Ok....I've got 1000 miles and some Mobil One in my new Speed3, it's time to do a little tinkering. I would really like to get it over 300hp, with it being 263 stock I don't think this will be super hard. I was looking at engine management systems, CAI's, boost controllers, and a "test pipe" (which I think just eliminates your cats). I only looked at the test pipe cause it's cheap, it will free things up a lil, and can be taken off easily if I need to go in for service. My questions are as follows:

-What engine management system do you recommend, how much HP should I expect, and what does that do to the reliability of the car?
-I'm new to turbo cars, what does a boost controller exactly do...just let you control the boost the turbo is putting out? If that's the case, how much could you up the output from stock without any damage..I wanna keep it reliable.

Thanks for the input!!

 

Well, how does the engine feel after 1000 miles? Seem pretty good? Good...

Probably the easiest thing you can do (and should do first) is the CAI. Instantly you will notice a few changes in sound and very slight performance. And please don't NOT run a cat, that will just pollute the environment and not be good for anyone. You can run a straight pipe if you want after the cat, but then it will just be a little loud. Do what you want though!

-Any big brand name would do. Expect anything really from 1-2 hp gain to 9-12 hp gain (and better fuel economy!). It would probably make your car even more reliable.
-It does what it says it does, controls the amount of boost your turbo puts out. Some say the most they've been getting has ranged from 8 psi to 18 psi, I don't know how much it really puts out at max.

 

The stock 15.6 psi boost is pretty high already for a reliable street car. Do you really believe that the Mazdaspeed engineers are inferior to the aftermarket companies? Everything is a compromise and you will never really know what you gave up until it's too late.

Do you really need more power? Why spend a bunch of money to get a few more horsepower just for the "bling?"

 

You can buy a turbo for the car that will get it up to 22 psi which in turn gives you 350 HP..

But at 350 hp, I don't know if the trans-axle will handle that much torque

 

id say get a cold air intake, and then a better exhaust.....
then u get more in going into the engine, and more air out....

 

UNICHIP makes a kit for your car i think. you can get high flow cats, but if you eliminate it, it won't change the sound a whole lot unless you change the header and downpipe.i recommend just putting on an intake andturbo-back exhaust, then you can work your way up to a stand alone system like the unichip. they offer turbo timers, boost controllers, SA fuel management, SA engine management, everything all in one box.

 

Talking to the Mazdaspeed Engineers I used to work with if you get the MS exhaust and intake for the Speed3 you'll be at 293 hp. (30 hp increase with those 2 mods) Buy them and have them installed at the dealer and you should maintain your full warranty and not have to switch things back/forth when you go in for service.

If you want to mod your car, that's the reliable way to go.

 

for 300hp I'd go with
CAI of your choice
CBE +downpipe of your choice
Racepipe of your choice (only one available is turbo XS, though corksport and CP-E are R&Ding units right now)
ETS- TMIC

Only engine management that I know of that's out atm is the Xede Interceptor, which pretty much requires you to know how to solder and rewire your stock harness.
Cobb is currently working on making a Accessport which is in developement( plug and play unit).

personally going with the CP-E CAI as that was the only thing that was available at the time, since the MS-CAI's are all on backorder. Corksport Downpipe + CBE and then thier test/race pipe when it becomes available, and of course the ETS TMIC. Cobb AP when it's available.