New to Mazdaspeeds.....wanted one for a long time

I was able to pick up a 2008 Mazdaspeed 3 back in early July and have been loving it ever since. I test drove a 2nd gen years back and told myself I would get one eventually. I picked this one up from a dealership that had gotten it in on trade and, being a used 4 x 4 truck dealership, they didn't want to really mess with it other than washing it and taking pictures to advertise it. I got an amazing price on it, but knew there was going to be some work involved. During the test drive I noticed the front end "clunk" that I have now learned comes mostly from the sway bar bushings, end links, or top hats on the struts. I replaced all, including full struts and shocks, within the first 2 months, as well as tires. I deduced that somewhere in its life, the front left wheel had come off (at slow speed it appears) and damaged the factory wheel slightly and bent the fender well a little bit. I was able to source some Mazda 6 rims for $175/set and mounted 235/45-18s on them. I was able to fit with some hubcentric spacers up front and it rides great.

I just changed the spark plugs this weekend and of course had to take the intercooler off. I was very surprised, expecting to see a coating of oil inside the IC, but it was bone dry. This car has 163K miles on it and it purrs along and the turbo doesn't seem to be losing its seals yet. Of course, without checking the history of the car, or talking to previous owners, I don't know if anything has been replaced. But, going over the car inside and out, it seems like everything is still factory.

It is not perfect on the outside, with the paint degrading in a few places and some small dings here and there. But first things first, making sure it is a solid daily and commuter, as I work away from home during the week, with my round trip totaling almost 800 miles of highway. it has done the drives flawlessly and I have put almost 10K on the car since the purchase.

I look forward to learning from everyone here as I start my journey with this car.

 

Welcome! I love the color. Enjoy the platform friend.


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Welcome to the forum!

 

Thanks for the edit. I will read the rules more thoroughly next time.

 

Glad you joined man feel free to ask questions if you have any!

 

If no one said it already, join as a member for access to the buy/ sell!! Also, an inexpensive way to support the community


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I am thinking of converting from the factory HIDs to LED headlights. I have been searching the forums, but nothing solid to guide me. I believe I have the touring model because I have the HIDs with the auto leveling and the manual adjuster inside the cab. But I notice that the HIDs jiggle a bit going down rougher roads. I can only believe this is very annoying for my fellow drivers at night. Any help?

 

DRL and fogs should be H8 (DRL) and H11 (fog) but you can get H8 LEDs that fit both I have them and they work wonders.

As for the low beams have a look at which bulb it is (my tech pack is non dtanrd on that) and then just search Amazon for bulb type LED and they should be plug and play, just like swapping a burnt out bulb.

Also make sure you get one with an active fan on the back to prolong the controller life.

 

I have factory HID. I looked into led, and found its better to get an HID upgrade rather than the led. The headlight output is brighter on better HID. I went through https://www.theretrofitsource.com and got better DS2 bulbs. Very happy with the results

 

If your lights are juggling they just aren't mounted securely and changing the bulb won't fix that

 

congrats on the car! any plans for it long term?

 

I had used LED and HID bulbs in different vehicles and think HID is the way to go. LED just doesn't have the projection that the HID bulbs do. They are bright and look bright but they just would not shine down the road as far as I would have liked.

 

I have only been working on wear and tear items. Seems everything is original. Would really like to fully and finally solve the front end clunk and get a decent road suspension on it. I want to source another engine to build on the side, and install if and when needed. I highway commute with the car almost 800 miles a week and it is working great. The trans is getting a little notchy so I changed to the Motorcraft oil that many recommended on here and replaced the leaking pivot shaft seal and breather. I just haven't had much time to look into further upgrades yet. CAI and FMIC will be on the list for sure.