It's finally here!
Yes, it's already been built, but it seemed like the best bang for the buck to start my racing career.
It's a 2002 Mazda Protege5 with a Mazdaspeed 2.0T powertrain in it. Built from new as a race car, it ran a few Grand Am Cup races in 2003 and 2004, and Canadian Touring Car in 2007. More recently it has done a few ChampCar races.
It also came with enough spares to build a whole other car :D
My son is performing an initial inspection to determine if I made a good decision
More pictures here https://photos.app.goo.gl/biMaWpGK865f23sJ6 and here https://www.facebook.com/lastplaceracing
I was hoping to see more of this.
In reply to Floating Doc (Forum Supporter) :
I'll try to keep this updated. The first item of business it cataloging all the spares, then determining what's required to get on track.
Median
New Reader
8/25/21 11:49 a.m.
Looks like a good decision to me!
LOVE IT!
I remember reading about these in the magazine...which eventually led me to buy my new MSM Miata, when dealers were literally giving them away.
This is neat. I wonder if I could vintage race it...
I love this car! I bought a brand new P5 in 2003 and had it for 13 years. Great chassis dynamics. With the added power I'll be that thing is a hoot!
I love the size of the P5. Gotta love a compact wagon. Big seller in Canada, too.
I look forward to further updates.
So I found this tucked away in the factory service manual that came with the car. Obviously very old, but apparently the car is largely unchanged, aside from maintenance.
If those are 3rd gen rx7 wheels, make sure they aren't the ones that crack!
In reply to wvumtnbkr :
I believe they're off an FD RX7, but I don't know for sure... how would I determine this?
Those are good numbers for that setup. I'm assuming it's still running the factory turbo. I'm guessing the boost pressure is increased. My old P5 with a similar setup made around that power at 10 psi. I'm curious if this one was ever built up internally. Those engines really don't like boost.
BMWGeoff said:
In reply to wvumtnbkr :
I believe they're off an FD RX7, but I don't know for sure... how would I determine this?
Great question. I don't know, I've only heard that people with 3rd gens take them off because some of them crack.
They are 16s so, a change of wheel is called for anyway for any choice in competitive tires.
If you can fit 15s, that's the way to go. Lowers the car, less weight, and there are competitive 245 40 15s that are winning champcar races.
Edit: for budget wheels, jegs makes the "star" wheel for like 130$. We run them on our 2nd gen rx7 in a 15 x 10. They are cheap and not crazy heavy (around 18 lbs). Also, you can get 15 x 8 jeep wheels pretty cheap and run a 225 45 15 tire and that is pretty competitive as well.
https://www.jegs.com/i/JEGS/555/681284/10002/-1
These are the wheels we run.
Yet another thread that will make me greatly miss my 2001 Protege, that was the most fun to drive car I've owned. If you want/need any MSP suspension parts I still have a bunch in my garage I'd like to offload. And you're only a couple hours from me so let me know. This is going to be a fun one
In reply to infernosg :
I was told the engine has forged internals, and the turbo does appear to be factory. I've only revved it a bit in the driveway, so no real testing of the output yet.
In reply to Sgt_Sizzle :
Thanks, but I seem to have enough suspension parts to build another car, possibly 2 more... the previous owner was hoarding MSP parts.
In reply to wvumtnbkr :
I'll look into it. I have 6 wheels in total, and was planning on using the best 4 for a set of rain tires down the road.
I don't think I can go to 15's because of the bigger front brakes, so I'll probably get some 17's for tire selection.
Well I registered for my first track day, at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park (Mosport), a track that scared Juan Montoya the first time he drove it... might as well go big or go home
Hooray! We have oil pressure. The gauge was reading 0 when I got the car, but it turned out to be a bad electric pressure sensor. Fortunately, there was a spare in the mountain of parts that came with the car.
Passing the enthusiasm on to the next generation is one of the motivating factors for me.
The suspension and brake setup is pretty sweet, but I'm tempted to reduce the front brake size so that I can fit 15" wheels.
The current 16" wheels really limit tire choice. I could go to 17", but since I'm running on a budget, 15" might make more sense.
Double adjustable, remote reservoir coilovers built by Multimatic look like some impressive technology.
What s the plan for this car as far as class or organization to run with?
In reply to wvumtnbkr :
I'm planning to run CASC regional racing (like SCCA/NASA) here in Ontario. It's bracket racing, based on lap times at the various tracks, so I'll be in the slowest class (GT5) to start.
Might try some Champ Car or Lucky Dog, but since I'm a one man team, that limits things a bit.
Had to get some work done, and watch the toddler yesterday. As much as he wants to help, he's not quite able to, so movie time it is.
BMWGeoff said:
In reply to wvumtnbkr :
I'm planning to run CASC regional racing (like SCCA/NASA) here in Ontario. It's bracket racing, based on lap times at the various tracks, so I'll be in the slowest class (GT5) to start.
Might try some Champ Car or Lucky Dog, but since I'm a one man team, that limits things a bit.
I'm pretty sure that there is enough go fast stuff on that car to be automatic EC class in champcar.
It's super cool!
