Newbie chick here!

[eekfurby]

Hey! :o) This is my first post here. I am new to the Protege world and I am looking to buy one in the near future. *pretty excited* My boyfriend is planning on buying an FD soon, which is what made me interested in the Protege. I'm interested in doing some light tuning and maybe a body kit. Nothing too insane. :o) I look forward to learning from all of you and I am very interested in any and all ideas and/or suggestions that you can come up with. :o) I've searched the Web some, but I'm not too sure what it is that I need to look for so if you have any recommendations for me that would be really awesome! :o) Thanks! Have a great day!

~Catherine

P.S. If any of you have any cool pictures of any body kits that you wouldn't mind sharing, I would greatly appreciate it.

[McCorkle]

Welcome aboard. What year Protege are you looking at? Here are some pictures of my 2000 with the Erebuni kit.

[eekfurby]

Thank you I'm not really sure yet what year I would like to get. That's part of the reason why I am here, to get some ideas. I don't really know the differences between engines and the different years yet. I'm still learning! *wink* I'm looking at getting the best performance that I can. But then again, who wouldn't? :D That's a cool little kit that you have on yours. Looks really nice. I especially like the rims you have, what
are they?

[TheGreat1x2002]

hi welcome to the board. i wanna wish you good luck with your new car. and dont forget to post pics when you do your mods. *cough* get an 2000 model*Cough* *Ahem* excuse me have a small cough. lol. well welcome and good luck. peace

[eekfurby]

Thank you! No worries. I will make sure that I post plenty of pictures once I get things going. But the hardest part is deciding what year I want to get. LOL got something in your throat huh? A 2000 huh? I saw a 2004 yesterday and it was nice. But see, that's my problem. I don't really know too much about them yet. The only thing I have learned about cars so far, is that just because it's "the latest" doesn't mean that it's "the greatest".

[TheGreat1x2002]

hah i would go for a 2004. its your choice. yea clearin up now. lol thanks.

[Oshow01]

heyyy welcome to the club ha ha have this site is great

[eekfurby]

And why would you go for a 2004? lol no problem!

[eekfurby]

Thanks! I agree! Everyone that I have talked to has been really awesome.

[RipperSnapper]

Welcome. Now, do you want the sedan Protege, or the hatchback?(or wagon some may call it) The hatchback, MP3 and Mazdaspeed protege' already come with mild looking bodykit. So if you get one of those you can the focus on the performance mods rather than a body kit.

[Subghetto]

Get a P5 if your going for the hatchback look. If your going for the sedan look than get an MSP handsdown


BTW.. They have bodykits for both the P5 and the MSP here are the sites where they are located:

https://www.wingswest.com

https://www.buddyclub2.com

https://www.corksport.com

[itzkcatz]

Welcome aboard, Mazda didnt make a protege in 04 only 2003.5 04 started the mazda 3, Reguardless i wouldnt buy early model lx proteges 99-01? with the 1.6 liter engine i would look for a 00 es with the 1.8 liter 5 speed. Or even a mazda speed

[eekfurby]

Thank you I've just started getting into Mazdas so, I really don't really know that much yet. Umm.. So if I get one of the three that you mentioned, the main focus would be the performance, right? But, would any of those three be good to use for both the SCCA stuff and/or car shows? I am really wanting to become as involved with this as much as I can. Which would be better though? A Mazda Speed or a 2000 Protege? See, that's my problem... there are sooo many things that you have to take into account, and sooo much of it I don't understand too much, so it's alittle hard trying to find a good starting point of where I could go to help me find what it is that I am looking for. *sigh* I really never knew how much thought and time people have to put into projects like this. For that, I admire everyone who has the time and the patience to do so. I don't know if I have already said, nor if I will be able to say this enough, but I really intruly do appreciate all of your input, good and/or bad. Thank you!

[RipperSnapper]

Thank you I've just started getting into Mazdas so, I really don't really know that much yet. Umm.. So if I get one of the three that you mentioned, the main focus would be the performance, right? But, would any of those three be good to use for both the SCCA stuff and/or car shows? I am really wanting to become as involved with this as much as I can. Which would be better though? A Mazda Speed or a 2000 Protege? See, that's my problem... there are sooo many things that you have to take into account, and sooo much of it I don't understand too much, so it's alittle hard trying to find a good starting point of where I could go to help me find what it is that I am looking for. *sigh* I really never knew how much thought and time people have to put into projects like this. For that, I admire everyone who has the time and the patience to do so. I don't know if I have already said, nor if I will be able to say this enough, but I really intruly do appreciate all of your input, good and/or bad. Thank you!

O.k here is a lil background for the 01-03 Protege's. MAZDASPEED is the performance division for Mazda over in Japan. MAZDASPEED took a 02-03 Protege and tweeked it out with a turbo and other mods. This is the only Protege' MAZDASPEED tweeked for the American market. So a "MAZDASPEED Protege" is king of the hill.
Now there some other choices too. An MP3. Its a sedan with the agressive looking body trim and a (Kenwood?) sound system. This car comes with the 2.0 non-turbo engine
Then we move on. The Protege'5. This is a sport wagon or hatchback version. Its got the agressive front and trim like the MP3. (see my sig for the pic of mine)This also comes with the 2.0 non- turbo engine. An a crappy stock radio
Last we have the standard protege' Theres different ones. They have 2.0 non-turbo engines. An a a bunch of options to choose from but ,no turbo or body kit.
I hope you follow this ok. LOL. Anyone, please correct me if Im wrong at any of this. An feel free to add anything I may have missed.I'll let the others take over on the rest of the model years. Maybe someone will expain those to ya.

[THEGOLDPRO]

Last we have the standard protege' Theres different ones. They have 2.0 non-turbo engines. An a a bunch of options to choose from but ,no turbo or body kit.

i was confused with this part of your post, yes they dont come stock with a turbo, but you can get an aftermarket one for it.

also the are several trim modles of the protege, there is the 99-00 protege which comes in a dx,lx,es the dx, and the lx both have a 1.6litre motor, while the es has a 1.8 litre motor, all newer proteges come standard with a 2.0 litre motor.

you also asked about scca stuff, the protege has excelent handiling,all around, they say the protege is at home in the corners. as far as car shows thats up to you, there are several bodykits, exterior mods that you can do, to make it a show car.