I'm seriously considering buying a new Mazdaspeed Protege now that they have the customer cash offer, and with the new ECU flash. Problem is, how can I possibly give up my daily driver ... a gorgeous Estoril Blue '98 M3 Convertible?

I'll tell you how. As site admin, and soon to be magazine producer, I can get aftermarket parts thrown at me for the car. Whereas I have no leverage in the BMW community. So tell me, just how many aftermarket parts are available? Can I reliably get the car into the 13's with low 100 trap speeds? I know how it can handle, so that's not an issue. Just if the car can make enough power to keep me happy. And since it's not a convertible, it's going to take pretty good power to satisfy.

If it can do what I want, I have a dealership waiting to sell me one near invoice ... since I'd give them a plug in the magazine with my Protege project car.

Thanks all

 

we need a smile that reads "don't care"

 

How about a reply without the attitude? If I get one, it's going to be a project car published in a major magazine. Why wouldn't that be cool to see?

 

WTF, someone asks a simple question. . .

M3 convertible vs. MSP. HMMMMMMMM.

Sorry M3 wins out. However, if you're looking for a good winter driver that fairly fast and probably the best handling car for around 20k, it's the one. About getting to 13's if you have lots of $$$$ or access to some major parts sure. You'd want to do some serious tranny upgrades for some kind of durability. The tranny will hold but if you abuse it it'll be trouble. There are a great deal of parts available. Most are suspension upgrades. I believe that a bigger intercooler is around and upgrading the internals should get you some more hp.

Again this car isn' t a drag strip kinda car, it's more about autox and serious twisty roads. If you want a car to get into some serious 1/4 miles get the neon.

 

with enough money poured into it, yes the car will run 13's

once you build it so it can handle high PSI you can get some serious turbo power

 

I've seen low 14's running 10psi and some exhaust/intake mods. running more boost after upgrading the internals and intercooler should make 13's possible acutally fairly easily.1/4 mile time discussion

BTW welcome to the boards. I hope you find your stay here a bit more pleasant than at first. (if you happen to get any extra parts I'll gladly take them off your hands )
There are actually 3 other boards for Protege's now. Lots of info for a car that's getting pretty popular. What magazine are you getting into?

 

there is a lot of info on www.msprotege.com , a lot of the MSP owners tend to hang out there (a bit more "trendy" )

 

If you want one! You have to wanted rather than have someone convince you to get it. When I went to get my 2003 protege ES I actually wanted the mazdaspeed but I couldn't afford it because of my credit but if I have a choice I would get the mazdaspeed in a heartbeat.

but I still love my ES.

 

If you got that much money, I already have the car, just pour your efforts into my car and we'll have a PHAT ride!!

 

Well Howdy, "Mr. I am soooo self-important".
So you "may" feature a car that you aren't even certain you "want". Sounds like this will be a wonderful article, written by an "oh-so knowledgeable expert" (C'mon, if you don't have the ability to decide if you want an MS, then how can
you possibly have any original thoughts on the matter?).
To examine your ignorance, let's see: 1) you want to give up a "daily driver" for a "project car". These two categories, in general, are not mutually exclusive.
2) To compensate for the convertible, you wish for "power". I interpret this to mean that you are the type who demands attention (a "gorgeous" BMW) and
only flaunts appearance. This is further evident in your constant references to your position as "administrator" and wannabe "publisher"
3) You think people may "throw parts at you", but judging by your questions, you are just as likely at being hit in the head with them as opposed to actually using them.
4) If you are truly attempting to be "site administrator" then, by all means, read the FAQ and do a search, before you post stupid questions about the types of available mods, for a hypothetical situation. You sound more like a 16 year old n00b, but then again, mommy and daddy probably gave you the Beamer in the first place.

I hope I have answered all you questions, and to "convince" you to quit bothering everyone with your nonsense!
P.S. - It looks like you have very little "leverage" in this community, too!

 

if you need convincing to buy it, then its not the car for you.

 

Damn, what's up with all the negativity?? Anyways...I've got one, and I love it. Then again, I've never owned an M3 convertible The MSP can get into the high 13's pretty easily really. Turbo back exhaust, CAI, and boost. Those are the important mods. The little things will only knock off a tenth here and a tenth there...There are a quite a few people hitting 14.2-14.3 opver on msprotege.com. If you can keep your 60ft. times low enough, this car is definately going to hit 13's.

 

My Lord, you guys have some real douche-bags on here ... I won't even address what doesn't deserve addressing.

Basically, I want a car that I can have fun toying with. The BMW is an incredible car, no doubt, but to do what I want with it would take big $$$. But from the way it sounds, it would take a built block just to get into the 13's? That's nuts ... or is it more a matter of there just being limited aftermarket support? If that's the case, then I have access and ability to fabricate just about anything I want. Also have connections with aftermarket ECU manufacturers to possibly do a plug-and-play ECU (a la the Power FC). Now all you hater douche-bags, tell me how cool it would be to have something like a Power FC available for your car? That would change a lot of things in the Protege aftermarket.

It boils down to this. I like the Protege. I get my speed fix from my 500+ hp RX-7, but it's track only ... don't even have headlights. And I am more dedicated to Mazda than probably anyone on this board, and would LOVE to support them. Since my girlfriend is buying an RX-8, I figured a Protege would be fun. Assuming I could put up decent enough numbers to make the project worthwhile. If that's not the case, then I'll put more focus into the 8 and my 7. Another visible Protege making the rounds in the import world would only stand to help everyone on this board with increased aftermarket support.

And let me remind you, the same rules apply here as on my other sites ... rx7club.com and rx8club.com, so if you blatantly attack someone personally, you get a warning. Do it again and you get banned. Simple huh?

 

Do me a favor and paraphrase what's up with the guys in the low 14's. Are they running slicks in front? Are they still on the stock ECU? Are they only using bolt-on stuff that's available now? Anybody using a slightly larger T3 style turbo? Are there forged internals available currently?

 

go search on www.msprotege.com , there's a tons of MSP people there, and tons of discussions about this stuff.

truthfully, the inforomation available for Mazdaspeed Proteges on this particular forum SUCKS.