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GET EM SLUGGER posted:I've heard two different stories about intakes. One story is that they make a huge difference in power. The other is that they don't do poo poo but make the car sound better. So is it really worth spending $185 on a new intake? My car came with a K&N filter from the previous owner, if that means anything. The stock air box is one of the great crimes against automotive humanity. If you take a good look at it you'll notice that the inlet bottlenecks down to something like a 1.5" diameter opening. It's just asinine. Hagetaka posted:That seems like kind of a weak excuse, would they really have to do that much drat re-working to move a fuel pump? Is location that much more critical on DI engines or something? It's a mechanical pump driven off the cam, sorta like a diesel. Makes sense considering the challenges of fuel injection into a pressurized combustion chamber. It has to supply really pressure along with the volume. Anyway, has anyone replaced the stock recirc valve? I hear they tend to leak boost. I'm not terribly concerned about the sound, but I hate to think that valuable power is just being wasted. If anyone has gotten sick of their motor mount, sell it to me.
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Dec 29, 2008 17:38
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GET EM SLUGGER posted:Well, I ordered my Accessport from Grip Garage yesterday. Thanks again for the heads up on that Frosty-. I got it in just before the price went back up. It's nice to have an alternative to Protege Garage. Those guys are complete hacks.
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Dec 30, 2008 16:37
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Tripped across this on mazdas247.com. Some of you suffering from a fuel-cut at high RPMs on cold mornings may benefit. I know I've been seeing it on occasional on-ramp WOT trips. I may try it. If I do, I'll post pictures and a writeup.
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Dec 30, 2008 16:51
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GoblinBomb posted:I see a lot of people saying that K&N filters are terrible, but what do those people consider the best filter? It's academic, because whether or not you're a dedicated modder you MUST yard out that abomination and replace it with a cone-filtered SRI or CAI. To leave the stock airbox in place is a big mistake IMO, since the stock setup is a huge performance and mileage killer. I gained 3 MPG doing my backyard DIY SRI.
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Dec 31, 2008 16:18
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GET EM SLUGGER posted:You mention a backyard SRI. I've read a little about air straighteners being necessary for some reason. Did you use one? I'm curious about the details of how you made the SRI, if you don't mind sharing. I don't have time at the moment, but I did a thread that's probably in the archives. I'll see if I can dig it up later.
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Dec 31, 2008 21:38
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Found it: http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=2900850
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Jan 1, 2009 21:59
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GET EM SLUGGER posted:Thanks Kynetx for digging up that thread. I remember reading it back when you posted it, but I just didn't put two and two together. IOwnCalculus posted:Another oil question, especially for the turbo folk: What grade and brand of oil are you running? I'm about to do my first DIY oil change on mine and I picked up a 6-pack of Castrol Syntec blend in 10-30 range (I think). I also got a Napa Gold 7203 filter, though it seems small to me. Guess We'll find out. I know that Mazda recommends a blend (which is why I went with it) but I haven't read anyone complaining about problems with straight synthetic. Kynetx fucked around with this message at 03:21 on Jan 6, 2009 |
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Jan 6, 2009 03:17
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Frosty- posted:I've heard Mazda is recommending all fino now, instead of the blend.
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Jan 6, 2009 14:15
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GET EM SLUGGER posted:By the way, what's the fix for the lovely shifter feel? I saw somewhere that it involves new gear oil, but I didn't catch if it was stock weight or something different. Anyone know? Something that people have tried is removing the weights. Since something like this is totally subjective you might want to give it a try. If you look above the transaxle you should be able to see the linkage and the weight attached to it. It's easy to remove and replace.
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Jan 6, 2009 23:59
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Frosty- posted:I've noticed that it still has rather inconsistent power delivery. Sometimes it's right there pulling like a rocket, and others there's nothing going on. It also stutters a little, but I'm hoping the new plugs will fix that.
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Jan 7, 2009 22:24
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Frosty- posted:The new Denso plugs made a huge and immediate difference. Everyone should use them, even on completely stock cars. The funky little stutter is gone. Swapping them in was illustrative, too. I very quickly determined exactly what tools I desperately need (work light, oh my god.) You gotta pull the IC to do this, right?
