Has anyone noticed a tendancy for the steering to lose feedback above 80mph in 3rd gen. Proteges? I can't say that I spend a lot of time driving at high speed, but when I do, the car seems to lose a lot of its composure. I suspect that there may be excessive front-end lift that is causing the problem. Maybe the deeper front air dam on MP3s, P5s, and Mazdaspeeds eliminates the problem.

 

Nope, I don't think the front air dam has anything to do with it.
I think all 3rd gens Proteges have a rpm sensitive steering, meaning when the rpms goes up the steering is loosened up, or
tightened up, don't know which but it does do something.

So when you go at 80mph, meaning you are registering about 3500rpm, the steering feels numb as the result of the above.

 

Hello Ryan and Welcome to our happy little corner of the net, and to our Club. There are TWO BIG fridge'S in the corner with anything you can think of in them...help yourself...of course only take what you can LEGALLY have.

make yourself at home on one of the big fluffy couches, kick your shoes off, put your feet up on one of the tables, yes we are allowed to do that, mom don't care....and take it easy.

oh...btw....every once in a while a food fight breaks out...so you may not want to wear nice clothes here.

Welcome!!

yep....our cars do have the type of power assist that leungwingkei speaks of.....thus giving us MORE assist at lower speeds....but I don't know at what speeds/rpm's the change kicks in.....but as for running at 80+ mph.....I have done a LOT of that ...... this last summer on my cross country trip we NORMALLY ran at 85 for hours on end.....it was the flow of traffic on the interstates I was traveling on....and the steering felt fine to me.

 

Thank you leungwingkei and Sir Nuke for your replies.

I would say that most variable assist power steering units increase assistance at low speeds and decrease assistance at higher speeds. If anything I should feel more steering resistance rather than less (above 80mph).

I started to really notice the problem after having my tires inflated and rotated. Maybe the slight increase in ride height from the inflation (overinflation?) is ruining the aerodynamics. I should probably check the tire pressures again and run it some more.
Here in traffic-clogged Chicago, it's sometimes hard to find enough road to travel at 80mph+ (without the Illinois State Police noticing).

By the way, I have an '02 Protege ES five-speed. It's bone-stock. Best car I've ever owned, and better than many costing two or three times as much.

 

No problem man!

Welcome to our club, you'll find alot of useful info and many helpful people here.

I drive a 2002 Sunlight Silver Protege5.

What did you own prior to your purchase of the ProES?

 

I've owned several in the last fifteen years. Many of them Fords (I'm an employee). Here they are:

2001 Ford Escape (don't ask)
1999 Ford Mustang GT Conv. 5-spd. (slow, leaky & crappy)
1998 Ford Mustang GT Coupe 5-spd. (even slower & crappier)
1993 Honda Civic Coupe DX (slow but a good car)
1985 Audi 5000S (it was a free car, and I still got ripped off)
1988 Pontiac Firebird (unfortunately not with the 5.7L V8)

The Protege's build quality, handling, utility and efficiency are far beyond anything else I've owned. It's no rocket-sled, but the short gearing makes the most of the 2.0L engine. I'll bet the Mazdaspeed turbo really cooks. Imagine if they do a 2.3L turbo in this new '04 Mazda 3!