Hello Mazda forum .
I just bought a 2010 mazda 6 with the 3.7 liter engine. I love this car , I've never been a car guy but now I am . I would like to know what I can do to improve on my already awesome vehicle , things that can increase horsepower , possibly a turbo . 2 things i will be getting are a spoiler and remote start . Suggestions , comments, opinions? I'm eager to begin personalizing my 6 , its liquid silver . I'm very into gadgets for cars , love the bluetooth and my gps has already found a home on the dash. I was thinking of nicer tires too , the stock ones look ok but my dealer has a 2010 v6 mazda6 and his tires are so much more awesome... I usually build and customize computers .. so please provide me with any ideas or help .

~J~

 

Unless you've got a couple grand to drop, don't bother thinking about a turbo. Besides, from what I hear, that 3.7 is no slouch even in the heavy 2nd gen body.

What tires did the car come with? Dimensions? Gonna guess they're at least 17's, if not 18's. We'll see how good your stockers are (if the previous gen 6 is any indication, they should be. My '04 had Michelin Pilots, IIRC), but if they're decent, I'd leave them alone until they need replacing. No need to splurge on parts for a brand new car. Car payments suck. I'd try to get a few months in before you start modding anything...make sure it's not just new car infatuation, and your really want what you think you want.

 

There isn't much for the new gens out of the box. That is, made as kits.
Forget headers, exhaust or intakes.

Headers were hard and expensive to come by for the first gens and probably impossible for the new car.

Intakes (CAI's/SRI's) are a waste of money (+$200) unless you only want to free up some space in your engine compartment, want a little more "bling" and a little more engine noise. They do nothing for a regular DD (daily driver) in normal conditions/situations, and little beyond that.

Exhausts... If I wuz U, and you wanted a little more... whatever(? noise, maybe power,) I would consider taking the car to the best exhaust shop you have in your area and fitting it with MagnaFlow mufflers, or equivalent, and possibly a pair of free flow cats (catalytic converters.) Again, don't expect too much from this setup expect a sportier sound, but you may gain some hp from it all, at a cost of course.

I haven't driven a new gen 6 series, but if its at all like the first I'd look into heavier sway bars... my only real complaint. The new being a heavier, "plushier" built car I would guess them just as body heavy in turns. Perhaps some new/better/sport shocks, such as Bilstein's or Koni's. Look for "mono tube" shocks, and adjustable if possible, though the Koni FSD's (non-adjustable) are considered the best of both worlds.
Twin tube shocks are the OE standard and are considered replacement shocks in the business. They will add little/nothing to the suspension set up, especially since your car is virtually new anyway.

I am guessing you bought an auto otherwise a remote start would be a no-no. Besides, IIRC the V6 only comes in an auto these days.

I agree with VB, but if you must do tires, consider the Continental DWS series tires. My wife and I have them on both our cars and we are ALMOST in love with them. They are a little slow in the steering department, but excel every where else, and after all, life is always a compromise. The perfect tire has not been invented yet, if ever, but they are getting closer.

I am not a gadget meister. In general, I couldn't care less, so I am not the person to ask about those.

 

Its been a good car , i find myself looking for excuses to drive it , I used to have a 1990 mx6 , but it was passed on to my brother who totalled it this year, such a fantastic car , over 200k miles on it and still running like a champ ( minor repairs of course ) . The mazda 6 is bigger and heavier but I still love it . I'm getting a spoiler for christmas ( bonus well spent ) purely for looks of course . im satisfied with the factory spoiler. I was thinking of doing something cool with building a small mini atx computer into the center console and having it touch operated via a touch panel in the dash... so when i get in my car I can plug in my blackberry and use its modem capability to get web in my dash board on a cute little touch screen : D . the tricky part of course would be powering the actual computer... maybe a laptop would do better because I wouldnt have to build it from scratch.. I could just remove the built in monitor from the laptop and hook up the touch screen via the laptops VGA port... so many possibilities with building a pc into the car ... webcams in the dash , dvd player ,ridiculous amounts of music . Just bouncing around ideas right now

 

with all that computing going on,dont forget to have a computer operater riding along. i guess cars today,most aftermarket stuff is for looks anyway and little to increase performance unless your loaded.two or three grand for a few horses? tighter suspension? i miss the old days,a few grand you could get couple hundred horses.