Hello everyone I'm Jeff and new to the mazda 5 family, we just picked up our 2014 5 from carvana on the 5th of Oct, it's only been a week and a half and so far we love it, but like any car I own, I can't leave it alone, so looking for ideas, wheel/tire & suspension upgrades, but I'm a big audio nerd so if anybody has some good information on integration and custom installs that's where I want to start, thanks and have a good day everyone.
New to the Mazda5 family
- Thread starter Mr jeff
- Start date
- :
- 2012 MZ5 Sport
Hello and welcome! Mine, too, was supposed to be left alone as a "winter beater", but its just too much fun to drive!
Not a ton of sporty upgrades for the MZ5, but as others will tell you, there are some swappable parts between the Speed3 and our model. I have a build thread with a few items I've swapped out and plans for more, including suspension. You can find some other members who've done these things already for good info, just takes some searching around.
Plenty of intro threads with recommendations from more seasoned members too.
Not a ton of sporty upgrades for the MZ5, but as others will tell you, there are some swappable parts between the Speed3 and our model. I have a build thread with a few items I've swapped out and plans for more, including suspension. You can find some other members who've done these things already for good info, just takes some searching around.
Plenty of intro threads with recommendations from more seasoned members too.
Thank you, I've been looking around and seeing a lot of interesting things already, it's going to take a little time, going to have to get through the holidays first and then I can start playing.
dlarkin_dc
Member
- :
- Mazda 5 2007 Touring
Hi there. 'nother 5 lover here. Late reply, but haven't stopped by in a while.
Sounds wise the head unit's are quite good, mine was Alpine made, and the speaker wiring is good enough - stranded and tinned copper. Swapping out the sh1t stock speakers (oval, paper with a whizzer!) is must do night/day upgrade. If you have the pillar tweeters w/high-pass cap, you can simply pull them off and disconnect them and pop 'em back on. For upgraded head unit, naturally Pioneer/Sony/Alpine are solid choices, most all have very similar power sections. For cost and extra wiring, I didn't bother going with a a dedicated power amp. Mounting a separate amp in the glovebox, where there's a shelf where the navi unit would be, is a good place.
While you have the inner door liners off swapping speakers, slap some deadener (like dynamat) on the inside of the door panels, not much, just a 12"x12" approx cenetred is enough. Make sure it's butyl - not bitumen based. Any extra soft insulation you can swndwich in there when the you put the door liner back on will help too. Rear doors too, as well as the floor of the front foot wells, though heavy all-weather mats do a very good job as well. I sprang for a decent windows tint for the cooling (not a strong point of the 5) and was surprised the impact on the sound, less echoey inside, less coming in thru the glass.
Replace cabing lights with LEDs bulbs made a big difference. The trunk light doesn't take LED lights because of it's switching mechanism :/ Maybe later models don't hve the same issue.
Tires. As you know the handling makes for a fun drive, but it can be an frustrating one with lousy tires. Pirelli and Michelin tires aren't cheap, but at least they last longer.
Sounds wise the head unit's are quite good, mine was Alpine made, and the speaker wiring is good enough - stranded and tinned copper. Swapping out the sh1t stock speakers (oval, paper with a whizzer!) is must do night/day upgrade. If you have the pillar tweeters w/high-pass cap, you can simply pull them off and disconnect them and pop 'em back on. For upgraded head unit, naturally Pioneer/Sony/Alpine are solid choices, most all have very similar power sections. For cost and extra wiring, I didn't bother going with a a dedicated power amp. Mounting a separate amp in the glovebox, where there's a shelf where the navi unit would be, is a good place.
While you have the inner door liners off swapping speakers, slap some deadener (like dynamat) on the inside of the door panels, not much, just a 12"x12" approx cenetred is enough. Make sure it's butyl - not bitumen based. Any extra soft insulation you can swndwich in there when the you put the door liner back on will help too. Rear doors too, as well as the floor of the front foot wells, though heavy all-weather mats do a very good job as well. I sprang for a decent windows tint for the cooling (not a strong point of the 5) and was surprised the impact on the sound, less echoey inside, less coming in thru the glass.
Replace cabing lights with LEDs bulbs made a big difference. The trunk light doesn't take LED lights because of it's switching mechanism :/ Maybe later models don't hve the same issue.
Tires. As you know the handling makes for a fun drive, but it can be an frustrating one with lousy tires. Pirelli and Michelin tires aren't cheap, but at least they last longer.
