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    New intake and Exhaust

    I just wanted to thank everyone on these forums for providing an excellent source of information to anyone who wants to modify their Protege's. I just completed the first round of mods to my std. tranny '03 ES: Injen intake and Magnaflow cat-back exhaust, and I thought I'd give something back to the forums by making my first post on these boards a little review of my new upgrades.

    I'll start with the exhaust system since that’s what I put on first. I was really worried about the way a new exhaust system would make my car sound, since I see so many cars with really obnoxious fart cans. Magnaflow has done an excellent job of walking the fine between making power and making noise. The sound level is hardly any louder than the stock system; it just deepened the tone. The exhaust made a noticeable difference in power especially in the upper rpm range. My stock Protege really seemed to not like it whenever I would rev it past 5000 rpm, but with the Magnaflow it revs smoothly all the way to the red-line. The power increase was noticeable and well worth the money and the effort. Aesthetically the exhaust system looks awesome; it looks almost exactly like the stock system except for the larger chrome oval exhaust tip(no rice here.)

    I had to wait a week after installing the exhaust before I could install the intake because it was shipped separately, but this gave me a nice opportunity to see the difference each part made. The intake does not sound anywhere near as loud as some people here made it out to be, and it also has not decreased my low-end torque like some people said. The intake gave a noticeable power gain, but again it is most noticeable in the upper rpm range. After the intake upgrade I feel like my engine thanks me every time I hit the gas. I am very pleased with both of these upgrades and so far I would enthusiastically recommend them for anyone who wants more from their car.

    Another thing I'd like to point out is that I installed both upgrades by myself, and it was the first time I'd ever worked on a car myself except for stereo stuff. Both products are excellently engineered for a perfect fit and come with very good instructions.

    Thanks again for all the info you've provided on these boards and I'm a happy new member of the modded Protege family.

    #2
    Welcome to the board man. I hope you're here to stay.
    Excellent review. You have inspired me to do those mods to my car in the near future.

    Comment


      #3
      Welcome to the family, and glad to see that the information here has helped you. Hope you stay and post with us.
      Clint/1999 "Sport20"

      Comment


        #4
        Welcometo the board. Good review of the mods done.
        " Autobots are an error I intend to correct"

        Reformated Alternate Mode:
        Midnite Blue P5 ( 5-speed manual)
        Painted calipers
        Injen CAI
        Custom exhaust
        Tein lowering springs(finally installed)

        Comment


          #5
          Welcome aboard man. I'll think you'll be a good edition to the forum. Maybe the Injen isn't as loud on the 2.0l. Because it is loud as hell on my 1.6l. I was racing a kid one day in his old Chrysler Lebaron convertible and I was right behind him in high rpm's and he had to cover his ears because of the noise.

          Comment


            #6
            P2K: Christ, I hope you won THAT race...
            Clemson: Welcome to the board; I'm happy to hear that you did it yourself 'cuz I'm in the same boat, mechanically-speaking. My next mod is an intake and I was worried @ doing it myself...
            '03 Sunlight Silver ES/5sp
            THUNDER 4-1 RACING HEADER
            Racing Beat Exhaust, SPD Racing SRI
            Eibach Pro-kit, MP3 ECU, MP3 Foot Pedals
            Powdercoated stockers wrapped in Yoko AVS ES100s
            Kartboy SS/Knob/Bushings

            Comment


              #7
              What I'm most impressed about is that he's been a member since Dec 2003, this was his first post, and it appears that he was smart enough to do a search before posting questions on intakes and exhausts.
              Good show, and welcome.
              Ryan The middle child is always ignored
              BP powered 97LX Touring Edition
              Vibrant strut tower brace, KVR front brake pads, Tungsram Megalicht H4 headlight bulbs, Phillips Halogen H3 foglight bulbs.... 91 GT rims w/ 195 60 14 Yokohomo Mirada GTX sport

              Comment


                #8
                Thanks for the warm welcome guys. I may be a newbie to these forums but I've been on forums before and I know that nothing makes enemies faster than not using the search function.

                Proto2K, I'm suprised to hear that your intake is so loud; I wonder why the 1.6 would be that much louder?. You can stand right behind my car and its not even close to too loud. The only really noticeable noise it makes is a slight hissing sound when I shift (sounds kinda like a turbo blowoff valve, only not as loud)

                Comment


                  #9
                  My 2.0 with the Injen intake isn't too loud. I had the intake 2 months before the exhaust. I assume its just as loud as modifying the stock intake by taking out that screen an whatever.
                  " Autobots are an error I intend to correct"

                  Reformated Alternate Mode:
                  Midnite Blue P5 ( 5-speed manual)
                  Painted calipers
                  Injen CAI
                  Custom exhaust
                  Tein lowering springs(finally installed)

                  Comment


                    #10
                    wow.. that's exactly the review I was looking for.

                    You still liking the Magnaflow? It's on the top of my list for new cat-backs.


                    Kenwood KDC-519 w/ RF 500bd + e12K.44
                    RB springs
                    Magnaflow catback

                    2004 mods:
                    MP3 front bumper conversion

                    Comment


                      #11
                      Did the cat-back come with a muffler? I'm assuming so because you mentioned the visual difference. Which one did it come with/did you use? I'm going to be doing cat back (crosses-fingers) sometime this summer, and I want exactly the kind of results you got with yours, not too loud, just a bit more aggressive sounding w/ power gains. . . =) Welcome to the boards BTW!

                      Comment


                        #12
                        the magnaflow cat-back exhaust does include the muffler... http://magnaflow.com for more details


                        Kenwood KDC-519 w/ RF 500bd + e12K.44
                        RB springs
                        Magnaflow catback

                        2004 mods:
                        MP3 front bumper conversion

                        Comment


                          #13
                          Cool, mine is going to have to be custom, but I'm planning on using a Magnaflow cat and muffler

                          Comment


                            #14
                            I'm still loving the cat-back and the intake. I have not had any problems with either of them. However, I do have two things that I am watching as I continue to use these products. Since I installed the exhaust myself I was only able to put the car on ramps to install it, and I was not able to put as much torque on the exhaust bolts as I would have liked. After about 4 weeks of use I did notice that everything had loosened up a little bit. I simply added some more lock-tight, retightened everything and since then it has been fine. I am also watching to make sure that my air filter on the intake stays in place since there is only one clamp holding it on, and if it were to come off it would be very very bad. The power gains still make me enjoy my car more and I still whole-heartedly recommend these products to anyone.

                            The cat-back does have a muffler however you do not see it since it is smaller than the stock one and is hidden almost entirely by the rear bumper. This is the exhaust for anyone who wants something that does not scream RICE!

                            As another side note, I have driven through some bad rain storms and I have not had any problems with water intake due to the location of the air filter. Let me know if you guys have any other questions.

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