Figured it was finally time to listen to everyone telling me to make a build thread. My car is a 2011 Mazdaspeed3 base model that I have owned since March 22, 2020. I bought the car with 76,600 miles and as of the start of this thread on 02/20/24 it has 119,292 miles. I daily drive it, and have truly enjoyed it through every mile. The primary idea behind the modifications I have done/want to do is to build a car that is as if Mazda decided to release a harder core, more aggressively tuned Mazdaspeed3 as an homage to its participation in motorsport, similar to how Subaru made the "S20X" versions of the STI, Nismo with the "Z-Tune" Skylines, Mitsubishi with the FQ Evos, etc. A car that is still retains its identity as unmistakably Mazdaspeed but increased significantly in capability from factory. This just so happens to align with the other primary goal I have for the car: to compete in autocross in the STH class, as well as the occasional track day. Not expecting to be inherently competitive, but to have a car that could take me there if I tighten the nut behind the wheel. My hope is to create a car that is drives freely and happily, feels good around the cones and the backroads, and is relatively reliable. Current Modifications: Engine/Exhaust: Corksport SRI (stock diameter), AEM Dryflow filter Corksport Aluminum Turbo Inlet Corksport HPFP Internals Sure Motorsports Charge Pipes ETS Version 1 TMIC Tial Q 50mm BOV Generic 3-Port MAC Valve EBCS Damond Motorsports Stage 1 OCC Damond Motorsports RMM, PMM, TMM (Race bushings) Ultimate Racing 3" Downstream Cat Delete Ultimate Racing 3" Resonated Catback Accessport V3 with Freektune OTS+ (93 octane) Handling/Brakes: Progress Competition 32mm Rear Antiroll Bar Moog Rear ARB Endlinks JBR Rear ARB Brackets/Bushings Whiteline 27mm Front Antiroll Bar Corksport Adjustable Front ARB Endlinks Moog Inner and Outer Tie Rod Ends Centric-Stoptech Brake Rotors Hawk HPS Brake Pads Rear Stoptech SS Braided Brake Lines Monroe OESpectrum Reman Rear Dampers Lifestyle/Cosmetic: Corksport Short Shifter Assembly Solid Shifter Base Bushings Cobb Shifter Counterweight Zero Customs Weighted Shift Knob Zero Customs Anatomy V2 Steering Wheel Black Alcantara Shift Boot Corksport LED Interior Lighting Kit TYC Reman Headlights (Lamin-X GT Yellow vinyl) Sealight H11/H9/H8 LED Low Beams Sealight 9005/HB3 LED High Beams Corksport Carbon Fiber Hood Scoop Rear Reflector LEDs (thanks PO) Way too much crap dangling from the rearview mirror Wheels/Tires: Summer: Motegi MR145 Traklite 3.0 Bronze - 17x8.5 +42 Bridgestone Potenza RE71R - 245/40R17 Winter/All Season: Factory 2011 MS3 Wheels - 18x7.5 +52 Continental ExtremeContact DWS06 - 225/40R18 (fronts have the updated DWS06+ due to recent shortcomings of the Indiana Department of Transportation and Continental having discontinued the original DWS06) Maintenance: Oil Used: Pennzoil Platinum 5W-30 Oil Filter(s) Used: Napa Gold 1348 (and Wix equivalent), Mobil1 M1-102A Interval: ~3000 miles Spark Plugs Used: NGK 3787 Gap: 0.026-0.028" Interval: Unsure of proper interval, has been around 30,000 miles, surely needs new plugs by now Gear Oil Used: Tribodyn 75W-90 w/o LSD Additive (per suggestion of JT) Interval: Again, Unsure of proper interval, has been around 40,000 miles, surely needs it by now Coolant Used: Whatever was in the car when I got it, plus being topped up with distilled water Interval: Eventually, I don't ever see abnormal coolant temps Plans for the Future: Looking to get valves cleaned sometime this year Looking to get VVT service along with timing chain replaced sometime this year Figure out the source of the weeping oil leak from around the oil filter area mentioned in my other thread Factory suspension is showing its age, hoping to upgrade to coilovers that are capable, adjustable, reputable/high quality, and not excessively stiff. Current options considered are Bilstein B16, Fortune Auto 500, and KWV2. I have yet to see reviews of more cost-effective options like the Corksport or Graveyard Performance coilovers in an autocross/track perspective. I currently have a set of Morimoto XB LED fog lights that are waiting for a warm day with free time to go on the car. PO did some hackjob wiring with the front left ABS sensor wire which added about 8 extra inches to it. Last year, it came dislodged from its clever hiding spot behind the upright and began contacting the wheel, causing a strange intermittent ABS and TC light. I've since replaced the wire with one from Beck/Arnley on Rockauto, but the new wire did not fix the issue and I've had the ABS