The RotM this time around will be featured as the November/December winner in an attempt to catch us up since we've been a month behind. With that said on to the winner!
On behalf of the RotM Crew Id like to extend a big congratulations to NegatiZE for winning this months ClubProtege Ride of the Month!
1999 Mazda Protege LX
"my plans for the car were to make it look different from all the other Protege's out there driven by old ladies, and to make it handle with the best"
Modification List:
Exterior:
JDM OEM Sport20 Front Bumper
JDM OEM Sport20 Grille
JDM Familia Badge
USDM OEM MP3 Side Skirts
USDM OEM MP3 Rear Skirt
"Zoom-Zoom" stickers
"ClubProtege.com" stickers
"SCCA Solo II" Autocross stickers
Silvania SilverStar H4 Bulbs
Window Tint (22% Front, 18% Rear)
Arospeed RS-11 Wheels + Kumho Ecsta Supra 712 205/40-17 Tires
ProCarParts.com Diamond Clear Corner Lenses
Interior:
Reverse Indiglo Gauges
DaveB Polished Gauge Rings
Blue Underdash Neons
Engine/Performance:
NGK Premium Blue Spark Plug Wires
Optima Red Top Battery
Suspension/Brakes:
Mazdaspeed Protege "Tokico Blues" struts
Mazdaspeed Protege Strut Tower Brace
Eibach Pro Kit Springs (1.4" front, 1.8" rear drop)
Racing Beat Front and Rear Swaybars
ES Brake Rotors/Calipers/Pads
Corksport Power Series Stainless Steel-braided brake lines
Sound System:
Bazooka 600W Amp (Powering Sub)
MTX Thunder 6000 12" Subwoofer [LARGE]
Miscellaneous:
Upgraded Horn
Silver Oil Cap
Metallic Red Fuse Box
Future Plans:
JDM OEM Fenders, Dual Projector Headlights
Protege5/MP3 fog lights
Cusco front subframe brace
MP3 steering rack
Upgraded Speakers
The Owner:
My name is Clint Morrow. I'm 20 years old, and I've had my 1999 Mazda Protege LX for over five years now. My parents were generous enough to allow me to have a new car at 15. I was and still am very thankful for that. Unlike other people my age however, I have taken much pride and put a lot of care maintaining this car and doing some subtle, tasteful modifications to the car over the years.
The Car:
First things first: this car is NOT a stoplight racer. In fact, it's pretty darn slow. That's what I get for jumping at the first car I saw when going car shopping and getting the 1.6L automatic. If I would have done it again, I'd have gotten the ES 1.8L 5-speed, a much more rev-happy engine.
Now that that's out of the way, my plans for the car were to make it look different from all the other Protege's out there driven by old ladies, and to make it handle with the best. Straight from the factory, the Protege is one of the better-handling cars out there in a land of land yachts and floaty SUV's. Thanks to the MP3 coming out in 2001, my plans for making this car handle even better suddenly became
a reality. Soon after, I bought some Tokico Blues struts, Eibach springs, Racing Beat front and rear swaybars, and the MP3 strut tower brace which I later swapped for the silver colored MSP brace. I've also upgraded the brakes to the ES model's larger 9.3 inch rotors and calipers. All this is wrapped up with the very the nice looking JDM Sport20 Familia front bumper and MP3 side and rear skirts. To me, the car is very aggressive yet subtle at the same time. You have to look
twice to see that something has been done to the exterior, which is exactly what I wanted.
All this talk about handling has gotten me very much involved with autocross racing the past two years. I've gained much knowledge and driving skill (and a even more still to learn) attending the events and have a hell of a time competing in STS class with my friend Chris Ruesga who has a 2002 Celica GT. We always finish pretty close to each other, but he always squeaks ahead. I can attest that to the fact that he has 25 more horses than me and a manual transmission, or
at least I hope.
In the future, I'd love to do many more things to the car. Right now nothing is planned in the immediate future except for some inexpensive things here and there. What I'd really like to do is swap in one of the larger engines that were available for the 3rd gen Protege's.. While I'd love the FS-DET in the MSP, I'd be perfectly content with the FP-DE 1.8L with a manual tranny. This car was never meant to be a fast car, just a car that handles well and is a hoot to drive. I feel
like I've accomplished that.
Please visit Clint's website for a more indepth look at his car including pictures, autocross results, and a how-to section:
Congratulations Clint and keep up the hard work! I'll have to admit that yours is my favorite 3rd gen. Kudos!
