What should I buy?

Carl Fisher · **Posted:** Sun Sep 27, 2009 9:51 am

I drove this car yesterday and liked it, and the guy accepted an offer of $3900. Now I'm getting a little bit of cold feet- it handled well but the thing was so gutless, I think our Mini might beat it in a straight line.

Does anyone know of things to check (in case this slowness is not normal), or simple performance mods (if it is)?

Thanks!

Jason Tower · **Joined:** Wed Jun 11, 2008 3:31 pm **Posts:** 1173

Carl Fisher wrote:

I drove this car yesterday and liked it, and the guy accepted an offer of $3900. Now I'm getting a little bit of cold feet- it handled well but the thing was so gutless, I think our Mini might beat it in a straight line.

Does anyone know of things to check (in case this slowness is not normal), or simple performance mods (if it is)?

Thanks!

that's almost identical to the protege i used to own, except mine was a 2000 model. i think the 2.0 engine was added in 01, mine had a 1.8 and while not overpowering i wouldn't describe it as gutless. either something is amiss or you're overly accustomed to fast cars.

Carl Fisher · **Posted:** Sun Sep 27, 2009 12:32 pm

I wouldn't say I'm accustomed to fast cars, but I am accustomed to my old Neon with 150(max) hp and 2500 pounds. The Protege is supposed to be 130hp and 2650 pounds, so I wouldn't think it should be that much slower.

Jason Tower · **Joined:** Wed Jun 11, 2008 3:31 pm **Posts:** 1173

Carl Fisher wrote:

I wouldn't say I'm accustomed to fast cars, but I am accustomed to my old Neon with 150(max) hp and 2500 pounds. The Protege is supposed to be 130hp and 2650 pounds, so I wouldn't think it should be that much slower.

this may sound like a silly question, but are you sure the clutch isn't slipping? and the parking brake is fully released (not just the lever, but verify that the calipers are actually not clamping the rotor)?

Jason Mauldin · **Posted:** Sun Sep 27, 2009 3:46 pm

Something is wrong if it felt slow compared to the mini. While our protege
5 wasn't fast it felt pretty peppy. Either way it's a great handling car

Carl Fisher · **Posted:** Sun Sep 27, 2009 7:36 pm

Jason, no the clutch wasn't slipping. And though I can't say for sure that the parking brake wasn't slowing it down, I took a fairly lengthy test drive and didn't notice any brake smells or fading.

Jason, do you know if there are any worthwhile mods people make to those cars?

Jason Tower · **Joined:** Wed Jun 11, 2008 3:31 pm **Posts:** 1173

Carl Fisher wrote:

Jason, no the clutch wasn't slipping. And though I can't say for sure that the parking brake wasn't slowing it down, I took a fairly lengthy test drive and didn't notice any brake smells or fading.

Jason, do you know if there are any worthwhile mods people make to those cars?

i didn't think so but had to ask. sometimes even smart people miss really obvious things, i'll never forget the time a client called me in a panic because their server monitor was blank no matter what they did. so i drove out to their office and turned up the brightness knob. at least it was plugged in

no idea, sorry. mine was stock, i owned it before i got the car crazies and starting doing really stupid things to them.

KendtEklund · **Joined:** Tue Mar 27, 2007 7:29 pm **Posts:** 1204

Some quick googling led to this (in a 2001 Protege review) -

Quote:

Base 1.6 models are OK with manual transmission, but labor with optional automatic, especially in passing or hill-climbing. Other 2.0 models don't seem much livelier. A test LX 2.0 did 0-60 mph in a disappointing 9.8 sec with manual shift. We haven't yet timed an MP3.

I'm guessing the ES drivetrain isn't any different? Bad gearing for a 4-banger?

Arthur McDonald · **Joined:** Fri Aug 29, 2003 1:54 am **Posts:** 2052

Carl,

As I recall, the road tests of 1990s and early 2000s Proteges always said the car handled great, but was down on the power. Hence the excitement when the Mazdaspeed Protege appeared in ... 2002 or so?

I went to Edmunds, expecting to find that your Neon had more torque and at lower rpm than the Protege, but found the opposite:

For the 2001 Protege ES:
Acceleration (0-60 mph): 9.05 sec. Braking Distance (60-0 mph): 122.75 ft.
Base Number of Cylinders: 4 Base Engine Size: 2 liters
Base Engine Type: Inline 4 Horsepower: 130 hp
Max Horsepower: 6000 rpm Torque: 135 ft-lbs.
Max Torque: 4000 rpm Drive Type: FWD
Turning Circle: 34.1 ft.

For a 1995 Dodge Neon 2dr Sport:
(no accel / braking numbers)
Base Number of Cylinders: 4 Base Engine Size: 2 liters
Base Engine Type: Inline 4 Horsepower: 150 hp
Max Horsepower: 6800 rpm Torque: 131 ft-lbs.
Max Torque: 5600 rpm Drive Type: FWD
Turning Circle: 35.4 ft.

Perhaps the answer is gearing. I'll bet the Sport/ACR Neons had pretty short final drives, given their relatively high redlines.

Or beg Dave Blum for a drive in his Mazdaspeed Protege..

Jason Mauldin · **Posted:** Sun Sep 27, 2009 8:55 pm

Carl Fisher wrote:

Jason, do you know if there are any worthwhile mods people make to those cars?

At the time, the only mod that seemed worthwhile was a turbo, which I wasn't interested in doing.

Carl Fisher · **Posted:** Thu Oct 01, 2009 10:32 pm

I picked up the Protege this afternoon- it's really nice. But I hope whoever designed those dim, dark red night gauges has been suitably punished.

Karl Shultz · **Posted:** Thu Oct 01, 2009 11:08 pm

Carl, Proteges were popular in Showroom Stock racing a few years back. So, you can probably still find good shocks and whatnot for it.

KendtEklund · **Joined:** Tue Mar 27, 2007 7:29 pm **Posts:** 1204

Carl Fisher wrote:

I picked up the Protege this afternoon- it's really nice. But I hope whoever designed those dim, dark red night gauges has been suitably punished.

Cue VK with the links to LED bulb replacements

...

Vincent Keene · **Posted:** Fri Oct 02, 2009 8:24 am

Carl Fisher wrote:

I picked up the Protege this afternoon- it's really nice. But I hope whoever designed those dim, dark red night gauges has been suitably punished.

I have all red-lit guages in my Z-24 and believe me they are far from dim. Do a search for 194 SMT or 194 SMD LEDs on Ebay. They will fix your problem.

Karl Shultz · **Posted:** Fri Oct 02, 2009 10:30 am

Carl Fisher wrote:

I picked up the Protege this afternoon- it's really nice. But I hope whoever designed those dim, dark red night gauges has been suitably punished.

This is an easy question, but I'll ask anyway. Have you got the rheostat turned all the way up?

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