Hi all i have a few questions. Firstly i own a 1999 4wd Protege. the engine is the standard 1500cc dohc not the one with the Sequential Valve Timing. How can i modify \ improve performance on this or should i go out and get the SVT engine? Also its an automatic and i would really like to have a tiptronic gear box can one from the mazda 6 work or any other manufacture?

 

Wow, you're the first one on our board that has a "BJ5P"! Welcome! Where are you from?

Any part that works for the 1.6l Protege will work for your car, except for the short shifter. Suspension parts might not work also because there are some differences in the 4WD car. You will have to find out yourself.

The ActiveMatic shifter will not work on your car, the shifter physically fits but you will need to get an ECU that will work with it. There is only one ECU that will work, but it is for the 1.5l S-VT fwd car.

 

I know that the original post is mostly about the tranny and engine, but FWIW I've been told by the guys at Mazdaspeed Motorsports Development that most of the suspension is compatible except for the swaybars, which are shaped differently to clear the AWD hardware.

Anyways, welcome to the forum!

 

Thanks folks and i'm from Miami.

 

Well, considering that you can't buy an AWD Protege anywhere in North America, is your "Miami" in Benin, Colombia, Congo, Sierra Leone or Zimbabwe?

 

 

actually none of the above directly from Japan got a very good deal from the original owner who wanted to race IT.

 

and how did you even get it legally?

 

what are you talking about ummmm

 

english > you

h o wd i dy o ur e g i s t e ry o u rc a rw i t hf l o r i d ad m vl e g a l l y?

 

this I want to know also

 

Why wouldn't it be legal? Emissions?

 

 

There are ways to legally import a vehicle that's not normally street legal, particularly if you're a member of the U.S. armed forces. It's known as the "gray market." The problem with gray market cars is getting them titled when you sell them, and obtaining parts.

Actually, I met someone in college who owned a pretty cool example of a gray-market car... a 1978 S30 Nissan Fairlady Z. It was RHD, it was painted a beautiful shade of deep aqua blue (a color never available in the States), it had the lightweight chrome ribbon bumpers like a 240Z rather than the 280Z-style battering rams, and it had a 130 hp 2.0L L20A engine with Bosch EFI like a 280Z. Sweeeet car. But I'm getting sidetracked....

 

Thanks for the info, now I know