Posts Tagged ‘SURE Motorsports’
SURE Motorsports’ ShortCut Installation DIY
For the installation of the SURE Motorsports’ ShortCut you only need 10 minutes and 2 additional tools if you have a short-ram intake already installed. If not see the DIY on how to install the SURE Motorsports’ Aeros in order to remove the OEM Intake system to gain access to the shift linkage within the engine bay.
NOTE: It is best to do this when the engine is cold. The MAF housing of the SURE Aroes and the coolant pipe by the Shift Linkage get very hot to the touch. Even the counterweight gets hot. SO to avoid burning yourself wait for the engine to cool down before you install.
Where is it:
To access the shift linkage to install the ShortCut you will enter the engine from the top and it is located under the Intake.
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Tools Needed:
- Socket wrench
- 12mm socket
- Needle-nose pliers
- Gloves (not pictured)
- Hex provided by SURE Motorsports
- Loctite provided by SURE Motorsports
- magnet extension (because I always drop things!)
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What to do:
(1) First thing is to remove the linkage from the plate. Simply pry it off with the needle nose pliers. (2). Now detach the counterweight using 12mm socket wrench. (3-4) Once this is done, slide the ShortCut over the old linkage plate so that the holes go under the current plate.
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(1) Now we use the screws that were provided by SURE Motorsports and the loctite. (2-3). Coat the screws in Loctite and reinstall counterweight using the new screws and the supplied hex wrench. Tighten screws firmly. (4) Attach Shift linkage to knob on ShortCut plate by pushing it down on top. This does not require a lot of force.
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That’s all there is to it! You are all set and ready for a much shorter throw.
A word of caution. Due to the syncros of the Mazda transmissions this does not allow you to increase your shifting speeds. It shortens the shift throw and, in essence, increases your shifting speed. However, shift normally and you will not get that horrific clanking or grinding sounds. I will have a more detailed explanation on this in my review after further testing.
SURE Motorsports’ TIG Installation
For the installation of the SURE Motorsports’ TIGs you will need about 2-4 hours, depending on how savvy you are around an engine. While the entire installation can be done without lifting your car there are many bolts and clasps that need to be removed or pinched and this can take a while. Also, you will want to make sure that the engine has time to cool down since it gets very hot in there!
Where is it:
To access the intake manifold and throttle body you will enter the engine from the top.
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Tools Needed:
- Socket wrench with extensions (long and short extensions)
- 7mm-12mm deep sockets
- 22mm open wrench
- Needle-nose pliers
- Flat head screw driver
- Universal joint extension (bending extension).
- Magnet in case you drop a bolt!
- Gloves (not pictured)
- Anti-freeze to top off what you may loose when pulling hoses.
- lock-tight
- Sea Foam to clean up some carbon if you want to!
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What to do:
(1) Open up the engine as pictured above and remove the cover and top mounted inter cooler (1). To remove the inter cooler remove the three bolts, 2 in front and one in back, as well as loosen the hose clamps and bypass valve attached to the inter cooler (2-4). Once this is done lift the inter cooler off and place carefully to the side.
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(1) Now remove the vacuum regulator, black box, from on top of the intake manifold. There are 4 screws. Now we start disconnecting some sensors. (2-4) The sensor in the front with a blue clip is a little tricky. Using a flathead or needle nose pliers push out the clasp in the back of the sensor. They separate outward. once they are started you can use your tools to pull back on it to slide it off. Once the clasp is removed you will pull up on the hose to remove it. (5) Squeeze and pull up on the big grey sensor on the left hand side of the intake manifold to detach it. (6) now detach and remove the sensor next to the intake manifold valve pump. This is located to the top right of the intake manifold. (7) To remove the sensor connected to the throttle body, slide back the red tab to loosen the clasp. There is also a MAP sensor attached to the left side of the intake manifold. Sorry, I forgot the picture but is is behind the big Grey Sensor and bracket. This requires a single 7mm socket. Once the bolt is removed, carefully wiggle out the sensor from the intake manifold.