and TC lights on for months now. I will look into it this spring and see if the wire/connector got damaged during install, or if I just need to get a new harness. Eventually the plan is to get a 3" intake OR the stock diameter Mazdaspeed CAI (rare and neat part), a 3" Ultimate Racing Catted Downpipe, and have the car full-tuned by Justin at Freektune for a reliable 280-310 whp and 300-330 lb-ft goal. I don't particularly care for big power, I am an amateur driver at autocross who already doesn't know how to handle the maybe 260whp the car has now. I would like to eventually get around to installing the Corksport Oil Filter Sandwich Plate along with oil temperature and pressure sensors and run them to gauges in the cabin. Thanks for reading this far if you did. Here are a few shots of the car to close out this initial post: ^here with my friend's 1988 Mazda 323 GTX, these cars are two bookends of Mazda's hot-hatch library
Was incredibly bored and up all night last night so I ended up installing the Morimoto fog lights. Really impressed with the brightness and light pattern of these. I had been worried that my headlights might have been angled too high up after I replaced them last spring, as I felt like the road surface just in front of my car wasn’t illuminated very well. Turns out that’s just the effect of having factory fog lights after upgrading to LED headlights. Pictures are kind of shitty because my phone is terrible with white balance among other things, but here is a before and after:
My thought though is that if I can hit the power numbers I want with a stock size intake, my craving for rare and vintage Mazda parts is insatiable. Especially because the other option I wanted (HTP 3” single piece) has not been available for a number of years now
So if you look in my build thread I was at 280 whp and 320 tq on a BNR S2 with a stock DP and a CorkSport Stage II Intake which is stock sized. This was also on a 93 tune and on a Mustang Dyno which are known to be heart breakers if you are chasing numbers. You may be able to find a HTP intake out there if you keep an eye on eBay and Facebook groups. I actually bought a 3 inch HTP of of eBay about a year ago. I ended up sending it back because it had a dent in it that the seller acted like he didn't know about. The dent was a pretty decent flat spot and the tubing measured about 2.6 inches OD at that point. Guy wanted to try and argue it wouldn't make any difference, yeah ok well sell it to someone else then.
It also wasn't a special part it was made by aem I believe and had a Mazdaspeed sticker slapped on Everyone threw them away in like 2011
Ah, gotcha. Probably just get a 3” then. This of course only will happen once I have enough money for DP and tune, which is probably pretty far away unless I score a sweet gig with a race team this year
I see you specifically noted that you didn't use any LSD Additive. Does your car not make grinding/rubbing sounds when doing low speed full lock turns?
Nope works great I'm running the same, has to do with the type of LSD we have, discussion here https://mazdaspeeds.org/index.php?threads/transmission-fluid.10324/
11SEP24: Today, I finally got around to changing the spark plugs in my car. The old plugs had been in the car for far too long (probably around 45k miles if I had to guess, I have the install mileage written down back at home). Install went smoothly, no issues there. The plugs came out as follows: Naturally, the amount of white residue on these is alarming. I quickly dug through the datalogs I had on hand from the past year to see if there were any instances of leaning out and found only reasonable afr traces. I then took a warm idle and WOT log on the new plugs to see if it was a more recent/replicable development, however again the traces showed normal. I always keep a watchful eye on my LTFT gauge on the accessport and I can't think of a time in the last couple of years where it was high in the positives (as it would be in the case of a lean condition or vacuum leak) for an extended period of time. Based on somewhat regular checking of my oil/coolant levels (once every 2-3 weeks or so) the car is not experiencing any elevated consumption of either of those fluids. Based on the reaction many posters online have had to other posts I saw regarding white residue on spark plugs, it seems to be a rather pressing issue that I would like resolved sooner rather than later. I will attach the WOT log from earlier this year, the warm idle log from today, and the WOT log from today if anyone would like to look for themselves.
