Turbo Charged Engine Reliability - Mazdaspeed3

[The Architect]

I test drove a used 08 speed3 last fall.  The previous owner had thrown in so much stuff (power upgrades.)  The dealer claimed it made over 330 hp.  I took it with a grain of salt.  Until I drove it.  The car was a blast to drive!  It was like a high strung rabid dog waiting to attack at your command.  It was insane!  The car made only two noises; The growl of the exhaust and when you let up on the gas, the turbo blow-off would chime in.  At that point stomping the throttle was my only response to make the blow-off howl go away. 

When the test drive was over, I determined that car does not belong on the street.  Way too much power for such a small car!  I bought a regular mazda3.  I need my license.  Yes the stock speed3 is probably not as insane but it's still too much power for such a small car used to commute (<--- only my opinion.) 

You should checkout this site.

http://www.mazda3forums.com/index.php

You should find an answer there. 

[nkryptit]

I test drove a used 08 speed3 last fall.  The previous owner had thrown in so much stuff (power upgrades.)  The dealer claimed it made over 330 hp.  I took it with a grain of salt.  Until I drove it.  The car was a blast to drive!  It was like a high strung rabid dog waiting to attack at your command.  It was insane!  The car made only two noises; The growl of the exhaust and when you let up on the gas, the turbo blow-off would chime in.  At that point stomping the throttle was my only response to make the blow-off howl go away. 

When the test drive was over, I determined that car does not belong on the street.  Way too much power for such a small car!  I bought a regular mazda3.  I need my license.  Yes the stock speed3 is probably not as insane but it's still too much power for such a small car used to commute (<--- only my opinion.) 

You should checkout this site.

http://www.mazda3forums.com/index.php

You should find an answer there. 

Thanks for the link.  I can only imagine what a MS3 with even more power would be like.  One could say that it's getting close to too much power in a little car, but I think it toes the line quite nicely.  It's just so much fun, what a thrill, but I think it could be used as a daily driver.

Thanks all for the input.

[lethe]

Not the best comparison to give you an idea of how reliable it is but my '06 regular 3 with the 2.0 (related engine at least) is now up over 230,000 miles and still running well. More impressive and relevant for you is how well the car itself is holding up, my last car which was an '02 Corolla felt like it was falling apart by this mileage.

[Porsche Monkey]

Damn Lethe what is that 60k a year?  As for the rest of you pussies, too much power for the street?  Really?  On a Ducati forum?  I must have made it over to the monster women board by accident. 

[lethe]

Damn Lethe what is that 60k a year?  As for the rest of you pussies, too much power for the street?  Really?  On a Ducati forum?  I must have made it over to the monster women board by accident. 

Somewhere around that, roughly 250 a day 5 days a week. Only bothered doing it on the bike once because it's really just a waste of tires. 
Damn thing has been pretty much bulletproof so far and I still cut to the inside of traffic circles and pass everyone. I don't dare test drive the Speed 3 because with that I'd just really drive like an asshole.

[DesmoDiva]

Only choice in my mind:

[TAftonomos]

I long for the day that a 300whp daily driver would keep me interested.  I'd just want more, more, more.

My car now is so slow I can't even think about speed (318ti autotradgic).  I'm going to try and keep it that way, else the bike(s) will get put on hold.

MS3 is a pretty neat DD car.  More compact hatches (GTI 4 door/golf 4 door turbo, impreza wrx wagon, and I dunno?)

[Bun-bun]

Anyone have any FHE with the Volvo C30? I like the looks, and it's supercharged, but it's a Volvo.

[mdriver]

Anyone have any FHE with the Volvo C30? I like the looks, and it's supercharged, but it's a Volvo.

No FHE, but the C30 and the mazda 3 are built on the same platform.

[cokey]

the ms3 is not a bad car..  guy in my car club had one.. did a lot of work to it.. still wasn't satisfied though.. i don't know what your plans for it are but if you track it, be weary of the motor mounts... on his first time out with it to a drag strip, on the launch the motor almost fell out the car.. only thing that was holding it up was the trans..   if you just looking for something with a lil pep, you should be good..   should get better mpg then the 6.. just be carefull though, it's hard to find one that hasn't been beat on..

i love my turbo4 banger neon (srt).. 33 mpg and 370 hp on low boost.. it's all in the tune.. a big part of a cars life when turbo'd is the tune..  some guy has over 200k miles on his srt with very minimal problems..   i like the stylings of the ms3 too.. good luck on your purchase..

[nkryptit]

Only choice in my mind:

This is an honest question, not trying to pick a fight.  What is it that you feel makes the WRX a better choice than the MS3.  I know it's got a bit more history and AWD.  They are both pushing ~260 HP, but the MS3 is putting out a bit more Torque (244@4000 vs 280@3000).  Just about the same standard equipment, but the WRX is at least 2k more.  I still need to go out and drive one, I'll let you know how I feel it adds up.

[DesmoDiva]

This is an honest question, not trying to pick a fight.  What is it that you feel makes the WRX a better choice than the MS3.  I know it's got a bit more history and AWD.  They are both pushing ~260 HP, but the MS3 is putting out a bit more Torque (244@4000 vs 280@3000).  Just about the same standard equipment, but the WRX is at least 2k more.  I still need to go out and drive one, I'll let you know how I feel it adds up.

For me (and B) the STI special edition (aka spec C) is the best option.  We wanted something that we could tow the SBKs with and take to SCCA events.

The Speed3 was on our short list, but frankly it would quite do everything we wanted.  The Mazda is a great value.

YMMV.

[WhiteStripe]

I have a 2001 Audi S4, that has been boosting 23 psi on KO4 turbos for about 50k miles.

for any car IMO its really about the boost (and how much you are into it).

Its a slippery slope - more HP = better clutch = bigger brakes = more HP = less reliability = more time = more mods (while your in there might as well upgrade) = faster car = break more things = more $$$$$$$, and so it goes...

you wake up 100k miles later with $20k invested in a car thats worth $10 that goes like hell but is starting to fall apart at the seams.

Rinse, repeat.

YMMV

[The Architect]

As for the rest of you pussies, too much power for the street?  Really?  On a Ducati forum?  I must have made it over to the monster women board by accident. 

It's hard to keep your license in good standings as it is.  I don't need another reason to lose it.   

Anyone have any FHE with the Volvo C30? I like the looks, and it's supercharged, but it's a Volvo.

I wanted the C30 at first but the cost of the cars was too much for my use, mileage was mediocre for that size car, lacking in power (for that price) and I'll have to wait till the kids are old enough to understand that muddy footprints on the ceiling aren't funny.  So until they're in college or out of the house, no nice cars for us.