Flav's Mazda Protege5

[CheeseHelmet]

Thanks for the tips Cheese. I know I don't have a set of flare nut wrenches, Hopefully my buddy does. If not I'll pick some up tomorrow. I know I've asked it before and it was answered (somewhere) But when I put in some new brake fluid I just need to pump the brakes while the car is off correct? And I should start from the caliper furthest away from the brake reservoir, right?

That's exactly right (make sure your helper has a strong right leg).

While you're at it, get a jug of DOT 4 fluid and bleed the whole system. I usually end up bleeding almost a whole liter through the system when I do mine. That means doing the pump pedal --> loosen/tighten bleeder --> release pedal procedure 15+ times on each corner.

Also, super important: don't let the brake fluid drop too low (you should never get near the LOW line). The service manual says to keep it above the 3/4 mark but I couldn't tell you why. I always let it drop to halfway between the MIN and MAX lines before topping it up again.

Here's the relevant section from the service manual:

 

[Flav]

Thank you very much!

 

[Flav]

Clutch and brake lines are in! In my honest opinion. I'm not seeing a huge difference, don't get me wrong.. the brakes are a bit stiffer now (marginally) but I was expecting the brakes to bite a bit harder then they are. Clutch line however.. between the air that was in the old line and getting the new SS line on.. the clutch feels buttery smooth now.

 

[CheeseHelmet]

I've never been a big fan of the brake pedal feel on my P5. I've changed everything (master cylinder, lines, calipers) on mine and no matter how much I bleed the brakes they still feel a bit spongy. You just have to get used to it.

 

[Flav]

I've never been a big fan of the brake pedal feel on my P5. I've changed everything (master cylinder, lines, calipers) on mine and no matter how much I bleed the brakes they still feel a bit spongy. You just have to get used to it.

Okay, So I am not crazy. I always thought something was wrong with my cars braking. Better than before though!

 

[CheeseHelmet]

I was just reading through a build thread and came across this: http://www.mazdas247.com/forum/show...A-ST2-thread&p=6225087&viewfull=1#post6225087

 

[Flav]

Not entirely sure what he did, and if it even helped him out? On a semi related topic.. besides the MP5T, does anyone have a hydraulic hand brake? I'd *like* to have one.. but doing so.. can it still be used as a normal hand brake? My cable hand brake seems to never work properly.. The cable on the passenger side has been replaced.. and I even broke the T joint cable not too long ago.. It still seems to have next to no power. I know this mod costs more than it's probably worth.. but I've always wanted one for the laughs.. Especially in the snow

 

[lowlevel]

Not entirely sure what he did, and if it even helped him out? On a semi related topic.. besides the MP5T, does anyone have a hydraulic hand brake? I'd *like* to have one.. but doing so.. can it still be used as a normal hand brake? My cable hand brake seems to never work properly.. The cable on the passenger side has been replaced.. and I even broke the T joint cable not too long ago.. It still seems to have next to no power. I know this mod costs more than it's probably worth.. but I've always wanted one for the laughs.. Especially in the snow

Brian's hydraulic hand brake does look pretty bad ass, but the stock one is perfectly fine for 'snow'

 

[Flav]

Brian's hydraulic hand brake does look pretty bad ass, but the stock one is perfectly fine for 'snow'

I have no idea what the hell is going on with mine. For almost as long as I can remember now mine hasnt been able to grip at all.. its extremely weak. I once had the car parked on a slight incline..leaned on the front and I started to roll it back -_-
And even in the snow lately.. it does nothing but mearly slow the car down ever so slightly

 

[lowlevel]

I have no idea what the hell is going on with mine. For almost as long as I can remember now mine hasnt been able to grip at all.. its extremely weak. I once had the car parked on a slight incline..leaned on the front and I started to roll it back -_-
And even in the snow lately.. it does nothing but mearly slow the car down ever so slightly

Cable could be stretched ... I'de try to adjust the cable at the handbrake side and see if it could be improved... on one of my previous cars I had to replace the cable for the same reason... just would not hold the car, at the full limit of the adjusters.

 

[Flav]

I don't see any cable being stretched. The "T" part that connects to the hand brake itself, that's only a few months old.. and the passenger side cable is about 6 months old now. I will try readjusting it at the hand brake part tomorrow though.

 

[Flav]

As of yesterday, seems like when I'm on the brake's my idle starts to drop HARD almost killing the car (setting in around 600rpm)
Likely cause of a vac leak?

Feeling a little lazy at the moment, but I shall post a picture of the Snotege soon

 

[Dominic Elias]

Hows the body on your car? I want some tips to keep it looking fresh as long as possible

 

[Flav]

Hows the body on your car? I want some tips to keep it looking fresh as long as possible

Body is in pretty good condition. Considering I live in Ontario and its a 12 year old car. However, I did take it to a body shop this past summer to have the rust dealt with.


Here's a shot from Christmas

 

[31N007]

Looking good Flav. What size are those tires? They look rather meaty... I'm on 195/55-15s and they don't fill out the fender near as much as what you have on right now...

Did you manage to sort out the e-brake issue or is that still ongoing? Same with the idle drop, any headway there? I wish I could offer some pointers but alas, I'm not knowledgeable enough to be able to do so.

 

[Flav]

Looking good Flav. What size are those tires? They look rather meaty... I'm on 195/55-15s and they don't fill out the fender near as much as what you have on right now...

Did you manage to sort out the e-brake issue or is that still ongoing? Same with the idle drop, any headway there? I wish I could offer some pointers but alas, I'm not knowledgeable enough to be able to do so.

At the moment I can't remember the size of the tires.. But I am leaning towards them being 205/55/15.

Ebrake issue I haven't dealt with much.. in fact I don't even touch the damn thing anymore. With the way the temperature has been lately, if I use the brake and leave the car over night, it seizes the ebrake (which one day on my way home from a friends place) it made the caliper on the driver side rub the rotor to the point where it was red hot.

Idle drop seems to be somewhat normal again..it only rarely now seems to drop when I'm on the brakes.. Again, with how cold its been here lately, I haven't wanted to do a damn thing with the car. The only mod I've done within the last month was get myself some nice knock off Mazda seat belt shoulder pads.

 

[Flav]

Here's another pic that I forgot to upload earlier. For those of you who have been following me for awhile now will remember that last year I managed to shatter my front lip when I hit a big chunk of ice while driving. I swore to myself that I would remove my front lip for every winter after that. As you can see, I told myself that if I removed the front lip, Girls wouldn't get wet looking at my car anymore. So, it stays.

Here's a simple DIY that I saw on someone else's car on Instagram. Yeah, It's a bit tacky.. but it makes my steelies look a little more interesting this season

 

[iamthewheelman]

I like the energy can idea actually! Really random fact... The cars I see come in at work, that run alloys in the winter with center caps, dont have the axle nuts all rusty and they normally come off way easier when the time comes.

One of my pet peaves is when people run aftermarket rims with no centre caps and there axle nuts are all rusty and look awful. So I think what you did has some function lol

 

[iamthewheelman]

edit... double post

 

[Flav]

I like the energy can idea actually! Really random fact... The cars I see come in at work, that run alloys in the winter with center caps, dont have the axle nuts all rusty and they normally come off way easier when the time comes.

One of my pet peaves is when people run aftermarket rims with no centre caps and there axle nuts are all rusty and look awful. So I think what you did has some function lol

It was 50% function 50% originality (which was copied from someone else hah) Thanks for the feedback!