So, I'm a new mazda driver. I got my mazda3 s (2005) in november, and i couldn't drive it until I turned 16, now I'm 16, and I can drive. I just paid it off, and now I'm working on making it look cooler. It's blue and has tinted windows, and a spoiler, all of which it had when i bought it. I plan on buying headlights for it... Black Clear DRL LED Projector Headlights with Amber Reflector - 2005 Mazda 3 Projector Headlights i also plan to buy them with HIDs to get the full effect. But now i'm torn between which tail lights I should get, I've got it picked down to two... LED Smoke Tail Lights - 2005 Mazda 3 LED Tail Lights, or Black Clear LED Tail Lights - 2005 Mazda 3 LED Tail Lights. I also was wondering if anyone here could make or has an 'evil m' i can buy to use for the emblem on the trunk. I was going to make one of my own, but I'm afraid I'd screw it up, and I can't find a spare logo anywhere to use if I mess it up.

 

Congrats and welcome.

On the headlights. The lights they have look like the spyder designed ones. They look awesome, however I'd have my doubts as to the quality. We got user upashi (one of the resident lighting experts on M3F) to do a test fit with a supplier in California. While it was a passable aftermarket product he did have his doubts as to the quality of the projector and the LEDs. Basically the beam pattern on the projector left something to be desired, and the LEDs were low power ~1w and had no domed diffusers so they were really more for look vs. Audi style DRL usage. If you did go with those and were adding HIDs then you'd need H1 lamps vs. the H7 that the OEM headlights use, just FYI.

If you want to read upashi's full review read HERE. Also the thread may be a good read through for you. I believe the consensus there is they weren't worth it but if they're what you're looking for then by all means grab them. I think they look great, and with a little work could be awesome. Bear with his English, he's Japanese. Briefly on him, he's done multiple custom creative lighting mods to his car including LED tail lights, TSX projector retrofit, and is currently working on retrofitting prius LED headlight internals into his lights.

As an aside if you decide to not go with those headlights and stick with the OEM halogen housings then I'd recommend installing HIDs, swapping in a clear lens for the projector and doing a few little mods to the projector shield to reduce glare. The OEM halogen projector is a much better projector than that of the spyder headlight. Besides if you did that then you could always install halos at the same time.

On the tail lights I assume you're referring to the ones which match the headlights (i.e. not just the "machine gun style" circles of LEDs? I haven't seen posts from anyone who's actually gotten them so I can't really comment, though they do look pretty nice, and they don't have the huge chrome reflector for the reverse lights like some other ones have.

On the badge. You can probably pick up a spare one online somewhere, either through ebay or through the buy/sell forum on one of the multiple Mazda forums available. There are a few sponsors on some forums who will custom cut/paint emblems for you. That said it's really just a matter of removing the emblem, taping off what you want to cut and then cutting it with a dremel tool. Then just apply new adhesive and stick it back on the car.

Beyond all of those do you have any thoughts on other mods? One thing I recommend to all new owners is to get a third key. Note that this really only applies if you have two working keys. If you have two keys you can program in additional keys yourself really easily. If you only have one key then the dealer has to program in an additional key for you and generally charge you $50-100 for the programming. So if you have two keys you could add another on the cheap and then should you ever lose one of your three keys you can just get another and program it vs. going to the dealer.

Another mod I recommend is retrofitting in heated side mirror glass. All the wiring is already in the car so it only requires you to add wires from the plug on the mirror side to the glass itself. If you've never had a car with heated side glass then they're really useful with snow/ice as well as with fog/rain.

 

I'm pretty new to cars in general, so all these terms are pretty confusing haha. BUT, I checked out those headlights, and I think they look pretty good. On the site, there is an option to buy the HID kit with the headlights, & with that, it should be the correct size and brightness, right?
I'm also still confused on which tail lights would be cooler looking. The black clear ones would match the front ones, i would think, but i feel like the smoked ones would look cooler since they are full on LED.
I'll look around a little more for an emblem & see if I can find one!

 

wait? so i already have heated mirrors i just have to plug them in???? or do i have to get new glass??


and as far as the light go personal id just make my own its more rewarding when you see them light up my halos are probably my favorite mod so far... but you dont sound very mechanicaly inclined so idk... lol its up to you