For all those worried About going BOOM!

[bigdaddy]

This is the second or third mazdaspeed 6 that I have found with 75,000 or more miles. This guy has almost 90,000 miles and a few
minimal mods....

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/2006-Mazdaspeed6-Mazda-6-Speed-AWD-TURBO-mazdaspeed_W0QQitemZ300366095108QQcmdZViewItemQQpt ZUS_Cars_Trucks?hash=item45ef36e304#ht_790wt_948

[SubieKiller3]

IMO its really all about how you treat/drive the car that depends how long it will last you.

[nickster]

IMO its really all about how you treat/drive the car that depends how long it will last you.

Agreed... my dad had an 83 FORD F150 that lasted him until 2003. The only reason he got rid of it was because of the rust around the front windshield that allowed water to get in the truck. If it wasn't for that, I'm sure he'd still have it because it ran great.

[JCell]

yep, anything will last a long time if its build properly and driven with care

[bigdaddy]

Yeah, I agree, it's just all these guys are freaking out
about how long thier motors will last. It's mostly because these guys probably
drive them hard when cold, don't maintain them,
and mod them like crazy. It's nice to see one of these cars with close
to 100k on it

[08cosmic3]

Factory freak.

[bigdaddy]

Factory freak.

proud of it!

[smoke_31]

Yeah, I agree, it's just all these guys are freaking out
about how long thier motors will last. It's mostly because these guys probably
drive them hard when cold, don't maintain them,
and mod them like crazy. It's nice to see one of these cars with close
to 100k on it

I blew my engine. It always received a good warm up before MOVING, received regular maintenance from MAZDA and had an intake/TBE/BPV/Cobb AP.

I think the most common factor among the blown engines is the Cobb AP or similar off the shelf engine map. I have been running my car with the same mods minus the Cobb AP since I got it back and it has been bullet proof.

I think bolt ons are fine. If you want to make more power/consistent power or add any serious mods, you should find someone who can make a custom tune. Avoid OTS maps at all costs.

I believe that many of the "stock setups" that have blown were either negligence on the owners part (ie: lack of maintenance, etc) or they aren't telling the whole truth. Prove me wrong if you disagree.

In short, I blame most of the blown engines on the after market world, and peoples lack of understanding about how the car reacts to playing around with it. I was one of these people.

Bring on the flaming :)

[bigdaddy]

I blew my engine. It always received a good warm up before MOVING, received regular maintenance from MAZDA and had an intake/TBE/BPV/Cobb AP.

I think the most common factor among the blown engines is the Cobb AP or similar off the shelf engine map. I have been running my car with the same mods minus the Cobb AP since I got it back and it has been bullet proof.

I think bolt ons are fine. If you want to make more power/consistent power or add any serious mods, you should find someone who can make a custom tune. Avoid OTS maps at all costs.

I believe that many of the "stock setups" that have blown were either negligence on the owners part (ie: lack of maintenance, etc) or they aren't telling the whole truth. Prove me wrong if you disagree.

In short, I blame most of the blown engines on the after market world, and peoples lack of understanding about how the car reacts to playing around with it. I was one of these people.

Bring on the flaming :)
I agree with you. Most people on this forum do take care of their cars, but I think that the most common recipe for a blown engine is an upgraded ECU. These cars were designed to run 15.6 PSI of boost. Messing with boost pressure is a recipe for disaster. When I talk of car care, I mean, for example, that I have seen a vid on youtube where the coolant temp. isnt even at the C, and the guy is WOT up to 5.5k, thats no good for a car, not to mention a turbo car. Here's the link, look at the temp. gauge when he turns in the beginning...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HmBDjC9QDTw&feature=related

[nickster]

I agree with you. Most people on this forum do take care of their cars, but I think that the most common recipe for a blown engine is an upgraded ECU. These cars were designed to run 15.6 PSI of boost. Messing with boost pressure is a recipe for disaster. When I talk of car care, I mean, for example, that I have seen a vid on youtube where the coolant temp. isnt even at the C, and the guy is WOT up to 5.5k, thats no good for a car, not to mention a turbo car. Here's the link, look at the temp. gauge when he turns in the beginning...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HmBDjC9QDTw&feature=related

And then when he blows it, he'll post a thread asking "any one know what happened?, can you point me to the right How-To section?"

[coyfish]

I agree the tuning is a common denominator of many blown engines. Mainly the AP and its off the shelf maps. I have my AP still uninstalled because I won't use it without a custom tune.


As for the guy in the video above my post . . . he got rid of his car due to speeding tickets :). Figures. I feel bad to the person who picked up that ticking time bomb..

