Archive for the ‘My Mazdaspeed 3’ Category
Maryland International Raceway Quarter mile – April 2011
On April 3rd 2011 I went to Maryland International Raceway (MIR) in St. Mary’s County, Maryland. This is a nice and well run quarter mile drag strip. On April 3rd of 2011 I went for the Test and Tune event they have periodically throughout the year. I wanted to go early in the season to get a baseline for my car. As of this day the only power mods I have on the car are the SURE Motorsports Aeros Short-ram intake, Sidewinder turbo inlet pipe and a prototype test pipe. I was also running on 93 octane with no octane boost.
I decided to call this my baseline instead of stock because these are very basic and inexpensive bolt-on mods that most entry level tuners will have on their cars almost immediately. With this said, I showed up at 10am and headed over to Tech Inspection. Passed with flying colors, of course, and was assigned number 902. Be sure to look at the times under the column with Car #… 902 in the pictures below. I ran a total of 9 runs that day but I will only show the 3 important ones!
My First Run was at 10:30am and is not pictured here because it is not very good. I had to use this to feel out the power band, when to shift and, of course, shack off the first run jitters! I ran a 14.876 with a top speed of 100.61.
Second run at 10:36am. It wasn’t very busy in the morning! Other than the horrific reaction time of .387 the run was my best run of the day. Found the shift points and sped through to the finish with a 14.151 and a top speed of 101.55. Not too bad, but I felt I could do better with the reaction time.
Well, needless to say, That wasn’t the case. I did 2 more runs between 10:36 and 11:07 and they were horrible. I guess I got too anxious or the fact that I was next to a 9 second dragster and couldn’t hear my engine may have had something to do with it. Although I did beat a old Civic hatch, which was fun. However, I only ran a 14.384 and he ran a 14.892. That would have potentially have been my best run but my reaction time was .628 and his was .266. I am amazed I even won that one.
So after that, I broke for a bite to eat and let my car cool down for an hour. At 12:05pm I decide to get back on the track. My nerves are calm, I am feeling good and… Dear god I am next to another dragster pictured to right. The tree lights up and I nail the reaction time! but the wheels spin a tad. That’s okay, feeling good… I go into third gear and EEERRRRR, miss shifted… Worst run of the day as you can see.
I raced three more times after that but I couldn’t break 14.7 seconds, no matter how well I launched or went through the gears. The car just got too heat soaked to get any more power out of it. So I shut her down for a few hours and watch others race for a bit.
I decide to go for one last run for the day at 3:51 pm. The car had plenty of time to cool down and I was as ready as I would ever be at the point. It wasn’t a bad run after all, I just have to work on my reaction time a bit.
So as you can see from these slips, with the Mods I have on my car and a little more practice, at this stage it is a 14 second car. Three basic, inexpensive bolt-on modification and we are .151 seconds from needing a helmet when racing! Not too shabby if I may say so myself!
2010 Mazdaspeed 3 Miles per Gallon – Bethany Beach Trip!
This weekend I decided to go to Bethany Beach in Delaware for the weekend. Life has been hectic and I needed a little reprieve. So I grabbed my Girlfriend packed up the MS3 and hit the road Friday after traffic. We left at 7pm and arrived just before 10pm Friday night. There was a little traffic on 495 leaving Bethesda but it was pretty much smooth sailing after that. Traffic was next to none all the way up 50 East and over the Bay Bridge. It was a great night to put the Mazdaspeed 3 through the grind again.
This trip was not different from the road trip to Savannah. Loaded up the computers, ipods, phones and jacked in like Neo from the Matrix. Once again all the features of the 2010 Mazdaspeed 3 made for an amazing ride. For the trip up, I refilled the tank without octane boost. I did this in continuation from my previous post as extended testing of the octane boost product and the affects on the car. (2010 Mazdaspeed 3 w/ Octane boost – worth it?) I noticed the car was a little sluggish on acceleration when trying to take over cars. When the dashed lines allowed me to on the one lane highways, you know I couldn’t resist! The car still handled well and accelerated better than most but it just felt heavier. I thought to myself, maybe it is the 100lbs in luggage and the 110lbs of Girlfriend (shhhh, don’t tell her I told you her weight) but when I did the math, 200lbs on a butt dyno… won’t feel it.
