I am looking for some advice, i really want to improve acceleration on my 2004 mazda 3 auto, i already have an injen intake and a magnaflow exhaust, i was thinking of a turbo, but i don't want a turbo to kill my engine, any advice? Thanks

 

I'm no turbo expert, but from what I have read, the Hi-Boost "kit" is highly recommended for stock engines and ease of installation/set-up problems. It is supposed to come w/everything you'd need to convert. And, those that have had problems of one sort or another say that Hi-Boost has excellent customer service and can fix or walk you through anything.
The lower you keep the boost, the less additional strainto the engine. That's the rule... and physical law.
Your Injen and Magnaflow will both go away. 3" exhaust is necessary for the turbo, and I believe (not sure) the Hi-Boost has it's own intake.
Got 4K?

 

what i've kinda always thought is...is that if you want a fast car with reliability - you have to buy a fast car. (im talkin new cars). maybe you should consider trading in your mazda 3 for a speed3...spending 4k on a turbo from HiBoost that will more than likely accelerate the wear of your engine seems kinda like a bad idea to me. (personally id never do it, im sure some people have)

Sure there are the people that buy a 1.5L civic and dump $20,000 into it and rip the carpeting out of their interiors to make it "cool" and "fast," but with all that money, they could have just bought an actualnice car that went fast out of the factory...im not sayin thats the story with the mazda3, im just sayin before you spend a ton of money on this 3 that you feel is slow, weigh out all the options.

There aren't any real "all motor" parts you can buy to make the car alot faster...i think mazda speed sells a flywheel...that'd up the acceleration...basically i think you're guna have to wait a little while for aftermarket companies to really get their act together for the mazda3 scene.

just my 2cents. = P

 

you could try the flywheel like Mike said....along with a header....but you are only really looking a mid range in the rpm and up...plus you have to use anitfouler to get the CEL's away.

nothing wrong with boosting....but you lose the warranty, and you should have another 2k put aside for any repairs...cause you will need them. Plus there is more to just adding the turbo kit. yeah you may be ok if you leave it at 6-8psi....but then you will need to upgrade the tranny and internals shoul dyou want to go beyond that.

nothing wrong with sticking more money into a factory base car.....it is a hobby....15k car....4k turbo...2k tranny...1k internal upgrade....equals same price as a speed3....with no interest.

 

well, imo, people mod out a civic to be faster than all other civics.
if you just say, spend your money on a RSX, then your just gonna be at the same par as every other RSX on the road.
i mod my car as a hobby, its fun, and educational. sure, ive spent $3k on my car so far, and im no where near done, but i just like to have a unique mazda3, in comparison with everyone else.

im pretty sure you can buy forged internals for the 3.
ive heard of people with the hiboost kit, and forged internals, making ~500whp

actually, just a thougth, why not just buy a speed3 motor, and engine swap it?? cuz it would be a little more than a turbo kit, but you would already have all the basics, plus a 6 spd tranny.
then if u want, later on down the road, you can upgrade the turbo, the internals, and whatnot, and get killer hp...
just a thought

 

Yeah you can get forged pistons and rods for the 3....but swapping an engine is not cost affective. The 3 stock block can hold 250whp....beyond that is questionable.

but the speed3 tranny is no thougher then the 3's...just an extra grear. and to get a speed3 engine and tranny from a dealer would be like 10k....if you could even get them to sell you one.

 

the stock block can handle as much power as you want, HiBoost is running just shy of 600hp on his 2.3 and just over 500hp on his 2.0. all you need is internals and new studs and you are good to go.

given, if you've got an atx you aren't going to be going that high, but just saying, the block is in now way a limiting factor.

if you have the 4spd tranny, you can do a cooler and Lentech valvebodies and you are good into the 9-10psi without much issues. i was running 15psi and tracking my car without much cooling for over a year before swapping. the standard HiBoost kit is a very good kit, very complete....if you have 4k to spend, then i highly recommend it. been on my car since Aug '05.

 

What model car (engine/trans) is it installed on?
Was it a self-install,a pro job or somewhere in between?
Were there issues on the original install?
Was Hi-Boost CS helpful with any issues/questions you had?
What else was involved that was not included in the kit? (i.e. exhaust components, intake, FMIC, etc.)
What is the turbos sweet spot and where does it die?
What has your gas mileagebeen like?
How many miles since the install have you put on the car, and what type of mileage?
Does the turbo affect the time between recommended oil changes?

I know that's a lot of questions and I am just curious about the answers myself as I wouldnever have that kinda' $$$$ for a turbo.
Plus I think your answerswould add someVERYuseful first hand insight to this thread and to the others thinking about doing it.

 

good lord!

as it says in the post, i have a '03 6i...so that's what it's installed on

Juan, the owner of HiBoost, did the install on my car. i was the test6 up here in the states for his kit. the kit is a pretty simple install though. hardest part is getting off the stock header and then (on the 3) taking off the cowling for better access. seems like a few people have had wiring issues, but they also have goals on "i need to get this done over the weekend" and have overlooks things, had poor connections. take your time and it's a no brainer. really good instructions.

-as i said, the kit is complete, the ONLY thing i'd say you NEED, is a boost and A/F gauge...you can do without them. but they really help troubleshootthe install and down the line

-Customer Service is hit and miss. i can honestly say, that Juan can troubleshoot ANY problems with the kit. he got me up and running (afterput in a buildengine and boosting more) from a stupid issue i overlooked...over text messages...he's pretty damn good. but he's a busy guy and he's in Bogota, Columbia, so it's not always easy.

-mileage goes to hell. i was at about 380 miles to a tank on my atx, and i got some 250-270 tanks after the turbo was installed. dyno tuning can bring it back up though. before i dropped off my car for the tranny swap, i'd done some tweaking and was in the 360-400 per tank range again...but driving style has a lot to do with it.

no effects on oil changes

 

Oops! Missed the sig. It's easy to do on this site. Most ppl don't have any at all, so I tend to overlook the one-liners too. 'Sorry 'bout that one.
About the other though: I was interested and figured others would be too. And I did try to warn you that I was aware of the number of questions I'd asked and my reasonsfor asking them.I tried to ask succinct questions related to your post.
I thinkyour answersdo aGREAT justice to this thread. I thank you sincerely for taking the time to answer them, as I think others will too.