Hello,

I'm Richard from Edmonton, Alberta and I'm coming from a 2007 Mazdaspeed3 (hopefully). I've had my MS3 since new in 2007 and have had nothing but issues. In order to decide what to replace my MS3 with, I have a couple of questions.

I don't want to be the typical "which l33t car should I choose yo" but I do have a couple questions that will help me in deciding which vehicle to replace my MS3 with.

I'm attracted to the Ralliart in terms of performance, looks and price but I am concerned about the SST. I have done quite a bit of looking on the internet and have looked over the SST forum and have not really come to a generalized idea of the reliability of the SST.

To give you an idea of how my vehicles are used; My vehicles are used for A to B transportation and a lot of cruising around the city. The car will likely never see the track.

Are SST's failing left, right and center or are the failures generally related to abusive driving?

Are still happy with your Ralliart?

Like I said above, I don't want you to tell me what car to buy (nor would it make sense to), I am just curious on your opinions on the above questions.

Thanks

 

I currently have 30k miles of mixed daily driving, highway cruising, drag race and auto-x race use. Car is equipped with nearly every bolt-on modification possible without touching the turbo itself and is custom tuned. Currently one of the fastest stock-turbo Ralliarts (soon to be THE fastest, lol) and have had no issues whatsoever with my transmission to date. (knocks the hell out of the wood desk)

The trick is to do all of your maintenance on time and to never drive the car cold. Always allow at least 2-3 minutes, minimum, for the car to idle before going anywhere. That has been my methodology anyways and it has gotten me this far with great results.

I love this friggin car. Definitely not a race car, but one hell of a daily driver and weekend warrior for sure.

 

now now chi-town we both know mine will be the fastest ra i have every bolt on and tune on e85 same uses as chitown at alittle more hp and torque an no problems i use the same method he does the car will not move for at least 5 min or till warm. i over do my mantanice like carzy 1,000 mile oil changes and trans was flushed within the frist 5,000miles that is a must get that breakin oil out and get new stuff in. so take it from us two of the highest hp and tq cars on stock turbo you will be fine if you take care of the car.

 

Alrighty well here is my experience..... from a point that I DID HAVE issues with the tranny....

I got the car. 500 miles in tranny failed. Mitsu replaced the whole thing. I'm at close to 2k and the car is running great. (I had fun with it too so it wasnt just all casual driving)....

So to answer your question.

1. It's a hit or miss from my experience.
2. Even though I came across the issue I couldnt be happier with my RA. Such an amazing and unique car. There is something about it when someone asks you what kind of car did you get or what kind of car do you own.... you feel proud by saying I have a Ralliart, then they ask you "whats that" and you go into the whole detail of what a fun car it is .... I know it's little silly but I couldn't say the same thing about any other car I had or drove before.

Hope this kinda of helps.

 

We may very well find out tomorrow now, won't we? Remember, I still haven't switched over to e85. As soon as my fat girl loses some weight and is corn fed you'll be seeing nothing but tail lights.

 

then i go evo x turbo and you see nothing but tail lights buddy. i hope we find out tommarrow it will be a perfect night to run

 

I'm glad to hear you guys are all loving your cars. It is also reassuring to hear that the SST is holding power and that only the odd SST seems to failing.

Coming from an MS3 where I had a rod go through the block while on the highway with cruise control set at 65,000km it is comforting to hear that there is a car that is fun and reliable.

Just for reference, after Mazda replaced the motor under warranty, they rebuilt the turbo two weeks later due to weak turbo seals resulting in smoking. Last year, they rebuilt 2nd gear due to grinding in the morning before the tranny warms up. The tranny grind could be avoided in the summer by letting the car run for 20 minutes; a little excessive in my mind for summer warm up.

The car is once again in the shop. Mazda is pushing to tear down the motor again due to a high RPM rattle (high being 4000RPM) that started to show up.

Rod's through blocks, bad turbos and 2nd gear grinds are all the norm on gen 1 (2008.5 and older more specifically) MS3's. I never should have bought a new model on the first year production.

Anyways, this thread has helped to cement the idea of bringing home a Ralliart once I get the MS3 back from the dealer and ready for trade.

Thank you all. Obviously, any more input would not be shunned.

 

Hey man welcome! I'm from Edmonton too, and this thing is a beast on our sh*t roads in the winter. The SST is fine as long as the driver doesn't abuse it and maintains it properly. The SST is a very solid piece IMO. This car is perfect for DD and just cruising. No regrets from me. If you get one get the GST tune and pill! It changes the car completely. Good luck car shopping

 

Thanks Zebra. Nice to see a local on the internet haha. Thanks for the luck.

 

My RA is a love hate relationship. When it's working the way I wanted it to be, it's awesome and I can't be happier. Then I slowly hear the rattles from the cheap interior, or each time I bring it into the dealership they find something new that needs to be replaced(13K, rear axle seal is leaking, molding not done correctly, etc etc etc) reminds me how much better finished the A3 we just bought is.

Reliability is not something I associate my RA with, but I think I got a bit of a lemon. Too many rattles and warranty fixes, and I had a 2010 GTS before, so I know they can make the interior not annoy the crap out of me. There is no chance I would own this car out of warranty, but that's just me.

 

And yes, when you get some winter tires on this car, it is an animal on the roads. I've never been worried the weather was too bad for my car. It plows through it all.

 

Zebra, Smoke. Join up on E-town lancers. Another Edmonton native right here. Always looking to have some more guys to cruise and chill with. I have had my RA for aprox 5 months now and have loved every second of it. No troubles as of yet. Great DD and a good reliable car I trust to have my baby in.

 

Been through a season with my RA, very happy with it. I'm in Sudbury, in northen Ontario, and the winters are rough. Make sure, especially on those -30C or colder mornings, to warm the car up as mentioned before. I'm just shy of 30,000kms, have a fair bit of bolt-ons, and I've drag raced it, driven it up the side of a gravel pit, crossed a beach, made it through a Canadian winter, car has been solid. Just regular maintenance so far.

 

I love my RA! I did have a SST problem, and a new tranny was installed at 20k miles. After the first tranny I started learning about the differences between normal and sport mode. Apparently normal mode allows for more clutch slippage and thus puts more wear and tear on your tranny. Now I only drive in sport mode and change each gear manually so that I can control how high the engine is revving. Bottom line, if you go with the RA, never use normal mode.

 

So.
If buying new - buy the extended warranty. I don't usually.
If buying used - drive carefully and listen for really loud noises from the tranny.

Mine is quiet inside and out (at 25K miles) and seems to be robust...
I prayed first and got a good one!