Ferdball
06-11-2007, 01:16 AM
I know this has been posted before, but it hasn't ever been a slam dunk. So I thought I'd add my experience to the list.
Purchase
I ordered it online, got a tracking number emailed to me, waited a week. Nothing. I called the company, and they said that it was on hold pending more gaskets. It would have been nice to know this, especially after getting a tracking number and being charged for it. Anyway, three and a half weeks later, I got it.
Me or my mechanic
I got some jackstands and a jack, but was still debating whether to do it myself. I'm glad I chose to have my mechanic do it. I read that others had problems with their installs and eventually sold their pipe. I wanted to make sure it was done right, so my hands were not involved.
Front flange
There is no possible way that the supplied bolts would fit. The bolts used the wrong threads, and were way too short. The front flange has about 3/4" pipe extending through it, and the flange itself is not flat.
We ended up using the existing bolts, but they had to be modified. Originally, we tried to open up the holes on the racepipe's flanges, but that thing is SOLID. We ground the inner lip on the bolt and had to cut 1/3 off of the spring. We used the existing donut, but didn't use a gasket.
Butt dyno
Yup, it helps. It seems like there's more torque and its available sooner. It even makes it easier to shift smoothly. In second gear and wide open throttle, I would hear little chirps all the way up to readline. I was right at the limit of adhesion. It was a warm sunny day, so traction should have not been an issue. I did just rotate front/rear tires though. Not sure if that had anything to do with it. Man this thing pulls like a motha.
Sound
Yeah, its louder, but only a little. Its louder in a good way. It sounds lower and deeper at idle and sounds mean and throaty at wide open throttle.
Level of difficulty
4 out of 5, because the parts don't fit as expected.
Recommendation
I've had the MS CAI installed for a while, and always thought that something was missing. Obviously, the exhaust needed to be opened up a bit. Deleting the second cat is a quick, inexpensive way to do that. Since so much modification was needed to get the front to bolts on, I would not recommend this unless you were prepared to go though all of this also. Somebody mentioned that a muffler shop could fabricate the same thing for about the same price. If you can find a shop to do it, that would be a good alternative.
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a179/ferdball/Mazdaspeed3/IMG_6255.jpg
The front flange looks like this
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a179/ferdball/Mazdaspeed3/IMG_6258.jpg
Another look what the front flange looks like
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a179/ferdball/Mazdaspeed3/IMG_6259.jpg
A pic with the modded bolt installed
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a179/ferdball/Mazdaspeed3/IMG_6262.jpg
Cut the springs
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a179/ferdball/Mazdaspeed3/IMG_6268.jpg
Finished
Keywords: TurboXS, Racepipe, Race Pipe, Test Pipe, 2nd cat, cat delete
Purchase
I ordered it online, got a tracking number emailed to me, waited a week. Nothing. I called the company, and they said that it was on hold pending more gaskets. It would have been nice to know this, especially after getting a tracking number and being charged for it. Anyway, three and a half weeks later, I got it.
Me or my mechanic
I got some jackstands and a jack, but was still debating whether to do it myself. I'm glad I chose to have my mechanic do it. I read that others had problems with their installs and eventually sold their pipe. I wanted to make sure it was done right, so my hands were not involved.
Front flange
There is no possible way that the supplied bolts would fit. The bolts used the wrong threads, and were way too short. The front flange has about 3/4" pipe extending through it, and the flange itself is not flat.
We ended up using the existing bolts, but they had to be modified. Originally, we tried to open up the holes on the racepipe's flanges, but that thing is SOLID. We ground the inner lip on the bolt and had to cut 1/3 off of the spring. We used the existing donut, but didn't use a gasket.
Butt dyno
Yup, it helps. It seems like there's more torque and its available sooner. It even makes it easier to shift smoothly. In second gear and wide open throttle, I would hear little chirps all the way up to readline. I was right at the limit of adhesion. It was a warm sunny day, so traction should have not been an issue. I did just rotate front/rear tires though. Not sure if that had anything to do with it. Man this thing pulls like a motha.
Sound
Yeah, its louder, but only a little. Its louder in a good way. It sounds lower and deeper at idle and sounds mean and throaty at wide open throttle.
Level of difficulty
4 out of 5, because the parts don't fit as expected.
Recommendation
I've had the MS CAI installed for a while, and always thought that something was missing. Obviously, the exhaust needed to be opened up a bit. Deleting the second cat is a quick, inexpensive way to do that. Since so much modification was needed to get the front to bolts on, I would not recommend this unless you were prepared to go though all of this also. Somebody mentioned that a muffler shop could fabricate the same thing for about the same price. If you can find a shop to do it, that would be a good alternative.
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a179/ferdball/Mazdaspeed3/IMG_6255.jpg
The front flange looks like this
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a179/ferdball/Mazdaspeed3/IMG_6258.jpg
Another look what the front flange looks like
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a179/ferdball/Mazdaspeed3/IMG_6259.jpg
A pic with the modded bolt installed
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a179/ferdball/Mazdaspeed3/IMG_6262.jpg
Cut the springs
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a179/ferdball/Mazdaspeed3/IMG_6268.jpg
Finished
Keywords: TurboXS, Racepipe, Race Pipe, Test Pipe, 2nd cat, cat delete