The dealer just called, and the purge valve came in. Interesting, since that originally told me it would be sometime in January. Anyway, my CEL, has not come back on since they cleard it.

 

anything that is a mazdaspeed upgrade is warranteed only if the dealer install it


mike

 

Just passed 5100 milestoday. I'm sure I'll have the highest mileage Speed3 in the US in a year. My old Ford Contour SVT is a '98 with 275,000 miles.My guess is that itslikely the highest mileage SVT product in the US, and might be one of the highest mileage manual tranny carswith the original clutch around. I'llbe a good test of how far the MS3 can go until the turbo fails.

By the way, no CEL, no squeaky brakes (but plenty dust), no problems at all. The shifter has smoothed out nicely, but it will never snick-snick like a Honda.

I have to wipe carbon off of the tailpipe at every fill-up, which is around 3 times a week. I've noticed that I never see black smoke, but if it's been 50 or 100 miles since I've hammered it, it will blow out some greyish brown smoke/dust/whatever for a gear or two. Then it's clear.

VASpeed3

 

5100 miles? ****E! Hey at least you are enjoying it!

How are the tires holding up? 5k might be a good time to go ahead and rotate 'em.

 

Hey truered. I'm not going with the Mazdaspeed stuff unless it's cheaper. I'm planning on dealing with the same place i'll get the BOV.

http://www.cp-e.com/scan/co=yes/fi=p...p=eq.html?open=

 

New to the boards, put my deposit down on a silver MS3 GT here in Houston, TX. Expecting it as soon as this/next week. Guy at dealer said it was sitting at the port and that they will probably ship it to the dealer before the end of the year.

It's been a while since I've driven a stick (4 years). Any tips I should know about when driving the car for the first time. Thanks.

 

Yes, I am enjoying it every chance I get. I have not looked closely at the tires to check wear, but casual inspection does not indicate much wear at all yet. I'm about 80% highway driving; that's probably how my old car still has the original clutch at 275,000 miles, but I went through around 8 sets of tires. With this one, I know that hammering it uses up gas & (front) tires in a big hurry. I would like to save up some for a run around the track at VIR in the Spring.

That said, I do want to explore the limits where it's safe to do so. I know firsthand that the brakes are phenomenal from high speed. I made threevery hard stops on astraight, empty stretch ofcountry road lastweek, withthe lasthauling it down to 30MPH from around 110. If the road is a little bumpy you'll need to devote a lot of attention to maintaining yourpath. I heard the tires squealing, so this wasright atthe limit of traction the whole way down, but I never felt the ABS kick in. Not sure if I heard the fronts or backs, but I would bet it was backs the way the car felt like it might like to swap ends of I did not stay on top of it.

Gas mileage seems to be improving with the engine a little more broken in. I'm averaging around 27MPG now.

Enough for now. Til next time....

VASpeed3

 

Cap, yes, this is a very powerful car for front wheel drive. Punch it, and you'll eat up all of the empty space in front of you in a big hurry! The shifter is the worst part of the car, but it's serviceable, and it's the gateway to the rest of a great drive. Heavy throttle over 3000RPM will induce some torque steer or at least make for a darty path, especially if the road is not smooth. Be careful with that, and you'll be fine.

Some people have reported some difficulty with the on/off feel of the clutch.I like it, myself. Makes it harder to accidentally slip it if you're not paying enough attention during a shift. With the torque available form this engine, you could completely bake the clutch with a few bad shifts.

In some earlier posts I've discussed a few handling fine points I've discovered in the small amount of racy driving I've done so far.Can't wait to be able toreport any track experience I may get in the spring.

VASpeed3

 

Once you get used to it the clutch and shifting is fine I have noticed I have 1588 miles on mine talk about babying it I think me and zzoom zoom have the least amount of miles. My CEL came back on 12 hours after I left Mazda, it was also the Purge Valve and they said they tested it and it was fine. Off to mazda again though. Guys any ideas on what can I do with the lights I want HIDs which would be my first upgrade, since I went with the sport model.

 

I too am getting used to the clutch, but it did take a little time. Yeah, I only drive mine (mostly) on the weekends and barely have 600 miles on it. Also, the first week I bought it, I had the flu and didn't feel like driving it, or I would have a few more miles by now.

The braking is fantastic! Right up there with any expensive sports car. With the great handling, breaking, and power, I feel very safe in this car.