TL;DR. The important stuff is at the end.

So I have been going back and forth and back again for over 7 months now. Either spend my savings on fixing up my beloved Ralliart, or use it as a down payment for a new car. You can probably tell by the title what my decision was. The TurboKits reveal is what postponed my decision even longer, but it was tough for me to justify a purchase for my RA that cost more overall than the car itself. It was tough letting her go, but the amount of money needed to fix her up just didn't seem worth it to me in the end. The yearly, non-regular maintenance issues that kept popping up just became too much. I didn't want to throw anymore good money into bad money. That's what I get for acting without thinking and wanting the RA so bad that nothing else mattered. I have learned my lesson about purchasing a used car with high-ish miles without doing sufficient research first. Thinking back, I never should have traded in my '06 Lancer Special Edition A/T for the RA, but it was just tooooo slow .

That being said, I am definitely going to miss my RA, it was the first car that I "modded" albeit very little. It was the reason I joined this, my first, forum. Even though I never really posted too much, I did read, and learn, a lot from many of you. I DIY'ed all of my mods thanks to you guys. Would have had a 10% success rate with the installs without this forum. And now that I that I have a decent understanding of how a NA 4-cyl works, it's time for me to learn all that I can about a turbo'd one.

That's right, you will now be able to find me on Mazdaspeed Forums.org. I'll still occasionally lurk here, though you won't know it. Now on to the pics!!

Picked it up this last Saturday. Used 2012 MS3 w/ tech package w/ 9,000 miles.






I originally test drove like 4 different gen1 speed3s, I definitely preferred that body style, but I felt more comfortable with a lower mileage car (with factory warranty), so I just got a gen2 instead. I know I'll eventually get over the smiley grill, heck I can't see it from inside the car anyways. I don't plan on modding anything until the warranty expires, except for aesthetics and a rear motor mount, but we'll see how long that lasts.

Oh and for those of you wondering, I traded my RA in with pretty much all the mods on it. But I do have stock parts that I will EVENTUALLY get around to selling to you all.

Thank you again for all the information that I have absorbed through this forum!

 

nice car man...how much? if you don't mind...just to kick you in the *** on the way out, an RA @ 8psi murders a stock speed3...

happy trails man, and have fun with the new car, you're already in love with boost, and you now have a lot of headroom for power with a lot less money...more fuel and a boost controller will give you enough ponies to make the muscle cars shiver...cheers

 

MS3's were nice bang for buck....at least the first gen. Congrats and good luck with the new car.

INTERIOR PICS!!!!

 

haha...but to be honest you choose the right word.....murders. There's no replacement for a boosted RA. This 2.4l is a beast

 

Haha I knew crans would chime all like, "My boosted RA beats ALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!" lol. Trust me, I would have LOVED to have boosted my RA, which is why I was so undecided for months. But overall, I'd rather have a car with 100,000+ less miles with a warranty, clean body/paint job, more cargo space, a tiny *** navi, and all the other features that it has. And how many turbo'd RAs am I going to come across anyways, especially if the TurboKits group buy fall through .

And if/when I decide to mod it, it will only take a few bolt-ons and a tune and I will fear no (first gen) RA!

 

Oh and it was about 24k OTD. Is it true that brand new 2012 speed3s are like $40k in Canada?!?! If so, that is redic.

 

bare bones speed3 in canada is 30k

just like an evo x starts at 42k but is only 35k in the US

i don't beat all...just stock turbo 4 cylinders...working on big v6's and small v8's

 

traitor!!!!!!!! jk ,good for you bro .....I have also smoked a ms3 1st gen with I &E ,with my bottle at the track

 

Congrats the Mazda looks like a nice ride.

Just a little curious though. What made you want to pick it over maybe a newer version of the RA or Evo?

 

I traded in my Mazdaspeed3 for an EvoX last month. All I can say is, you're going to miss the AWD. Other than that, it's a great car for the price. I am a long-time MSF member and still spend plenty of time in the forum. You will love it there, but make sure you donate. It goes a long way.

Also, on the modifications. Don't worry too much about warranty. If you can install your own things, you can de-mod if you need to go to the dealer. Simple things like an intake+turbo inlet, test pipe and a good custom tune can get you in the 280's to the front wheels. Also, make sure you upgrade the motor mounts. The engine has a lot of torque and tends to wheel hop a lot. A lot of the OEM motor mounts eventually break.

Enjoy the car!

 

Thanks! I wanted a hatchback (first car was a vw golf), and I'm not that fond of the sportbacks. Besides, they are difficult to find.



The first gen RAs are only FWD, so I'm not really downgrading. And yea i fully intend on donating, and building thick skin. I have seen how they treat the brownies/newbie questions on that forum. I joined back in Oct of last year but only began looking and researching within the last few months.

 

Oh ok, I see. So yeah if you had a FWD already, it's an upgrade. The stock handling of the Mazda is very competitive.

All I can advise you is to search first. Also, look at the do's and dont's, like never removing a cat without upgrading the fuel pump internals first, never go WOT in a high gear (ie 6th) as the high torque can destroy your drivetrain, let your turbo cool down before shutting off the car, etc. If you look up "Raider" (a moderator) he has several sticky threads on his signature. They are extremely informative.

By the way, did you go with the tech package?

 

nice ride man! congratz!

 

Congrats!

 

Yep. He said he did