Mazdaspeed OEM Wastegate actuator = $$$$$$$$

I see how it could be argued that the OEM piece is better because it's adjustable but if you set it to 6-7psi then your just spending money. I think that's what most people would want their low boost to be anyways so I'd save the money and go for the cheaper one. IF you set it too high or too low you'd have to take the thing off and set it up again, you know where you stand with the ATP.
 
Allen said:
Yeah, OEM is about 7x the cost of aftermarket... unfortunately, it's not pocket change for me. So, hopefully the ATP isn't crap! Seeing how several folks (knowledgeable ones too) have used it, I feel better taking that risk myself. I should be able to find someone good with cars to help me install it.
Great, now it looks like it's going to get a bit nippy here in Texas... grrrr.


hey if you're near austin i could always help.....
 
My car started hesitating under WOT at 3000-4000 RPM. I took it in today and the dealer is putting in a new WGA!!! (warranty) I thought it was bad gas. I have no engine mods except Firsty's Grounding Kit and a Yellow Top Optima with Custom Alum Battery Cage from E-Bay. I never heard of a WGA until this thread started. Thanks Mazda Forums.

367 (mp3yellow
 
Sspring89 said:
So, how exactly do you adjust the stock WGA? is there just a screw to up the boost, say, 1 psi?

well not reeeally. All you are adjusting is the length of it. If you tighten it, theoretically it'll take more boost to actuate it fully depending on how the stock actuator is.

Actually wait no.. no matter what your wastegate actuator should be open fully by 5.5-6.5 psi (don't know what stock msp is) so if you tighten it to let it boost a little higher, it'll just take longer to open. yeah just get a manual boost controller. Much easier, more precise, etc.
 
That is a much better option, boost controler. It would be too much of a pain in the a to keep taking the actuator off just to get a pound extra or less. I have a MBC and I just set it up higher lower it just takes a few seconds.
 
jmv said:
right, they are not the same because the stock piece is adjustable.... but if they hold very close to the same boost and serve the same purpose, and both are able to be bolted right in, is there really that much problem with going with the cheaper one?? I guess its personal opinion, but it wasn't a super big deal to me. I guess YMMV.

the OEM one just doesn't bolt right in... you have to adjust it to the proper length first before installing it, then testing to see if it's building the correct stock boost... which wouldn't be the same on all setups on a given same length due to manufacturing variations on all sorts of parts... the OEM s*** is NOT pre-adjusted to the correct length from the factory!
 
Kansei said:
I'd say typically the OEM one would probably be of better quality, but well with how unreliable people's wastegate actuators have been.. ugh


the fact that the original ones have been breaking on some people's cars is why mazda came out with an updated part, which shouldn't have problems like the original ones did
 
TheMAN said:
the OEM one just doesn't bolt right in... you have to adjust it to the proper length first before installing it, then testing to see if it's building the correct stock boost... which wouldn't be the same on all setups on a given same length due to manufacturing variations on all sorts of parts... the OEM s*** is NOT pre-adjusted to the correct length from the factory!

thats true. Didn't really think about that. Well, from what i had read about the ATP some people said they saw about 2 psi increase, which i thought might be a little on the high side but still okay. Turns out when i got it it really only put me up 1 psi from when i was bone stock, which to me is just fine. The car feels like maybe it takes just a little more gas to build boost, but that could just be mind tricks from going from the leaking diagprham to a good one.

BTW Edwin, i'm not just trying to straight up disagree with you or anything, just pointing out how this seemed to be the best option for me given the cost.
 
i thought i wrote a how to on replacing the atp wastegate...hmm....

MODS?!?!


oh wait, is on my sig (RTM)
(glare)
 
Thanks for the Waste gate writeup (How To). I would never attempt it! Anyway, my new WGA is installed (dealer warranty) and the the cars power feels so much smoother now. Wow. Do I have to go thru this every 40,000 miles? I wonder if the updated part is better? Oh well. Thanks again!

367 (mp3yellow
 
It seems like I read the ATP WGA had a diaphram made out of a different material than the stocker( supposedly better). I don't know if there's any truth to that, but I thought I would mention it anyways... I don't know about anybody else, but getting the arm of the new WGA on the turbo took longer than anything else for me. I had the WGA bolts off in 10 min..I spent 5 or 6 times the amount of time trying to thread the arm onto the turbo. BTW...did anybody else have to slightly rotate the actuator rod to align it with the turbo's WG flap?
 
ZenProtege said:
It seems like I read the ATP WGA had a diaphram made out of a different material than the stocker( supposedly better). I don't know if there's any truth to that, but I thought I would mention it anyways... I don't know about anybody else, but getting the arm of the new WGA on the turbo took longer than anything else for me. I had the WGA bolts off in 10 min..I spent 5 or 6 times the amount of time trying to thread the arm onto the turbo. BTW...did anybody else have to slightly rotate the actuator rod to align it with the turbo's WG flap?

yeah i had to rotate mine some. My main problem with fitting the rod to the WG flap was that it was like, a millimeter too short when in the closed position. So i jacked with it some, and then realized i had an old pump style bicycle tire pump sitting there in the garage.... hooked that to the vac line on the WGA, had someone give it a pump while i was under the car guiding it on to the wastegate. Worked like a charm.
 
