A Couple Cold Weather Issues With Me Speed3

Hi everyone,

So Ive owned my speed3 for about 5 months now and now that it is about 25 degrees out i am seeing a few things that i dont think should be happening.

I always let my car warm up in the morning because I always feel like it runs better when the car is warm (duh). But sometimes when running late for work I dont have time to warm the car up. Her are a few things that happen.

1. I live in a apartment complex and when backing out of my spot, then when I TURN THE WHEEL i hear a POP/GRIND noise its different every morning sometimes not as bad as other mornings. But no matter how long my car warms up in the mornings this always happens and ahs been happening ever since it got cold. After that first POP/GRIND in the morning when backing out of my spot it does not do it for the rest of the drive to work. The only time it does happen again is when I go home from work.

2. After I leave my neighborhood I get on the highway and travel my 20 miles to work. During my drive I am in 5th or 6th gear and when pushing the gas pedal down to the floor the car does not go any faster and it feels like the car is bogging out or it took a massive amount of water up the intake. The other morning I took off and right after leaving my neighborhood in 3rd gear it did the same thing. Both times I did not let my car warm up, and it seems to not do it when i let my car warm up for about 5 to 10 minutes when I am not running late to work.

This may have been a topic of the past and I did not take the time to look. I just joined the forums a few days ago and figured let me ask the guys on the forums. I was going to take it to Mazda and see what they say. But maybe you guys have the same issue?

Thanks in advance

1. Check ball joints and front end parts for damage. Have the dealer go over it since it's still under warranty, or should be.

2. You shouldn't be really nailing the throttle in 5/6 gears unless your already going 70 to 80 mph. Don't bog the engine down, and try not to hit boost unless your over 3500 rpm. NEVER get on the throttle until the engine has had a chance to warm up. Nice and easy when cold, your engine will last a LOT longer.

no im not nailing the gas pedal to the floor. Its just like regular driving. And the only time im in 5th/6th gear is when im on the highway when i am doing about 70 mph. anyone else that lives in cold area having these issues??

I live in a desolate winter wasteland, -30 degrees and colder for a third of the year. Naturally, since oil tends to be kind of a slush at the temperature, I let my car warm up for 5 minutes.

But otherwise, I don't have any of these problems. Because of the traction issues, any application of throttle in any gear in the boost range of this car (2500 rpms+) causes wheelspin (up to fifth gear on a dry highway, even then it shuffles about).

I don't know whats causing your hesitation and suspension noises, but they aren't normal. I have noticed a trend where missing power is usually the fault of boost loss (leaky inlets, weak bypass valves, etc). The car wants to recirculate it's boost, so if it finds it missing it generally doesn't run properly.

My car doesn't have any issues with off-boost acceleration, it just drives like a normal car below 2500 rpms.

well I searched it on google and there seems to be a lot of bone stock speed3's that are having this issue when its cold. LukeP you must have a miracle car.

bman2033 said:

well I searched it on google and there seems to be a lot of bone stock speed3's that are having this issue when its cold. LukeP you must have a miracle car.

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i think might also depend on what model year you have. since you said you've had your car for 5 months i'll assume you have at least an 08 or 08.5, and i have an 8.5 and haven't had your issue with a "popping" noise. i have heard, however, a noise that could be similar to what you're experiencing, but only when i pull up into my driveway. since it has a rounded gutter where the driveway meets the road i just assume that on my hard turn up it the limitted slip just skids the inner wheel slightly.

and i agree with letting your car warm up first before even thinking about putting a load on the engine. with an NA car it would be bad to floor it on a cold engine, and with a turbo it would be even worse.

There are known issues with the suspension bushings making awful creaks and such when at extremely low temps. Perhaps this is the issue. I would at least have the dealer record the complaint and take a look at the car. This will help to document the problem should it turn worse later on.

Super Unique said:

There are known issues with the suspension bushings making awful creaks and such when at extremely low temps. Perhaps this is the issue. I would at least have the dealer record the complaint and take a look at the car. This will help to document the problem should it turn worse later on.

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Seconded. My car makes HORRIBLE sounds in 10F and lower, the lower the louder as far as sqawks coming from the suspension. However the OP didn't describe this, nor were his temps cold enough to make this an issue. The popping and strange hesitation issues do not happen to me. Just wheelspin, and lots of it. Pretty sure I'm going to chew through the blizzaks considering how much torque they have to soak up.

I'm a complete internet fool and I won't pretend to know whats wrong, but here's what I've come across in the forums;

The cone style super-LSD equipped on this car can get noisy when the tire pressure is inequal on both front wheels. Make sure they are equalized? Also, give your dealer as much as you can about the acceleration issues, possibly leaking boost somewhere. Take a video of the problem into them, and be nice I find it goes a long way.

bman2033 said:

When pushing the gas pedal down to the floor

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bman2033 said:

no im not nailing the gas pedal to the floor.

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Wait, what? lol

bman2033 said:

well I searched it on google and there seems to be a lot of bone stock speed3's that are having this issue when its cold. LukeP you must have a miracle car.

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no kidding...especially since he can spin his tires through 4th gear with any amount of throttle on dry roads (jerkit)
wish my ms3 had that kind of power

eg6motion said:

no kidding...especially since he can spin his tires through 4th gear with any amount of throttle on dry roads (jerkit)
wish my ms3 had that kind of power

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It doesn't take much at -30. Probably about 50 road horsepower is enough to break loose rock-hard rubber on quasi-slick asphalt. By "Dry" I mean the surface did not have snow on it, but it may have had rubbed down black ice. It was unlikely that my EG6 was going to break loose in top gear on that stuff, considering it was probably putting about 11 road horsepower in that ratio, but the MS3's sudden boost onset at partial throttle will do it.

'Tis no miracle car. I get inconsistent performance, seemingly dependant on phases of the moon - and I get boost surges and jerks in 4th sometimes (bad gas?) but those are independant of temperature and when I'm really whomping the pedal. It just being cool out doesnt make the car sluggish or "bogged" for me. Sometimes I have to lift and re-depress the accelerator to get the most out of it, but it never does what the OP describes.

Does anyone else get the feeling that full throttle is slower than 3/4 throttle on this car? Is it just a perception of expectation vs. reality?

I live in Virginia and have experienced the same weather and some of the same events while getting on it in 4-5th gears. It is just a very very minor lag and it may well be wheel spin or bad gas. It doesn't happen everytime (less than 30% of the time). I have a Dashhawk and have looked for boost leaks. So far I haven't seen anything wrong with my boost psi. What other parameters should I be looking at on my Dashhawk for this? Also, I run 93 Sunoco or 93 Mobile gas with I believe contains up to 10% ethanol.

I do get the feeling this car responds better to a smooth application of throttle, rather than stomping to full throttle. My Volvo xc-70 turbo likes a smooth throttle application, so it makes sense to me.