Intro: New '09 MS3 Sport owner

[BillTheCat]

Greetings...

Last night, I traded in my nicely modded 2005 MINI Cooper S for an '09 Mazdaspeed3 Sport. Metropolitan Grey Mica, no other options. Quite a long & winding road of test drives & research, followed by a twist of fate led me to commit to the MS3.

Let me start by saying that I ADORE my MCS. It's modded for both increased power & improved handling. I carve up the Tail of the Dragon at Deal's Gap with the best of them. Sport bikes on the Dragon often pull over to let me by... hehheh. But MINIs tend to encounter reliability issues as you approach 100k. I had 75k on the odo & 2 years of payments left. SO I decided to trade in & get an extended warranty on the next ride.

When I first started searching, I was looking at the MS3, VW GTI, VW R32, WRX, WRX STi, Lancer Evo X... basically anything small & quick. Since I am also in the process of attempting to find & buy a half decent house, I quickly ruled out anything over $25-26k.

At first, I was not taken by the MS3's body lines. I was jealous of my friend's MS6, frankly. Not so much for AWD, but for the aesthetics.

After a lot of research & a few test drives, I decided to go CHEAP & compromise on performance. I settled on a new '09 Scion xB. In order to get one with a 5-speed, though, I had to ORDER it. So I ordered & waited. And waited. And waited. A week after my promised delivery date, the excuses were flowing liberally. After seriously considering taking an MS3 for a test drive for several days, I bit the bullet last night & went to my nearest Mazda dealer.

And fell in love. The MS3 may be a notch below a MINI for handling, but the power is instantly addicting. The only car I have owned that was this much fun off the line was a heavily modded MKIII Toyota Supra (450hp) that was NOT fun in the twisties. (Would've been great for drifting, though) The MS3 feels like I could go autocrossing or go up to Deal's Gap with the MINIs next May & hold my own.

The dealer only had 4 MS3's in stock. 2 GT's, 2 Sports. Since I DO need to be somewhat responsible with my $$$, I went for Sport & had a choice of the Metropolitan Grey Mica or the Crystal White Pearl Mica. Fortunately for me, the Grey was my first color choice anyhow.

I was wondering if I could work a deal that would make sense from a financial standpoint, but it all worked out & I drove the MS3 home. Less than 100 miles on the odo now, but I am thoroughly impressed so far.

The Scion salesman had been using mostly e-mail to communicate with me, I suspect as a way of avoiding the uncomfortable phone conversations involved with repeatedly letting me down. So I informed him of my purchase via e-mail as well. His entire response? "Mazda? Good choice."

Frankly, I haven't driven a naturally aspirated car in 12 years or so, and I am tickled pink to be back in a turbo. (MCS is supercharged) Anticipating a LOT of fun miles in my near future.

I'll be hanging out on these forums to read & learn, probably asking questions from time to time, especially when it comes time to research mods of all types.

Oh, and I work nights, sleep days... haven't had a chance to snap pics yet. Will try to do so this weekend when I spend the entire weekend at Disney with 200 MINI Coopers. Hope to post some pics by Monday.

-Bill

[Je5ter]

Rear motor mount and intake, DO IT NOW!

[Silver Ecstasy]

Congratulations! That's a great story!

I was in the same boat as you actually. Prior to my MS3, I had already owned a 05 GTO and an 07 TBSS. I was used to gobs of power and didn't want to downgrade too much. So I set my standards really high and aimed for the WRX STI or the Lancer Evo X. My buddy had already ordered the WRX STI so I decided to be different and try to aim for the Evo. But reality started to set in. Payments would be way too high and I really wanted to cash in on the housing crisis. So I decided to scale it back some and looked into the Caliber SRT-4. The car was fun to drive, but the fit and finish was next to terrible. It rattled as if it'd already had 10k miles on it. Plus, with no LSD, the car would torque steer VIOLENTLY. I had already sat in the MS3 in the dealership and didn't think i'd like it but I coerced the salesperson to let me drive it. He was apprehensive because it was cold and the summer tires may not provide good traction, but I assured him I was only interested in driving, not hauling ass for the first time. As you, I fell in love, and the rest is history.

