Hey

I am new to the forum and to Mazda in general. I use to only buy Hondas or Toyotas and to be honest never thought I would own a Mazda. Of course, I have always been impressed with Mazda's designs. All generations of Rx's, MX-6, and 6 starting with first generation. I was looking at preowned cars and decided to test drive an 2008 Mazda 6 sport VE, and 3S and fell in love with the dynamics and overall design of each. Unfortunately at my local Mazda dealership they were still a little out of my budget. I found a 2008 at a Chrysler dealership and they let me take it home most of that day. I loved it, but it had been on the lot for quite a while, and then I found out through Carfax that it had been a previous rental. It was about this time I started hearing about cash for clunkers. I was hoping they would offer CARS on preowned vehicles, but when the official rules came out it was only offered on new vehicle purchases. Well to make a long story short, I bought a new 2009 6 I Sport with 6spd, and after owning it for a month and 500 miles have so far enjoyed every minute of it. I am looking forward to tapping into the knowledge and resources that is so apparent on this site, and am proud to be a Mazda owner.

 

Welcome to the forum!!! I hope you have many years of enjoyment with your new 09 6

 

That makes two of us. So far so good though. Thanks for the hospitality vlstellato.

By the way, that is a very good looking 3. I want to eventually upgrade wheels and tires, but won't until these 16's wear out.

 

What Vince said goes for me too, FFEMT6!! Welcome.

The new generation 6 series cars are not that well known to us yet, though I and others here often do research. Those members that have bought them and come on here haven't stayed very long. I hope you will and perhaps clue us in to a thing or two (your experiences and impressions) about the new car. Also, be sure and post up some pictures, either in a thread of your own making or the Photo Gallery section.

I have been a "stick" driver all my driving life... some 36-37 yrs now. Never wanted to drive (be saddled with) anything else, so I am very glad you got the 6-sp. It will be interesting the hear how you like it in the newer, bigger 6 series car.

To me it's rather disappointing that it's even hard to get anything but a base model work truck with a manual trans w/o special ordering it. Have we gotten that lazy??

 

virgin 1,

I don't know if it's the fact that society as a whole has gotten lazier, or the new technology has just made it more convenient. A friend of mine has a 2008 Acura TL, and with the sport shift this is still a great drive. Shifts are much more direct and crisp than any of the Mazda models I test drove with sport shift. With a well executed sportshift auto especially in heavy traffic congestion situations, it becomes the best of both worlds. The driver involvement factor is still not the same without having a proper clutch. See my driving impression (although brief) in the thread "what the 6 offers". It was posted a couple days ago. I am fortunate enough as a married man of 13 years to have a wife that can drive manual. However, when I purchased this car, she kind of wanted me to buy the auto. It does make it easier to tend to our three small children. Plus it makes it more difficult for her to use her cell having to shift in the process. Saving the $900 was more important to me since I know she can drive it. The 6spd is for the most part very smooth with a light and easy to modulate clutch. 1-4 is noticeably smoother, with 5 and 6 slightly notchy. 1-4 is supposedly synchronized which has to be the reason for the difference in the lower gears. Shift throws are slightly longer than I would like ideally. The best I have driven was an Honda S2000. Gear ratios are also very short and in 6th at 70 the engine is turning at 3000 rpm. The 2.5 is very smooth and quiet however, and this is not that noticeable unless you are watching the tach. I do wish Mazda would have made 6th a little taller for hwy economy however, since the auto. records 1 better City/Hwy. Car and Driver recorded better 0-60 acceleration with the sportshift auto as a direct result of the short gearing and having to shift the 6spd. 3 times before 60. Redline is also disappointingly low at 6200 and no doubt contributed to the slow time as well. The short gearing definitely gets the greater mass of the second generation 6 moving better from a standing stop. This engine and transmission is more than adequate for my current needs however, and will hopefully be that way for a long time to come. I will try at a later date to post some pictures. For some reason the computer is not storing any photos right now.

I was pleasantly surprised when I purchased my 6 that there were 4 other 6spd's on the lot including one ISV, another I-Sport, one GT and one Touring edition. I would have rather had one of these top trim models, but am more than happy with the standard features and overall value of the I-Sport.

 

A friend of mine has a 2008 Acura TL, and with the sport shift this is still a great drive. Shifts are much more direct and crisp than any of the Mazda models I test drove with sport shift.
I am only vaguely familiar with the transmission you speak of here, but I had heard that they are also experiencing catastrophic problems with these too.
Yes, the Mazda autos I drove I was very disappointed in. Even in manual mode they were slow to react to driver input.

With a well executed sport shift auto especially in heavy traffic congestion situations, it becomes the best of both worlds.
Yes, I can certainly understand that too. I choose to deal with the 5-sp in traffic, but most would not.

I am fortunate enough as a married man of 13 years to have a wife that can drive manual. However, when I purchased this car, she kind of wanted me to buy the auto. It does make it easier to tend to our three small children. Plus it makes it more difficult for her to use her cell having to shift in the process.
My wife is like me and does not even consider automatics in our fleet of cars (all two of them. )
And I can understand the kids. There isn't much you can do about that. Kids will be kids, but the cell phone can and should wait till she is no longer driving. I have seen way too many close calls due to cellphone usage while driving, as if there isn't enough to concentrate on the roads these days.
Also recent studies have shown that you are 17 times more likely to be involved in or cause an accident using a cellphone while driving.
And what about your kids? Consider them should the worst happen, when you or she are the cause of it because you couldn't wait to make that phone call (or receive one.)
Are phone calls really THAT important that you would chance endangering every one else's lives as well as your own?
Sorry, if you find that opinion offensive but I am strongly opinionated when it comes to concentration and focus while driving. As you can probably tell, if it were up to me, cell phones would be absolutely banned for usage in moving vehicles.

