Southrnfresh Mazda Protege 5 Track car project: New Daily & Barber Motorsports Park

When I first bought the Protege 5 , i had my Jetta and my MPV as other cars.  But since then,  my MPV has been out of commission and my lease was ending on my Jetta.  I didnt want to be in a position where my track car was my only car.  So it was time to go daily shopping…

I had been considering something under 5k originally.  But I saw a post pop up about another P5 for sale , that needed a head gasket for $650.  The car was about 8 miles from my house.  I first considered it for spare parts or something to buy and sell.  I went and checked it out, and made a offer of $500, and the next day Mazda #14 was in my driveway…

The car was driven by their son and they had bought him a new Mazda 3.  So it was time to sell, as they did not want to invest any more time into it.

It had been taken care of pretty well overall, had a crazy coolant leak from the heater hoses, and the water pump was pouring coolant.  A short list of maintenance, new water pump and timing belt.  And the car ran perfect..

Linked up with a guy on facebook in Chattanooga and got a new bumper to replace the damaged one..

Put the Mazdaspeed Protege Racing Hart wheels on it, and it started to look like something. I certainly did not expect to be driving the car as a daily, but it turned out to be a really nice car once it was cleaned up and a few repairs.  The best part was being able to be able to be without a car payment for the first time in almost 12 years.  More money saved, and more money to waste on the “race” car..haha

The Silver car had been set back right after the alignment, and all good.  The wheel held air, and was not bent terribly.   But had been damaged pretty bad from sliding over the rumble strip.

I had already purchased a 5th Konig wheel earlier in the year so I swapped the tire on the fresh wheel for Barber Motorsports.  I was honestly surprised that the wheel had not broken from sliding across concrete.  I always recommend their wheels for any track car based on the price and the lightweight flow formed options.  Also when I posted about the spin at RA and posted the wheel, they immediately offered to send a replacement.  I had already had a replacement so I did not want to waste the good faith gesture, but I really appreciate them offering.

I had been plagued with brake noise from my Hawk pads since I installed them earlier this year.  I tried to resurface the rotors and re-bed them, but they still squeaked like crazy. I finally was able to quiet them by scuffing the pad with a metal buffer tool.  In the photo above you can see the rust on the pad surface..

About 20 seconds of work it was clear and fresh.  Im sure most of you already know this, but I was so happy that this got rid of the god awful noise from my track pads.

I took the car up to the Tail of the Dragon for Touge Fest.  Which is a weekend event held at The Dragon.  It has become a huge event in the Southeast that brings people from all over to hang out for a weekend in the mountains.

The spin at RA had left me a little shook, so it was good to get out in the car and get the feel back. 

Before I had always pushed the car and got excited when it broke loose or when I heard the tires squeal a little.  But now tire noise terrified me.  So I needed the drive to clear my head and reset my nerves so I could enjoy Barber..

I had been to the dragon plenty of times in the P5, but this was the first time I had managed to actually go back and look for photos of me from the photographers that sit along side the road.

Finally back at Barber Motorsports Park, after not being able to drive it earlier in the year.  I was so excited to mark this track off my list. One of the things I made sure to do was to remove the rear sway bar and set the car back how it was in the beginning of the year to assure I would feel comfortable in it.

I started the day by riding along with one of my instructors Gino Manley to show me some of the lines before I went out on my own.  Gino is very familiar with FWD cars and how to drive them, so he showed me how much potential my car really had.  And it was mind blowing riding with someone while they drive your own car and do so well..

Immediately after Gino drove me in the car, we went to pits, and I hoped behind the wheel to give it a shot myself.  I took the first warm-up pace lap and everything felt good.  I started the second lap, and the car felt extremely loose and almost uncontrollable at every turn.  I didnt know if it was me or the car.

I was stressing out trying to figure out whats going on.  I had gave someone a point by in the wrong area, and gotten black flagged.  So my stress level doubled thinking something was really wrong…

I go in to the pits, and meet with the guy in the pits, and he tells me what I did wrong, and lets me continue.  But I take a minute and check my driver front tire, and notice it completely flat and almost off the wheel.  I limp to the air station and fill it up with air,  which it takes and fills up.  I go to my tent, and jack the car up and see the big bubble in the sidewall..

My first thought was to put the factory wheels back on that I drove on.  But 2 of them were sketchy and 2 were almost new.  So at first I threw them on the front, and went back out next session.

The tire noise was already bad from the new pavement at Barber.  But it got way worse with the Kelly All Season tires up front.  The car had absolutely zero grip up front…I had no confidence in anything.

Someone suggested that I try them on the rear.  Deep down I knew it was a bad idea, just based on my experience with rear grip and how much the car likes to rotate.  But at this time I just wanted to be able to have some sort of confidence on track.  Against my own judgement I tried it out…and made it through 2 turns sideways before I just gave up for the session.

By that time it was lunch time, and I had been debating on just packing up and going to take photos and be a spectator.

I swapped the tires back and just fought through the under steer and no grip up front.  And just took the turns steady and spent the session learning the lines instead of trying to go fast.

The second session after lunch the car started to misfire at Turn 3 every lap.  I came in, checked the codes, and it was Cylinder #3 misfire.  The car ran fine, went back out, and then it happened again, but it changed to Cylinder #4.  Once it happened again I just kept going and prayed that the car was able to make it home under its own power.

There were 2 sessions left, the misfires and check engine lights had stopped and I had settled myself on how the car handled with the mis-matched tires.  So I went out and got pace behind a guy in a Miata and for the first time all day had a really good trouble free session.

The biggest issue with Barber and low hp cars is the elevation change.  The hills at Barber kill all momentum that you gain on each turn.  To me it makes this track very challenging.  The back section really gave me the most trouble through the blind uphill right.

But it was great to finally get to take the car on such a challenging track.  The issues i had helped me learn the track a little more rather then try and be fast.  

At the end of the day I felt accomplished with this project , because it was the last track day of 2019.  And the car had made it to every event without any mechanical failure.  JZilla has transformed me to a different type of enthusiast.  I was never hardcore into one side of show or into the function side.  I just liked the complete aspect of the automotive culture.  

I am happy at the positive feedback I have received about the car, and from people contacting me about getting involved in more track activity.  Being around the scene for so long, I knew a lot of you all always wanted to be involved in motorsports but just did not know how or where to start.  Hopefully I have motivated some of you to get on track! 

The Protege 5 will continue to go into 2020 with a few updates and some new goodies.  Next post we are going back in the garage and get ready for Atlanta Motorsports Park in March!