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Sedans Mazda Protege Mazda Protege Accessories and Modifications
1220 messages, Last post on Jul 11, 2009 at 11:33 AM
You are in the Mazda Protege Forum. Your Hosts are pat & karens
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Hi, Hope you guys don't mind all of my questions. I have a 01' Protege (LX 2.0) and i'm planning to change out my stock audio system (the digital display is messed up) but wanted to know if I should change out my speakers too. Does any one know what the watts are for the stock speakers? I'm just looking to get a richer/better sound quality. (sorry dumb ques. here) If I change the speakers, they will be hidden under the speaker covers like the stock ones? I noticed that the ES trim has white gauges on the odometer, what is the backlight color? Would I be able to order those through Mazda? I just have the boring green with the black background. Last question for now, The black trim on the outside window/doors, are the replaceable? My passenger side is all faded and peeling. Thank you in advance!
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The stock speakers are OK, but aftermarket ones can definitely sound better. When you look at power ratings of speakers, also look at the low end. That will tell you how much power needs to feed the speakers before sound will come out. It's a measure of efficiency. Some Rockford-Fosgates won't even peep until you give them 8W. My Pioneers start around 4W, so I actually could set my volume roughly 30% less than I had it with my factory speakers and still be satisfied with the sound. Get ones with rubber surrounds. It lasts longer than the foam on the stock speakers. Get non-paper cones (paper is usually found on cheaper speakers) as well. 2-way, 3-way or 4-way is up to your budget and hearing ability. The stock use "whizzer" cones for the higher frequencies, so they're kinda like 2-way speakers. Don't get me wrong, the stock speakers are decent (the ones in the Corolla and Civic are puny), but you can do better. Look on-line at Crutchfield for equipment that fits with your LX. If you stick with those that fit, you won't have to cut holes in your doors or rear shelf. They'll also tell you what head units fit. The downside of Proteges is the pocket for the head unit isn't that deep (something like 6.13 inches), so that limits the selection a lot. Others will fit with modification, but the faceplate will jut out from the dashboard. The back-light color on ES and P5 Pros is red. The black trim is just black plastic film. You can replace it yourself. With care, it will look like new. I'm suprised yours is fading. My '99 has fresh-looking trim still. Of course, it gets garaged nights and weekends, so it is spared some exposure.
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Replying to: mazdafun (Sep 09, 2005 5:33 am)  . I learned alot, I never would of thught of looking at the low end of the power ratings and the rubber surrounds. Would you know where to get the plastic film? I went to the daelership to get prices to replace the trim and 1 side would come out to over $200.! Could not find anything online either. I have no idea what cold of happened; even my wiper arms look like they belong on a 10 yr. old car. ??? I did for 1 yr. have to park w/out any cover & i'm in the desert. |
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I posted this message in the care and maintenance forum but will post here also. I am looking for a new alarm system for my 99 Protege ES as the factory one I have installed stopped working when I replaced the battery and don't have the time or patience to go to the dealer and pay for them to reset it. Any suggestions on a good decent alarm? I live in downstate NY and have approx. 72,000 miles on the care and would like to keep it for another 72,000. Thanks |
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Replying to: luv2zoomzoom (Sep 08, 2005 2:39 am) |
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I went stereo shopping and the prices were higher than I wanted to spend; over $500. w/ just a regular cd player, 4 middle of the road speakers + wiring, (etc) and install. Now i'm thinking what if I just changed the cd player only and forget the speakers? Would the sound be crappy and not worth it? I don't mind the stock look but it geta annoying to have to hit my display just to see what time it is, etc; the digital on the display is messed up.
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Replying to: mazdafun (Sep 09, 2005 5:33 am) |
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Autozone sells trim film. I'm sure other retailers do too. I used black to replace sections to replace sections that oxidized and faded on my '89 323LX (surprisingly, there was chromed trim underneath!). If your head unit's display is wonked out, then replace that first, though I think replacing the speakers makes a bigger difference in terms of sound quality and quantity. And yes, dB/W is the key factor, though the bottom end still will tell you when they kick in.
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Replying to: mazdafun (Sep 16, 2005 9:33 am) 
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Replying to: luv2zoomzoom (Sep 14, 2005 4:02 am)
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