Mystery brake caliper fit issue

Fejwe

Member
:
2003 Mazdaspeed Protege
Hi all,

I got some mysterious information from my mechanic today, and thought maybe somebody here would be able to explain it. Sorry, it's a bit of a long story.

(My apologies if this would fit better in the Brakes section, or if it's already been answered.)

So today I went to pick up my 03 MSP (bought used from a private seller) from my favorite local mechanic after having my rear rotors and calipers replaced. When I got there the first thing my mechanic said was "That's not really a Mazdaspeed. It's a fake." Apparently, when they got the parts, the brackets (I assume this means the caliper brackets? I don't know brakes very well) didn't fit. They then got brakes for a standard non-Mazdaspeed, and they fit perfectly.

Anyway, while I was driving to work, I thought about it and it just didn't make sense. My car has the Mazdaspeed door sills, the gauges, the fake carbon fiber bits, the shift knob, the orange contrast stitching, the stereo, the owner's manual, everything. It seemed to me like swapping an entire interior would be ridiculous. Who would take a stock Protege and get all the parts to change the body, the seats, the interior, everything? It doesn't seem likely to me.

Anyway, so I called Mazda, and asked if they could confirm that my VIN was originally a Mazdaspeed. After a bit of back and forth, me trying to explain that I didn't want to buy parts, etc., they told me the VIN was definitely from a MSP. We talked a bit and our working hypothesis was that somebody wanted to save some money when they got a previous brake job so they used the standard parts instead of the improved ones.

So I called my mechanic back to tell him. He said that the MSP brackets they got didn't fit on the knuckles at all, so if I have a MSP it has standard knuckles. And that nobody would replace the Knuckles to save a buck because it'd be cheap to just get the MSP ones. Which leaves me confused again. We talked a bit and he suggested maybe I had an early model, and the brakes weren't upgraded until later in the model year.

So that's where I am. I'm confused whether:

1) I have an early car and don't have upgraded brakes because they didn't exist then
2) someone replaced MSP knuckles with Protege knuckles for some reason
3) the brakes were an option and the original owner didn't choose that one
4) my mechanic got the wrong parts from the supplier
5) Mazda was wrong about the VIN and its really a fake MSP
6) something else

I'm hoping someone here might have had a similar experience, or know something about the early models or options. Or maybe someone has a better idea. Just thought I'd ask the experts.

Thanks in advance, sorry for the long read,
Tom
 
Most likely scenario is the mechanic received the wrong part. The MSP calipers fit the regular protege and vice versa the knuckles are the same. You have a true MSP, the brakes were not an option your mechanic is just mistaken.
 
So they installed regular protege rear calipers? I would order some 626 or MSP rear calipers and swap them back, especially considering the stock protege calipers are not designed for the larger MSP rotors.
 
I think I just got the whole stock brake package, but I'm going to see if my mechanic has the part number they ordered handy. That might tell me something.
 
I would be upset if they 'downgraded' my brake setup just because they didn't understand enough about the car.
 
You sound like an older person not to old you should keep that car OEM (Original Equipment Manufacture) parts as much as u can. Our 2003 MSP Protege's are the last of the proteges you look around WHEN see a protege 8/10x its beat up hardly ever will you come across a real MSP. Including production time our cars are now 11 years old 1yr in production i think.
 
You should definitely go back to your mechanic and demand he put the msp calipers on your car. Not sure how he could have made that mistake as I don't believe the stock protege calipers will accept the stock rotors and pads. Rear rotors are like an inch larger I think so he should have noticed that what he was putting on is way different than what he took off.
 
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