On behalf of the RotM Crew Id like to extend a big congratulations to NegatiZE for winning this months ClubProtege Ride of the Month!
1999 Mazda Protege LX
"my plans for the car were to make it look different from all the other Protege's out there driven by old ladies, and to make it handle with the best"
Modification List:
Exterior:
JDM OEM Sport20 Front Bumper
JDM OEM Sport20 Grille
JDM Familia Badge
USDM OEM MP3 Side Skirts
USDM OEM MP3 Rear Skirt
"Zoom-Zoom" stickers
"ClubProtege.com" stickers
"SCCA Solo II" Autocross stickers
Silvania SilverStar H4 Bulbs
Window Tint (22% Front, 18% Rear)
Arospeed RS-11 Wheels + Kumho Ecsta Supra 712 205/40-17 Tires
ProCarParts.com Diamond Clear Corner Lenses
Interior:
Reverse Indiglo Gauges
DaveB Polished Gauge Rings
Blue Underdash Neons
Engine/Performance:
NGK Premium Blue Spark Plug Wires
Optima Red Top Battery
Suspension/Brakes:
Mazdaspeed Protege "Tokico Blues" struts
Mazdaspeed Protege Strut Tower Brace
Eibach Pro Kit Springs (1.4" front, 1.8" rear drop)
Racing Beat Front and Rear Swaybars
ES Brake Rotors/Calipers/Pads
Corksport Power Series Stainless Steel-braided brake lines
Sound System:
Bazooka 600W Amp (Powering Sub)
MTX Thunder 6000 12" Subwoofer [LARGE]
Miscellaneous:
Upgraded Horn
Silver Oil Cap
Metallic Red Fuse Box
Future Plans:
JDM OEM Fenders, Dual Projector Headlights
Protege5/MP3 fog lights
Cusco front subframe brace
MP3 steering rack
Upgraded Speakers
The Owner:
My name is Clint Morrow. I'm 20 years old, and I've had my 1999 Mazda Protege LX for over five years now. My parents were generous enough to allow me to have a new car at 15. I was and still am very thankful for that. Unlike other people my age however, I have taken much pride and put a lot of care maintaining this car and doing some subtle, tasteful modifications to the car over the years.
The Car:
First things first: this car is NOT a stoplight racer. In fact, it's pretty darn slow. That's what I get for jumping at the first car I saw when going car shopping and getting the 1.6L automatic. If I would have done it again, I'd have gotten the ES 1.8L 5-speed, a much more rev-happy engine.
Now that that's out of the way, my plans for the car were to make it look different from all the other Protege's out there driven by old ladies, and to make it handle with the best. Straight from the factory, the Protege is one of the better-handling cars out there in a land of land yachts and floaty SUV's. Thanks to the MP3 coming out in 2001, my plans for making this car handle even better suddenly became
a reality. Soon after, I bought some Tokico Blues struts, Eibach springs, Racing Beat front and rear swaybars, and the MP3 strut tower brace which I later swapped for the silver colored MSP brace. I've also upgraded the brakes to the ES model's larger 9.3 inch rotors and calipers. All this is wrapped up with the very the nice looking JDM Sport20 Familia front bumper and MP3 side and rear skirts. To me, the car is very aggressive yet subtle at the same time. You have to look
twice to see that something has been done to the exterior, which is exactly what I wanted.
All this talk about handling has gotten me very much involved with autocross racing the past two years. I've gained much knowledge and driving skill (and a even more still to learn) attending the events and have a hell of a time competing in STS class with my friend Chris Ruesga who has a 2002 Celica GT. We always finish pretty close to each other, but he always squeaks ahead. I can attest that to the fact that he has 25 more horses than me and a manual transmission, or
at least I hope.
In the future, I'd love to do many more things to the car. Right now nothing is planned in the immediate future except for some inexpensive things here and there. What I'd really like to do is swap in one of the larger engines that were available for the 3rd gen Protege's.. While I'd love the FS-DET in the MSP, I'd be perfectly content with the FP-DE 1.8L with a manual tranny. This car was never meant to be a fast car, just a car that handles well and is a hoot to drive. I feel
like I've accomplished that.
Please visit Clint's website for a more indepth look at his car including pictures, autocross results, and a how-to section:
Congratulations Clint and keep up the hard work! I'll have to admit that yours is my favorite 3rd gen. Kudos!
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