But I digress… With every fill up I reset Trip A and the Miles per Gallon averages. Due to traffic conditions, weather variants, etc. this is not an exact science but it is a good real-world example of the gas efficiencies of the MS3. The trip up had about 20 minutes of traffic around the beltway and took just under 3 hours. It was about 85 F and road conditions were clear. As I ended my trip with just under a half of tank of gas, my average miles per gallon were 26.7. Not too shabby if you ask me, especially since that is .7 over what the average is said to be for highways. So with the remainder I was able to drive around Bethany, Rehoboth and Ocean City for the weekend and still have a quarter tank of gas left for our trip back Sunday.
The trip back I decided to add a bottle of octane boost and refilled the tank before we left. We left under roughly the same conditions, 85 F, clear and about 20 minutes of traffic when we got to the Bay Bridge and all within about 3 hours. The trip back required the same amount of passing on one-lane highways if not more. We even had more luggage for the trip back because of our little Tanger Outlets excursion in Rehobeth earlier that day! Even with that the car felt lighter and faster with the octane boost and the biggest surprise was the gas mileage results at the end of the trip.
When we returned to Bethesda I looked down at my miles per gallon average and the in dash computer said 28.2. I was amazed. How can this 265 hp Mazdaspeed 3 get 2 more miles to the gallon than suggested? Who needs a hybrid when you have forced induction!!! The amazing thing is I am not the only one to see these results with their Mazdaspeed 3. A friend of mine in the Mazda Community forums at www.streetunitforum.com mentioned that he got 28 mpg during his trip from Fort Lauderdale to Orlando with cruise control set at an average of about 75 mph throughout a 250 mile trip this weekend, as well.
So with all that I can honestly say that the Mazdaspeed 3 is not just a fast, sporty, fun, economic racer… it is very “green” as well. I bet with a few breathing modifications such as a cold air intake, opening up the exhaust from the turbo back, a more efficient top mounted inter-cooling system enhanced with a nice piggyback system I could easily get this car into the 32 miles per gallon range and still cost lest than all Hybrids in this Horsepower range. I will be putting that to the test since those few modifications listed are first on my list!
2010 Mazdaspeed 3 w/ Octane boost – worth it?
So I decided to try out some octane boost and see if I noticed a difference in performance. In my previous Mazdaspeed Protégé it made a great deal of difference due to all the mods, however my current 2010 Mazdaspeed 3 is bone stock currently. So while I was looking for electrical tape at the CVS I came across the bottle of octane boost by Gummout. For $2.67, less than a tank of gas, I decided to pick up a bottle and see what I could notice if anything.
Last night I had to fill up (The instructions say to wait until the tank is low and use when you fill up) and I dumped in a bottle and added 11 gallons of 93 octane and drove off. I had a 45 mile drive home at this point which is good for testing this out!
So I drive normal and got the good old Butt Dyno ready for about 10-15 minutes to get all the gas to cycle through and make sure I am getting the “good stuff”. I hit the entrance ramp from 665 to 97 north heading back to Baltimore and floor it to merge in.
The Butt Dyno then tells me the following:
- Acceleration is smooth and powerful.
- Instant response from the gas pedal to the wheels
- RMPs creep up quicker and much smoother
- Getting to higher speeds quicker
All-in-all I can say that the octane Boost is actually noticeable. Just to make sure though, I plan on not adding any to the next tank and then adding it again to the tank after that. The major inaccuracy of the Butt Dyno is mind over matter so I want to be sure and by rotating octane boost a few times I should be able to tell if my mind is playing tricks on me for sure.
Summation:
So is octane boost worth it with the 2010 Mazdaspeed 3. For less than a tank of gas and keeping that RPM curve steady I say YES. Maybe not something I would use every fill up but definitely will use it for nice days with some “spirited driving” or at the track.
2010 Mazdaspeed 3 + octane Boost = smooth operator!
Plan of Action
The initial plan of action for my 2010 Mazdaspeed 3 is to slowly build up power starting with your standard bolt-ons. First we will start with a Dyno of the stock engine. We will find the original wheel horsepower of this car straight form the factory for our baseline. After that let the fun begin!
Current Plan:
- Cold air intake
- upgraded top mounted inter cooler
- Blow off valve for fun!
- upgraded exhaust system
- engine mounts
After I install these after market parts I will then dyno the car again. These simple and inexpensive bolt-ons should be easy to do without any assistance from a shop and will be fully documented and available for download from the DIYs section. I am currently researching which brand to use for our upgrades and will keep you posted every step of the way.
