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Updated July 26th, 2001
In early 2000, Racing Beat was invited to demonstrate our project Miata to a group of visiting Mazda executives. Soon thereafter, Mazda R&D requested Racing Beat's participation in the development in a first of an upcoming performance series of vehicles, later to be called the Mazda Performance Series (MPS).
Racing Beat was provided with a number of 2000 and 2001 Proteges for evaluation purposes. Racing Beat's co-founder and chief engineer, Jim Mederer, used these cars as rolling test vehicles for various engine and suspension upgrades.
After thorough fitting and testing, each performance upgrade was evaluated and judged for reliability, emissions, performance, sound, driving comfort, and appearance.
Through joint cooperation with Tokico Shocks USA, Jim Mederer was able to precisely tune the handling performance of the Protege. The Protege was lowered through the use of performance suspension springs, larger sway bars fitted, and the shocks installed.
A tuned Racing Beat Exhaust was developed and fitted to the car. This exhaust system was designed to prove a deeper more aggressive exhaust note, while keeping within legal noise level limits.
High performance 45-series low-profile tires where mounted on 17-inch Racing Hart wheels to provide improve handling performance.
Testing was undertaken on an exhaust header and air intake system, but emissions concerns did not allow the inclusion of these products. These parts were strictly prototype units and will not be available for this application.
The Protege's outer skin was given a reworking by Mazda's design team, and the MP3's vibrant color scheme was selected.
Introduced at the 2000 Las Vegas SEMA show as the Protege MP3, this car can be purchased directly through Mazda dealership across the US. For more information on the Protege MP3, visit Mazda's website through the link provided below.
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Is Racing Beat Going To Produce Protege Parts?
We have been asked this question many times over the past few months and we have received a tremendous amount of e-mail from excited Protege owners requesting a variety of different performance aftermarket parts.
Many of the parts that are included on the 2001 Protege MP3 are available only through Mazda's dealership network. Some of these parts are not compatible with the non-MP3 Protege and cannot be adapted to fit. These parts, and the rights to these parts are owned by Mazda.
Many of the suspension parts that were included on the Protege MPS cannot be easily installed on the non-MP3 model. When designing the suspension for the MP3, it was decided that the endlink mounting flange on the side of the shock absorber would need to be reinforced to accommodate a larger diameter swaybar. The Tokico shock used on the MP3 features this reinforced endlink mounting flange. It is for this reason that the use of the MP3 swaybars on other Protege models is not recommended, as damage to the stock shocks is possible. Further, to accommodate the use of larger diameter sway bars, the rear subframe was modified to allow additional clearance for the larger swaybar bushing and mounting bracket.
Because of the response that we have received, we have decided to produce a selected number of Protege parts. Since our experience has been limited to the 2000 and 2001 Protege sedan, we will start our parts fitment and compatibility research with these models. Initially, we will confine our research to exhaust and suspension spring compatibility for these models.
Our initial research has shown that since the introduction of the Protege in 1989, there have been several engine and trim packages available. During this time, Mazda has also introduced significant updates to the Protege platform. Over the next few months we will attempt to develop a further understanding of the "cross compatibility" of Protege parts.
While many Protege owners have placed requests for supercharger kits, turbocharger kits, performance cams, brake kits, etc... we will initially focus our efforts on suspension and exhaust components for this application. The high cost of research, development and production of these "super" high performance products for a rather limited number of enthusiast-minded Protege owners, makes the introduction of these parts rather unlikely.
Our first product introduction will likely be a rear muffler for the 2000 and 2001 ES model Protege sedan. The muffler will be styled differently from the MP3 by use of a different muffler tip. Suspension springs for the 2001 ES sedan model are also possible. These parts will probably be available during late summer of 2001. We will also consider fitment of these parts for the Protege5.
If you would like to send us an e-mail message, please include your model year and type, along with your suggestion or comment.
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