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Now lets tackle the throttle body. (1-3) Remove coolant lines. MAKE SURE ENGINE HAS COOLED DOWN. Coolant will spill during this process and can burn you. Pinch the clamps and move them back on the hose then using needle nose pliers, twist the hose to loosen. Then pull to remove them. (4) Now remove the inter cooler throttle body pipe from the throttle body. If you were as fortunate as me, and Mazda installed the clamp bolt under the hose, use a deep socket 10mm and feel your way around until the socket is snug over the bolt, then loosen. When you reinstall this later move the bolt so it is easier to access in the future. (5) Remove 4 bolts that secure the throttle body to the intake manifold as seen in image 4. (6) Then remove metal gasket and maybe spray it down with some Sea Foam to clean it up. As you can see the MS3 is prone to crazy amounts of carbon buildup and oil overflow (but that is a whole other post!).
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Removing the intake manifold is the fun part! (not really!). (1) First we start with loosening the ERG tube. This requires a 22mm 0pen wrench. (2-3) Next we will remove the sensor mount from the intake manifold on the front left, the one the big gray sensor is attached to. There are 2 bolts. While you are here you can find the bolt where the dipstick tube mounts to the intake manifold and remove that as well (not pictured, you have to feel around for it).
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Finally, we get to the intake manifold itself. (1-3) Loosen the 5 top bolts. Do not completely remove yet. This is so you do not cause any unnecessary strain on the intake manifold. We will count bolts clockwise. Bolt one is pictured in image 2, Bolts 2-4 are easily accessible from the front-top of the intake manifold and bolt 5 is highlighted in image 3. (4) Remove bolt 6 which attaches the fuel rail cover. Bolt 7 is the tricky one. (5-6) This you will need your universal joint extension to get to and it is located at the bottom of the fuel rail cover. (7) Remove the 8th and final bolt. This is located under the throttle body inlet.
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1st Generation MS3:
You must loosen your steering pump. 2nd Genneration MS3s do not need to do this. (1) Completely loosen top 2 bolts and only loosen bottom bolt to swivel the steering pump out of the way to access the first bolt.
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Now remove all bolts and we should be able to lift out the intake manifold. Forcefully pull the ERG tube out of the way, out and down. (1) However, because there is still a hose attached, which you can remove if you want to, but don’t have to, it will not come out completely. You can see this hose clearly when it is removed. You do not need to completely remove the intake manifold to install the TIGs. But if you want to spray it down with some Sea Foam, you should completely remove it for better access. I detached the Spark plug sensors to move wires out of the way so you can see the hose better. (2) Get the intake manifold gasket ready to go. Also be sure to take warning off and grab the TIG washer for use on the lower mount point. (3) Remove the metal gasket and replace it with the SURE TIG. With the SURE engraved tab facing towards you and on the top left, slide the TIG into place.
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(1) Getting the bottom TIG washer in is a bit difficult. Gravity and the ERG tube like to fight you and make you wish you had 3 hands. (2-3) You can try an light adhesive or lock-tight to pre-mount the washer or finesse it in while you slide the intake manifold back into place. BE CAREFUL, because it can easily fall behind the starter and disappear! Do not worry though. If it is too difficult, just leave it off and DO NOT use the bottom bolt (8th) when you reinstall. Yes, I lost mine behind the starter and did not end up using it. Everything is fine!
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To get the intake manifold back on you will need to finesse it in. Slide it down carefully as to not break the studs, all the while, holding back the ERG tube. (1) Once that is done and you did not loose the washer 
, hand screw in bolt 8 and 3 with plenty of slack. (2) We need to tighten the ERG tube first. If you do not do this first the threads will not sync properly. Once the ERG tube is fully tightened proceed with install bolts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 8. DO NOT install bolts 6 and 7 and bolt 8 is optional ( Do not install bolt 8 if you do not use the TIG Washer). Also, “Walk” the tightening process of the bolts. I went back over each bolt 3-4 times until they all were nice and flush. This allows you to evenly distribute the pressure as you tighten the intake manifold.
