Please don't flame...I just test drove a nice red Protege5...it's a nice car and I was very impressed (I think the interior looks nicer than the Si's)...i do lots of racing and have been keepin up on the Speedvision WC where the mp3's were running and doing fairly well...I'm looking at these two cars for a daily driver / weekend track racing

reason why i'm considering the Si versus the MP5 is b/c the Si's aren't selling well in my area and the Honda dealers are starting to sell them under invoice which makes them very affordable

I kinda made a list of pros/cons for the Si versus MP5

Pros
5 door wagon
stock 16" grippy wheels
0% financing with 180 deferred 1st payment

Cons
High end power (130 versus 160)
Not familiar with Mazda Protege reliability (my crx has 306k miles on it and i'm used to getting tons of miles out of my cars before getting rid of them)
More expensive with abs and side airbags over Si with similar equipment

My reason for posting this is I'm wondering what I could do within a reasonable budget to get some more hp out of the Protege's 2.0...such as poor man's intake (build my own), adjusting throttle cable to remove slack, etc.

 

ummmm. a 1st generation protege LX has chances of woopin an SI. and the 1st gen protege is only 125HP. the SI's torque is CRAP. my automatic DX 1st gen protege has the same 111 torque. the pro 5 IMO has better potential and handling. i've seen old protege's like mine running up to 200k miles and still running with no problems.

my 2 cents

screw honda

 

dude you have no clue!
I believe his talking about the NEW 2002 SI with the new i-vtec 2.0 engine that also the base RSX has.
If you want to go fast, buy the SI because it is already 1 sec faster than the P5 stock and there is already a lot of aftermarket support for and there will be a ton more later.
If you want convinience and a cute car that chicks love, get the P5. I also have to say that 60 months with 0% APR and no payments for 180 sounds REALLY good. You can use the money you save on financing and not making paymanets and buy a BEGI turbo kit, there's an idea!

 

oh the new SI.... in that case
that ish looks like my ********
now keep it real and get the p5

 

Man, I sold my 99 si in favor of a 02 Pro ES. If you want to go fast, buy the Honda! I really like my ES, but there's **** out there for mods. I was spoiled for three years with a Honda where I could literally buy anything I wanted. Now, I'm content with a strut bar and pedals. To those that read this, I'm not flaming the Pro, just speaking the truth.

 

the Speed(vision) WC Proteges are fast because they MODDED the **** out of the stock motor to the point where it's no longer streetable. 4-in-1 long headers (straight pipe side exhaust), HUGE custom intake/manifolds, and whatever tricks they've done under the valve cover to allow a 8500rpm redline ....

The tricks to make the motor powerful have already been found, it's just hasn't been offered as consumer aftermarket parts that are widely available yet..... Tripoint, AWR, and Mazdaspeed all have parts available, but you need to KNOW what works with what, and THAT is the most difficult part... plus all the $$$ needed to put it together...

They're discounting the Doorstop/Mini-Odyssey? oops I mean the Si hmm maybe i should go check out one of these HoMoCo oddities

 

It's funny that you started this thread; I have been comparing the 2 cars too. I love the P5, but if I got one, I would want to turbo it, which will cost about 3K US and would void the warranty. The new Si (SiR in Canada) is faster, but costs about 3K more (MSRP). The GTI is also a consideration. About 4K more than the P5, but fast from the factory. It needs better handling though. As for those who think the new Si is ugly, check out the Type R which is the same body with 17" rims and a body kit. I don't think people should knock the car just because it is a Honda.

[img]c:\my documents\03civictyperred.bmp[/img]

 

the financing that the mazda dealer is offering is incredible...never get a deal like that from the honda dealer

as for mods...i've rebuilt and modded my crx and raced it so i'm fairly familiar with using some existing parts to work...i can easily make a cai out of some older intake tubes from previous cars i've owned and have sitting around

as i was driving the new si it felt like it had more low end grunt even though the p5 had 5 lb ft more and weighed less...but once in the upper rpms the si kept pulling where the p5 didn't have the same motivation

thanx for those that gave an unbiased opinion

jaje

 

FWIW - the 0% interest rate is only for 48 mos. on the P5.

http://www.mazdausa.com/zero_percent/default.asp

 

I like Honda's don't get me wrong, but everyone and their unlcle has them. Why do you think there are so many mods and why they aren't selling well. Everyone has already seen The Fast and The Furious and bought a honda. God I went to see it in the theatres when it came out and everyone who had a honda there lined up and drove out like they were cool **** (90 percent were stock already) after that I saw a 75% increase in honda's and 30% in honda mods.
Go with something out of the ordinary, if it isn't made for your car, modify it.
Erick

 

Si.

 

Actually in the Fast and the Furious the Nissan brand was the most represented

the group drove:
vw jetta
nissan maxima
skyline gtr
acura intregra
mazda rx-7
mitsubishi eclipse gst
toyota supra turbo

one acura and it was the cuties car that you didn't see often...i don't know where everyone only say honda products...the mazda rx7 was the fastest car (until they modded the supra)

I've been racing for years...not drag racing but road racing wheel 2 wheel...ricers are worthless and those that think all honda drivers are ricers are plain ingnorant

i don't know why everytime i go to another board (honda included) there are the haters of each brand and they have to preach to me why i shouldn't choose one product over another...it's not like i'm buying a ford pinto or explorer where my safety would be at risk

 

There was also a Nissan Silvia in the group.

 

The reason why the new Si isn't selling has nothing to do with everyone owning a Honda. It has everything to do with what Honda did to it. They completely detuned the suspension, and jacked the price up $2000. The isn't the nicest car to look at, but I've seen a few with different rims that look pretty good. If you really want a Si, get a 99-00 coupe!

 

ok first off the eclipse in F&F wasn't a turbo, its complete bullshit 1) because it had the 420A motor in it which means it will never be a GS-T but always a GS and 2) it only had nitrous and only had 250hp. secondly an rsx is isn't that great as far as speed goes. i raced one with same mods(from what i could tell) and we we're dead even until middle 3rd when tq doesn't come into play. you may all call BS and i understand because none of yall were there but i am not afraid to run it again. the ONLY thing i like about the new si is the shifter placement. go with a pro5, you'll go faster. what ever happened to custom fab.ing ****, the only way people wanna get parts anymore is through a damn nopi catalog.