Mazdaspeed Protege / MP3

I was digging around on the internet last night and came across a few claims that the mazdaspeed protege had bested the integra as the benchmark in fwd handling. ( I also read a sweet article comparing an integra type-r to a 2010 civic si, guess who won? ) Does anyone here own a mazdaspeed protege? It seems there were a limited number made so I was also wondering how well a protege5 would accept the same sort of suspension setup. I have taken a ride in a 2001 gs-r and that was a pretty nice car, practical too, and maybe they have fallen off the most stolen cars list. But at the same time I could probably find a newer protege for less money if it handles near as well or better. Opinions?

Inaugural post from a somewhat long-time lurker here. I own a 2001 Mazda Protegé ES. Suspension is definitely interchangeable between all iterations of the car. The ES and P5 have the same suspension, the MP3 and Mazdaspeed have stiffer springs and struts, and thicker sway bars (but the architecture is the same across the board). Wheels and tires are bigger on the MP3 and Mazdaspeed too.

OEM was Tokico Blues for the Mazdaspeed, IIRC. I don't know specific spring rates, but the Mazdaspeed springs are stiffer, and would lower a P5 roughly 0.5 inch.

The Mazdaspeed Protegé also gets stronger axles and a limited slip differential (never available from the factory in lesser variants).

Brilliant little cars, they are. The more new cars I drive, the more I like my car. Fantastic steering feel, decently lightweight (it's no Miata, so I know it's heavy by GRM standards), very tossable on backroads. It's much more composed and responsive than the strut suspension would have you believe.

The letdown is the engine. It's not a terrible engine, as it's reliable and fairly torquey for around town driving. But it's a bit coarse, runs out of steam well before redline and has a lumpy torque curve. Weak rods, so it's not boost friendly either. Stock boost for the Mazdaspeed was around 7 psi, and anything over 10 psi makes the engine a ticking grenade.

That being said, I have over 130K hard miles on mine, and it runs as well as the day I bought it.

As far as age, the newest Protegé (Mazdaspeed or otherwise) is going to be a 2003 model, so not a huge difference over an Integra.

Lots of upgrades are available for the cars from www.protegegarage.com.

(Can we link directly to vendors?)

I bought a 2001 Mazda Protege MP3 (the non-turbo precursor the MazdaSpeed Protege) in laser blue in 2008 w/ less than 50k on it. For a FWD, handling was really good - just a smidge behind my '95 track Miata, but I personally can't stand sedans so I gave it to my brother after a year (~12k miles) of driving it.

And yes, I am the best sister ever. :D

-doll

I've been told that the P5's don't like motor mounts either and seem to eat through them at a good clip.

Do the Protege parts bolt onto Zx2's? I know everything was on the same bg chassis up until 2003.

I had an 01 P5 and enjoyed it. The factory suspension was well tuned and the car was fun to toss around. I doubt they're still available but Mazdaspeed sold a spring and shock setup for the Protege and P5. I kinda wish I'd kept the car but selling it led to an 05 Sentra SER Spec V (always a mouthfull). I definetely miss that car.

My roommate has a blue Protege MP3. It is definitely great fun to fling around. A bit gutless, but probably pretty capable at an auto-x.

Nitroracer wrote: I was digging around on the internet last night and came across a few claims that the mazdaspeed protege had bested the integra as the benchmark in fwd handling.

Does that mean the Neon ACR that bested the MP3 protege 5 years ago in GRM's testing is the new, new benchmark in FWD handling?

I don't think so. Until someone comes out with another lightweight Double Wishbone car, the Integra will remain the king.

The Integra is a classic but the MP3 is pretty cool looking, and a little rare

Flapjack wrote: The Integra is a classic but the MP3 is pretty cool looking, and a little rare

Take note (at least up here in Canuckland), that generation of protege/MP3 is one of the only Mazda's I've seen with rust issues. ESPECIALLY MP3's.

I can tell you I was looking at two different mazdaspeed protege's with less than 50k on the odo's for under 10 grand before I bought the M5. They were both in missouri if I recall

Yes, there were numerous articles singing the praises of the Mazdaspeed's handling. It had numerous mentions of being on par with the Type R. Obviously, the mazdaspeed version would be quicker than the MP3 due to the extra horsepower from the turbo.

I owned a 2003 black Mazdaspeed and will give my 2 cents worth.

The bad: engine tuning stinks (way too rich from factory), rear sway bar clunks after a while (there is a aftermarket fix for it), engine can't take more than 10 psi, and seats are rather flat.

The good: good milage (after I got a split second air fuel controller), miata like handling, good visibility, silly powerful stereo, good shifter (after kartboy shifter bushing, great braking and decent room.

It is very difficult to find one that is unmolested these days. A lot of them have been treated poorly and have had blown engines. You need to swap to forged internals to turn up the boost safely.

I love how the most obvious challenger to the Integra is NEVER mentioned. NEVER.

I'm not going to be the one to do it this time around.

Don't disappoint me, GRM.

PS: Mazdaspeed Protege motor = epic failure. That motor was never meant to take boost. There's a reason why there's a few people researching how to put in an old BPT motor in those cars. Because they're stronger. WAY stronger. And more than one KLZE swaps exist, too.