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Jan 12, 2009 16:39
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Frosty- posted:Unrelated to Cobb's SF Intake snapping poo poo into pieces, but related to our cars: I need to replace one of the bushings that attach the TMIC to the engine. It's the front passenger-side one if anyone cares, but I'm almost certain all three are identical. Like I said earlier, I lost the little metal center bit, and I haven't been able to find it in my garage, so I guess it's gone forever. Where would I buy something like that? Any reason you couldn't cut a length of steel tubing to the proper length and use that? Just install it into the rubber bushing and you're set.
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Jan 18, 2009 23:43
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GET EM SLUGGER posted:On the MS6, where the hell are safe jacking points? I think the rear diff is ok to jack, but where do I put the jackstands? I hate to sound like a dummy, but I really just have no idea where to safely jack it up, and then put it on stands. I recommend you Google this, but if it's the same as the 3, you drive up onto a pair of 2x4s and jack it up by the crossmember. Jackstands go under the pinch welds just like normal.
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Jan 20, 2009 00:49
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GET EM SLUGGER posted:Anyone want to buy a slightly used Accessport for MS6? I'd rather sell it and just buy a downpipe or something. The lack of support for the 6 is bothering me. I guess if I wanted to mod I should have bought an MS3. Any idea if this'll work with an MS3?
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Feb 17, 2009 05:07
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Captain Cannabis posted:The check engine light keeps coming on in my ms6, everything seems fine on the car and after talking to mazda the first time it happened they told me that it was more than likely a sensor around the gas cap?.. I've gone to Auto Zone to have codes pulled. I don't think there's anything special about it. I have had a CEL indicating a "rich idle" a couple of times.
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Feb 20, 2009 03:41
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Holy poo poo, I thought this thread was a goner. Glad to see it's still kicking around. I'm just gonna gush here, but I got back a couple weeks ago from a 4000+ mile road trip. We also own a Hyundai Santa Fe that would have been more practical, but there is no loving way I'm gonna drive anything that horribly boring on a road trip. We went Everett, WA to Albuquerque, NM to Grand Junction, Co to Santa Fe, NM and back home to Everett. The car was loving awesome. I programmed the GPS to take us the shortest route and we took a lot of two-lane roads where we had to pass huge lines of cars following semis and farm tractors. This thing is an absolute highway monster with all that torque. I had myself, my wife, my 6'-1" son, his little brother and two weeks worth of luggage (probably just about 800 pounds of human and luggage total) with the trunk packed floor to ceiling. We went roaring over mountain passes, tore up twisty foothills and blew past slower traffic in a car totally packed to the limit. Average speeds depending on the conditions ranged from 65-85 and I got 30-34 MPG with the A/C on in the deserts of Utah, Colorado and New Mexico. I did all the driving myself, two 14-hour days, two 12-hour days and 2 9-hour days. I rarely got fatigued and my back never gave me any trouble at all. Those seats are fantastic. I got a Scanguage just before leaving town and watched the numbers like a hawk. Coolant temps never got above 195*. After we finished the first leg to New Mexico, we dropped the kids off (along with half the luggage)with my parents and headed to Colorado. We took Red Mountain Pass and the Million-Dollar Highway. Surprisingly, my wife was cool with letting me just drop the hammer and flat-foot my way through the mountains. I have NEVER had so much fun behind the wheel in my whole life. She was squealing and flailing in the passenger seat like I had just stuck it in her rear end without warning. She was having fun. I verified this several times because the noises she was making sounded more distressful than anything. Anyway, you gotta make this drive if you are anywhere near the area. The road is fantastic and the scenery is awe-inspiring. Red mountain cliffs to the right, thousand-foot drops and no guard-rail to the left. The car was a champ. It ran like a bat out of hell and gave me no complaints. I've never had any professional instruction so I didn't have it anywhere near the limit but it was a blast. She had too much to drink the night before, so the trip back to New Mexico was on an alternate less twisty route driven much more sanely. Oh, 2008 Speed3 all stock except for a carved-up airbox.