Must Do Mods:

Shifter bushings
Rear Motor Mount

The rest are if you really feel like it:

Short shifter
Some kind of intake
Some kind of data logging/boost monitor
Exhaust is sorta unnecessary, and can lead to a smoking turbo from oil leaks

Try your hardest to search first, they will be quick to strike you down for asking a question that has repeatedly been posted atleast once a week since the 08.5 and 09 MS3's became available.

[SKiZZ]

Rear motor mount and intake, DO IT NOW!

2009's Still have that problem?

[ezrally]

Interesting- we just traded in our beloved '03 MCS on a met grey GT too.
It was my wife's, and she wasn't too happy w the idea as the MINI has its own style as far as looks and tracking the car from the factory and stuff.
But, it was starting to rust under the rear tail light (was fixed under warranty) and we needed a four door.
And the air cond. hose failed which was 1k+ to fix.
The MS3 it a huge car compared to a MINI.
If I didn't have a previous Mazda GTX, and the 3 wasn't boosted, we would have gotten a WRX or similar.
Good choice w a MS3 I think.

[CWPspeed3]

2009's Still have that problem?

Its not the problem of the mount failing and engine falling out like the early 07's but the stock mount is real sloppy and theres a lot of engine movement, I went trz poly and love it, huge improvement.

[coololddude]

good choice. i also had looked at minis & everything else. the mini dealers had the attitude "if you are willing to pay the ridiculous price, we might sell you one" i liked the scion with the trd package, but didn't want a gutless wonder. (compared to the MS3) i test drove the MS3 last just to say i had. all i can say is you can drive the MS3 as slow as the others, but you cannot drive the others as FAST as the MS3. ZOWEEEEEE!!

[skeeter149]

get the mount it helps with the sloppiness of the stocker and helps keep the power to the wheels. i did it at 1k miles and i could tell the difference first drive. well enjoy the mgm, i also have a mgm gt. great car welcome aboard and enjoy.

[Nismothecat]

Nice enjoy your purchase. i test drove a GTO and S2000 but ended up with a MS3.

BTW nice name!!

[saranya]

you'll need better sway bars and springs....you just might be surprised how good the handling is compared to ur old mini

[///M Compact]

I sure wish I'd known, I'd have traded you even.
Win/Win!

[chief_wiggum]

Congrats and welcome -- you did choose the best color. I'll add TMW shifter bushings to the mod list. They're cheap, easy to install and take a lot of the slop out of the shift.

[BillTheCat]

Thanks for the warm welcome. Sorry I couldn't repond sooner, but I was out of town with the MINIs this weekend & the hotel where we staged our event wanted $10 PER DAY for internet access, so I went off the grid. Not that I don't have the money to spend, more on principle- most hotels don't charge at all, and I can't see justifying more than maybe $4.95 /day, maybe.

I will absolutely do my best to search for answers rather than just start blurting out questions. I'm one of the senior statesmen of the MINI community, so I know what it's like to read the same tired old questions dozens of times a year.

I had read a little about the motor mounts, but wasn't aware the problem still existed. Will have to look into that.

I can already tell I'm going to want to replace the shifter bushings. I'll do some searching for brands/sources, but if anyone feels like dropping a link, I won't complain. ***Edit: Just ordered them from TWM***

And being the control freak I am, I really want to add a boost gauge, and I wouldn't mind maybe just going all out for data logging, etc. Maybe do a carputer in place of the stock stereo. I understand there are kits to replace the stereo fascia & allow a standard DIN/Double DIN stereo application.

This is the most powerful car I have owned since I blew up my ~500hp MKIII Supra Turbo for the final time back in 2000 or so. I keep repeating my mantra "I don't need to mod, I don't need to mod" over & over. I figure MAYBE some suspension upgrades, then some sort of stereo/carputer/datalogger/nav, etc. and then I need to behave myself.

Yeah.

[Silver Ecstasy]

The motor mount, and the motor mount issue are really two seperate topics. Just like boost/fuel cut and losing boost after 5500 rpms are two different things.