DISCLAIMER: You can easily crack the manifold if you over tighten bolts. I recommends no more than 18lbs of torque. To be safe I used some lock-tight to make sure the bolts stayed and I tighten them firmly by hand and I will check on them a little later to make sure they stayed tight. I hand tightened mine so it was snug but did not use leverage to tighten. Nothing cracked!
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Once your manifold has been securely bolted up it is now time to mount the throttle body TIG. (1) Place the TIG on the throttle body so that the SURE logo engraved tab is to the top left. Use a bolt to help it stay in place. (2) This tab is not only for design but allows you to easily position the gasket for the second bolt. (3) Then securely fasten the throttle body to manifold. DO NOT OVER TORQUE. If you would like to do the Coolant Bypass of the throttle body, now is the time. Go to the Coolant Bypass DIY now or skip to the final stages of putting you engine back together below.
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The hard part is over! Now we just wipe down any liquids that do not belong and start putting everything back into its place. (1) Replace the throttle body pipe and coolant lines. (Picture below shows throttle body pipe reinstalled with Coolant Bypass.). Also notice I made the clamp bolt easier to access for the future. Now start attaching all brackets and sensors as well as the oil dipstick tube back to their respective places. Because the second bolt of the Grey Sensor bracket was such a pain in the ass, I did not use the bolt. (2) If you did not use the bottom bolt of the intake manifold or the bottom bolt to the Grey Sensor bracket then you should have 4 Bolts remaining when done. (3) If you did the Coolant Bypass like me, your leftover hardware will look like image 3.
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Finally, be sure to top off your coolant if needed and start her up! If all your sensors are correctly plugged in and everything is securely fastened you should not get a CEL. If you do then you missed something! See my Review of the TIGs if you want more information on them.
Review of SURE Motorsports TIG
First of, I did some stat logging from my COBB AP Tuner. I watched my boost temperatures for about 2 days. Here is what I logged:
Pre Installation:
Day 1:
Morning: 68 degrees. At 65mph+ I stayed between 85 and 92 degrees. At idle I was around 115 degrees. This was a 20 minute drive with no traffic on 95 south. I data logged a third gear pull and went from 100 degrees at 3500 rpm to 87.8 at 6077 rpm back to 96.8 at 6700 rpms.
Afternoon: 80 degrees. Did a couple 3rd gear pulls as I was fine tuning my COBB AccessPort. My Boost Air Temp was at 129 degrees at idle and down to 114.8 degrees under boost.
Day 2:
Morning: 70 degrees. At highway speeds it was reading a steady 91 degrees. At Idle it was reading at 120 degrees. I did a 3rd gear datalog again and temps ranged from 96 to 102 during the pull from 3000 to 6700 RPMs.
Afternoon: 82 degrees. Did a couple 3rd gear pulls while monitoring with the COBB AccessPort. My Boost Air Temp was at 131 degrees at idle and down to 116 degrees under boost on average.
Post Installation:
After the install of the SURE Motorsports’ TIG I did notice a drop in boost temperatures. It was not drastic but it did drop a bit. The TIG installation I did was the single intake manifold TIG and Throttle Body TIG, as well as, the coolant bypass on the throttle body.
Day 1:
Morning: 72 degrees. This morning I drove the car normal with my typical commute to work. Under normal throttle, barely entering closed loop or going Wide-Open-Throttle (WOT). My temperatures stayed around 85-90 degrees. At idle my temperatures stayed at about 106 degrees.
Afternoon: 86 degrees. I logged a couple pulls in 2nd and 3rd gear. Both times the temperatures stayed between 98 and 104 degrees.
Day 2:
Believe it or not the temperatures were exactly the same and with my logs and watching my COBB AccessPort, the readings were the same within a degree or 2 of variation.
