What should I do to my P5? Any P5's in LA/OC County?

[twinturbro]

Hey folks!

I recently acquired a 2002 Protege5 from my brother. Automatic, 90K miles. I haven't done anything to it yet, all stock. I have been told that I should look into getting an AEM intake, Racing Beat exhaust, BC coilovers for suspension.

1) Does anyone have any other tips/advice for parts?

2) Is anyone around the LA/OC County area that wouldn't mind helping out and sharing valuable information about good shops, meet-ups, parts installation,etc? I'm a complete amateur and would love to learn more.

I'm in the Rowland Heights/Fullerton area a lot.

Thanks for your time friends!

 

[katapaltes]

If the antenna is cracking around the base or if you just want to update the look, replace that antenna with an Acura RDX one or a short Mazda one. The former is cheaper and a great fit. That's the only "mod" I've done on my '03. Well, that and I removed the crossbars on the roof rack. Other than that, keep your old parts so that you can put them back on for the next owner who may love buying an all stock vehicle.

 

[Minds_Eye]

My to do list on my stock '03:

VTCS removal, and clean EGR and put thread lock on VICS screws while I'm in there
new shifter bushings
fix ac flickering on fan speeds 2 and 3
new antenna
maybe replace trans fluid
edit: also replace wiper stalk with one from a few models (MPV, certain years Escape/Tribute, probably a lot more) to get the continuously-adjustable wiper timing feature. Just plug the new one in. Piece of cake, I'm told.

If you want to go fast, your most cost-effective options are wheels/tires, weight removal, cool air intake, vtcs removal, mp3 ecu.

 

[NaturalFlavored]

Just read this thread. Everything that can be done, but since yours an auto the MP3 ecu is out of the question.
http://www.mazdas247.com/forum/showthread.php?123855397-You-know-what-needs-to-be-a-sticky

 

[twinturbro]

Thank you so much!

 

[aznxenon]

Hey dude, I'm local to you in Claremont (north of Pomona). Let me know if you're open to Injen cold air intake and Mazdaspeed exhaust for the P5. I sold the car but the parts are still in my garage.

 

[ErmahgerdMP5]

Hey dude, I'm local to you in Claremont (north of Pomona). Let me know if you're open to Injen cold air intake and Mazdaspeed exhaust for the P5. I sold the car but the parts are still in my garage.

How much for the intake...I live in San Bernardino

 

[Ilikebikes]

Hey dude, I'm local to you in Claremont (north of Pomona). Let me know if you're open to Injen cold air intake and Mazdaspeed exhaust for the P5. I sold the car but the parts are still in my garage.

Would you ship the exhaust? I am in Northern Cali.

 

[twinduct]

With all honesty our cars are not fast by any means and with that said the price to hp/tq gain is small for aftermarket parts. My advice would be to just do aesthetics and handling. Replace any worn/ripped bushings and motor mounts, get some coilovers and have a shop install them with a wheel alignment. Some good tires with stock or aftermarket rims. I would then do a HID retrofit to get your headlights looking sharp at night and better road visibility.

You would be surprised at how good the stock rims can look if you properly paint them.

 

[ErmahgerdMP5]

With all honesty our cars are not fast by any means and with that said the price to hp/tq gain is small for aftermarket parts. My advice would be to just do aesthetics and handling. Replace any worn/ripped bushings and motor mounts, get some coilovers and have a shop install them with a wheel alignment. Some good tires with stock or aftermarket rims. I would then do a HID retrofit to get your headlights looking sharp at night and better road visibility.

You would be surprised at how good the stock rims can look if you properly paint them.

Or slap some vette wheels on the bish haha

Sent from my BLU LIFE ONE XL using Tapatalk

 

[TwiZtedCheese]

No way lool did they just fit or was there any modifying / adapter?

 

[Jackie chan]

Oof, that back fender. All the way up under the door. Flares can be cool, but not that cool.

And I'm pretty sure they need an adapter spacer. Diff lug pattern and I think they would hit the strut without them. Don't quote me though.

 

[i12drivemyMP5]

Oh, y'all are talking about the car. (boom01)

 

[Brian_K]

Hi there, if you're looking for some help working on your car let me know! I live in south OC and go to school in Fullerton.

I'd look into the following parts to start:
- rear swaybar - racingbeat or progress - best bang for your buck suspension mod
- manual transmission swap - depending on how adventurous/mechanically inclined you are
- Solid urethane motor mounts - might be worth checking if your stock ones are torn since they tend to fail prematurely on these cars
- I'd save the intake as one of the last things on the list, you really wont notice much improvement besides the added induction noise. The stock intake system for these cars is pretty good as long as you don't have any tears/holes in the plastic intake pipe.