Some good pics of my Protege

[MazKid]

Mine isn't chrome! It's just metal. They're all just metal. If I really wanted it black I'd just paint it like I did with my wiper arms(just realized I haven't taken a pic with them). But it prolly wouldn't move after that. What I hate is how long Mazda roof-antennias are. My 323's is so long that at some point it hit the roof and left 2 dings. That's why I keep em pulled out short, they don't flop as much that way. I'd like a Mazda 3 or 6 antennia, that would be pretty cool but I donno how it would look in the stock antennia location. I also was thinking...my 929 radio has capability for a power antennia...that would be interesting if I could get it to work, but again I'd have to drill into the body for it.

[caloyski5]

nice gen 1 pro! very neat and clean..same comment as the others..lowering springs for that nice car! hehehe

good job!

[maz94protege]

soo clean. that photoshop looks awsome. DO IT. be the first set of Miata wheels gunmentaled thats posted on the boards.

[MazKid]

Gah, for the last time, I'm NOT lowering it, and I'm especially NOT painting the Miata wheels. There's no reason to. As it is, I'm the only one on here with the wheels on a first gen Protege, the only one with a 929 radio, and the only one with a 99.9% Mazda parts Protege. I restate - why would I want to lower the Protege when the roads in my area are crappy? My oil pan already has a huge gash in it(from the "path of destruction" under the car when I got it, it would appear that one of the 3 previous owners jumped a curb, rather hit a strip of curb without damaging the wheels. I donno how they managed that...), there's no need to break it off completely. Becides, the car drives smooth and handles very well - there's no road course in my area, thus I don't race on the track, thus lowering the car would just make it ride rough.

Painting wheels is something you do when the wheels look like trash. My Miata wheels, becides a minimal amount of curbage, are perfect. And in thier OEM silver form, they add contrast to the black. They look good, and painting them would ruin them for me.

The only exterior mods I want to do are the foglight grill and a GT-X bumper. The first I can do easily(if Dave would ever post pics/more info of what he has), the 2nd is harder and more expensive. I also have to fix the dents on the passenger side, but it's not bad now so I won't worry about it.

People can offer advise on what I should do with my Protege, but I already know what I want to do, and that's keeping it factory Mazda as much as I can. Sure, I may never win "Protege of the month" or what not, but I haven't had a single mechanical issue with my Protege since I've owned it, beyond what the previous owner screwed up.
Look at what I have, and look at what I paid for it:
$1253 initial purchase
$800-$900(donno yet) in new OEM Mazda parts(Professionally installed by my dad, saving me an estimated $3500 in labor alone)
$432.50 wheels and new tires(plus my OEM 14" with 2 new tires($70)
~$100 in junkyard/misc parts
So the total comes out to roughly $2600 for a super reliable, fun to drive, and classy Mazda. My budget for a new car was $3K initial purchase, and I'm still below that, and would have spent more than that on the other Mazdas I was looking at getting(MX-3 GS, MX-6 LS, 929S).

I hope people will eventually understand.

[Kelly]

You guys come to st. louis for week when it snows, and you'll see why he doesnt want to lower it.

[THEGOLDPRO]

lol come to maine for a week and see why i wish i never lowered mine, lol

[FE3-323]

any state where it snows is pointless to drive a vehicle with suspension mods. in my opinon. the roads are so damn shot its not funny.

[bruce95fmla]

It's not getting lowered. Yes, going into winter in the St. Louis area is a great time to lower a car! Bah. Becides, it rides good and handles good enough. Since the tires are low profile, to maintain any sort of ride quality the stock suspension stays. I don't have a problem with it. The only problem I have is when I first get in the car the back suspension looses pressure and it'll bounce a couple times till it builds back up. Unless someone has some Mazda struts that would lower it that they'd sell to me for cheap enough.
Next thing appears to be some decent all-season tires. Still, for $100 a set of 4 16" Miata wheels and tires is a pretty good deal.

Actually, next weekend I'm going to try to fix most of the dents on the car(thus all of my pics are of the driver's side, the passenger side rear door is dented in several places and scratched badly) with that Ding King my dad had to buy. Maybe it'll work...

hmm
I translate this as ...

I am Scurrrred.

[bruce95fmla]

any state where it snows is pointless to drive a vehicle with suspension mods. in my opinon. the roads are so damn shot its not funny.

please , I drove my protege with those crappy Weapon R's.
and didn't raise it.

[MazKid]

hmm
I translate this as ...

I am Scurrrred.

Ohh, a funny man. Yeah? Give me reasons to lower it and I'll shoot em down.

It comes down to the fact that I don't have to lower my car just because other people want me to. Unlike others, I can think for myself and don't need people telling me what to do with my own car unless I ask for thier advise, which I clearly didn't. I asked for opinions, and that's what I got. I don't like people's opinions of lowering my car, so I won't lower my car. It's a simple concept.

[BPower]

In my opinion you should tint your windows. A nice black car with nice black tint, very nice looking.

[MazKid]

Meh. Tinting from the factory is fine but other isn't. I'd prefer just to leave them as is, that way if something for any reason gets on the window I can use a razor or chemicals to take it off.

[whistler]

i wouldnt want the wheels painted... they look really awesome the way they are... just IMO

[maz94protege]

ya lowaaarrr it!!!!

[goldstar]

Imo

Your car looks great and the price you paid is right for what you were able to achieve. Good job! I like the silver wheels on your black car. With black or gunmetal wheels, there would not be enough contrast to showcase the good looks of the Miata wheels. They would blend in to the background and lose their striking appearance.