Hi,
This is my first message to the list. I have a black 2002 P5 with a manual tranny. Including a couple of real sports cars this is the best handling car I've owned. I really like it. However at 25,000 miles I needed a new clutch plate and now I need 3 new gears n my tranny. The Mazda tech said the plate problem was a common defect on Miatas and P5s. The tech now says that it was a broken shiftgate that cause the rest. He saw no evidence of abuse in either case.
Anymore weird stuff out there? Oh, is there a good replacement tire for the Dunlops? The dealer wants $120 a piece and I need two.
Thanks

 

Damn,
Sorry about you tranny man...have to watch mine closley now...get the dunlops from an on-line tire place, and have a local stooge put them on...I paid 90 bucks for mine from Tirerack.com

 

I've heard great things about the Kumho Ecsta ASX's, and they only run about $70 online. I've not been a big fan of the Dunlops.

 

dude DO NOT GET THE DUNLOPS!!!
they are the crappiest tire ever, read my hydroplaning thread and learn more...

 

Thanks to those who responded. Great to know the dealer price is way over the street price on the Dunlops. Interesting too that many don't like the Dunlops but do like the Kumhos. I had great success with Yokos on another car. Do they have anything in low profile that would handle as well as the Dunlops? My last kumhos on another car worked well, but wore out quickly.
BTW the tranny was a freak problem. A gate broke and took out three gears. They said they hadn't seen another problem like this. Rest easy on your trannys.

 

I have a set of Falken Z rated 17's on my DX with a very aggressive tread pattern and water channels etc. I paid like 70 a tire for 205/40/17's. They make a huge difference and I am really happy with them. I know they have higher profile for the 16's, but I had 17 inch rims already. Just my comment.

I hated the dunlops for the P5, and I didn't much like the Potenzas that came on my car either. But really happy with the Falkens

 

As far as your tranny issue, the transmission that is in the P5 is the same transmission that is in the regular protege, unless I'm mistaken. If so, I'm amazed you have that much damage already. I have an 03 and I am pretty hard on my car, and have nowhere near the damage you do. You stated you only have to replace two tires, are you burnin the hell out of them or something? That would explain the shot clutch plate and transmission gears too. Its definitely not a race tranny.

 

Nope, not racing the P5. Just commute back and forth to work on the interstate and occassionally have a little fun driving on country twisties.
I think the tires wore out some because I forgot to rotate them once or twice. There also might be a slight alignment problem. What's the usual life of these tires according to the warranty? I haven't checked it yet.

 

Nope, not racing the P5. Just commute back and forth to work on the interstate and occassionally have a little fun driving on country twisties.
I think the tires wore out some because I forgot to rotate them once or twice. There also might be a slight alignment problem. What's the usual life of these tires according to the warranty? I haven't checked it yet.

 

Prote-j- I saw that you had some K@N intake stuff on your car. My salesman at the dealer had a whole K@N intake setup on his Grand Cherokee and liked it a lot. When I asked him to look it up for me we didn't find a model that fit the P5. Does it give you a little more grunt? gas mileage? Do you recommend it?

 

You couldn't find it? Hmm.. funny, if you go to www.kandn.com, you can look it up by clicking on the product search link. Yes I notice a difference, albeit not what everybody thinks. The kit is pretty spendy, but I am much happier with it than anything else I had on there. The MPG improvement as well as the little extra grunt is worthwhile to me, plus the sound is very nice too.

 

Hi,
Well, the service writer didn't tell me the tires were THAT bad. One went flat on a trip on Saturday and I had to limp home with the spare. Since the dealer wanted $120/ea, Discount Tire wanted $140 each(installed) I figured the Dunlops weren't my tire of choice. Given my problems with it in the snow and rain and complaints here about hydroplaning that was far too much money.
I have instead bought the Kumho ASX for $84 apiece installed. This tire gives a really different feel as it is somewhat softer but has siping for snow and is a bit quieter as well. It also has a 30,000 mile treadware warranty that none of the others in this size offered. I'll let everyone know as I get to know this tire better.

 

Funny, the other day I had some new Toyo Proxes FZ4's put on my Civic coupe (replaced Yokohama Parada's) and on the way home it was raining liek a MF and there were some heavy puddle spots on the highway and the car was kind of squirrely in the rain. well, then today it was a torential down pour, even worse than the previous day and my protege was cutting through deep puddles on the highway at 70MPH without blinking an eye. Even in the dry I have been impressed with the Dunlop's (not as much as the toyo's in the dry).

 

I am really happy with my Falkens for the $$, they do an incredible job. I have to get the suspension upgrade because the tires can easily outhandle the car. I have tried pretty hard and have been unable to get them to break free on corners.