1-4 is supposedly synchronized which has to be the reason for the difference in the lower gears.
I believe you mean double-synchronized vs. a single weaker unit. Yes, there is generally less strain (torque) when shifting to the upper gears and so they are usually single units.

Shift throws are slightly longer than I would like ideally. The best I have driven was an Honda S2000. Gear ratios are also very short and in 6th at 70 the engine is turning at 3000 rpm.
The same is true of the 3 series in 5th gear. Honda has almost always taken the prize for the best OE shift feel too, but based on professional reviews I have read, the Mazda is just a half-a-tick behind.

The 2.5 is very smooth and quiet however, and this is not that noticeable unless you are watching the tach. I do wish Mazda would have made 6th a little taller for hwy economy however, since the auto. records 1 better City/Hwy. Car and Driver recorded better 0-60 acceleration with the sport shift auto as a direct result of the short gearing and having to shift the 6spd. 3 times before 60.

Redline is also disappointingly low at 6200 and no doubt contributed to the slow time as well. The short gearing definitely gets the greater mass of the second generation 6 moving better from a standing stop.
That could also be attributed to a rather large production built 4-cyl also. The 2.5, like the 2.3L is what used to be called an over-square engine. The stroke is much longer than the bore is wide.
Also, because of the internal size it has a greater rotating mass to move and to stop when necessary. Better torque overall, but a lower rpm to max hp.
Think about it this way, a short stroke V8 like the old 327 Chevy was a rev master. Shorter stroke, bigger bore, but the 454 big-block would pull you up the side of a vertical brick wall... just not as fast. Plus, Mazda or most other car companies are liable to spend the extra bucks to install forged, lightweight internals on all of their production cars... necessary for reliability when running up to higher revs on a regular basis.

This engine and transmission is more than adequate for my current needs however, and will hopefully be that way for a long time to come.
Which is why, going back to my former point, that Mazda and other car companies would not spend the extra $$$ to install something most people won't need or use.

 

I like the way you broke apart my message. I have no idea how that is done. I guess I do enough to get buy when it comes to computers. Virgin 1, like you I am an avid car fan. I bought my first Motortrend magazine in 1984 when I was at the grocery store with my mother and haven't looked back since that day. I currently subscribe to Motortrend, Road and Track, and my personal favorite Car and Driver. I really liked the 3, I just wished it had more room, but then again If that was the case there would be no need for the 6. I did not realize the 04-08 TL had catastrophic auto issues. I had heard the previous generations had horrible problems however. This model and also the 98-02 Accord V6 models. I believe Honda was forced to extend the powertrain warranties on these vehicles it got so bad. When I was first looking before I bought the 09 6, I had test driven an 08 3 GT 4dr, and I loved the drive and particularly the steering on this model. I then drove an 2008 6 I Sport VE and also loved this car, plus with the added room I was really set to purchase this car. Then I found about the CARS program, and the fact that if I purchased new, my vehicle at the time an 1996 Jeep Grand Cherokee would be worth $3500 instead of approximately $1000 for trade in. The 1996 Jeep used to be my wifes vehicle, and then my Civic coupe was totalled, so we bought her a new vehicle and for the last seven years I was driving the Grand. It was a nice enough vehicle, but I had heard horror stories about the autos in Jeeps and this one had 155000 on it. It wasn't a bad vehicle having never stranded me in the past. The only issues I had were electrical, and there were quite a few of them that cropped up. Honestly, though I was tired of the SUV and automatic transmission as all my previous cars owned were manual. I looked at all the usual players before buying the 6, but none offered the Sportiness or features the 6 did without adding substantially to the price. This made the 6 the best value and my next vehicle.


As a side note:

I took a look at your album, and your 3 looks awesome. I love all the work you have put into it. The LED's above the headlights look very Audi esque in reverse order. The Audi S5 is one of my favorite designs on the road. The LED tails also look very good. Does the front tower bar tighten up the suspension a lot? Does your 3 have a subtle drop or is that stock? Regardless it looks very good. I want to eventually replace my steel wheels with some nice alloys, but have noticed all the new 6's with aftermarket wheels look like they are in a desperate need for a slight drop. I also want to get some fogs, but this will also have to come within time.

 

I am running out of time, so I read your post VERY quickly. If I got the gist of it right, please be rest assured that I was not trying to be condescending to you.
When writing a post to any member, especially someone I don;t know very well, I try for the middle of the road, that you know at least as much as I do, but perhaps with different experiences. So in my attempt to be complete and explain my self, I tend to be wordy and sometimes come across in a way I did not intend.
If that's the case here I apologize.

Thanks for the kudos. Virgin1 appreciates it too.
More later, and thanks.

 

Virgin 1,

That is not the way you came across at all, and I definitely didn't feel that way. You obviously know a whole lot more than I do about the mechanics of the auto, and since youv'e owned your 3 longer than I have my 6, you are also well versed in everything Mazda. This is exactly what I was looking for when I joined the Mazda forum. It takes a whole lot to rattle me, and I didn't take offense to anything you said. Thanks for the concern.

 

Well thank you.
I do try to answer questions and help others solve their problems the best, and as honestly as I can, but I hardly feel like an expert.
I have had my experiences over the years and had been in the business for about 10 yrs through the '80's but there are many things about these newer, more electronic, less mechanical cars that are still something of a mystery to me.
I have some trouble in the cyber-auto world. I am more old-school and like what I can see and feel better than some of these "mysterious" electronics. The mechanics I can often figure out. To figure out the electronics, you often have to get inside the head of the original software writer... something I am not terribly good at.