What do you think? Balance Shaft Delete Kit?

[619MS3]

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/cto/1137411186.html

Balance shaft delete kit? Anyone know anything about it. And 13k seems a little low....

[Wastegate13]

Just what is sounds like. He removed the balance shaft from the motor.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balance_shaft

That should help explain what they do.

[619MS3]

Just what is sounds like. He removed the balance shaft from the motor.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balance_shaft

That should help explain what they do.

ok that explains what they do. So what does removing them do? do you think that that is the reason for the reduced price, maybe he messed it up?

[squidmotion]

why would they go through all the trouble to remove (or just unhook) the balance shaft on a car that has otherwise been left alone? i would think one could do a lot more useful mods for more hp than that....


i would be wary of this one....

[aaronc7]

lol BSD + 5hp so its 268 now!!! lol

He was probably pretty heavily modded (thus the BSD) and is now back to stock but didnt fuck with the Balance shaft.

[ScratchNSniff]

lol BSD + 5hp so its 268 now!!! lol

He was probably pretty heavily modded (thus the BSD) and is now back to stock but didnt fuck with the Balance shaft.

I actually know quite a few people that have done the BSD and only one of them even has mods...the rest are fairly stock...just because this is done doesn't really mean anything...

[aaronc7]

in the mazdaspeed 3 world, people still have warranties and are NOT eager to do this mod unless they are out of warranty anyways.

You blow your motor and take it to mazda and they see the BS is gone, do you think they are just going to ignore it and give you a brand new engine?

with that said, I took mine out awhile ago, lol

[NCZ13]

yeah i wouldnt look at it if your looking to retain a warranty. mazda wont warranty that car.

[619MS3]

yeah i wouldnt look at it if your looking to retain a warranty. mazda wont warranty that car.

Yea and I guess I am looking for one with a warranty so no go on that one. Awful tempting by that price though

[Wastegate13]

Yea and I guess I am looking for one with a warranty so no go on that one. Awful tempting by that price though


The price would scare me away. Why so low?

If you are a member on the "other" forums, there is an 08 with 14k on it listed at 15800. It has wheels and springs but otherwise is stock, looks gorgeous in pics. It's red and on the East coast though.

[619MS3]

The price would scare me away. Why so low?

If you are a member on the "other" forums, there is an 08 with 14k on it listed at 15800. It has wheels and springs but otherwise is stock, looks gorgeous in pics. It's red and on the East coast though.

Damn that perfect although I cant see my parents being to thrilled with a cross country plane ticket

[J-Villa]

Damn that perfect although I cant see my parents being to thrilled with a cross country plane ticket


For the money your looking to drop on a car, you can get into a nice used GTO or Crossfire SRT6. lol.

To each his own, but as I look back on it. I wish i started with a more capable(RWD) platform. Although, I love my MS3

[skrappyyy]

I don't know if its the lighting but the paint looks off on some of the body panels. If you were local I'd take a look at the paint closely in person.

[Wastegate13]

For the money your looking to drop on a car, you can get into a nice used GTO or Crossfire SRT6. lol.

To each his own, but as I look back on it. I wish i started with a more capable(RWD) platform. Although, I love my MS3

More capable of what? You need to realize that not everyone out there is looking to mod the piss out of their car to make a bazillion HP.

[crossbow]

Better hope he installed the BSD properly!

[J-Villa]

More capable of what? You need to realize that not everyone out there is looking to mod the piss out of their car to make a bazillion HP.

What? Who uses a car for a daily driver? That's what public transportation is for. :dodgy:

[tru-boost]

Boy are you guys missing the point of the BSD mod !! Its not about the small power increase. It fact on many cars that the BS can actually cause premature engine failure. It is driven off o a gear that is heat fused to the crankshaft. It literally about 20 pounds. It puts a shit ton of stress on the crank bearings. Here is a fact for you. EVERY ms 3/6 that has blown an engine still had the BS in the motor. NOT A SINGLE ONE with the BSD mod has blown. You be the judge. My car = no BS !!

[crossbow]

tru-boost,
You might not know this yet, but there has been a confirmed "no balance shaft" death. (Guy was also running a upgraded fuel pump AND meth injection).

Just removing the BS isn't going to make a car bulletproof. If anything it might "help" prevent one of out a possible dozen or so engine failure points.

[GoFast]

Boy are you guys missing the point of the BSD mod !! Its not about the small power increase. It fact on many cars that the BS can actually cause premature engine failure. It is driven off o a gear that is heat fused to the crankshaft. It literally about 20 pounds. It puts a shit ton of stress on the crank bearings. Here is a fact for you. EVERY ms 3/6 that has blown an engine still had the BS in the motor. NOT A SINGLE ONE with the BSD mod has blown. You be the judge. My car = no BS !!


that is kind of a skewed comparo there tru-boost. How many MS 3/6 have doen the BSD mod compared to how many havent?

[NCZ13]

that also has ZERO factual evidence, other than you stating it so.

[619MS3]

that also has ZERO factual evidence, other than you stating it so.

Thanks i agree. The fact that he has it listed for so low and the only mod he has is a BSD definitely feels a little fishy. Makes you wonder about why he did it and the health of his engine.

[tru-boost]

tru-boost,
You might not know this yet, but there has been a confirmed "no balance shaft" death. (Guy was also running a upgraded fuel pump AND meth injection).