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Aug 7, 2009 18:10
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Syd posted:Don't idle the car forever. Or use 5W40 oil. What's the worst that can happen? Smoky turbo or something? Speaking of which, are our turbos water-cooled?
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Aug 17, 2009 15:27
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Hatebreed, that photoshop is cute and everything but you're gonna have to explain what the hell you're talking about. From what I've read, I'll keep my '08. I like that it's an uncivilized brute. This car (previous version) is not about subtlety except maybe in styling. Speaking of which... that grille... Ugh.
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Aug 21, 2009 18:55
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Hatebreed posted:Everyone is spergin' about looks, including you. So having an opinion is sperging? You're the one that took time to make a Photoshop.
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Aug 22, 2009 06:58
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Lilbeefer posted:Is it normal to notice a small amount of black smoke on hard acceleration? Is it just the car richening up the fuel supply, or is this a sign of a retiring turbo? Perfectly normal. These cars run crazy rich. The fuel is used partially as a means to cool the intake charge.
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Aug 23, 2009 07:54
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redx posted:I've put about 11k miles on my 08 MS3, completely stock, and I have started getting some worrying sounds from the transmission. After driving for more than about 25 minutes the transmission will make a number of whining and other hard to describe noises when cruising at parking lot speeds. This is especially true when changing gears. Response from the shifter, and acceleration feels normal. Reasonably informed passengers that have ridden in the car have described them as possibly worrying. I really don't know enough to give much more detail. Has anyone else experienced something similar? I really want to take it into the dealer at this point, but my schedule is a total mess for the next month and a half or so. How worried should I be? Neglect it and they could hassle you when it breaks. Last time my MS3 was in the shop they gave me a loaner. TRIED to give me a PT Cruiser, but I upgraded into a G6. The G6 was a snoozer, but at least it wasn't humiliating to be in.
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Aug 27, 2009 07:29
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CombatWombat posted:I've got an 06 MS6, bought it used with around 38k miles on it. its around 45k now, and I'm occasionally hearing a loud squeak coming from the car's undercarriage when stopped or moving at parking lot speeds. If I had to hazard a guess I'd go with the differential but frankly I've got no drat clue. Should I be concerned? Could be a loose fastener in the suspension. Had this with my MS3. Take it to the dealer.
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Sep 9, 2009 05:46
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I was having some clunking from the rear, but I was able to reproduce it in the speed bump-ridden parking lot next to the dealer. They gave me a rental (would've been a PT Cruiser if I hadn't kicked a little of my own cash in, I'm shallow enough that I won't drive one of those shitboxes, even for free) and had it fixed in a couple of days.
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Oct 5, 2009 15:07
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Was it floored? The computer will chop the throttle when the steering wheel is turned a little bit.
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Oct 8, 2009 16:00
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the amber trap posted:Can three car seats (actually, one car seat and two booster seats) fit in the back? I've fit my wife and myself in the front, we're around 5-11 and my gigantic son and three of his gangly 6-footish friends and a Rottweiler into mine.
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Oct 13, 2009 01:50
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Animedork2075 posted:That had to be insanely cramped. I can see 3 pre teen kids being comfortable back there. 2 adults and one kid in the back, or even 3 smaller teens. However, 3 six foot people might be pushing it for any sort of distance. Well, it wasn't optimum conditions, but it worked. I wrote a post a few pages back about the road trip we took in the speed last summer. It was the wife and I, my son (6-1 at the time, about 225 lbs) and his little brother who is about 5-7 or so. The trunk was full of luggage to the ceiling as well. It was a little cramped, but they never bitched once about a lack of space. It was really remarkable how much passing power that little grocery getter still had when you factor in the weight (me-195, wife-155, son-225, son's younger brother-170, luggage-200, just short of 950 lbs in my estimate) and the altitude at some of the passes in the Rockies (10,000+ feet). Unless we were climbing more than a 5% grade I never had to drop it out of 6th. I live more or less at sea level so normal conditions for me are the max the car can do without mods. The turbo really made a difference. The first time I made a trip like that it was me in a 1980 Mercury Lynx (69 hp!) with all my worldly possessions which couldn't have added up to more than 150 lbs. In the passes in Arizona and New Mexico I was getting passed (and run off the road) by 18-wheelers like I was standing still.