The motor mount is still soft, to reduce NVH. It contributes to sloppier shifts and having less control of the engine. Replacing it with a stiffer motor mount helps with shifting and throttle control. The motor mount issue was that they were breaking in the past and people were dropping motors. THAT does not happen anymore.

Boost/Fuel cut is when the car is hesitating while building boost. You will not be able to go into redline with boost. The car is programmed to close the throttle body 30% and you lose all 15psi after 5500rpms. So it's a good idea to keep your shifts between 5500 and 6000 to time your shifts right.

If you really want a slick tv/carputer setup, check this out:
http://www.caradvanced.com/products/Mazda3-7%22-Flip-Up-LCD-Screen-Monitorized.html

It's basically a replica designed how our OEM Navigation unit would function. The only thing i'll mention I do not like about this setup is the screen resolution is extremely low (something like 480x234p, not even 480i like a tube tv), and it's NTSC, so since everything is switching to ATSC on February 09, you won't be able to use a tv antenna to pull in tv. You'll have to get a gay converter box.

[BillTheCat]

You'll have to get a gay converter box.

You get that from the Catholic Church? BWAAAHAHAHAAAAA!!!! Just kidding, but I couldn't pass it up.

Thanks for the info. Since the single biggest reason I bought a new car at all was warranty/reliability, I will have to weigh warranty consequences of any & all mods. I figure stereo & gauges/dataloggers really can't be blamed for much of anything. And who's ever going to notice a motor mount?

Oddly enough, 04-06 MINIs had a liquid filled motor mount that broke on 80-90% of cars within the 50k warranty... here I go again with the motor mounts. lol Seriously, I can appreciate the upgrade of the stiffer mount even if the newer factory piece isn't prone to breakage.

[Silver Ecstasy]

Yeah you're right, I left myself open to that one. Well played sir!

Data logging isn't a crime. So you could always get a Dashhawk. The tech support team for Dashhawk at MSD Ignition recently got canned, so they're designing the Dashhawk to be more user friendly and more advanced. So you may want to just wait and enjoy the car in the meantime.

Or, they have programs that data log via software and OBDII connectors. I can't remember the name of it exactly but someone on here posted it.

[SKiZZ]

The motor mount, and the motor mount issue are really two seperate topics. Just like boost/fuel cut and losing boost after 5500 rpms are two different things.

The motor mount is still soft, to reduce NVH. It contributes to sloppier shifts and having less control of the engine. Replacing it with a stiffer motor mount helps with shifting and throttle control. The motor mount issue was that they were breaking in the past and people were dropping motors. THAT does not happen anymore.

Boost/Fuel cut is when the car is hesitating while building boost. You will not be able to go into redline with boost. The car is programmed to close the throttle body 30% and you lose all 15psi after 5500rpms. So it's a good idea to keep your shifts between 5500 and 6000 to time your shifts right.

If you really want a slick tv/carputer setup, check this out:
http://www.caradvanced.com/products/Mazda3-7%22-Flip-Up-LCD-Screen-Monitorized.html

It's basically a replica designed how our OEM Navigation unit would function. The only thing i'll mention I do not like about this setup is the screen resolution is extremely low (something like 480x234p, not even 480i like a tube tv), and it's NTSC, so since everything is switching to ATSC on February 09, you won't be able to use a tv antenna to pull in tv. You'll have to get a gay converter box.

Another option.

http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2685528/13

[BillTheCat]

That's a very slick install, and looks like quite a nice system. So many options, possibilities.. gonna have to look at cost, install time & difficulty, etc. and see what'll work best.

Thanks for the link---gonna bookmark that!

[Silver Ecstasy]

Bookmarked as well, that is an extremely clean setup. Complex, but clean!

[SKiZZ]

This looks awesome as well.

http://www.caradvanced.com/products/Mazda3-Screen-with-Touch-screen%2C-GPS%2C-DVD-player%2C-bluetooh%2C-Ipod.html

Wish there were reviews and or a video of it.

I think for the rear though, I'm going to go with the JL stealthbox, since it raises the trunk floor up a few inches, that will give a clearence for add on boxes and a neater install. All while retaining your spare tire, BONUS.