Noob upgrades: best bang for the inexperienced buck?

[scottintheway]

Hi all. I'm new here (2002 Protege ES 5spd - black, 140000km [86000 miles], no rust! - purchased last week) I'm really enjoying reading the threads and getting a sense of the community. I'm wondering if anyone can give me a few helpful tips for the best basic upgrades that I can make to the car that are a good combination of the following three factors:

a) relatively straight forward (I am mechanically inclined but have basically no serious experience with anything beyond oil changes)
b) relatively inexpensive
c) a safe bet for actual improvements to performance, or ride quality, or fuel economy, or longevity

Obviously there's not going to be many that satisfy all three, but I'm looking for a project or two that help me get my feet wet and also provide some benefit. Absolutely any suggestion is welcome.

I would post some pics of my ride but it's outrageously cold here right now and it's pretty much vanilla stock so nothing you haven't seen before. It's identical to this one except I don't have the ES decal: http://www.cardomain.com/ride/810653/2002-mazda-protege/

Cheers!

 

[03protolx]

Greetings!

The 2.0L (FS) engine has been produced for many years and has proven to be a decent engine when it comes to longevity and fuel mileage.
FS motors don't like boost too well (turbo) and are better off left as a N/A setup unless serious money is spent.

You could always pick up a cold air intake and throw on a sporty exhaust, that will spice things up a little bit. Typically "inexpensive" "performance" and "protege" don't belong in the same sentence.

The 02 es is already a solid performer, and there is a solid market of aftermarket parts for the protege. Just remember, if you're looking for horsepower/tq, you're more than likely going to sacrifice gas mileage. When you're looking for increasing ride quality, a good set of struts (tokico HP's are a big favorite) and a good set of springs mixed with a sway-bar upgrade will vastly improve the stock ride quality. If you ever come across a question, all you have to do is go to the right hand corner of the page and "search" and more than likely your topic has been covered hundreds of times.

Congrats on the purchase!

 

[scottintheway]

Thanks! I've been doing a lot of searching and lurking. I just thought it would be neat to have a few people's opinions of good starter upgrades. I appreciate your contribution.

 

[02ProtegeDX]

Short shifter is a relatively cheap and easy mod. I have a megan short shifter and it was only like $50 on ebay and took a night to do( I'm not very mechanically inclined as well) but just try to find one that include instructions or look online. A nice set of springs/struts would help in the handling department but that does that a little but more knowledge and skill.

 

[scottintheway]

Thanks!

 

[lolwut]

Many peoples favorite upgrades are short shifters. Intake and exhaust are also simple options. Corksport makes a great exhaust, and I love my Weapon-R intake. Sway bars are a good option for handling. Shocks/springs are also wonderful, but I personally wouldnt install them myself without proper equipment and maybe someone with some experience to help a bit. Not that theyre difficult to install, just that a compressed spring (front springs in particular) are loaded bombs and can maim the s*** out of you if handled incorrectly. The FS engine has a large number of upgrades, and Corksports site has some good s*** along with ProtegeGarage. Also contact a dealership to ask about MazdaSpeed parts. Just remember:

Fast/fun
Reliable
Cheap

Pick two