1995 portege

[nikki]

I'm in the prosess of buying a 95 protege dx I'm looking to see if there is anything I should watch out for. I have a 1992 eclipse right now. will never buy mitsu again I need help .

[Sunset]

I own a 95 dx and have had no problmes with it, but many members on here have had a variety of problems. I would perform a compression test followed by a vacuum test BEFORE buying the car. The engine is a z5 if you use the search button and type it in you'll find numerous threads on it.

The car is not fast it's an economy car, I get about 280-300 mi per tank with the a/c on all the time. Handles decent and you could easily upgrade the suspension. Engine wise any upgrade would be a custom job. There are a few bodykits out (check out erebuni) but any other kit is also a custom job.

It's a good comuting car, it's economical and reliable as long as you perform it's maintanance religiuosly. Welcome to the club!!!

[MazdaBoost]

In all honesty, Ive had a 98 protege, look into a honda civic or something.

[mannydingo]

Nikki, take off the oil cap from the engine. Look deep inside from all angles to make sure there isn't a crust of old hardened oil from the engine running hot even if it wasn't ever running so hot that it overheated. Do sudden quick starts and fast stops. Go to an open space and, while driving, turn the steering all the way left and then all the way right. Try to show up at the place while the car has been stopped all night to see if there's any difficulty getting it going initially. The second gens with the 1.5 Z5 are good if they were treated well but can't handle poor maintenence like it's bigger sibling the 1.8 bp. Turn the A/C on even if it's cold and do all the above. Oh, I also own a 95 Protege.

[strutman]

i have a 98 z5. it is a very good car and the z5 can be fast with decent upgrades and can be boosted way more than a civic can on stock internals. it can run in the 13s if you turbo it and even more performance can be squeezed out if you bore it out (nobody to my knowledge has tried that yet) and there are many little things you can do to really get it going, granted it's a 1.5, but it is a strong 1.5 if well maintained. don't be discouraged if you want fast, you can get it there, it just takes more work. i love my pro and as long as you don't expect miracles with it you'll be happy.

[JZProwler]

Yea, basically just make sure the previous owners kept up with their maitenance, if they did, it should be a decent and reliable car. like stated, make sure you at least do a compression test, one of the most common problems with the engine

[mannydingo]

Guys, I understand how important the compression test is. However, few people are going to allow you to start pulling plug wires out and sticking things(like the tester)in their cars. This is especially true of people who know nothing of cars. Also, Nikki, him/herself, may not know what to do or want to try with no experience. Your suggestions are still good and valid.

[txmzdspd2gen]

Better if you know a mechanic to test it for you. If you are unsure of it ask for the maintenance log or receipts. For what I know the 95 models are good, and for me the z5 is ok for commuting. The honda is ok but I love the interior design of the protege better and the looks is not outof date. Welcome to the forum and good luck.

[Project Protoge]

I would have to agree with you about Mitsubishi's due to their record with electrical problems and bad ECU's but the Protege uses a Mitsubishi ECU. For the most part the Protege is a reliable car just make sure and check to see if the check engine light is on when you test drive it. A lot of them have idle problems due to ecu's and false misfire codes due to the ecu.

[strutman]

oh so thats why one of my sensors has the mitsu logo on it...

now the question is... since it's a mitsu ecu... does any other mitsu ecu fit our pro as an upgrade?

[Intruder]

oh so thats why one of my sensors has the mitsu logo on it...

now the question is... since it's a mitsu ecu... does any other mitsu ecu fit our pro as an upgrade?

Genius! Why don't you try them all out and tell us if anything works?

Use common sense. Mitsubishi is huge. They have many different branches... electronics, heavy industries.... They make computer memory chips, ships, trains and everything in between.

The ECU is custom tailored to the application, so to shortly answer your question "does any other mitsu ecu fit our pro as an upgrade?" - no Mitsubishi ECU will work in your car. It is not a Mitsubishi ECU, it's a Mazda ECU made by Mitsubishi.

[Project Protoge]

I guess I should have been a little clearer on that. As intruder said mitsubishi makes a lot of things. The ecu is designed for the z5 of that year make and model only. It won't work on another car and another cars ecu won't work on your z5.

[96Familia]

My Evo IV ECU seems to be working well so far...

[strutman]

now you are messing with me... why bother?

[loganss]

Wonder if nikki bought a pro?