The "What should I do to my Mazdaspeed6 first" thread

[tunersteve]

This thread is designed with the sole purpose of stopping n00bs from asking that infamous question:

"HaI i'm new...I gotz a MS6 -N- I waHnt to m4ke iT teh fa$t3r! H0w do aye?"

Fear not! This thread is designed to be a simple one stop solution to answer this question. My goal is to break it down for those on a budget with recommended setups from members who have been here for a while, including myself. The goal is to provide a cost effective solution and give you noticeable gains, and update this as parts become available in the future.

I encourage any member to PM me experiences/suggestions, but please keep unnecessary chatter to a minimum. I will ask the 6/MS6 moderators to please clean up this thread as they see fit.

When installing these parts, it's important to save your stock parts. Should you need work at the dealer, you can swap most(or all) of them out and take it in to avoid having warranty issues.

NOTE: This is merely an opinion. These are not absolutes set in stone, so please do not jump me for telling you something that you may not agree with 100%. I assume no responsibility if you void your warranty based on suggestions from this list.


BASIC BOLT-ONS
Goal: Simple install, quick gains, cost-effective

==========Engine:==========​

Cold Air Intake/Short Ram Intake
Brands: AEM, Mazdaspeed, Cobb, ProtegeGarage, Corksport, CP-e
Gains: 10-20hp/10-30tq (est.)(depending on model)
Price: $175-400
Install Difficulty: 2/5 (grab a few beers and go to town)

Bypass Valve (BPV)
Brands: Forge, TurboXS, Turbosmart, Greddy, HKS
Gains: Holds boost pressure better than stock
Price: $150-350
Install Difficulty: 1/5 (5 minutes, literally!)

Turbo Inlet Pipe (TIP)
Brands: CP-e, Cobb, RPMC (no longer available), Protege Garage
Gains: 6-7hp, improved turbo response, spool at lower RPMs than stock
Price: $100-200
Install Difficulty: 3/5 (1+ hour, several hard to reach spots)

Top Mount Intercooler (TMIC)
Brands: ETS, TRZ (?), Street Unit, AutoExe
Gains: up to 20hp/tq
Price: $500-800
Install Difficulty: 1/5 (swap the old for the new under the hood, right on top)

Plug 'n' Play tuning solution:
Brands: Cobb
Gains: Depends on setup
Price: $695
Install Difficulty: 1/5 (plug into OBDII port)

==========Exhaust:=========​

Test Pipe (TP)
Brands: Street Unit, Turbo XS, SLS
Gains: 10 hp (est.) smoother turbo response
Price: $100-150
Install Difficulty: 1/5 (4 bolts under car, swap cat out)

Cat Back Exhaust System
Brands: Magnaflow, Corksport, ETS, CP-e
Gains: ??????
Price: $600-1000
Install Difficulty: 2/5 (get under your car and swap some pipes!)

==========Drivetrain:===========​

Rear Motor Mount:
Brands: AWR, Street Unit, CP-e
Price: $80-130
Gains: More fluid shifts, better overall driveability
Install Difficulty: 2/5 (2 bolts, need a jack to hold motor up)

Short Shifter:
Brands: TWM
Price:$130-200 (depending on options, with or without bushings, Stage 1 or 2)
Gains: Shorter shifts between gears, less slop in shifter
Install Difficulty:2/5 (1+ hour, removing some interior trim temporarily)

==========Suspension:==========​

Lowering Springs:
Brands: Eibach, Tein, Tanabe, H&R, RPM, AutoExe
Price: $200-350
Gains: Improved spring rates, lower stance
Install Difficulty: 4/5 (need time, tools, and an alignment when finished)
​

Front Strut Tower Brace (STB)
Brands:Corksport, AutoExe
Gains: Stiffened front suspension
Price: $125-250
Install Difficulty: 2/5 (just a few bolts under the hood)

Rear Sway Bar (RSB):
Brands: AutoExe, Whiteline
Price: $180-350
Gains: Stiffened rear suspension
Install Difficulty: 3/5 (under the car, removal/reinstallation of newer sway bar)​

Q - What should I buy for XXXX amount?

A - Depends on what you're looking for. This is the tricky part. Some people go for all power, where others want a good balance of things. Below are some standard suggestions for people based on several price points; $500, $1000, and $1500.


1 - The $500 'Package'

• AWR motor mount - $80
• Cobb SRI - $190
• SU test pipe - $110
• Forge BPV - $155

Total: $535 (yes, a bit more, but a good start for our cars)

2 - The $1000 'Package'

All of the above plus:

• Whiteline rear sway bar - $180
• H&R springs - $240

3 - The $1500 'Package'

All of the above plus:

• Cobb turbo inlet - $165
• AutoExe STB - $245

At the end of this third set, you'll have a noticeable increase in power, and improved handling as well.


Happy Modding!

added by Wannabe:
For additional information on these and some other mods, please see the Performance Mods Thread

 

[Myriad]

All of the above information is right on the money, but I would like to add just one important thing. While upgrading you need to remember that your dealer most likely hates mods and would love nothing more than to try and void your warranty, so for the love of all things good on this earth SAVE YOUR STOCK PARTS! If you ever have to return to the dealer for any reason you can just swap your stock parts back on and not have to worry about the possible hassles from a grouchy service writer.

