AWD Pro5?!?

T

Tw1g007

Member
:
2002 Mazda Protege5
I know that in Japan Mazda made a 4wd version of our cars called the Sport20 Familia. Do you think it's possible to retrofit the 4wd system into our cars without fabrication, or would I have to suck it up and try to import one lol...

I just think it'd be awesome to have a legit 4wd pro5, they're already little rallye cars. If I could get an AWD system AND a KL-ZE swap, dude, heaven lol.
 
Different floor, different subframe different rear suepension ect. Just import one. Much cheaper if you can find one. Though, its not intelligent awd. 4wd.
 
From what I have heard, the 4WD system that they had was not super strong, so if the plan was to make a sort-of P5 WRX car then probably wouldnt work well unless you beefed up the drivelines and such.
 
I did some research, and I figured out that;

1: you can't reasonably put the system in USDM pro5 because they share almost no parts

2: they are cheap to import (between about $3-7k total)

I'm still not sure they're actually legal to bring into the US. I would be so happy if they were but it's something I'd need to look into...

As for the Pro5 WRX, maybe down the line, but not immediately. I just want the 4WD and the growing room and maybe the ability to chop Hondas off the line lol. Eventually I'd boost it and beef up the drivetrain.

So, great idea and totally uncommon, but I'm not sure of the legality of US import. I know that Canada can get the 2001 models right now and the 2002 models next year. ******* US and it's 25 year rule.
 
MrGiggles said:
Buy a Subaru.
Click to expand...

Second this. If you want to stay in the Mazda camp, get a Mazdaspeed6 if you can find one. The amount of work that will go into a custom AWD Protege5 setup or even importing a 4WD Protege5 really doesn't justify what you'll get in return. With the first option, you're talking about a lot of fab work including custom transmission, rear diff, cutting and fabbing in a transmission tunnel so your custom trans/driveshaft will fit, try to fit the KL longitudinally, which will be a b%$tch since the Proteges don't have much wiggle room under the hood anyway and much much more. For the latter, even if you find one and pay the fees to bring it here, you have no idea if this car will meet US emission standards and if something conks out, you have no guarantee that the parts you need will be readily available here.

On a side note, I'd be wary of any feature that Mazda added than took away after a year or two because chances are they have issues too. For example, the AWD systems in the MS6's were prone to failure, the engine/turbo setup is the MSP is finicky and there's a big chance you'll grenade the engine if you try to go past stock boost, which is set at a measly 8 psi. The one thing I've learned from trial and error is to be really careful with cars that have "limited edition" features mainly because they don't see the same testing and optimization that a system that's been around for a while. Good example is the Probe GT. The 93 had a bunch or strange features and issues, which were swiftly fixed with 94 and on and more or less perfected by 97.
 
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I would get a Subie but I don't vape. No but honestly I love this Chassis and I know 4wd would do it so much justice. It's just a matter of beefing up the components with whatever fits or can be found. As for importing, I could wait another 10 years lol. Or I could do more research to see if anybody has done it. Or I could get a job in Japan for a year, buy one, and bring it back home (loophole).

It's mostly a pipe dream, like owning a 92 Escort RS Cosworth. I'd love to have one eventually though.
 
25 year rule to legally import a car in the US. Thats why R32 Skylines have suddenly taken over the US, because within the last couple years they became fully legal to import. Want something small, AWD, that was built to rally but made into a street car? 1990 Nissan Pulsar GTI-R. I will own one within the next couple years when the price goes down, they just became legal to import within the last 6-8 months.
 
25 years is brutal.. i think its 15 in canada. is why so many late model skylines and silvias are around.. hell. there are more imported gt86 and any skyline than my msp lol...but yes.. the 4wd would be a nice feature to have, but if you buy a famila special, please leave it alone..

I had thought of trying to convert a b series 4wd system into a protege shell but unless you can do all the fab work yourself and have pretty much zero fear of ******* s*** up, I Prob wouldn't dick around with it heh. also 4wd isn't always the beezneeez. maybe consider a miata/RX8 RWD conversion.. or just tune the FWD suspension better. 4wd may have more overall traction but it can also push like a fking dumptruck if not setup right... protege has a lot of off throttle steering and with msp tuned suspension and lsd, enough on throttle steering for the power level.
 
I'll probably just stick with my plan of boosting it, I want to do a KL swap but it's my daily, and it'd be easier to work out boosting it and get it on the road than it would be to swap a KL. I'm disappointed though, a Sport 20 would be awesome
 
Even a mildly boosted p5 is good times and doesnt have to cost a lot. Get to it
 
I would, but my engine is seriously unhealthy lol. It's staying N/A. I might actually buy a really cheap engine or whole donor car and build the engine off that (many parts lol) then drop it in after getting the engine bay cleaned up, treated for rust, and painted on my Pro5. I'm really worried about a few rust spots on my P5 tbh. They aren't rotting through yet to my knowledge (except the hood, but that's easy to replace) so I need to get on that.
 
Definitely. Mechanical is piss easy and cheap ifyou can do it yourself. Donor cars usually best as you can test drive what you are swapping lol.
Definitely keep your shell nice above all.
 
Yep, cuz then I can have the pos daily, and the boosted ripper of a showcar... Until I save up and get my new goal car, a 323 GTR lol... Then the boosted ripper can be the daily
 
Valk said:
25 years is brutal.. i think its 15 in canada. is why so many late model skylines and silvias are around.. hell. there are more imported gt86 and any skyline than my msp lol...but yes.. the 4wd would be a nice feature to have, but if you buy a famila special, please leave it alone
Click to expand...

Yep, its 15 for Canada from my understanding. I need to make some good friends up there that can find me my Pulsar GTI-R that has already been imported. And hopefully kept in the garage during the winter.

Valk said:
Even a mildly boosted p5 is good times and doesnt have to cost a lot. Get to it
Click to expand...

I have mostly owned trucks/SUV's my whole life (this is my first car other than a project Datsun 510 wagon that did not get driven much) but have driven some fun cars and I can honestly say a P5 with boost seems like a blast. Stock it actually seems to have a bit more power than I was expecting.
 
Up to 80 they pull great and the butt dyno gives a sense of more power than is actually there. They're really nimble too, I love taking it out on a back road and blasting. I love this car to death and it's my first and I don't think I could've gotten anything better.
 
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