Hopefully, I get the part next week and weather won't turn ugly so that I can work on it before the New Year comes around. Can't wait to keep up with the cars on the road again..... (ughdance)
 
Case closed! (hopefully)

Thanks for all the help here on the forum. Thanks to some cool friends who spent the time to help me install the wastegate actuator (also thx to jmv for offering to help out and JDM Sam for phone support).... also want to thank my producer, mom and dad ... LOL, feel like I just won an award.

It was a real PITA to install for such a simple part! I didn't have a camera handy, but I doubt that I was going to be able to take step-by-step photos of what we did (I wanted to do that in the first place). All the wires in the way, the steel pipes in the way, stripped screw, broken bracket that we had to deal with made the task that much more difficult... it wasn't as simple as "do this" and "do that" and be done with the replacement. One positive was that we did not have to remove the manifold at all. We removed the heatshield to remove the O2 sensor.

I didn't buy my car new, so I have no idea how some these misc items broke and others are missing. Could have been modification by previous owner? Or Mazda service department being careless handling previous repairs/inspection on my car (surprise, surprise ... not)? I'm not sure, but it does not keep the Zoom Zoom from running.

Some issues that we discovered:

I'm missing two bolts that holds the manifold heatshield in place, I'm missing one center bolt for the manifold (I can see someone not wanting to put the bolt back on... but still...), the bracket (with 3 bolts) that holds the J-pipe in place is cracked (need to find a replacement later) and chipped in one area (but still able to hold the J-pipe in place), had a stripped hex bolt (easily replaced) for a bracket that holds the tubes and steel pipes (3 of them, but I don't know what they are for) near the wastegate actuator... and finally the wastegate rubber tube (to the BPV?) was removed (mechanics chunked it away without telling me, they only said they cut and sealed it... had a spare tube that was used as replacement).

Removing the clip wasn't too hard but it was a bit of work trying to rotate it to get the screw driver wedged under the pin.

With three people helping (two was enough, but had room for extra hand, LOL) we were able to get the new actuator arm on and clip it back in place.

The nipple is facing upwards instead of downwards ... just like the photos Rogue posted... wasn't switched on purpose, I just wasn't paying attention until we were done struggling with it. We didn't really want to mess with it after getting the pin/clip placed on successfully.

Was wondering.. is the wastegate heatshield necessary to keep? I kept it anyways, but I see Rogue's photo doesn't have the heatshield.

I noticed that my air intake box has a big hole in the front and it's sucking in all the hot air from the radiator fan. I would like to research a bit more to see if I can improve this ... any suggestions would be great. Was thinking about CAI ... or something less expensive and homemade (aluminum duct hose to redirect the air intake to the wheel well, etc). hehe.

Hmm, that's basically it ... but we got the darn wastegate replaced... cleared the service engine codes with an OBDII scanner... I've been boosting all day to see if the engine check code would come back, but haven't had any problems yet. I can feel the boost kick in around 3500 rpm... but wish I had a boost gauge to tell the truth! haha... every time I fix something I get drawn to the idea of upgrading something else. Trying to find a picture of a stock engine bay to make sure that the rubber tube we replace is plugged into the right end opposite of the wastegate actuator nipple... should be the right spot though. Will drive it rest of this week and see if any issues pop up... great experience though, enjoyed working on the car, especially when things turn out well.
(drive2)
 
Allen said:
I noticed that my air intake box has a big hole in the front and it's sucking in all the hot air from the radiator fan. I would like to research a bit more to see if I can improve this ... any suggestions would be great. Was thinking about CAI ... or something less expensive and homemade (aluminum duct hose to redirect the air intake to the wheel well, etc). hehe.

There is supposed to be an elbow to direct airflow to the driver's side.
 
Ryoga28 said:
There is supposed to be an elbow to direct airflow to the driver's side.

Bummers, didn't see that when I got the car. Grrrreat, something else to work on.... oh well, one step at a time. Thanks. :)
 
The elbow breaks off real easy!!! If you get another one (recommended), don't bump it.

367 (mp3yellow
 
will the atp wastegate fit with the gt28rs? since you have to reuse your stock wastegate to make the disco potato fit i would assume the atp is transferable too?
 
Pmpkinhead said:
Thanks for the Waste gate writeup (How To). I would never attempt it! Anyway, my new WGA is installed (dealer warranty) and the the cars power feels so much smoother now. Wow. Do I have to go thru this every 40,000 miles? I wonder if the updated part is better? Oh well. Thanks again!

Car is going in again on Thursday (2-1-07). I think the WGA is gone again. It stumbles as soon as the engine hits 3000 RPM under ANY load. So much for the 40,000 mile deal. Maybe I didn't get the updated part.

367 (mp3yellow
 
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