92dxman wrote: Do the Protege parts bolt onto Zx2's? I know everything was on the same bg chassis up until 2003.

The Protege went to a different (newer) platform in '95, and again in '99.

The '03 BG-based ZX-2 has more in common with a '91 Escort GT than an '03 Protege.

The reason the MS protege is never mentioned is simple: they made the car for one year and in a very limited quantity at that. Furthermore, the Protege name vanished entirely after 2003.

The rods were the weak point in the engine and were way undersized. Apparently, Mazda watered down Callaway's work with the turbo set up. The intercooler is laughably small and has plastic pipes.

ccrelan wrote: The reason the MS protege is never mentioned is simple: they made the car for one year and in a very limited quantity at that. Furthermore, the Protege name vanished entirely after 2003. The rods were the weak point in the engine and were way undersized. Apparently, Mazda watered down Callaway's work with the turbo set up. The intercooler is laughably small and has plastic pipes.

Oh, i agree. But it's not the car i was referring to, either. Said car still hasn't been mentioned.

93celicaGT2 wrote: Oh, i agree. But it's not the car i was referring to, either. Said car still hasn't been mentioned.

Toyota Celica?

njansenv wrote:

93celicaGT2 wrote: Oh, i agree. But it's not the car i was referring to, either. Said car still hasn't been mentioned.

Toyota Celica?

Dohoho!!! Ding ding.

2000-2005 Celica GTS, to be exact.

I have a 2001 MP3 - great handling but uninspiring power-wise. (reminds me of my Miata, actually). Suspension from the factory (Racing Beat) is fairly harsh - almost as bad as my Focus SVT track car with H&R race springs and Koni Sports on full stiff. Prone to lots of squeaks and thumps from the rear suspension. My impression is the Protege is a tin can that is well built - way too little metal in many areas but the tin is put together well.

The prices on MP3 and Protege5 cars in decent shape are crazy, at least around here. $7500 for a Protege5 with 120k miles? Crazy.

I also own a Focus SVT for DD - even with Konis and aftermarket (higher rate) springs, it is much more comfortable than the MP3 and every bit as competent, handling wise. The Focus SVT is way more car at the same or less cost, with tons of aftermarket support.

I see the ZX2 mentioned also - well, I have one of them too, and if you are looking at an MP3 you wouldn't like the ZX2; stock, it isn't even in the same country as the MP3 or the SVT - the ZX2 is a pig from the factory. It can be made much better, but needs struts, springs, sway bar, brake and wheel/tires upgrades to even begin to approach the other cars' handling at factory level. Not to mention the Focus SVT has more power and torque. The ergos are not as good as the other two cars, and if you are over 5'8" you will be cramped inside a ZX2 with a sunroof.

I've got a P5 and I used to love the way it handled. People will tell you that the cars came with Tokico HPs and Racing Beat springs. This is untrue, Mazda copied those parts for the MSP and MP3. The motor sucks and at the limit the car is an understeering pig. You have to spend way to much money to actually make it as good a car as the Integra is.

I say I used to love it because last year I bought a 94 Civic hatch and with absolutely no modifications besides 15" wheel I took the car to an autocross and was AMAZED at how much better the car felt than my P5. The engine was smoother, the car reacted better to steering inputs. It is just such a better car. What makes it worse is that the design is more than 10 years older than Mazdas's.

I had an '03 Protege ES that I installed Tokico 'Blues', and Eibach springs, as well as aftermarket swaybars(I don't remember now which ones). Yeah, it handled pretty well, but all in all I don't think it was that good. And yes, it ate front motor mounts until I upgraded, and when I traded it in in '07 there were small rust bubbles here and there popping up.

I did have a chance to flog an MSP around the autox track though, and it really felt like a much better balanced car.

SVTF wrote: The prices on MP3 and Protege5 cars in decent shape are crazy, at least around here. $7500 for a Protege5 with 120k miles? Crazy.

Same here. The Protege5 was on the top of my list, but damn... For $7000 I could get a Protege5 with over 100K or an SVT Focus with 54k. The SVT won.

But SVT takes premium gas and the mileage is not very good.

I have owned both a 2003 SVT and a 2003 MSP. In my mind, it is a tough comparison. I did take the MSP to one autocross. My observations are strictly subjective by the seat of my pants.

The MSP seemed to be a bit more of a lively and had a lighter feel than the SVT. They both seemed to have a similar amount of grip, but had superb steering feel. The SVT seemed to be a much more mature, buttoned down car. The SVT never really egged me on to attack on ramps the way the MSP did. The packaging was a definite plus in my SVT 5 door, but the dash of the SVT screamed cheapness to me.

The MSP and Protege 5 didn't share the suspension set ups. The MSP has much more aggressive 17" rubber on top all of the other changes unique to it's suspension.

The MP3 also requires premium gas, and the mileage isn't much different. I average about 24 either way.

The MP3 has a much better power curve as well. Think of a hill as opposed to the regular Protege's artistic rendition of the Himalayas. Yes. It's that bad.