Nick's 2000 BJI Protege
 

Hey guys,

I came into possession of my parents 2000 BJI Protege in about early February last year, after buying another car for themselves. I have literally kept it stock until now, with the odd mod here and there. After discovering the JDM parts listed on this forum, and other miscellaneous parts for sale here, I am indeed going to start modding more.
Being my first car, I want to modify it tastefully, without going overboard... Might save that for another car however ;)

Modifications:

Engine
- Stock ZM-DE :cool: - 1.6L of terror!
- Black rocker cover
- 2000 Toyota Celica GTS MAF
- Hotdog muffler/resonator
- Berklee PEX high-flow straight through muffler with dual dump tips (hidden under rear bumper)
- 2" piping
- Custom short ram intake
- AWR Transmission mount (inserts)
- AWR Motor mounts (Front and Rear)

Suspension/Wheels
- TEIN S.Tech (JDM version) - 35mm Front/25mm Rear
- Cusco 'Type OS' front strut bar
- "Washer Mod"
- Rays Versus 'Stivale' (Satin Black) 4x100, 17x7, +42 w/Yokohoma Earth-1 EP400 205/40/R17

Interior
- Kenwood KDC-X8019BT head unit
- Fusion CS-CM60 2 way split speakers
- Soundstream SST6.9 6x9" 2 way speakers
- JVC AX3004 4 channel amplifier

Exterior
- Lower Mesh Grille (Black)
- JDM Folding Power mirrors
- Black 'Evil M' badge
- Black 'Familia' badge
- Black 'Mazda' script badge
- Mazdaspeed A-Spec Front Bumper
- Mazdaspeed A-Spec Side Skirts
- Mazdaspeed A-Spec Rear Valence Lip
- JDM rear window weathershields

Lighting
- 6000K H4 HID Kit
- Narva 'Arctic Plus' 50 H4
- Philips Plus +80 H4


Pictures of the car:
http://i1186.photobucket.com/albums/...psd7d854b1.jpg

http://i1186.photobucket.com/albums/...ps23b933fb.jpg

http://i1186.photobucket.com/albums/...ps37257313.jpg

http://i1186.photobucket.com/albums/...ps326a3476.jpg


To do:

Leave the car alone now :p

Painted the rocker cover the other day, gloss black with the paint filed out on the letters. Also ordered some TEIN S. Tech springs from Rupe yesterday, quite keen to get them on the car :D
- Pics to follow

How does the 1.6 cope with the AWR mounts? is it like driving a train with all the vibrations?? haha

Thankfully not! If the vibrations were any worse, I'd be grabbing some new engine mounts right now. I wouldn't describe the car as a train (about as slow as one though :p), but more of a... bus with good suspension? haha if that makes any sense :)

So, as I mentioned before, my rocker cover is complete - Pics are here!

http://i1186.photobucket.com/albums/...0/DSCF0639.jpg

http://i1186.photobucket.com/albums/...0/DSCF0640.jpg

http://i1186.photobucket.com/albums/...0/DSCF0642.jpg

http://i1186.photobucket.com/albums/...0/DSCF0644.jpg

Not to mention the copious quantities of Megs Ultimate Compound I used to buff it all up after wet sanding! My poor microfibre pad suffered immensley!
- Clean side
http://i1186.photobucket.com/albums/...0/DSCF0647.jpg
- Blaaaaack
http://i1186.photobucket.com/albums/...0/DSCF0648.jpg

Haha fair enough.

Rocker cover looks nice. 100x better than mine ;)

I take it that yours is a 1.6L too?

Is yours 1.6 Nick?

nah 1.8. Soon to be 2.0 =D

Yep, all 1.6L of ZM-DE goodness ;) Very reliable car/motor though, has clocked over 210000kms (since brand new), and nothing major has gone wrong with it, probably the clutch has been the only thing we have really had to change on the car to date. All other parts are still OEM, and in perfect working order since they left the factory in 2000! It was treated like a baby when my parents drove it, never thrashed, and it definitely goes to show.
Shocks will be getting replaced soon, shortly after the springs get installed. My parents told me they are paying for it :p, they think I'm just a poor uni student... A poor uni student indeed I am!:rolleyes:

What sort of CAI system you're going to use? Mine also is an auto 1.6L, wanted to replace the stock air intake to improve a little bit power and acceleration but don't know what to go for! How much would it cost to replace the one like you're going to use?

Also where did you get that pair of weather-shields? Been looking for a cheap pair in Adelaide but couldn't find any!

You have PM :)

They came with the car believe it or not! Factory option :D
Does Rupe have any listed as a JDM part?

Rupe would be your best bet. I got a set for my sedan from him.

Not much to update at the moment, but I'm still eagerly waiting for the springs from Rupe, as well as finally deciding to build my intake this week sometime.
Also discovered a small exhaust leak :mad: , so that shall be getting fixed sometime soon!

Hey man what's the benefits of the Celica maf???

Although the Celica MAF is the same as the Protege MAF, I have actually noticed a little more fuel economy. I don't know if its because the Protege's original MAF was dirty, however I got the MAF changed for free so I cant really complain if there is no real difference in performance/economy :D

So I recently painted my wing mirrors due to severe fading a few months ago. I was extremely happy with how they looked repainted, they were actually black like stock, and most of all didn't stick out like a sore thumb when they were on the car. I painted them with specific trim paint (matte finish), and then sprayed two layers of clear over them to give them a nice satin finish in the end - basically looked brand new

However things changed on this cold, frost-filled morning....

http://i1186.photobucket.com/albums/...980/IMG037.jpg

http://i1186.photobucket.com/albums/...980/IMG036.jpg

http://i1186.photobucket.com/albums/...980/IMG039.jpg

http://i1186.photobucket.com/albums/...980/IMG038.jpg

They got a severe case of frost bite!
The paint got eaten away for some reason... it remains a mystery (if I sand them back, they keep looking like they do in the pictures). I'm not going to waste my time any more repainting them anymore, I'll just buy new mirrors (the left hand side one is damaged anyway).

On a positive note however, I'm getting the exhaust fixed on the weekend, as well as getting all the supplies for my CAI tomorrow :)

What sort of CAI system are you getting? Cost?

Helps with the hesitation that the 1.6l lads get when they fit a CAI. Note that its the GTS model IIRC that is/was used not the GT.

It will only affect Open Loop AFAIK :)

Note: You might wanna google it, its been a year or two since ive looked into the 1.6l engine but im pretty sure im right :)

just buy the painted mirrors... much better
you can get 2nd hand JDM ones that can fold in electrically and it will also have convex water repelling glass on both sides.... you can choose not to have water repelling glass but heaters instead too