New MSP owner...worried!

[MrDiggler]

I've been lurking about the boards here for a couple of weeks in preparation for my joining the ranks of the other MSP owners. (If I handn't missed my flight this morning I would be on my way back to TN from MO with my Spicy Orange MSP. Now it will be Monday, arrrgghh!)

Although I'm very excited at the prospect of finally owning one of these cars, I'm also worried about what appears to be some poor build quality and execution of Mazda's original plan. Don't forget that with this many people linked together there are things that could be done to get Mazda's attention in a big way. Things like a class-action lawsuit, if it comes to that. I for one plan on holding off on any engine mods until after the warranty period, and am not afraid to raise major hell with the powers that be if mine shows the problems many of you have reported. Regardless, I can't wait to drive this thing. I've never even seen one in person, but as a former 323 GTX owner I knew this is what I wanted from the first time I read about it.
Wish me luck, and I'm glad to be onboard.

[AZMSP]

welcome to the board. i have had my msp since oct, and i am completley in love with it. i dont think you need to worry about anything, if your not going to mod the engine, anything that goes wrong will be covered. any way, enjoy the car:cool:

[DiscreetSpeed]

Originally posted by MrDiggler
I've been lurking about the boards here for a couple of weeks in preparation for my joining the ranks of the other MSP owners. (If I handn't missed my flight this morning I would be on my way back to TN from MO with my Spicy Orange MSP. Now it will be Monday, arrrgghh!)

Although I'm very excited at the prospect of finally owning one of these cars, I'm also worried about what appears to be some poor build quality and execution of Mazda's original plan. Don't forget that with this many people linked together there are things that could be done to get Mazda's attention in a big way. Things like a class-action lawsuit, if it comes to that. I for one plan on holding off on any engine mods until after the warranty period, and am not afraid to raise major hell with the powers that be if mine shows the problems many of you have reported. Regardless, I can't wait to drive this thing. I've never even seen one in person, but as a former 323 GTX owner I knew this is what I wanted from the first time I read about it.
Wish me luck, and I'm glad to be onboard.
rock on there 10" member, lol

[low_psi]

Welcome. I wouldn't worry about the build quality. The motors are dying either from casting problems or overboosting. The casting problem could be present in ANY '03 Protege. All other problems have been addressed by Mazda in some fashion.

I'm not waiting for the warranty to expire when I get mine next year. I'll have 200whp that night! lol

Enjoy the pumpkin :)

[ping]

Welcome, and enjoy! Only things I'd worry about are the noisy suspension (clunks in back, squeaky PU bushings in front) that can great on your nerves a bit. OK, well, that and a radio that likes self-resetting (mine's due, last time it did it was ~ 3 mos ago). Unless you're overboosting (defining "over" as "greater than stock"), the engine should be fine. Maybe I'll spring for some forged internals once my warranty is up ... that, or I'll be picking up something in a 1.8T .

Enjoy!

[oldzoomer]

I think the build quality of my car is great. I've had it 4 months and have only had a couple of issues (flash and clunk). I actually like the fact that the platform the MSP is built on is "mature" because it means there will be a lot fewer problems.
I'm anticipating the MSP will be better than my Maxima and a heck of a lot more fun to drive.
I think a lot of the people complaining in this forum had unreasonable expectations for a modified economy car.

[MrDiggler]

Thanks all. That's making me feel much better. Just sweating it a bit, with all the long threads about the problems people are having, and it sort of pisses me off that Mazda didn't at least build the MSP with the potential for easy power gains. Anyone see the teardown article on the SRT-4's 2.4 liter in SCC? That motor is way over-engineered, and from what I'm hearing the drag teams are getting 800whp on stock internals! Are you listening Mazda? Can you imagine that engine in the MSP platform? Talk about the total package! Too bad Ford bought Mazda and not Chrysler, lol.

I'm sure it would be fun to modify the car, but if I were going to do it (and after warranty is over I will), I'd be tempted to build up a B6T 1.6 like I had in my GTX or even a BPT 1.8 since they were evidently built to handle a lot of boost. They had neat things like oil squirters to keep the pistons cool, etc. Forgive me if I'm off on this one. I'm still rusty with the Mazda stuff. It's been 10 years since my GTX was stolen and I've been out of the loop for a long time.

There are three reasons I'm in no hurry to mod the car:

1) I work in real estate appraisal and cannot afford to have my daily driver down for more than 24 hours at a time or I start losing big money. My job requires daily driving. I have a '91 Escort GT (*cough* "Ford" Protege) as a daily driver now and it could crap out at any moment. If I keep the mileage down on the MSP I'll at least keep it in warranty for about three years and will therefore be able to weasel a rental if the MSP needs a few days at the dealer and the Escort is dead. FWIW, don't underestimate the value of the factory warranty... my 323 GTX's turbo failed at app. 49,800 miles and I got it replaced under warranty! Soon after I worked toward modding the car. Basically, the first 50,000 are free, so why not enjoy the car and wait it out? I don't plan on ever getting rid of the MSP anyway. My hot rod has outlasted 10 years worth of women. I keep good cars and ditch the b**ches.

2) Aftermarket support will only get better over the next couple of years. I for one am willing to wait and see how well the aftermarket matures over the next couple of years. The hell with spending hundreds of dollars and tons of time for my first 10-15 horsepower. That's for the birds. I could sink a lot of money into the MSP only to see better solutions come out soon afterward. Only now am I finding solid R&D on the B6T motor 15 years after it came out, and they are pretty rare these days. The best is yet to come for the MSP.

3) If I want to turn heads, go insanely fast, etc., I can always hop in my hot rod...a '79 10th Anniversary Trans Am with four times the displacement of my MSP. Spend a grand on a stock one and it will get you into the 12's on street tires. I love the progressive shove of a boosted high-revving four-banger, but I also love 550 lb/ft of torque and the ability to lay stripes at 60 mph. For another 3k I can throw an 8-71 blower on it and lay rubber at the current top end for the MSP. It's just so easy with the old iron.

For now I'm just content to listen to everyone elses experiences and learn as much as I can about the potential for the MSP. Believe me, nothing would make me happier than to be able to pull up next to a similar monster-cube muscle car and pull them with the MSP! It looks like that may be at least a couple of years off though.

[chino]

Hey welcome to the boards!


I wouldn't worry too much about the thousands of problems the MSP seems to have when you peruse the boards. Forums have a great way of magnifying problems to the Nth power. This one especially. :D There are lots of us out here with NO problems at all!

As far as aftermarket support increasing over time. It's debatable and we have had some GREAT smaller shop support but don't count on any major help from the BIG BOYS (Greddy, AEM, ETC.) There are not enough of us to even help them break even on any R&D they might spend. That said, there are some great parts out and I am sure more on the way.

And again welcome.

[AGR]

I have had my MAZDASPEED just over a year. I have been running added boost about 9 months (about 10psi). I had a coolant leak fixed. Nothing out of the oridinary. I think they are really nice cars. And; fairly rare.

Since I do not race, I feel I have enough power. For most of the members of this forum, it isn't enough power. I don't care that it doesn't have the hp of the SRT-4. Everything else the 'Speed has is better, as far as I am concerned. :D

My MAZDASPEED is about the only Black Mica MAZDASPEED in West Tennessee.

http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b3dd37b3127cce9500166338b00000001610