Just removing the BS isn't going to make a car bulletproof. If anything it might "help" prevent one of out a possible dozen or so engine failure points.

I have not seen any info on this. Maybe the owner waited too long to do the mod and the damage to the crank bearings was already done. And for the non-believers, there is PLENTY of evidence out there to support what i said. Do some research. The BS plagues the DSM cars badly. Once removed the engines hold a shit load more power reliably. Ask any performance engine builder about it. Truth is the BS does more harm than good. Its only purpose is to absorb driveline vibration. I would rather not have the 20 pound chunk o shit hanging off of my crank.

[Sport6]

Not that I am saying its 100% true but the things I have seen on 6club about the blowups, they have been WITH the BS in place..

[crossbow]

Ya and I'm just pointing out that BSD car's have blown too. Removing the BS is not an end all magical protector of the engine.

Not having a balance shaft is not going to save your engine if you're having detonation issues. (which IMO is the primary cause of most speed engine failures...people not paying attention to knock.)

[hyperpasta]

Here's my two cents and that all it is.....

If your running a 1/4 mile car, I'd dump the shaft in a hurry as Tru Boost has stated. In quick rpm ramp ups the shaft would cause stress or flexing to the crank and BS. Note though that the gear on the Balance Shaft is much larger than the one on the crank to give the crank a mechanical advantage and not load it much.

Now If your road racing, I'd leave the BS in the motor as it kills a huge amount of engine vibrations, which will kill a motor which lives at the upper RPM limit for prolonged time. When I drove my Speed3 at freeway speeds and higher for 1600 miles, I became extremely impressed with the smoothness of the motor. At 60-80mph I could touch the door panels, dash, windows and not detect any vibes. Try this in a mid 70's inline four car or truck!

A lot of major Japanese motorcycle manufacturers have been building high horsepower bikes with balance shafts as they keep the wear down over years of operation and the rider fit during long rides. Like Tru Boost, the 1/4 milers have removed the shafts when it came to 1/4 mile duties...

[Wastegate13]

I have not seen any info on this. Maybe the owner waited too long to do the mod and the damage to the crank bearings was already done. And for the non-believers, there is PLENTY of evidence out there to support what i said. Do some research. The BS plagues the DSM cars badly. Once removed the engines hold a shit load more power reliably. Ask any performance engine builder about it. Truth is the BS does more harm than good. Its only purpose is to absorb driveline vibration. I would rather not have the 20 pound chunk o shit hanging off of my crank.

The reason DSM guys remove the balance shaft is to make timing belt changes easier and faster. There is also a slight oil pressure increase since the rear balance shaft spins off the oil pump gear.

[crossbow]

tru-boost,
Just another FYI. Another Balance shaft deleted motor just blew :(.

[FrequentFlyer]

Boy are you guys missing the point of the BSD mod !! Its not about the small power increase. It fact on many cars that the BS can actually cause premature engine failure. It is driven off o a gear that is heat fused to the crankshaft. It literally about 20 pounds. It puts a shit ton of stress on the crank bearings. Here is a fact for you. EVERY ms 3/6 that has blown an engine still had the BS in the motor. NOT A SINGLE ONE with the BSD mod has blown. You be the judge. My car = no BS !!

The BSD mod has really only been around for a few months and I would say only a handfull of people have pulled the trigger on it. It can't be any more than 50 or so. It's waaaaaaaaay to premature to insinuate that the BSD is the end all/be all to MZR failures given the number of test subjects/number of miles they have put on the car. We have seen it before that there seems to be no rhyme or reason to these failures. Some motors had 10k miles and some had 40k miles. Give it time, you will see more people with the BSD grenade their motors and they will be slightly farther up Shit's Creek without a warranty with the BSD installed.

[ALIEN3T]

Been runnign teh BSD from F2 for almost a year now (also running oil pan baffle). NO problems, Vibrations were minimal. Car runs 7 quarts fo oil. and we have it in a MS3 and my bros MS6. HE has been offering the BSD for a few years and so was cosworth. (focus motors). HE went as far as to call people at Ford and ask why the balance shaft. WEll if you look at a FOrd Ranger 2.3 same motor. JUst no gear or Balance shaft. BEcause its a truck the vibrations are not cared about as much. BUt when going to put the motors int he sedans, there was more vibrations. THe easiest and cheapest solution they came up with. Balance shaft. Was cheaper than redoing the motor.

[Wastegate13]

Been runnign teh BSD from F2 for almost a year now (also running oil pan baffle). NO problems, Vibrations were minimal. Car runs 7 quarts fo oil. and we have it in a MS3 and my bros MS6. HE has been offering the BSD for a few years and so was cosworth. (focus motors). HE went as far as to call people at Ford and ask why the balance shaft. WEll if you look at a FOrd Ranger 2.3 same motor. JUst no gear or Balance shaft. BEcause its a truck the vibrations are not cared about as much. BUt when going to put the motors int he sedans, there was more vibrations. THe easiest and cheapest solution they came up with. Balance shaft. Was cheaper than redoing the motor.

All 4 cylinder motors are inherently unbalanced. Just the nature of the beast, "redoing" the motor would not help anything. That's the entire reason the balance shaft was invented.

[crossbow]

Actually redoing the motor would help. If you're going built, a good engine shop can balance your rotating assembly far more precisely then the factory.

They'd basically "blueprint" your engine to optimal specs...were as the factory has a "range" of spec's the engine can meet, and still be "acceptable".