Took the car to autocross this past Friday. Ran with the Indy region SCCA at the Indianapolis Speedrome. The course was very interesting as it was laid out within the short oval/figure 8 track there and it was so short that it had 2 laps. Super fun time despite the car being on all seasons (225/40/R18 Continental DWS06), and I feel like I was able to really dial in my driving a lot more than at my last autocross about a year ago. Definitely a ton of work still to do on my driving, but the car handled it like a champ. (She probably just needed all the carbon cleaned off the exhaust valves ) Very glad I changed the spark plugs before going, and I'm thinking that a new clutch should be on the table in the next year or so as well. As far as results, this event was a "just for fun" and not for points within the Indy SCCA Solo season due to the unconventional course layout and taking place in the evening, so luckily for me there were no cone penalties applied to the times so long as you didn't cut the course. This allowed me to place 17th overall in both the PAX and raw time (lol) out of 53 cars. I did clip a few cones here and there which is something I need to work on in the future if I want to be competitive at more serious events, but I am extremely happy with how I placed and the raw time I ran given my experience and the tires I ran on. In class, I came in 2nd of 2 with a gap of just 0.243s to the GTI on R-compounds ahead of me. Got some onboard footage from my GoPro: Timing and Scoring Results Class: PAX: RAW: I know I got beat by a regular Mazda3, despite his car being a riced to hell (aesthetically) 2.0 genpu sedan, he was a really fast driver, he had R-compound tires, and his suspension was dialed in very well. Honestly was pretty confidence inspiring for when I eventually upgrade my suspension, as I was working corners when he drove and could watch the car through the course. His car had a strong turn in and fantastic rear end rotation mid corner. Thanks for reading if you follow my thread!
3/23/25 - Happy 3/23 Day for all the 3 owners here! This past week was a big one as far as the car is concerned, in a good way: - Clutch replaced with LuK (OEM) disk, pressure plate, and throwout bearing - Flywheel replaced with the Action Clutch "middleweight" chromoly via Damond - Brand new OEM clutch release fork, as a "might as well while we're in there" - Rear main seal replaced with Mahle reman OEM from Rockauto, also as a "while we're in there" - Brand new OEM accessory belt - Gear oil replaced with Tribodyn TRI-EX 75w-90 - Oil changed with Pennzoil Plat 5w-30 and Mobil1 M1-102A filter - Professional cabin air filter install ^the shiny new flywheel from Action Clutch. Currently about 40 miles into the 500 mile break in period, clutch pedal felt very light compared to before at first and the weight has been slowly increasing over the miles. Engagement point is higher and longer in the pedal travel but is also lowering/shortening with more driving. Very minimal increase in chatter/noise over OEM with a noticeably quicker throttle response and much less rev hang. Car feels easier to start as well, very satisfied at the moment and I project that it will end up feeling even better after 500 miles. ^picture of the car in one of the parking lots at school before coming home for spring break. I've been very busy and stressed over the past couple of months as I am in my last semester of my Motorsports Engineering degree at Purdue University in Indianapolis. Trying to finish strong and land a job with a racing team. Yesterday, March 22, was the five year anniversary of having my speed. Still love it to death and couldn't ask for a more enjoyable daily driver in my opinion. Can't wait until I have time/money to go to more autocrosses and buy another set of summer tires. Romping around on the 500TW continentals is fun, but I'd like for those tires to last more than a couple of years haha Thanks for reading!
Over spring break, I finally found my front Stoptech braided brake lines after not seeing them for a few years. I figured this past week that while I was at my friends' house who have got a bunch of project cars themselves (and tools) to finally put them on the car. I quickly learned why they did not go on the car with the rears three years ago, as even with a flare wrench both front fittings became circular almost immediately. Not even vise grips could break the seize, so I was forced to cut and re-flare the lines. ^what the fittings looked like after attempting in vain to break them free with vise grips. It was a daunting task at first, however with the help of YouTube, old forum posts, and a lot of hand cramping, I managed to get it done. I will say the most annoying/difficult parts of the entire job wasn't cutting the lines or repositioning them back towards the mount, it was actually getting the new fittings onto the "new" ends of the lines. The hardlines have about a millimeter thick coat of black paint on them which needs to be scraped/melted/paint strippered off before the fittings will be able to go on. Due to the proximity to the frame rails and CV axle boots, I chose the safest (albeit least efficient) method of scraping the paint off with a razor blade. The lines need about 1.5" of bare metal beneath the cut in order for the fitting to go on while leaving room for the flaring tool. The scraping was a PITA but was made easier by gently bending the line towards me so I could get the razor around all sides of the hardline. I wasn't able to find much information about what the required fittings actually were, so I took a shot in