I have owned 13 Mazdas and deep down I wanted another Mazda. I only really saw one SRT4 for sale but it was a little too cheap and jsut did not seem right. Integras and Preludes were all over the place, but either it was swapped and just needed a "tune" or it to expensive. Majority of the EP3s suffered from the same problem. Most RSXs were beaten to death, or to expensive. I did not wanna have to pull a motor, transmission or do major body work from the start. My biggest thing was having a decent body, and be in good running condition, if it needed repairs it was fine, I just wanted to be able to drive it home under its own power. įinding these cars in decent shape for a good price is really tough these days. They were not trying to be luxury sedans, they were efficient, nimble, economical and sporty. The cars were what they were meant to be and nothing more, but they can be transformed into whatever you want it to be. To me the 99 to the 2000s was the golden era for the import automotive scene. I noticed that all the cars were from a certain era. I narrowed it down to a RSX, EP3 Si, Integra, Prelude, Mazda Protege, SRT4. After selling the Benz, I had a bigger budget, and went looking for something Japanese, reliable, cheap, fun, and some sort of aftermarket support. The car was damn near perfect for its age, but it wasnt the right tool for the job. I had not owned it for very long, and it was as nice as it was gonna get in my hands, I had a few sets of wheels for it, and lowered it. So i decided to part ways with my Mercedes and help fund this journey. I started to search and look for something cheap, and with a decent aftermarket that I could have to take out and enjoy at track days and not have to worry about it as much.īut did not have space or the funds to purchase another vehicle, so something had to go. After being realistic with myself, it just did not make sense to put that much wear and tear on the Jetta, and then expect it to be a proper daily during the week. I still wanted to take the Jetta back out again on a track, so I had planned to get it ready for the next event in March 2019. NO part of this ends good for me and the Jetta. damn I have to drive this car to work on Monday. But on my way home, I noticed the brakes felt a little mushy, the tires didnt feel as smooth, and I realized. I was eager to get back out and do another track day in the Jetta, with some upgrades to the brakes and a second set of tires strictly for the track. Before that day the Jetta was a daily driver, but driving it on a track and with no regard was the most fun I had ever had in a vehicle. But I knew if i pushed it to hard on the straights I would over due the stock brakes and put myself in the dirt. My biggest fear was my brakes at the event, with the tune and mods, the car has good power. To me the car handled great, and did what i needed it to do.
#Mazda protege car dying below 2000k rpm mods
It has a stage 2 APR tune, and has most of the supporting mods for the engine but other then that it has stock brakes, regular street tires and H&R springs. It was a last minute thing, and the track day was hosted by my good friend George It was a Mustang track day, but he had a few spots open for me to bring my Jetta out for the day. Back in September I attended a track day for the first time in my own vehicle at Little Talladega in my Jetta. Going back home and driving was so different after being able to thrash around a corvette all weekend.
#Mazda protege car dying below 2000k rpm full
We drove stock C7 stingrays on track for one full day and I ended up winning 3rd place overall in the Auto X contest between all the attendees. And once we were able to put the skills to the test it all made sense. Simple things like looking where your going and not in front of you, and holding the steering was key. I learned so much at the event it was unreal. If you look in the back ground you can see the owners house's. The venue was set up like a resort, they had garages for club members, and a huge hotel on site for guests. The backdrop was stunning, and being my first time in Nevada I was overwhelmed by it all, and did not get nearly as many photos as I should have gotten. It was held at Spring Mountain Raceway, a track that Michelin and GM use for testing and they also host club races throughout the year.
Well over the last month I have been working on something to get more involved into motor sports, and being able to go on a track and mimic what I have been doing in video games for many years.Įarlier this year, I won a contest at work and was able to attended the Ron Fellows Performance Driving School in Nevada.