2003 MazdaSpeed Protege

[LudeKid]

Can someone please tell me the potential of these cars... and why you don't see a lot of people tuning them... are they hard to find performance parts for them? can they compete with a wrx as far as power after tuning them?... thanks

[LT1MAN]

theres a guy that lives near me that has a blue mazdaspeed protege and i got up on his ass end one day and tried to get him to race and he bounced and i didn't really get up in him, but i was having ignition problems and i had a couple exhaust leaks. but anyway, i saw him again the other day and pulled up beside him and blew his friggin doors off!!! he was hangin out the window givin me thumbs up and stuff. it was definately modded because it did way better than a regular mazdaspeed. but a dude i know has a pewter colored one and ran into the back of a car and had to get a new intercooler, somehow he couldn't get ahold of a factory one so insurance baught him a big ass 24x12(or 18)x3 off of a toyota supra...(?)...im not an import guy so i couldn't tell you if thats true or not, but anyway he says he can run a 12.3 in the quarter. i dont know, maybe. i think they seem to be a little better than some of these vtec cars, but again im not an import guy...

[goat_launcher]

You don't see alot of people tuning them becasue MS Protege's are rarely seen anyways...less than 7000 exist in the US. Yes people are tuning them, you just have to find them ....

All WRX's will kill any Mazdaspeed Protege ever made...Please do your research before posting silly questions like that.

[zx2srdotnet]

he said AFTER tuning it, a wrx is a 14sec car, and a msp can run 15.1-2's stock so after some mods a MSP run with a stock WRX

[Tommy1005]

My MSP will knock on the door of a WRX a friend of mine has. He runs 14.2 with turbo-back exhaust and some other toys. I have turbo-back, 11psi, intake, etc. So not all WRX's will kill any MSP ever made. And there were 4500 total MSP's built. Yes there is a good aftermarket for the car, and more people are building stuff, and getting thinks like AFC's and E-manage to work on the car, but it has taken some time, and will take some more time to get the best aftermarket possible.

[goat_launcher]

Yeah. your wrong. Read the stats. The WRX already comes with a higher output engine, a better stock turbo, and let's not forget the AWD. Is your MSP AWD? nahhh, don't think so. Let's not forget the WRX already has more history behind it, so the amount of parts to add horsepower have been around around for awhile. I'm not saying the WRX is invulnerable and I'm not saying the MSP is a horrible car - (I'd love to own one) , but why don't you stick to comparing the MSP to cars more in it's league, like the Si or the Celica?

[Tommy1005]

the Si or Celica are no match for the MSP....The MSP outhandle the WRX hands down....The only WRX I've ever lost to on an autox course was an STi, and even then it wasn't by much. It is very easy to get the hp from the MSP to atleast what a WRX is stock. There are also plenty of mods out there for the MSP now including fuel management, exhaust, etc. Sure we can't run as much boost, but with similar boost and similar upgrades the MSP is just as fast if not faster than the WRX if you know how to drive. WRX 14.2 with turboback, CAI, etc. MSP low 14's with turboback, CAI, 10-11psi. That is a very similar comparison.

[Tommy1005]

if you go to the right places there are tons of people tuning these cars

[zx2srdotnet]

Originally Posted by Tommy1005

the Si or Celica are no match for the MSP

no match? a 99-00 SI will run 15.4-5 thats what the average MSP will run after it heats up, and a Celica GT-S have hit high 14's stock

[Tommy1005]

In a straight-line, they may give you a decent race, but on a track or auto-x course, there is not much that beats an MSP.....The only cars I lose to at auto-x on a regular basis are M3's with fully adjustable suspension and lots of power, Z06 vettes, and that's about it. I'm about 5 seconds behind these cars on the average. If I were to have coil-overs with fully adjustable Koni's, not just the Koni yellows, and Hoosier slicks, I could probably run right with them. Fact of the matter is I have upgrades to give me more power, and absolutely no suspension mods or race tires, I am still running stock Bridgestones.