the dark based on some loose info from an old mazda3revolution post and got it right. The fittings are M10x1.0mm with 3/16" ID and bubble flare. The process of using the flare tool is pretty straightforward, the only issue is that the hardlines are not very strong against the weight of the tool, so when torquing down the flare profiler to make the flare, you will need also to have a firm grip on the tool itself so you don't bend the hell out of the line. After about 7 hours of work on the front left (including head scratching and learning) and 3 hours on the front right, the car was fully back together and ready to bleed. ^front left ^front right I really think if you've got the car a lot higher in the air than I did and have a decent seat to sit on, it would probably only take a couple hours per side. My issue is that I was on really short jackstands and was sitting on the wheels while doing the work, which was not the most comfortable arrangement. After bleeding the system through with DOT 5.1 fluid, the pedal feel with the Stoptech lines is rock solid, a pretty huge difference compared to stock. Super satisfied with how it turned out and glad I was able to do this job myself. ^car on stands at the house
Not sure how many people consistently check up on my thread, but since this is a minor question/issue I'll ask it here: It's now been 10 days since reflaring the hardlines and upgrading to Stoptech soft lines, and the pedal feel somehow seems to have "settled" from the initial rock-hard bite it had initially. It still bites down, it's not like a feeling that immediately screams that there is a leak or that there is air in the lines, but instead of functionally locking down the pedal after about 1-1.5 inches of travel, it has the normal inch or so of soft pedal at the top, followed by another inch or so of medium force before locking out the pedal. See this crude diagram: I have checked the fittings between the soft and hard lines and see no leaks/fluid anywhere around there, and the brake fluid level has not dropped in the reservoir since I did the job. It's really a minor complaint since the car still stops fine, the pedal just isn't as stiff as it was. Just wanted to throw this out there to see if anyone had any ideas of what could possibly be causing this or if it's just the new lines "settling" or something.
Yesterday, I finally finished the 500 mile city driving break-in period for the new LuK clutch and Action Clutch Chromoly flywheel installed back in March. Here are my impressions of the differences between OEM and now, and also between first install and now: - The flywheel makes a noticeable difference in throttle response both when free revving and driving around, particularly in the lower gears. It takes less manifold pressure to accelerate at the same rate compared to OEM (example, when putting around town it is common to be gently accelerating in 3rd gear between 2000 and 3000 RPM. With the new flywheel, the rate of acceleration with -4 psi shown on the Accessport is about the same as the acceleration with -3 psi on the stock flywheel.) It is a slight difference, but welcome, as the engine does feel more resistant to lugging. When in boost, though, I don't really feel a change. - The shifting does need to be slightly quicker between gears to maintain perfect smoothness due to less rev hang. I personally enjoy this aspect of the light flywheel. I'd say that the shift speed required of this flywheel for smoothness is about equal to a stock flywheel car with the AC on (which, at least on my car, would make the revs fall faster due to the AC condenser's drag on the engine when engaged). It is very nice for the massive rev drop between first and second gear to not need a full second between gears waiting for the revs to fall. - The throwout bearing does make more chatter than with the stock dual mass flywheel, and it is loudest when idling with a hot engine/gearbox and when engine braking/off throttle in first and second gear. The sound has caught me off guard a couple of times, but it really isn't bad enough to warrant a strict complaint. It is expected to increase noise when going from a dual mass to single mass flywheel. - The clutch itself has gotten much grabbier over the course of the break-in and the pedal range of slip between fully disengaged and fully engaged has narrowed, but if my memory serves me correctly it does not bite down quite as hard as my stock clutch did a year ago, before it started to go out. The pedal slip range is slightly wider than it had been as well, going from about 0.5 inch of pedal travel to around 0.75-1 inch. I am hoping this returns to what it used to be as the miles continue, as I quite liked the tactile "trigger" like clutch, where slipping was more or less holding the clutch pedal in one spot and modulating the throttle rather than gradual disengagement of the clutch pedal. - The pedal stiffness towards the end of the break in felt similar in my mind to the OEM clutch, however after sitting in a friend's gen1 to help him bleed his brakes and feeling his clutch pedal, I realized just how much lighter my pedal is compared to his. His car is OEM clutch and flywheel. This is pretty strange to me as the LuK pressure plate should in theory be a direct OEM reman, and the only things that control the clutch pedal stiffness are the hydraulic fluid and the pressure plate. I am really wondering just how "OEM" the LuK pressure plate is, because the difference was actually pretty staggering between the two cars. In his car, I felt like the clutch was pretty identical to mine, but then I