If there is one thing I’ve learned from my 7 years of modifying cars is, do the research upfront, you pay for what you get and it is better and cheaper to do it once than twice. So my advice to you and words I live by… It is better to save and get the best than buy a less expensive and less effective part only to buy the one you really wanted later. Your $1,500 exhaust would end up costing you $2,250 (Greddy SP2 to a turbo back GHL on my MSP).
Stay tuned!
First Roadtrip in the Mazdaspeed 3
So I decided to take the 2010 Mazdaspeed 3 on her first road trip to really test out the claims of being surprisingly comfortable despite all the frame and suspension enhancements. I am not talking some 2 hour trip to ocean City, Maryland. I need a real road trip to break her in. Being that it is March why not go to the second largest St. Patty’s Day celebration in the country!!! So off to Savannah Georgia I go.
I use to make the trip from Maryland to Savannah and Savannah to Maryland 4 times a year when I attended college there. It use to take me 9-10 hours in a 1995 Jeep Wrangler soft-top. Now that is slow and uncomfortable. I plan my trip, get my first oil change, pack up some snacks and Redbull, pickup my friend and set off for good ol’ Savannah at 8am Friday morning with a full tank of gas.
One catch to my friend coming along was that she had to work on the way down which meant bringing along her computer. The great thing about the 2010 Mazdaspeed 3 is all the 12v outlets it has as well as it’s spacious interior. I purchased a power converter/extender from Radio Shack when I use to drive to Florida in my Mazdaspeed Protege. This converter has a USB charger, 2 three prong outlets and a 12v plug. My friend easily plugged up her ipod shuffle, computer and phone into this. The plug she used was the 12v located inside the center console. I was then able to use the 12v plug in the so called ashtray area, which holds my change, to keep my ipod Nano charged while it played my tunes via the AUX plug, and all while I synced my Blackberry Storm 2 to the bluetooth. We had everything we needed and more for a long electronically enhanced, safe road trip.
As we started our trip, we jump onto the highways which are no picnic if you live in the Washington DC area and know the 495 Beltway. The Mazdaspeed 3 has all the power, handling and braking capabilities anyone could need in order to navigate the Beltway unscathed. Dodging and weaving sleepy and obliviously distracted drivers and massive potholes the car handled like a dream. We make it to 95 south in record time!
After 3 hours of driving we pass Richmond and I start looking for a gas station. Then I realize, as I look down, I have barely used a half tank of gas! To say the least, I was pleasantly surprised. This car was getting great gas mileage even with doing extended periods of high speeds and stop and gos on 495 and 95 (the speed limit is 65mph through Virginia). So with this we continue straight through Virginia and head for cheaper gas prices in North Carolina.
By the time we need gas we are long over due for a food and restroom break. While we break I recalculate my gas (no pun intended) budget for the trip and move that money over to the beer column! So far we have been driving about 4 hours and my back, knees and butt are doing great. The seats offer great support and absorb the road vibrations better than I expected. However, Depending on the road conditions and whether it is concrete or asphalt the ride can get quite rough and load at times. The plus and minus to this fine automobile is it’s sensitivity to the road conditions. You feel every bump, grove, angle and turn and I personally love it. I feel like I am driving a car. Even though you feel everything in the suspension and steering, the Mazdaspeed 3 does a great job transfers all of it to you smoothly and with ease. You feel it but you don’t “feel” it.
Eight and a half hours later we arrive in Savannah, yes, I said eight and a half. Due to fewer stops and lots of power, I made it to Savannah in record time! As we peeled ourselves from the seats I saw that I still had a quarter tank of gas left on my second tank. That is just enough gas to tool around Savannah for the weekend and be ready to fill up for the journey home.
When all is said and done, I have to say the trip was much more enjoyable than I expected. 10 times more comfortable and quiet than the Mazdaspeed Protege and Jeep Wrangler. It drove better and got much better gas mileage and had all the amenities I needed for the trip. The trip back home went just as good and I eagerly await my next road trip in my 2010 Mazdaspeed 3!