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Oct 14, 2009 14:49
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Phrost posted:That's the thing I love most about my speed6. The suspension is insane and lets you go around corners faster than you have any business doing. I know I've never found the cornering limit. It's never oversteered on me or lost traction in the rear. Maybe I'm just a pussy.
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Oct 15, 2009 04:46
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DreamOn13 posted:I'm not sure how all the retards on the other forums only get like 10k out of them. Really? You just answered the question yourself. Understeering around turns under power consume a lot of rubber. High-powered FWD cars can chew tires pretty quick. I think I'm getting in the 20k range and mine are borderline.
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Oct 16, 2009 20:45
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That's too bad. I kinda like the poor manners the previous version has.
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Oct 20, 2009 03:09
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Animedork2075 posted:Does anyone else have intermittent gear grinding issues between second and third? I know it happens more on quicker shifts for me. However, the clutch is fully depressed, and it is really annoying. Not to mention embarrassing. I've done it once or twice, but it was a really sloppy shift and totally my fault.
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Oct 20, 2009 16:37
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Buckeye posted:Are there any Mazdaspeed3 forums that don't suck? I don't think they're too bad, but I don't venture into the main forums. I look for the info I want or post a question and pretty much ignore everything else.
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Oct 24, 2009 01:35
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Syd posted:Finally going to go steelies -- 16" off of Tirerack seems to be the best and avoids having to pay blingtax on 18" tires in the future. They're selling 16x6.5s for $55 which seems to be a decent enough deal considering they'll mount and balance them at tirerack. Which tires are you using? I want to go to 16s when I finish turning the RE50s to slicks.
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Oct 24, 2009 19:09
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I think the RX8 stock alloys are a popular route to go.
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Oct 25, 2009 00:41
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24 mixed. On road trips I get 30-33.
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Oct 25, 2009 17:34
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That's good to see. I was figuring that the super-rich cold-start routine the computer uses to heat the engine up as fast as possible would result in some fuel washing past the rings, glad this isn't the case.
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Nov 25, 2009 21:20
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Bovine Delight posted:So I installed the MS CAI for my car today and I must say I can feel a bit more grunt down low. Now I just need to befriend someone with access to a dyno so I can see what kind of numbers the car is putting out. Getting any CELs or fuel cut? What's the ambient temp like where you live? Is it a new model or one of the older ones?
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Dec 29, 2009 01:32
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Sorry, meant new or old model of CAI?
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Dec 29, 2009 02:20
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ScaryFast posted:I think the lack of camaraderie between Mazda owners is due to the fear that if they gather together in one place a tornado will touch down or a meteorite will strike and take out all of their cars. Is there the same rotary vs reciprocating pistons rift in the Mazda community as the air vs water-cooled in the VW community?
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Jan 23, 2010 21:24
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BexGu posted:Hey Shoota_McG, can you talk about how driving in the MS3 was like in the snow? That is my only concern is having that powerful of a FWD machine in (the little) snow the DC area gets. From my own experience, the car is a miserable bastard on factory rubber. All that yaw control and traction control are for not when you have a set of RE 050s. I hear that snow tires make it bearable. I was able to get around a little better by disabling DSC and traction control in certain situations. I just got me a set of chains so that it's driveable when we get some snow, assuming we do this year (PNW).
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Jan 27, 2010 06:04
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CharlesM posted:It's been really tame this year! Hell, sunny and 55 degrees? Pfft. I want some drat snow. Based on your location, can I assume you work for MS or a company that does? If so, there is a sweet silver MS6 I sometimes see in the mornings coming into Redmond. Is it yours? Kynetx fucked around with this message at 14:53 on Jan 27, 2010 |
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Jan 27, 2010 14:47
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