 

[MATT DAMOND]

Great write up!

 

[TX Speed 6]

SAVE YOUR STOCK PARTS!

Amen

 

[tunersteve]

Added section mentioning to save stock parts. Keep the ideas flowing guys, and hopefully a mod will sticky this thing!

 

[Atreyu3388]

Just my $.02

IMHO if you modify or tune your car, screw the warranty...minor stuff, do yourself. Absolute catastrophe...then yeah use your warranty. Not that I'm disagreeing with saving your stock parts, by all means SAVE YOUR STOCK PARTS, but dealers are bitches and scam artists no matter what.

When I had tranny issues when I first purchased this car, they tried telling me they didn't want to do the work because there was no rust on my test pipe bolts and that I probably modified the exhaust...NO LIE! (Mind you I had only owned the car for a week at that point)

Just my $.02 though. Great post.

 

[tunersteve]

I tried to address the issues of modding up front, but that's not the main point of this post. If you're looking at this for advice, then you should know the ramifications of what you're doing to your car.

 

[Killer]

TunerSteve is my personal hero for posting this thread. Nice job!!!!

 

[tunersteve]

TunerSteve is my personal hero for posting this thread. Nice job!!!!

Thanks...can you sticky it for me?

 

[Killer]

Thanks...can you sticky it for me?

Will do.

 

[tunersteve]

Thank you! I hope that this can help ease people into answering that all too familiar question on the forums.

 

[Igve2shtz]

Awesome sticky. Now lets hope people actually read it unlike the "my windows wont work" thread.

 

[tunersteve]

I encourage anyone who sees one of those new owner threads to point them here.

 

[sunshineFC]

Excellent post tunersteve!
I have a suggestion, perhaps you can elaborate on this - I am no newb when it comes to modding cars, especially turbos. I have been in the turbo rotary world for many years. However, I am new to the Ms6, and its' incredibly complicated ECU (or PCM or whatever they call them these days). So, can you expand your discussion to include the ECU's capabilities, and at what point in the modification stages (your staged approach) would one need to start considering a COBB/CP-e unit add on (and tuning). For example, can the ECU learn to adjust for a full turbo-back exhaust, and full intake tract upgrade? How about for a hybrid turbo like what CP-e is working on? How about one of the GT turbos? (btw, these are just suggested issues, not specific questions).
Thanks,
-Alex

 

[tunersteve]

Excellent post tunersteve!
I have a suggestion, perhaps you can elaborate on this - I am no neeb when it comes to modding cars, especially turbos. I have been in the turbo rotary world for many years. However, I am new to the Ms6, and its' incredibly complicated ECU (or PCM or whatever they call them these days). So, can you expand your discussion to include the ECU's capabilities, and at what point in the modification stages (your staged approach) would one need to start considering a COBB/CP-e unit add on (and tuning). For example, can the ECU learn to adjust for a full turbo-back exhaust, and full intake tract upgrade? How about for a hybrid turbo like what CP-e is working on? How about one of the GT turbos? (btw, these are just suggested issues, not specific questions).
Thanks,
-Alex

Alex,

I considered posting more info about the piggyback ECUs, but in my opinion, I don't consider them to be a good 'first mod' for our cars. There have been known cars to put out great numbers with merely bolt ons and no tuning done. Am I saying that an AP or piggyback isn't worth it? No, not at all. I just wouldn't recommend that until you've got at least this list covered and maybe some more stuff to cover as well.

Your best bet to let the ECU relearn any mods is to pull the neg. terminal of the battery, then drive a few hundred miles or about a week and let your long term fuel trims settle down a bit.

 

[tunersteve]

Search! There are several vendors on here that sell the. Just find one for the MS3 and it will fit the MS6.

 

[Myriad]

okay so where can i find a cobb turbo inlet?

The ms6 and ms3 have the same engine. Any parts that attach to the engine, but don't attach to the body can be used on either vehicle. A lot of the new parts are just being put in the ms3 sections of the vendors sites since that is where they seem to be making most of their sales.

Examples of parts that may be listed in the ms3 section, but will work on the ms6 since they only attach to the engine:
-Inlet pipes
-Top mount intercoolers (TMIC)
-SRIs (mounting points may need to be modified)

Examples of parts that are not interchangeable between the cars since they attach to the body and motor:
-Motor mounts
-CAIs
-Front mount intercoolers (FMIC)

If you know a part is out there and don't see it in the vendor's ms6 section, you can always check the ms3 section since it might also be there.

 

[speed6lukasz]

hey so i just purchased my first mazda however its not my first turboed car.....oki anywayz you say that returning parts to stock like the cai, and bov will fool the dealers. However, dont they look at your ecu and map...or w.e and dont they see more power gains than before.?

 

[jeremygale03]

Fantastic write up! I signed up today after buying an 06 speed6 sport less than a week ago. I assumed I would be a noob for a while, and at least this thread helped me to not ask some stupid ass questions before hand. Brilliant work on the suggestions and "price packages" you recommended. This means a lot to us new guys.

 

[tunersteve]

I just read this a week or so ago, and there are so many new items on the market that should be added that it's worth a revision. I will try to get to it within the week, but keep an eye out for it.