College Student First Car Build

Sorry things have been so rough. I've been "done" with my P5 enough times to know that pain!

Honestly, in my opinion, going back to N/A will not only save your engine, but save yourself some major headaches. The FS-DE was not a fair recipient of the turbo, and the amount of mods one must dump in to make it run properly and consistently is annoying.

It won't be fast, but you can at least make it corner with the best of them. Trust me on that one...I'm in a racing class stacked with Miatas, CRXs and Civics, and I beat at least half of them on crappy S-Drives each event!

Good luck with whatever you choose to do.

I haven't had any reliability issues per say, more so my doing and time. The EGR falling off is my fault, and my last semester ended up being my busiest somehow. That, sun going down early, and it being cold out here kept me from even wanting to look into that. I don't want to un-turbo it per say cause I do enjoy the turbo, I just want to actually enjoy driving the car.
 
Modding cars is a pain brother. Just stick with it. Don*t un-turbo your car. Unfortunately Mishimoto is really just an eBay type brand. But there shouldn*t be a gap on the shroud, I know this because I have the same setup as you. Send me some pics of what*s going on. You want to go with 2* piping- that*s fine and theoretically will spool the the turbo quicker. I might have spare pies(pieces) laying around- depending on what you need

I need the U pipe at least. I will have to make a plan and whatnot. I might mess with it this summer. No real desire to right now. I was gonna wire the gauges in this weekend as well. lol oh well

I'll try to get a picture tonight. I have to go work on the car again tonight anyway.
 
Well, I've been avoiding the issue for a while. But I'm gonna try to refill the coolant tomorrow and take the car home. At least with it sitting here I can work on the s*** here. I think I am gonna remove the radiator shroud and use the mishimoto slim fans, then get some 2in piping to get the hot side piping to the intercooler. I have one and i think it is slimmer than the shroud. Planning to make a trip up to installshield within the next few weeks to grab my parts and engine from 323's within the next few days (I had a friend say he would help me)

ALSO Mishimoto radiator shroud might be sold cheaply. I gotta pay off a portion of the "loan" before interest hits lol
 
Very successful day at Pick N Pull! (minus getting a 10mm socket stolen. Reasons I never give tools out) I went there to see if they cut out the cats, and to see if it had lowering springs. Got there and the car wasn't too bad condition. Had tein springs. Checked the ECU and it was just a regular manual ECU unfortunatly. Main goal was these beautiful black housing headlights! They need a good clean and restore but still! I wasn't going to get the springs but I figured **** it. Theyre there. Went to Harbor Freight to get some 1/2 in sockets. Turns out you need a wrench for the rear struts. Learned that when I stood on it to try to get the right rear off and destroyed the rear end lol No issues with end links. Either twisted the strut to where i needed it to be or they broke when I stood on it. BUT the best part, I open the hatch to get the rear struts off, and see a Megan rear strut bar staring back at me! Grabbed that with the quickness. I'm considering repaintaing or powdercoating it. I don't know yet.
Going back to grab the Megan exhaust for a friend and maybe the steering wheel for another. Just when I considered to stop going to PNP just to browse lol

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Well, I finally drove the P5. Miss this little car so much. Interesting driving with the intercooler piping disconnected. A lot of turbo spool with no boost. I'm going to try to hatch out a plan to get it back on the road in the coming weeks. Job hunting is taking up a good majority of my free time. With that being said, I am currently looking at what I think I would enjoy doing the most, but the position near my home town was JUST filled last week. But they have openings for the training currently in Des Moines and Columbus which the fiance is not fond about at all. But if I were to get that, the training lasts 6-9 months and then I would be moved to a permanent location. Unfortunately, I have no desire to move the trouble car halfway across the country temporarily, so if I were to get this position, the car would have to sit for that almost year ): I have no problem with that, but I have a feeling with making money, I might be more inclined to buy a "newer" car and might lose interest in the P5.
 
I know it's been a while since you were looking for one, but are you still interested in finding a rear spoiler?

Looks like NaturalFlavored is selling an aftermarket wing for the P5. Dunno if it's the model you're looking for, but it's worth a look (check the photo album link):

https://www.mazdas247.com/forum/showthread.php?123868468-Protege5-parts

Super late reply, but thanks man! I want the iSport spoiler/extension though. I doubt I will ever get my hands on one or even see one
 
Well, I am finally spending my last few nights in Virginia Beach. 323 organized a lil Protege meetup (feat. our friend's FR-S). A little bittersweet leaving this area. I've told 323 multiple times, but I can't thank him enough for everything from letting me use his garage, to his knowledge/ the people he has networked me with and his general hospitality.

With that being said, a few last minute things. Drove the wagon NA and again reminded myself why I love the little thing. But it is now confirmed, turbo is bad. I was hoping the oil leaking would stop with the drain fixed, but oil is still spewing all over the hood. So I (323 cause I wasn't gonna mess with it) put the U pipe back on to throw that oil to the ground lol I finally picked up the engine from his house the other day as well. Once I get it up to Northern VA, I will throw it on the stand and then eventually start accumulating forging parts. Here's some pics from the meet, I'm not 323 behind the lens

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After a long hiatus on the forum and working on cars I am gonna try to get the wagon "back on the road" this week. Ordered Spal 2" thick fans this morning. I say "back on the road" cause the car is still drivable NA slow as hell. I drove it up from VA Beach to Fredericksburg and a older golf passed me on 95. So being bored and halfway thru the drive, I dropped it into 3rd and "boosted" past him. It was interesting, the turbo makes all the noise in the world but I have 0 boost lol

The new engine from DP is in storage, and I hope to start collecting the parts for that around winter. The turbo is shot. When I busted the radiator I couldn't fit the intercooler piping back on and the turbo shot oil all over the hood, but a minor setback. Hoping in the next few weeks to be a boosted boi again, maybe get the gauges wired up (I have to order the gauge surround gauge pod and that has a 5 week lead time) and a few other things here and there.
 
Well, short-lived glory lol I managed to wreck the motorcycle Wednesday and broke my elbow. Although I can move it way more than a few days ago, I cant put any pressure on it and for some odd reason, my fiance won't install the fan for me with me telling her what to do *rolls eyes*. But I'm hoping to have full movement back in about a week or so so maybe next weekend I can attempt to be a boosted boi again.
 
Damn man sorry about your elbow, is the bike totaled beyond repair? Hope it heals up quick so you can finish your turbo build!��
 
Damn man sorry about your elbow, is the bike totaled beyond repair? Hope it heals up quick so you can finish your turbo build!**

Believe it or not, the bike ended up completely fine! Scratched what was left of the fairings and broke the foot peg but I got the foot peg today and a helmet and whatnot yesterday. Hoping to fix the car and bike this week!
 
Believe it or not, the bike ended up completely fine! Scratched what was left of the fairings and broke the foot peg but I got the foot peg today and a helmet and whatnot yesterday. Hoping to fix the car and bike this week!

car first for cars and coffee pls
 
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