GEN JUAN: Cosmic Blue '07 Mazdaspeed 3 GT

[CaptainHenreh]

Your pics make me miss mine.

[jbails39]

Your pics make me miss mine.

Sold?

[CaptainHenreh]

Your pics make me miss mine.

Sold?

Yep. Bought brandy new almost exactly 8 years ago.

sigh. I had some cool toys, man.





"My name is Ozymandias, king of kings..."

[jbails39]

Damn its purdy. Cant wait to get mine up to snuff. Ever do a trans fluid change?

[CaptainHenreh]

Damn its purdy. Cant wait to get mine up to snuff. Ever do a trans fluid change?

Only had it for a little over 3 years so, no. Never changed any fluid but earl.

[jbails39]

Thought this was pretty funny. The TPMS went out on the left rear tire on the interstate today on the Silver 3, and when i got home it was completely flat. It had disintegrated and then fell into the tire itself when i pushed on it a little bit. Coincidentally, the same exact thing happened to the opposite tire on the same vehicle many months back. $89.00 for one sensor.

Taking that in at 7 AM to get it fixed, and then at 10 I will also be getting the rim unbent on ol' Speedy Gonzales, so lets see if it fixes the wobble.

[jbails39]

Had a puff of smoke while accelerating in first yesterday, not overly concerned. Regardless, picked up Rotella T6 and a new oil filter, will be getting a banjo bolt soon. Transmission fluid ordered as well. Hopefully have all fluids changed and brakes on by the weekend. Rim got unbent and speed wobble is now (mostly) gone. Ordered an OBD2 sensor to use with my phone to monitor ecu stuff before I pick up a Cobb AP.

[jbails39]

Changed the oil to Rotella T6, Transmission Fluid to the Ford Synthetic. All is gravy right now, no smoke yet, banjo bolt is on the way. Brakes will begin soon...

[jbails39]

Installed the Corksport Rear Motor Mount, and the difference is night and day. No more jolts when shifting due to a shot RMM. The only tradeoff is a bit of vibration when accelerating in first, and when its cold in the morning at idle. I actually like how solid it feels, which is great.




The banjo bolt from Damond Motorsports also came in, and was a very simple install, except I almost dropped a small piece of plastic into the engine, which scared the shit out of me until I found it under the car. Otherwise, just pull off some hoses, intercooler, and intake, and screw it in. Still haven't seen much in the way of smoke, hope it stays that way until I can afford a BT build.

[jbails39]

Alrighty ladies and gentle(?)men. As I sit here in a Beijing cafe procrastinating on studying for my Chinese final, my mind keeps wandering to go fast bits and car stuff. Immediate to-do list for when I get back on August 2nd.

-Valve Cleaning: highly recommended by every Speed owner, at 115xxx miles, they have probably never been touched, and likely look like most of the side streets here.
-Is this something I should attempt myself, or is there a place that I could take it for a reasonable amount of money? I am a little hesitant to tear into engine stuff or fuck something up. I would be much happier doing it with an experienced MMer or speed owner.

-Suspension: I want to get this blue baby to the track and autocross and all other manner of nonsense. Coilovers are expensive as hell, and I do like the stock ride height a good bit. The suspension still squeaks and sounds essentially shot, so I will need to replace the shocks/struts as soon as possible. Also a rear sway bar sounds like fun.

-Custom Tune and fuel pump: Probably the thing I will do first after the valve cleaning and a boost-leak test is purchase a Cobb AP and custom tune, with the requisite HPFP to prevent a ZZB condition. Figured I may as well do it right if I do it at all, so the extra expense is justified.

-Exhaust: I plan on purchasing the CNT catback as soon as possible, mostly for rice reasons. I always feel like the car should be a little louder, which would only enhance the intangible sensations and tingles I get in my nether regions while I drive it. Also, opening up the exhaust a little bit is good for about a 20hp gain based on reviews. I would do downpipe for more significant gains (you lift bro?), but my k04 is somehow still alive, and I don't want to murder it until i am prepared for a turbo upgrade. Apparently a new downpipe has a tendency to mess with pressures or some shit and go all smokey.

-Spark plugs: The spark plugs were replaced literally a week before I picked it up, although I believe it would be smart to get one-step colder plugs to make things safer for the tune. Input would be appreciated here.

-Sound system: I wanna bump a little bit, maybe a 10" sub and some nice speakers. The current Bose ones are okay, but sound a little funky at times. Also, I am not really sure what the OEM Bose amp is good for, and the speakers give off a very slight hissing when i plug in my phone, so I want to get that checked out as well. Thoughts on how to engage these items/where to take it to do these things?

