years and they tuned it down b/c they know this is going to be driven really hard.

- I asked him about FS-ZE cams and other mods and he said that he was positive that the computer in the car will be programmed to detect changes in boost and timing etc. and it will be programmed to SHUTDOWN if it sees anything outside its chosen ranges. Of course he could be just talking off the cuff, but he probably is right. That doesn't mean we can't get our ECU's reprogrammed...

- His reaction to my questions about modding was the most interesting part. He said that I just need to sit in the drivers seat to realize that this is a very good performing car. He feels like they have brought the Protege to perfection.

-I then asked him about the numbers quoted in the Autonews article. Is it true about the 0-60 being under 7? His reply indicated that most people will not achieve those numbers. His reply was this: with the right traction and the right driver it IS possible to reach 60 in under 7. He said that what makes it difficult is the the gearbox requires a shift to 3rd right before 60 and if you don't do it jsut right then you don't pull it off in under 7. I'm glad that Mazda didn't buy in to the 0-60 rhetoric. Personally, its better that it shifts like that b/c the powerband will be broader.
 
Sweet info! good to see you have the balls to make such a call. Now I'm really looking forward to seeing this car. Might upgrade if a black one is available in the area. :)
 
kcagle said:
I'm glad that Mazda didn't buy in to the 0-60 rhetoric. Personally, its better that it shifts like that b/c the powerband will be broader.


amen! too often, companies gear their cars for the 0-60 which hurts over all acceleration.

that ecu shutting down stuff seems bogus. i think a boost controller will work on the MS Pro just like any other turbo car.
 
"- His reaction to my questions about modding was the most interesting part. He said that I just need to sit in the drivers seat to realize that this is a very good performing car. He feels like they have brought the Protege to perfection."

boy these Callaway guys sure are confident (or cocky?) :D
 
"boy these Callaway guys sure are confident"

You have to understand that he has a certain amount of pride involved b/c he was one of the actual engineers who developed the Turbo so of course he thinks its all you'll ever need. Why screw with perfection was kind of what he was trying to say I think...

As an addendum to it all, when I started asking him about other parts he was like , "huh?" So I got the impression that he lives in kind of a bubble where if it doesn't have to do with what he works on then he pays no attention to it. That sounds harsh but I know plenty of people like that. Not everyone is like me and has to know as much as possible about all things that enter my world...
 
yup, i totally understand the pride an engineer has in his product, me being a SOFTWARE engineer and all :D
 
Great job on the info gathering kcagle...it's good to hear stuff right from the horse's mouth so to speak.
 
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