[Babyface13]

I have 68k on my car and am fully bolted minus the manifold. I also have been running the Cobb AP with OTS maps. I have had no problems out of my car at all. I think the problem with the aftermarket ECU tunning solutions and popped motors is due to people being outside the required mod window for specific maps. I mean I have not see a cobb map ( OTS) that calls for a test pipe, exhaust manifold of even an aftermarket BPV for that matter. Stay within the windows, dont skinp on the required parts and maintain it properly and you should be fine with this car. Thats all just my opinion tho as I think people freak out to much about the blown motor issue. ALL TYPES OF CARS HAVE BLOWN MOTORS we are not the lone rangers.


<-- putting on my fire suit!

[bigdaddy]

One of the other things is the fact that most people that start these threads are new users. This means that they start the thread after the engine blows to look for advice. That is why it seems there is such an alarming number of people on this forum that have this issue

[08cosmic3]

There were more cars blowing before the AP, bolting without tuning.

[kvndoom]

I have 68k on my car and am fully bolted minus the manifold. I also have been running the Cobb AP with OTS maps. I have had no problems out of my car at all. I think the problem with the aftermarket ECU tunning solutions and popped motors is due to people being outside the required mod window for specific maps. I mean I have not see a cobb map ( OTS) that calls for a test pipe, exhaust manifold of even an aftermarket BPV for that matter. Stay within the windows, dont skinp on the required parts and maintain it properly and you should be fine with this car. Thats all just my opinion tho as I think people freak out to much about the blown motor issue. ALL TYPES OF CARS HAVE BLOWN MOTORS we are not the lone rangers.


<-- putting on my fire suit!

I like your fire suit. ;)

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b209/kvndoom/fyr.jpg

[chufa]

Humm, where are the flames?

[speed3guy]

I agree with you. Most people on this forum do take care of their cars, but I think that the most common recipe for a blown engine is an upgraded ECU. These cars were designed to run 15.6 PSI of boost. Messing with boost pressure is a recipe for disaster. When I talk of car care, I mean, for example, that I have seen a vid on youtube where the coolant temp. isnt even at the C, and the guy is WOT up to 5.5k, thats no good for a car, not to mention a turbo car. Here's the link, look at the temp. gauge when he turns in the beginning...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HmBDjC9QDTw&feature=related

That dude whoever it is, is just a plain straight out idiot!! Car not even warmed... camera in one hand.... shifting and steering with the other hand... flying though a neighborhood!!! You can just tell the car is being worked hard just by listening to the RPMs!! But he prolly thought he was so cool after making this video lol.

[08cosmic3]

I blew my engine. It always received a good warm up before MOVING, received regular maintenance from MAZDA and had an intake/TBE/BPV/Cobb AP.

I think the most common factor among the blown engines is the Cobb AP or similar off the shelf engine map. I have been running my car with the same mods minus the Cobb AP since I got it back and it has been bullet proof.

I think bolt ons are fine. If you want to make more power/consistent power or add any serious mods, you should find someone who can make a custom tune. Avoid OTS maps at all costs.

I believe that many of the "stock setups" that have blown were either negligence on the owners part (ie: lack of maintenance, etc) or they aren't telling the whole truth. Prove me wrong if you disagree.

In short, I blame most of the blown engines on the after market world, and peoples lack of understanding about how the car reacts to playing around with it. I was one of these people.

Bring on the flaming :)

How did your engine blow? WOT, Partial throttle, Loaded at low RPM, Idling at a intersection, Sitting in the drive turned off? Be honest, it is important to the rest of us.

[Saskatchewan17]

I'd agree that it is the OTS maps that cause some of the blowing up... that and just dumb tuning (tuning for too much boost, not knowing what you're doing, ect). Some people just run Cobb OTS maps with parts that the maps don't call for (catless DP, aftermarket BOV, upgraded TMICs, and other non-cobb parts). The Cobb maps are not set for these parameters and therefore it makes an unstable and unsafe tune. Some people have had luck with these maps and non-Cobb (or "non OTS map") parts, but I believe their cars are ticking timebombs...
This combined with driving situations that put excess load on the motor can be hazardous. That is what I believe blows a good amount of motors. But... there are many, many other factors to consider and that is just a slice of the proverbial pie.

[hugador]

you all need to stop worrying lol

[bigdaddy]

you all need to stop worrying lol

you need to start worrying...lol


just bustin your nuts man

[bigdaddy]

but in all seriousness, people really shouldn't worry so much. Take care of your car, dont mod like crazy without experience, and if you worry this much, get off the forums!

[hyperpm]

Based on my commute, I should reach 100k miles in 3 years. Logged 25k miles my first year and do my own maintenance. 0 problems so far.