Mazdaspeed Dealership of Choice
I purchased my 2010 Mazdaspeed 3 from Fitzgerald Auto Malls in Annapolis, Maryland on October 13th, 2010. I drove up in my 2003.5 Mazdaspeed Protege in all it’s modified glory. It was barely running due to the port and polished intake manifold and lack of tuning since the engine rebuild. I was originally planing on going to a Mazda dealer because of the assumption that they may give me a better trade in on it for a new car. I originally went to Carmax and received a quote for better bartering abilities.
I walked in to the showroom and saw an amazing RX-8 fully loaded and decked out with all the bells and whistles. It was a thing of beauty but it was about $32,000. I was looking for something a little more practical and less expensive. For a brief, and I mean brief moment, I thought of buying a regular Mazda 3. I mean why not? cheaper gas, better gas mileage, looks the same… Slooooooooow. But I digress.
I was greeted by a salesman about my age, 25-35 and explained my dilemma. I needed a new car and I needed the best trade-in possible. They took one look at my car and said no problem. Really? you ask. Yes, little did they know all modifications were only done to the engine and the exterior looked stock!
So we get to talking about the various packages for the Mazdaspeed 3 and I decide on the one without the Bose® system. Then they ask for the keys to the Mazdaspeed Protege to run it while we go for a test drive. I cringed but handed over the keys. The only Black Mazdaspeed 3 they had on the lot was a fully loaded version so I took it for a test drive. It was amazing as you will read throughout this blog. I was immediately sold, depending on the trade-in and financing of course.
To make a long story short, after a few rounds of bickering about the trade-in and how they came in 500 less than Carmax because of how highly modified the engine was, we finally made a deal. It wasn’t that bad of a process in comparisons to others I have been through in the past. The one catch was they didn’t have the model in the color I wanted. So after comparing the price and what you get for that price I decided to purchase the car I test drove. Hell, less than $4000 more for the fully loaded one… It’s a no-brainer!
I then met with the finance department and began that process which actually went very quickly to my surprise. The representative was highly informative and they even went the extra mile for me in the end. As I sign my soul away, the representative tells me he will be sure to call me if anything better comes in and they will just have me resign the loan. So I sign the current papers at 11% because of the $5,000 in negative equity which caused me to be a high risk loan and grab the keys (remote) and head home in my brand new 2010 fully loaded mazdaspeed 3 with only 44 miles on it.
Happy as a 16 year old getting their first car and pleased with my experience at Fitzgerald Auto Malls, I get a call from them. It is the finance department calling to tell me they had a loan approval come in at a much lower rate. So without hesitation I jump into my new Maszdaspeed 3 and “speed” off to resign.
The staff at Fitzgerald Auto Malls in Annapolis Maryland and the continued efforts of their staff to make me happier and even more happy will keep me as a Mazda owner for many years to come.
The 2010 Mazdaspeed 3
I purchased my 2010 Mazdaspeed 3 on October 13th 2009. It was a replacement, or as I like to say, an upgrade from my 2003.5 Mazdaspeed Protege (MSP). The Mazdaspeed 3 was definitely an upgrade to say the least. My MSP was nothing more than a protege with a turbo slapped on it, some decent rims, a nice Tokico suspension and a lip kit with a more subtle EVO spoiler. Even with the turbo it was still only rated at 180whp. Other than the handling, the MSP was a disappointment to say the least.
It didn’t take much to blow the 2.0L 4-cylinder engine on the MSP. A few bolt-ons, Unichip piggyback and a leaky waste gate on the stock turbo that didn’t allow for it to sustain more than 16psi and…. BOOM, there went a piston bearing! It was an expensive lesson to learn.
The new 2010 Mazdaspeed 3 is a far cry from the MSP. It is the third generation of the Mazdaspeed 3, 4th if you include the original Protege, and it is currently the pinnacle of Mazdaspeed at unbelievable affordability. Boasting 265whp and 15psi 2.5L DOHC DISI Turbo 4-cylinder with VVT and 280lbs of torque right from the factory, this fine machine is everything you need for less than $25,000 fully loaded. I purchased the top-of-the-line model which included:
- Bose® Centerpoint® Surround sound AudioPilot with 10 speakers
- indash 6-Disc CD changer with an AUX pluging for MP3
- Compact Navigation system,
- Keyless entry and push button start system with alarm
- 18″ silver alloy rims,
- Turbo’d and top-mounted inter cooler, with a subtle hood scoop
- and a suspension to die for!
All-in-all for under $25,000 you couldn’t ask for a better or more fun automobile.