I've got a 2001 ES 2.0, with cold air intake, drop spring and custom body kit. Now I need to know if it's worth getting cams or not, is the gain worth the dollars or are the dollars better spent else where.

If some of you guys/gals who have them would please tell me what you think, it would be a big help.

Thanks

 

I would say no, but I dont have them personally, nor would I ever consider installing them on such a small engine that gains would probably be small to none, especially considering the lack of other mods being available to enhance the cam swap.

But I have installed many cams in other cars, and I dont see the gain in a protege application to be worth it.

But that depends on exactly what your looking for. If a few horsepwer up top while losing power down low (where you use it for everyday driving) which is usually the outcome of a cam swap is what u need, go for it

 

I have the cams and I would have to agree with Mach1...I was more impressed with the UR crank pulley. The cams are a lot of money and unless you buy some adj. cam gears to play with I think youd be further ahead to save that cash for a turbo.

On the other hand..the install was easy and the car does feel like it pulls much harder above 4k..Im sure the pulley is doing most of the work though..for us Canadians..the $600 (give or take) it cost me in duty/currency exchange/and taxes I wish I had of put that towards my future turbo..just my 2 cents.

p.s. if your thinking about cams better hurry..I heard they wont be making the mazdaspeed exhaust cam anymore?

 

Ya, it's too late to order the exhaust cam. I only have my intake cam sitting at home now.

Blackp5ca, have you had any problems w/ the UR pulley?

 

No problems with the pulley at all..LOVE IT...I was more impressed with the feel the pulley gave compared to the cams. Really seemed to make the higher rpm range come alive and pull hard into redline...this is just the butt dyno speaking of course.
I will also add, after a road trip I took this past weekend I have gotten and extra 100kms out of a tank of fuel (after still driving like an ***) and it screams on the highway now...even got the old "you have your son in the car...slow down" from my wife...
I think the combination of the cams and pulley work well together but I know I've lost some low end torque.

 

So then you guys think the pulley is a better buy then cams right now.

 

Depends on the cams you get I would think, the one I am looking at is the intake cam Jspec and claims a dyno WHP gain of 12. That seems considerable if it is true and also probably depends on other current engine mods.

If you have an intake and exhaust system cams will help more than if you didnt to help that increased air flow get through.

Pulley and Flywheel are other options but make sure you dont compromise durability for weight in the flywheel.

 

Just save your money man, the Protege is not a fast car, dont throw money away trying to turn it into one.

If you wanna go fast, buy something that is fast already, then make it faster.

 

I've got cold air intake and exhaust, so I looking for something else to do on the engine, just not turbo.

 

You couldnt be more wrong. The protege has a extremely easy stereo system to upgrade, and that is a ridiculous comparison to my statement.

The cost/performance ratio of modding a pro. engine is very poor, and my opinion on the matter is a sound one.

If you disagree, fine, thats your call, but to tell me not to post that here because you dont like it is ridiculous.

 

So what's a better way to move the powerband to the lower rpm range? These cams, pulleys and header upgrades work better at the higher rpm range and I just want some upgrades that will let me pass easier and to add a bit more "pep" to the car in city driving.

 

*whistles happy camshaft tunes*

 

Well I said it 100 times, but it still amazes me the amount of people on this site looking for performance? If you want high performance, you shouldnt have bought an economy car. You can dump hundreds or even thousands of dollars into your Protege engine to make another few horsepower, or if you really have a lot of money to blow, maybe an extra 50 hp or more, then you still have a slow car , just not as slow. Why bother?

Theres no easy and chaep way to make your car significantly faster(other than nitrous), and to do it to a protege is even more of a challenge. Bolt on your fart pipes and your Injen intakes, now what do you have?

A slow car that sounds like **** with a cool looking intake tract.

Ok, I know Ill get flamed for this, but its all true.
later

 

As to answer your question, theres not really any way to make more power lower other than gear ratio changes. I dont really follow you? You can downshift into a lower gear if you need more power at a slower speed.

It sounds like you want an all around faster car, which is why I went through my previous bitching.

PseudorealityX - Did my fart pipe and injen intake comments offend you? Im getting a little tired of your monitoring and smart *** comments to everything I post. Im not a troll. Im somebody with an opinion, and a lot of experience working on cars with a lot of knowledge to share.

Im here because I own a Protege and I can learn things about the car from other owners. Im not here because I think my Pro. should be faster, so Ill bolt on a fart can. And Im willing to share that line of thought and reasoning with others, who dont have to listen, but can make up thier own minds after taking in different opinions.

If you have a problem with that, then maybe your a troll

 

I have to agree with Phantom here. I installed both cams and am quite happy. The car seems to be more comfortable when pushed to the redline. I sorta agree with Mach 1 but the one point I would make is this.

It's usually a lot easier to buy a cheaper car for most people and then save for mods, as opposed to the high initial output of money for a significantly faster car.

That being said I don't envision my Protege 5 ever being a speed demon. However the mods I have made have resulted in a car that is much more fun to drive, and a car I feel a real sense of ownership with. I've done a lot of the mods myself, with some dealer help, and even though the outside appears stock I know when I look at other P5's on the road that mine is unique.

Anyway I would recommend the cams if you can get them. The contact at mazdaspeed, as well as Mitch from Protege5online.com have told me they are no longer being imported.

PS Thanks to Phantom Cruiser for her help in making me get the cams