-Wheels and Tires: Gonna need new tires, as well as new rims. I have two difference pairs of tires cross-matched on my car, with one brand on each side, alternating front and back. Don't even want to know what that is doing to driveability, wouldn't chance it with any kind of track task. My right rear rim is still a bit warped, and the rims themselves still look fucky from that terrible plastidip job, so I would like to replace them with a good set of Enkeis, as I like their style. Thoughts on tire/wheel combo are appreciated, keeping in mind this is a daily.

-Intake: Probably gonna get a new intake, as I would like 3" to replace the shitty spectre filter and stock diameter hosing to the TIP. Likely going to be a JBR or Corksport.

Sorry for the train of thought stuff, can't wait to get back and do racecar stuff with my racecar friends.

[rherold9]

Suspension: koni orange and springs

Spark plugs: they were just replaced. No point in upgrading. The really don't do much I've heard.

Wheels: Enkei RPF1
Tires: Continental DWS

Exhaust: cheaper option is to just delete muffler or resonator as trust me it will still good and give you more loud

That's the help I can give you

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

[RawrImAMonster]

I don't know if I would recommend Continental DWS for track/autocross use. I had them on my Evo for the winter and they aren't nearly as grippy as the Hankook Ventus V12's I ran during the summer. I actually understeered pretty bad around a turn once right after I switched to the continental's because I overestimated how well they would grip.

Unless you meant Continental DW (DWS are the all-seasons).

[jbails39]

Realistically I don't know how often my vehicle will be in events, so being really sticky isn't as important as being a good daily/occasional speed usage. I just want to get it on the track for shits and giggles, gotta get my toes wet. Also, I considered the resonator delete and would still prefer a CBE, especially considering the CNT is hella cheap, and offers a very sexy exhaust note/blue tip.

[Jake]

The DW is a great summer tire and the DWS is a great all-season. Take yer pick.

[rherold9]

I was thinking dd duty tire with a hyperdrive or an autocross once or twice a year. DWS is perfect for that, IMO. Obviously as always I'm only saying this because of what other people said. I never meant this in the first place. Am I doing this right?

Just be sure to research the CNT it's quality is on par with eBay exhausts because that's what it basically is

Oh and I recommend all CPE and JBR or basically any company related to parts over corksport except SURE.

1. CPE, JBR, Damond, etc...
2. Corksport and Sure

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[D_Eclipse9916]

Suspension: koni orange and springs

Spark plugs: they were just replaced. No point in upgrading. The really don't do much I've heard.

Koni Yellows if you can swing it or they have it.

An increase in boost and tune you might want to step to a range colder. This is an attempt to prevent detonation because typically the factory wants to run a "hot" plug and as you start putting up the boost you want it a range "colder". I did this with the DSM, but it is very turbo-car dependent so go off best judgement. I hope you are running copper NGKs...

Wheels: Enkei RPF1
Tires: Continental DWS

YUM! Although I love my DW far more than the DWS I threw on my mom's M3.

[rherold9]

I agree DJ. I understand that. Trust me I've done so much research on speed3. I almost picked one up a few years back, but my parents said no.

If you aren't getting tuned with full bolt-ons the plugs won't do much. An intake and tune won't be worth the colder plugs, imo. Now once you get a downpipe that's when I would do it. And go with Denso ones they are the most recommended by Speed owners

Edit: are those plugs like itv22s? Or something. Been awhile since I've looked

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[Ken]

I have a slim style sub&box that I intended to use in the GTI and never got around to it. It's kicker, 10" and I believe rated for 500W continuous at 4ohms.

[jbails39]

Got a valve cleaning and boost leak test done, both went well, pleased with the price. Also quoted a very reasonable price on a future VVT job. Accessport V3 came in, set the idle to 900, and set up launch control for giggles. It is sweet. High pressure fuel pump should be here soon, will order catback and new intake + TIP tomorrow in preparation for the beginning of the custom tune.

Custom tune may seem like a waste for such low-level mods, but I believe the extra price and hassle is worth having an experienced pair of eyes looking at the data for simple peace of mind, given the mileage on the vehicle. This will be the end of power mods for a while, until I feel financially comfortable with blowing my motor, though I may have to upgrade the turbo at some point before that because of the k04.

Speaking of power mods...

[Senor_Taylor]

I demand a ride in this since I got to ride in the old Mazda! Glad to see you wasted no time after getting back from Chinaland, Jballs.