Conclusion:
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This modification has lowered my boost temperatures by about 15 degrees at Idle and 10 degrees under normal driving conditions and about 5 degrees at WOT. It also reduced Knocking in my engine from 3000-4000 RPMs without adjusting my tune. You may be asking, “Why so little at WOT”? Think about how fast the air is moving through your engine at this point. The only way to lower temperatures drastically at WOT is via an upgraded Top-Mounted Inter Cooler (TMIC) or Front-Mount Inter Cooler (FMIC). However, the TIGs will help keep the air cooler throughout it’s travels!
Rating:
5 of 5
Even though the temperature didn’t significantly reduce in WOT I still give this product a 5 of 5 because of 2 things. First, The quality is top notch. The SURE TIGs are virgin grade PTFE -400°F up to 500°F and is a reusable gasket. Re-usability is a bonus! Second, Temperatures did reduce. It did exactly what it was suppose to do and if I were to add the second gasket to the intake manifold it would be even more significant. Also, you do not need a lift to do the installation. If you are mechanically inclined this installation should take no more than 2-3 hours max. If you don’t include engine cool down time!
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!
TVS Caps By SURE Motorsports
So when I first heard this term I was a little more than confused. What the hell is a TVS cap? The answer is so simple I am embarrassed to say it took me a few minutes to put it together… The TVS Caps are Tire Valve Stem Caps. Yes, fancy caps to go over the tire valve stems on your tires.
These caps are a way to enhance the final touches of your look because of the sleek look of the aluminum, laser etched caps. They are a great compliment to my rims as well as your ride, the icing on the cake if you will. They have a good solid feel to them and fit nice and snug over the valve stems.
They are available in SURE Blue, Stealth Black and Ignition Red as well. I chose the blue to see how they would look. However, I was severely conflicted between black or blue, stealth or show. A little show never hurt anyone!
Installation Instructions
Please don’t make me slap you. If you need a DIY to install the TVS Caps please sign the back of your title and send it to me along with your car. Thank you!
SURE Motorsports’ Shift Anchor Installation
For The installation of the SURE Motorsports’ Shift Anchor you will need about 30 minutes and very few tools. You will do a lot of pulling and prying of the center console so be careful but firm.
Where is it:
To access the Shift anchors you must open up your center console.
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Tools Needed:
- Socket wrench with extension
- 10mm sockets
- Needle-nose pliers
- wire splicers (works better for popping off shifter links)
- Gloves
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What to do:
(1) Make sure the E-brake is up and you remove shift knob and then (2-3) start by opening the cup holder and removing it by hand. (4) Now pry apart the sides to loosen panels around shifter and lift from the front. (5-6) remove panel and unhook 12v connector to expose shifter.
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(1) Now with your shifter exposed (2) you can start removing wire harnesses from the shifter. (3) with the wire splicers or needle nose pliers you can remove the shift links. Just place between link and shift carriage and pry until they pop out. (4) With your extension and socket wrench remove the 4 bolts that hold the shifting carriage. (5) Then remove it completely to gain access to the anchors.
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Take the shifter to a table to be able to handle it better. (1-3) Using needle nose pliers start punching out the stock anchors. (4) remove rubber anchor inserts.
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(1) Lay out the Sure Motorsports’ anchors. You will notice some have a symbol on them. Also, the anchors are color coded. 2 pair are a slightly lighter blue. Make sure these stay together during assembly. (2) The go in a specific spot on the underside of the shift carriage. (front is in the right of this picture) (3) Once you have these lined up place them on the floor in the proper spots. (4) Carefully, as to not move the bottom anchors to much, lay the shift carriage over them. (5) insert the screw into the top anchor and (6) slide into place.
Note: I would loosely tighten down all anchors before final tightening. This is so you have some play if you are slightly off in other corners.
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(1) Now fully tighten down all anchors and reattach the wire harness and shift linkage. (2) Reconnect 12v and other plugs to panel and (3) snap panel back into place. (4) replace cup holder and shift knob.
That’s all there is to it, happy shifting!
