2007 Mazda3 Sedan vs 2003 Grand Am

[Mallitious]

Quick question, I know this may be a silly question to some but I'm going to ask it anyways. Should my 2007 Mazda3 Sedan 2.3 with 156 horse have any chance at beating my girlfriends Pontiac Grand AM 3.4 170 horse V6 in a race? I tried to beat her last night and she was pulling away from me all the time. I know she has the bigger engine but I thought I might be able to beat her for some reason. Let me know what you guys think. Thanks! :)

[BlackCherry06]

She's got more power down lower in the RPM range, and over 200 ft/lbs of torque. It's unfortunate to say, but that Grand Am will hand you your ass every time.

[Mallitious]

She's got more power down lower in the RPM range, and over 200 ft/lbs of torque. It's unfortunate to say, but that Grand Am will hand you your ass every time.

Sadly I think your right. Maybe I will be able to even the playing field a little more once I add a CAI and an exhaust system. It really hurt to lose to that car, but in my defense. My car kicks her ass in looks, style, and basically everything else but in the motor dept. Thanks for the reply. :)

[Jays07MS3]

Quick question, I know this may be a silly question to some but I'm going to ask it anyways. Should my 2007 Mazda3 Sedan 2.3 with 156 horse beat my girlfriends Pontic Grand AM 3.4 170 horse V6 in a race? I tried to beat her last night and she was pulling away from me all the time. I know she has the bigger engine but I thought I might be able to beat her for some reason. Let me know what you guys think. Thanks! :)

LOL! That gave me a good laugh. Why did you think you could beat her? I know how you feel though. For some reason I always thought I could beat my girlfiends Izuzu Trooper in my 76 Bug just cuz I thought I could shift faster than she could. What did I know, I was 16 at the time LOL!

[Mallitious]

LOL! That gave me a good laugh. Why did you think you could beat her? I know how you feel though. For some reason I always thought I could beat my girlfiends Izuzu Trooper in my 76 Bug just cuz I thought I could shift faster than she could. What did I know, I was 16 at the time LOL!

Well...as I said, I knew it was a silly question but really there wasn't that much in it. She was pulling away slowly but very slowly I might add. I know in a more windy road instead of straight away I could beat her. As I said earlier, I'll throw on a CAI and good exhaust and see what happens after that.

[Falconx84]

or buy an ms3 and you'd pwn it everytime..... by a long shot, lol

[Donas64]

It sukcs having a slow car doesn't it. I hate that my P5 looks better than 70% of cars I see on the road, but that dodge grand caravan in the next lane will smoke me from stoplight to stoplight. I hate that feeling.

[krimsonviper]

What you might want to know, is that after a few hundred miles, it'll correct itself and go right back to stock power. at least thats my understanding or else i would have tossed performance mods when i could afford them

[Falconx84]

^^ incorrect

If you stray too far from stock AFR the comp will try to get it back to stock and any hp gained from leaning out the system *may* be lost

if you lost any benefit from modding the car after only a few hundred miles, then why is there such a big aftermarket for modifications??? Seriously, think about it...

[krimsonviper]

i was talking about the 3 in itself, not all cars. i should have been more specific. from my understanding, the mazda3 corrects itself, and compensates by not opening the throttle as much. something to do with emissions and keeping the engine safe

[tsunami]

then why are people (me included) showing gains on a reg 3 with dynos? my dyno's in particular show that mods improve power and they were done months after install so any "learning" that you guys all of a sudden think the ecu is doing has been covered.

its just a naturally aspirated inline 4, your not going to get to much out of it without upping compression or going with some sort of f/i. its not like a v8 where you toss a cai and an exhaust and bam you have 25-30whp...

[Mallitious]

or buy an ms3 and you'd pwn it everytime..... by a long shot, lol

Lol, that was the route I really wanted to go but sadly going through divorce and courts have stopped me from going that route. I love my Mazda3 though. It may not be the fastest car on the road but as stated in other posts, it sure looks much nicer than most other cars, and I have some goodies that much more expensive cars have like Xenon lights. All in all, I'm really proud and happy to drive my slow little Mazda3! ;)

[fourthmeal]

Next time just make sure there are some curves in the road...

[krimsonviper]

then why are people (me included) showing gains on a reg 3 with dynos? my dyno's in particular show that mods improve power and they were done months after install so any "learning" that you guys all of a sudden think the ecu is doing has been covered.

its just a naturally aspirated inline 4, your not going to get to much out of it without upping compression or going with some sort of f/i. its not like a v8 where you toss a cai and an exhaust and bam you have 25-30whp...

i was always told that modding your mazda3 that over time it will relearn and go back to stock. *scratch this part out, i searched the thread and found what you were saying about it, but i was told that it'll relearn and correct the performance mod*

[iknospd3]

i have an 07 ms3 and my brother has a 02 grand am GT all i know is his head lights kept getting smaller in my rear view on he expy not even close

[BlueWolfCry]

Sadly I think your right. Maybe I will be able to even the playing field a little more once I add a CAI and an exhaust system. It really hurt to lose to that car, but in my defense. My car kicks her ass in looks, style, and basically everything else but in the motor dept. Thanks for the reply. :)

^^haha!! It may be faster, but you're right! The 3 looks hot!