Ars3nal3432
Member
- :
- Mazda/ 2016.5 CX-5 2.5L/ Sport
Hi everyone. New Mazda owner here. Im leasing a 2016.5 Meteor Grey Cx-5 sport with the 2.5L engine. Living in Southern California I couldn't justify the need for AWD. The last car I had was an FR-S so needless to say this was a big difference, especially in height. I love the way the CX- 5 drives. It seems like a lot of thought went into this vehicle and Im hard pressed on finding any major negatives with the car.
If you dont want to read my novel, heres an overview of my mods:
Racing Beat Power Pulse Exhaust ( muffler )
35% tint all around
OEM 17 inch plasti dipped with Anthracite grey ( barrel and outside )
LED DRLs 5500K
LED interior lights
Plasti dipped exhaust tips and badges with Anthracite grey
Hood edge protector
After giving it a nice wax, I de-badged the trunk and that began to open a can of worms.
Next on my hit list was the exhaust. I initially thought about putting bolt on tips however I quickly decided that I couldn't live with myself if one of them fell off on the freeway and hurt someone. So I started looking into exhaust. The cork sport was very appealing. However, a lack of videos with the 2.5 and the general consensus that Racing beat power pulse was a quieter exhaust, I went with Racing beat.
I didnt want to wait 1-2 weeks for shipping, nor did I want to pay for shipping. So I took the CX-5 on her maiden voyage and drove to the racing beat head quarters in Anaheim, California. Everyone was very nice there and they seemed to be busy with lots of work. Heres some shots:
I drove home and had the exhaust installed the next day. Yes, I know a monkey could probably install it. But being that it was a lease I didn't want to screw anything up and I don't really have the lift/ tools accessible to me. If there is enough demand I will make a video sound clip of the exhaust.
My FR-S had the TRD racing package with it and the exhaust had a nice tone to it, granted on long trips I needed to wear ear plugs because of the droning. Im really impressed with the Racing Beat power pulse exhaust. If you are expecting the exhaust to sound like a rocket ship. this exhaust is not for you. There is a delicate balance between quite and loud. Below 2500 rpm you barley notice the exhaust and when you step on it you get a great growl. This exhaust has to warm up ( about 15 mins driving time ) before you start to here really notice its tones.
Next I had the windows tinted. 35% all around, lucky for me the sport doesn't come with tint so matching wasn't a problem.
Unfortunately, My lease offer only came with the 17 inch wheels. I personally think the CX-5 looks way better on 19s and I had planned to buy some, but I eventually came to the conclusion that 1.5-2K can be spent or saved elsewhere. So I plasti dipped the rims with an Anthracite grey kit from DYC.com. I took my sweet time with the process. I took the wheels off, cleaned them, painted both the barrel and the outside with 5 coats of color and 5 coats of glossifier. The whole process took about a full day.
On to lighting, I hate the yellow hue of the DRLs so I attempted to install an HID kit from DDM Tuning however all the kits I tried didn't work. I would only get them to work when I flashed the brights. So I switched to LEDs and they work great. I also replaced all the interior lights with LEDs. Personally I think the white light looks os much more elegant than the stock yellow hue.
Next I dipped the badges and the exhaust tips with the same color as the wheels. I know you did what?. Thats right I dipped my exhaust tips so far so good. I will report back if the paint doesn't hold up. I think they look great.
I also have a hood edge protector on the front. Thats it for now Looking for more suggestions. Oh and heres an photo with an R8 for scale.
If you dont want to read my novel, heres an overview of my mods:
Racing Beat Power Pulse Exhaust ( muffler )
35% tint all around
OEM 17 inch plasti dipped with Anthracite grey ( barrel and outside )
LED DRLs 5500K
LED interior lights
Plasti dipped exhaust tips and badges with Anthracite grey
Hood edge protector
After giving it a nice wax, I de-badged the trunk and that began to open a can of worms.
Next on my hit list was the exhaust. I initially thought about putting bolt on tips however I quickly decided that I couldn't live with myself if one of them fell off on the freeway and hurt someone. So I started looking into exhaust. The cork sport was very appealing. However, a lack of videos with the 2.5 and the general consensus that Racing beat power pulse was a quieter exhaust, I went with Racing beat.
I didnt want to wait 1-2 weeks for shipping, nor did I want to pay for shipping. So I took the CX-5 on her maiden voyage and drove to the racing beat head quarters in Anaheim, California. Everyone was very nice there and they seemed to be busy with lots of work. Heres some shots:
I drove home and had the exhaust installed the next day. Yes, I know a monkey could probably install it. But being that it was a lease I didn't want to screw anything up and I don't really have the lift/ tools accessible to me. If there is enough demand I will make a video sound clip of the exhaust.
My FR-S had the TRD racing package with it and the exhaust had a nice tone to it, granted on long trips I needed to wear ear plugs because of the droning. Im really impressed with the Racing Beat power pulse exhaust. If you are expecting the exhaust to sound like a rocket ship. this exhaust is not for you. There is a delicate balance between quite and loud. Below 2500 rpm you barley notice the exhaust and when you step on it you get a great growl. This exhaust has to warm up ( about 15 mins driving time ) before you start to here really notice its tones.
Next I had the windows tinted. 35% all around, lucky for me the sport doesn't come with tint so matching wasn't a problem.
Unfortunately, My lease offer only came with the 17 inch wheels. I personally think the CX-5 looks way better on 19s and I had planned to buy some, but I eventually came to the conclusion that 1.5-2K can be spent or saved elsewhere. So I plasti dipped the rims with an Anthracite grey kit from DYC.com. I took my sweet time with the process. I took the wheels off, cleaned them, painted both the barrel and the outside with 5 coats of color and 5 coats of glossifier. The whole process took about a full day.
On to lighting, I hate the yellow hue of the DRLs so I attempted to install an HID kit from DDM Tuning however all the kits I tried didn't work. I would only get them to work when I flashed the brights. So I switched to LEDs and they work great. I also replaced all the interior lights with LEDs. Personally I think the white light looks os much more elegant than the stock yellow hue.
Next I dipped the badges and the exhaust tips with the same color as the wheels. I know you did what?. Thats right I dipped my exhaust tips so far so good. I will report back if the paint doesn't hold up. I think they look great.
I also have a hood edge protector on the front. Thats it for now Looking for more suggestions. Oh and heres an photo with an R8 for scale.