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Mazdaspeed 3: SURE Motorsports’ Aeros and Sidewinder Install
For The installation of the SURE Motorsports’ Aeros Short-ram intake and the Sidewinder turbo inlet pipe there is no need to lift the car and it will take about an hour. Before you start this install, disconnect your battery. This will reset the ECU so when you install the new parts the car can adjust properly for maximum gains. You can find a Review of the Aeros short-ram intake and Sidewinder Turbo inlet pipe for more information here.
Where is it:
The Stock intake and Turbo inlet are located to the right of the engine in front of and between the battery box and engine.
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Tools Needed:
- Socket wrench with extension
- 8mm, 10mm and 12mm sockets
- Flathead and fillips head screw drivers
- Allen wrenches
- Needle-nose pliers
- Gloves
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What to do:
First, start ripping everything out. (1) Remove the intake by removing the bolt and loosening the clamp to the stock turbo inlet pipe. (2) Remove the MAF sensors and (3) wires clamped to the intake, needle nose pliers come in handy here. (4) You are left with the intake tube. (5) Loosen the rear clamp of the tube and (6) pull it out.
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Now your stock intake is removed. If you do not have the Sidewinder Turbo inlet from SURE Motorsports you can skip down to the part where we install the intake.
Installing your new Sidewinder turbo inlet pipe
To install the Sidewinder turbo inlet pipe you must remove the battery box and intercooler cover to make life a lot easier for yourself. I found this out the hard way! (1) remove intercooler cover, there are 4 bolts. (2) I also removed the intercooler to make it easier to access the intake manifold connection. (3) Remove battery tie, disconnect harness and remove front panel of battery box. (4) Then take out the battery and remove 3 bolts at base of box to (5) remove the box completely.
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(1-2) Now you need to remove all the clamps and wires connected to the stock turbo inlet pipe. (3-4) CAREFULLY remove hose from top of turbo inlet pipe. Do not break anything. (5) remove the hose connected to the bottom pipe of the turbo inlet and the recirculation valve. Then loosen the clamp connecting the turbo inlet pipe to the intake manifold, sorry no pic.
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Now with the Turbo inlet pipe removed you can start installing your SURE Motorsports’ Sidewinder. (1) Slide in and clamp up the end of the Sidewinder to the intake manifold. (2) reconnect hose at rear top of Sidewinder. (3) Reconnect hose to bottom of Sidewinder and recirculation valve.
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At this point you can replace your intercooler and battery box. If you bought the Sidewinder, hopefully you bought the Aeros short-ram intake as well. I am not sure about fitment of stock intake on the Sidewinder. If you purchased and are installing the Aeros do not replace the front panel of the battery box at this point. You will do this after you anchor it. See picture 4 below.
Installing your new Aeros Short-ram intake
First, (1) we must remove the old MAF sensor from the stock intake box. (2-3) Then we must attach it to the new Aeros short-ram intake MAF housing. (4) Connect the Aeros to the turbo inlet pipe and clamp it up nice and tight. (5) Position the anchor so that it securely holds the intake in place. Remove the stock bolt and replace over bracket to secure.
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Now you will notice there is a bracket and a plastic pipe leading no where. (1-2) Remove these. As you can see in picture 1 below, the bracket is way to sharp and close for comfort when the filter is on. (3) Now you can install the filter and close up the battery box and connect all sensors. (4) When installing the filter there is a slight edge on the MAF housing. Line up the edge of the filter to this edge and tighten. (5) Do a final check on all clamps and fitment, replace Intercooler cover and reconnect battery and you are done!
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When you initially start up there will be some hesitation in the engine. Do not worry, your ECU has to relearn the new air fuel ratios. This will take about 300-500 miles in total. It will also sound like a jet starting up as it pulls in all that new found air. Super cool!
These are your left over parts. Well, minus the shift weight.
I installed the SURE Countershift weight when I did this as well.
