Been a long time. Anyways, bought a new car: A 2009 Crystal White Pearl MazdaSpeed3. 6 speed manual tranny + 2.3 liter turbo engine. Also has an AEM SRI installed now which bumps up the HP to between 270-280 FWHP.

On to the pics!






Worlds different than my old S40. This rides like a sportscar whereas the S40 rode like a luxury car. The biggest difference is obviously the power: 160 HP vs. 270 HP...

Anyways, I'm coming back to lend a hand anyway I can!

 

Looks sweet and must be real fast compared to your S40. I would not have thought the S40 rode like a luxary car??? My guess would have been a little peppy car with a medium ride qualty. I bet that Mazda is real tight.

 

Comparatively, the S40 was like a luxury car. You feel every little bump in the MS3 whereas the S40 absorbed them, even with my Konigs and low profile rubber.

And yes, it is crazy fast compared. Today I had it up to 4k RPMS with the turbo spoolin in first gear completely by accident. It really picks up in fourth gear when the TQ and HP aren't limited.

 

Nice Speed3. I just sold My Speed6. I installed a CPE CAI and I installed a boost gauge with slotted rotors and HP pads. The CAI will not give you 10-20hp, though. It's more of sound addition than a performance addition. With the CAI you can really hear the turbo goodness? Go out and get the CPE Piggyback or the Cobb AccessPort tuner and really start upping the HP coefficient.

 

Nice! My Ma drives a 3 (not a Speed 3 of course) and it seems to be a genuinely nice car. Definitely nicer than my old SVT Focus was.

 

That's an estimate based on what I read. I didn't install the SRI, I bought it with it on. And yes, it sucks like a vaccuum cleaner! And it's staying with these mods probably for a while. I've got another year of warranty left and I want to keep it intact. It's plenty fast the way it is!

 

Yes they are pretty quick little cars. I raced a few of them in my speed6. I would usually jump them really bad on take off (speed6 is AWD and does not limit the power in 1st and 2nd gear). Once out of 2nd gear though they would take back the distance but could never overtake. When the warrantee expires look into an aftermarket exhaust and get a Cobb Access Tuner or the CPE unit for tuning. A lot of these cars are making close to 300hp with stock components. That is unless you are just using it for a DD...but there is something realy cool to say about a 24mpg, 300hp Daily Whip!