sat back in my car and the clutch felt like a miata clutch compared to his, drastically lighter for the entire travel. I am really hoping the pedal weight increases with more miles but I won't hold my breath. I much prefer the weight of the factory OEM clutch in his car to the weight of the LuK in mine. I wonder if my car using DOT 5.1 brake fluid vs. his using DOT 4 has anything to do with the difference. - The engagement point of the clutch pedal is also slightly higher in the travel with the new clutch than with my original clutch. It starts engaging about half an inch higher in the travel than the stock clutch did, which really threw me off during the break in period at times because my muscle memory would hold the clutch at the original "trigger" spot, which would be only the start of the engagement of the new clutch and I'd almost stall the car. The engagement point has definitely lowered in the travel since the clutch was first installed, however it seems to have settled at a spot in the pedal travel that is higher than it was with the factory clutch. TL/DR The Action Clutch chromoly flywheel is great, with less rev hang, quicker shifts, and smoother gentle acceleration. It does have more chatter than stock but pretty much only during hot idle and engine braking in low gears. I am overanalyzing the feel and engagement of the LuK clutch, but the pedal is definitively lighter, the bite softer, the engagement point higher, and the engagement zone wider than the original clutch, which brings into question how close the LuK pressure plate actually is to the OEM one. I am still totally satisfied because the clutch doesn't anymore feel like it's at risk of slipping when I grab the 3-4 shift at WOT (verified yesterday with multiple WOT pulls) and take ages to slip when hot.
Updating clutch/flywheel review again after putting about 150 more city-miles and 500 highway miles (indy to st. louis there and back). The LuK clutch is still delivering an incredibly strange/inconsistent pedal feel for claiming to be a direct OEM remanufactured part, even after a full, thorough bleed through was done just after I wrote the previous post in the thread. Some days, the pedal feels (comparably) great: very dynamic pedal travel and a short (albeit, longer than stock) engagement window, where the bite feels strong and solid. Other days, the pedal is extremely light and vague, with a very long engagement window and concerningly soft bite, where on hill starts I have to ride the clutch somewhat aggressively before it will actually bite down. Regardless of whether it is a good or bad day for pedal tactility/response, the initial bite point remains slightly higher in the travel than stock, and the pedal weight goes between slightly lighter and much lighter than the stock clutch. (There have been some days where I would say the pedal weight is comparable to an ND Miata, extremely light compared to what a stock speed3 should be.) It's very confusing to me that after a full bleed through with fresh fluid that it is still delivering inconsistencies like this. The fluid level has never gone down since both reflaring my brake lines and bleeding the clutch, so I am fairly confident that it is not leaking fluid/air is not entering the lines. I can confirm that when bleeding the clutch I made sure to overfill the reservoir to allow fluid back into the clutch portion. I'm currently trying to live with/adapt to the LuK, despite the fact that the clutch on some drives feels like the same soft/"greasy" engagement that my old 130k mile clutch had, and the rapid increase in frequency of this feeling in the old clutch was pretty much the entire reason I had it replaced. The primary reason I am updating this post though is to definitively put it somewhere online where the topic of discussion is actually pedal feel/engagement and not torque capacity: the LuK clutch and pressure plate, while technically an OEM replacement unit, does not feel anywhere near the same as an actual OEM clutch, and is instead a much lighter pedal with a softer bite and a longer engagement window than an OEM clutch. (after ~750 city miles and ~750 highway miles for break-in) This may be preferred for some people who wish for a lighter clutch in their speeds, but personally I would much prefer the tactility, hard/short bite, and heavier weight of the stock pedal, especially in a unit advertised directly as equivalent to OEM. I would recommend looking for a clutch that is advertised as increasing pedal stiffness and bite slightly over stock if you are looking to re-create the stock pedal feel. It's frustrating as with the LuK, the feel is not particularly confidence inspiring for shifting briskly and assuming it will hold torque, as even the pedal release/return is slower than the OEM unit, with clutch 'dumps' on quick shifts not biting down hard and instead feeling soft and almost a little slippy. (What I mean by this is that the old clutch used to make the car "jerk" or "stab" when a quick shift was done where the revs would need to be matched by the gearbox instead of just letting them fall, like when in boost/WOT, which would signal an immediate, hard grab of the disk onto the flywheel when the pedal was released. The new clutch is more of a "swish" than a "stab" where it feels like either the pressure plate is taking more time to clamp down when the pedal is sharply released, or that the disk is slipping slightly instead of immediately biting down.) Again, hoping mileage will continue to resolve the issue, but not holding my breath. Wish LuK would do better at recreating the factory unit.