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Review for SURE Motorsports’ Rear Engine Mount
In this review I will discuss my findings and personal opinion on the 2 types of urethane bushing as well as the engine mount. I drove a total of 3,500 miles with the rear engine mount installed at the time of this review. 1,500 Miles with the 90 durometer and 2,000+ with the 70 durometer bushings. You can also see how easy it is to install from my DIY installation of the SURE Motorsports’ rear engine mount post.
For the first 1,500 miles, I installed the 90 durometer bushings. They are the hardest ones offered by SURE Motorsports and they come in blue. These bushings provided excellent results. Power and responsiveness was drastically increased, wheel hop was completely eliminated and engine vibration was bearable.
At idle without the air conditioner on you could barely notice it. There was a slight vibration in the steering. However, in a low gear or with the air conditioner on the vibration was much more noticeable. When accelerating in 5th and 6th gear at low RPMs you really noticed the vibrations of the engine. Although this may sound bad, it isn’t. It is doing exactly what it should do.
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90 durometer bushings wear and tear after 1500 miles. As you can see to the right, just some dirt and minor scratches. With all that vibration and weight, this picture shows quality more so than any words I put down here.
After 1,500 miles with the 90 durometer I switched over to the 70 durometer which is the black bushing provided by SURE Motorsports. This bushing is much smoother and barely noticeable at the wheel. There is almost no vibration at idle and in low gears. Yet, it keeps the tires from hopping and power where it should be, to the wheels! I do notice that on some surfaces there is a slight wheel hop from time to time but it is minimal and rare as compared to the stock engine mount.
My car is a daily driver that I drive to work, stores, road trips, etc. The versatility of the Mazdaspeed 3 makes it a very practical car for those of us that love to drive spiritedly yet need function as well. With this in mind I chose to stay with the 70 durometer urethane bushings. I only track my car for about 4-5 months a year and in that time I only race about 5-6 weekends. I will possible switch back to the 90 durometer bushing during those months since the install is quick and painless.
Rating:
5 of 5
The SURE Motorsports’ rear engine mount is a quality piece that is a must have for all enthusiasts. The hardcore enthusiast would want to install the 90 durometer while the occasional track runners needing a more practical and versatile car would want to stick with the 70 durometer bushings. Or like me… why not get both! 30 minute install and off to the track you go in full force!
Mazdaspeed 3: SURE Motorsports’ Rear Engine Mount Install
I received my new SURE Motorsports’ 2010 Mazdaspeed 3 rear engine mount the other day. For this installation I am using the 90 durometer urethane bushing that comes in blue. I will be driving with this installation for 1,500 miles then switching to the 70 durometer urethane bushing and I have a review on it now that testing has been completed. Until then, here are the do it yourself installation instructions for the 2010 Mazdaspeed 3 rear engine mount.
Where is it:
The rear engine mount is found under the car towards the back, middle of the engine bay. You must jack up the car to get to it. (1) Place the Jack under the big bolts connecting the subframe to lift the car then place jacks on subframe where you see my stands. Otherwise you risk denting your subframe. (2) I usually release the Jack (slowly) to let the full weight rest on the stands, then lift the Jack snuggly to the bolt and lock it for added safety. (3) Always remember to use something to keep the car from rolling. Even if the surface looks flat, it may not be. Safety first when working under 3,200+ lbs of car!
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Tools Needed:
- 17mm regular and deep socket wrench
- 19 mm regular and deep socket wrench and wrench
- long socket wrench to get the proper torque to break the bolts
- Gloves
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What to do:
Locate the rear engine mount towards the back of the engine bay connected to the subframe. (1) remove the 2 Bolts. (2) Remove 2 bolts and loosen the 3rd bolt so that the bracket frees from the engine mount and hangs down. (3) Pull out OEM engine mount and get your SURE rear engine mount. (4) Slide in the SURE rear engine mount with the logo facing towards the passanger side. It is a tight fit so don’t be afraid to use a little elbow grease.