[08cosmic3]

If I blow, I blow. I bought this car to have fun driving and I'm not going to worry too much about it. I do monitor all the time with my AP and every critical perameter looks good. AF's in low 11's, Fuel pump hold 1600+ psi with brief momentary dips into the 1500's. LTFT is -5 at idle -1 at light cruise and +1 in throttle. Wastegate Duty (%)
is great and almost no knock. Boosting 18 psi avg. Missing anything?

[smoke_31]

How did your engine blow? WOT, Partial throttle, Loaded at low RPM, Idling at a intersection, Sitting in the drive turned off? Be honest, it is important to the rest of us.

I took off from a light and then punched it through 2nd gear while it was cool outside (just above freezing). I heard a huge bang that sounded almost like a huge backfire. The car drove fine after that and I didn't notice any performance loss. I did however start feeling a pulsing in the clutch pedal at the friction point. I believe this is the initial incident. Mods at the time included a Cobb SRI and a Cobb AP running the Stage1+SF tune.

The following summer (probably 6 months later) I was being a little aggressive down the highway, in and out of revs. When I pulled in to the slow lane and shifted in to 5th gear from 4th, boom. I saw a huge cloud of smoke and parts drifting down the highway behind me. My revs never got higher than 6000RPM.

Leading up to the blown engine, I felt a pulsing in my clutch pedal which Mazda wrote off as a bad clutch and refused to replace under warranty (wear item and car was at 60 000km). I have since found several threads which report this phenomenon before these engines fail. I am still running the same clutch I was before the incident so that wasn't the issue.

Mods at the time included a Cobb SRI and CP-E turbo back exhaust. I also had a Cobb Access Port running the Stage2+SF tune.

[coololddude]

I think you should never mod, always drive the speed limit, and eat your vegetables.

[smoke_31]

I think you should never mod, always drive the speed limit, and eat your vegetables.

(ban)

[Antonio DiMarco]

[QUOTE=smoke_31;4950844]I took off from a light and then punched it through 2nd gear while it was cool outside (just above freezing). I heard a huge bang that sounded almost like a huge backfire. The car drove fine after that and I didn't notice any performance loss. I did however start feeling a pulsing in the clutch pedal at the friction point. I believe this is the initial incident. Mods at the time included a Cobb SRI and a Cobb AP running the Stage1+SF tune.[QUOTE]

Did you ever follow up on this first incident. It sounds like you waited 6 months?

[smoke_31]

I went to Mazda and told them what happened and told them about the clutch pulsing later that day. They said it was just the clutch going and that they would not do anything about it because it is a wear item. I told them that it was likely something more serious but they denied it. I also had uninstalled
my AP after it happened because I knew Mazda would void my warranty with the AP installed. I did end up getting my engine warrantied. I was very lucky.

Edit

Sorry about the odd formatting. I am getting iPwned.

[meicalnissyen]

That dude whoever it is, is just a plain straight out idiot!! Car not even warmed... camera in one hand.... shifting and steering with the other hand... flying though a neighborhood!!! You can just tell the car is being worked hard just by listening to the RPMs!! But he prolly thought he was so cool after making this video lol.

+1

residential racing = jackass

[destrux]

I'm just driving mine and not worrying about it. I just try to treat the car right and hope that it will treat me right like all my other cars have done. No hacked up mods, no poorly installed mods, and keep up with the maintainance.

[SallySpeed3]

I came across this thread the other day and I must say it has me pretty scared cause I'm planning on upgrading my downpipe and also getting the AP for christmas. I even had a nightmare last night that I blew my engine on the highway cause I was flooring it in 6th gear. Regardless, I'm still going to mod but I'll definitely be mindful about what gear I'm in while boosting.

[8.5MS3]

I came across this thread the other day and I must say it has me pretty scared cause I'm planning on upgrading my downpipe and also getting the AP for christmas. I even had a nightmare last night that I blew my engine on the highway cause I was flooring it in 6th gear. Regardless, I'm still going to mod but I'll definitely be mindful about what gear I'm in while boosting.

stop being such a worry wart lol. everything is exaggerated on the forums. mod correctly, take care of the car, dont be an ass and maintain it properly and youll be fine. make sure you dont cheap out and run an OTS map. spend the cash and get a protune from a reputable shop. you will get more power and be safer that way.

[SallySpeed3]

spend the cash and get a protune from a reputable shop. you will get more power and be safer that way.

Well I had planned on getting it professionally tuned down the road but won't have the money for that right away. I had thought about only running a Stage 1 map at first instead of Stage 2 to play it safe.

[smoke_31]

... Dont cheap out and run an ots map ...

qft