what is the best product i could put on my 96 protege to increase performance and doesnt cost too terribly much?

 

best upgrade is to sell it and get a 3rd gen or 1st gen

 

performance equals money man, is it a 1.5 litre?

 

Some more details might help.

 

its a 1.5 L, i dont know too many more details off the top of my head cause it wasnt exactly my first choice for a car

 

hmmmm well your screwed, lol

 

BP swap

 

what is a bp swap?

 

it's a code for swapping over a BP-series engine intop your car. He's saying get a different engine. And he's probably right....maybe a BP-T would be nice as well (turbo motor)

 

Correct, however there are many difficulties with swapping the BPT into a second gen.

 

how much would that cost?

 

For the BPT??
Several thousand dollars to have it done CORRECTLY.

The engines typically go for anywhere between 900-2000$ depending on where you get them from. Ebay is usually the lower of the price range and the higher end would be for a GTR engine from corksport for example.
This doesn't always include a wiring harness or ECu, both of which can be difficult to find stateside, though they are out there.
Installation............ Well in a first gen, lets say you got a whole front clip off a GTX or GTR, then its fairly straight forward if you have some common sense and the right tools.
A second gen there are only 2 or 3 known cars out there that have done it and I know very fefw of the details behind what they did.

 

k thanks

 

Well I can relate to your situation, unlike the guys who are suggesting $2000 engines. I'd suggest a modified intake (sawn open airbox + performance filter), a free-er flowing exhaust (don't bother taking off your catalytic converter, won't do anything except make it sound ricey), grounding kit, new performance plugs and wires, urethane bushings, Weapon R coilovers, a camber kit (if you lower your car more than 2 inches, it is recommended to correct the camber, stiffer shocks are also recommended), and a fresh set of sticky tires should make your car more fun to drive by making it more responsive, even though it won't increase actual numbers more. Even all of these parts put together shouldn't add up to much more than a thousand bucks (if I added the estimates right in my head). You'll never get a lot of performance out of a 1.5 but I think that you'll be able to enjoy it a bit more, even on a small budget. All of the parts are relatively easy to install and/or aren't too expensive to have done professionally. Hopefully this helps you out some!

 

2nd gen Proteges do a lot of things well; Mazda just forgot about the engines (power-wise).

Is your car a 5spd? It'll make driving slow fun. lol. I didn't have a say in buying my Protege, but there are a lot of good things about them, which I appreciate. But I'd like it 50 hp faster at least. Listen to these other guys and think about it.