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(1) Use the Bolt to the right, the one with more threads and shorter. (2) Hand thread the bolt into place and do not tighten all the way at this point. (3) Now slide the screw provided by SURE Motorsports’ through the engine mount and bracket. You will need to pinch, wiggle and pull to get it to go through since the weight of the engine has shifted. Also make sure there is a washer before the 2 bolts on each end. Do not tighten completely at this point. (4) Start replacing bolts on bracket. Once again we have not completely tightened all the bolts at this point because you will need to push, lift and wiggle parts into place to slide the screws back into place. (5) Once all bolts and screws are in place begin to tighten them down. Start with the engine mount and work back to the bracket. Get them nice and tight but don’t break the bolts!
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That is all there is to it! Takes about 30-45 minutes depending on your setup and experience working under the engine. Below are the parts you are left with.
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SURE Motorsports’ Short-RAM and Turbo Inlet Pipe for the 2010 Mazdaspeed 3
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SURE Motorsports sent me the Aeros short-ram intake and the Sidewinder turbo inlet pipe. I installed these parts as soon as I got them in. The install was relatively simple as you will see in my DIY. After the install I had to wait a few days for the ECU to relearn the Air/fuel ratios and get the true power out of the aftermarket parts. So after driving the car for 2 weeks I finally have something to report. (Right image: Stock engine bay of the 2010 Mazdaspeed 3 [Before])
SURE Motorsports’ Sidewinder Turbo inlet Pipe
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Even though I had to wait for a little bit to let the ECU relearn, I instantly felt the change. When I first started the car it was a little shaky and struggled to idle for few seconds. It quickly smoothed out and all you heard was this wonderful sound coming from the engine bay. It sounded like a Jet about to take off as the Aeros short-ram intake sucked in massive amounts of air. Eventually the choke set in and it quieted down to a nice smooth idle. After the initial start, every time thereafter, I never felt the jittery startup again.
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To give you a sense of the way this new intake system sounds, image what a semi-truck sounds like when it accelerates. The hi-pitch hissing the massive turbos and intakes produce as they take in air. When accelerating normally you hear a vortex of air being pulled into the turbo. It’s a hollow, steady, powerful sound that makes you want to mash the gas pedal all the time! Under full throttle it produces a hi-pitched hiss similar to what the movies think a Raptor sounds like. Either way it sounds like Power!
When you release the gas and the throttle body valve closes all that air gets recirculated through the bypass valve. The stock air intake setup of the 2010 mazdaspeed 3 usually does not make a noticeable noise when this happens. With this new setup it sounds as though you have a modestly set blow-off valve. As of this installation, I do not have a aftermarket blow-off valve. However, I bet most people think I do now!
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As for the power of this simple, inexpensive modification… Instant gratification. These 2 simple modifications allow much more air to pass directly to the turbo and have created a very noticeable increase to my torque. Air is quickly, and much more efficiently, inducted to the turbo creating a higher air ratio for a larger combustion. This instant power creates a “stick to your seat” feeling you can’t get enough of. Second and third gear pulls are amazingly strong, and more importantly, steady and smooth all the way through the powerband.
SURE Motorsports offers the Aeros short-ram Intake and the Sidewinder turbo inlet pipe in a variety of colors as well. I chose black for a clean stealthy look and as you can see from the picture to the right, all parts fit perfectly within the confines of the original 2010 Mazdaspeed 3 engine. All sensors are accounted for so there is no annoying check engine light and all plastic fits back with no modifications as well. Nice, simple and clean!
Rating:
5 of 5
After driving the car for 2 weeks in a variety of fashions, overall the Aeros and Sidewinder are top notch products. Under normal driving it increased fuel economy due to the better mixture of air to fuel. More air and less fuel to create equal power always adds up to good! Under “assertive” driving conditions the direct and increased torque lend well to quicker 60 foot times or just an overall better, spirited drive. The price is right, installation is a breeze and the gains are amazing! These products come highly recommended if you are looking for an inexpensive and safe way to add more noticeable power to your 2010 Mazdaspeed 3.