Good afternoon almighty Evo owners!

As a Speed6 owner, I understand that I am not an expected member of these forums. I registered with hopes to get a chance at procuring a set of the highly sought after EVO X MR's BBS wheels from your FS forums. In an effort to follow this sites rules and regs, I believe that this intro post was a necessary evil.

I am a father, still married somehow, while on active duty in the USAF. I love cars. I have more than I should - '97 Tiburon (first car), '93 Mitsu 3000GT VR-4 (huge pain in my ***, INOP for 6 years), '11 Soul (wife's), and a '07 Mazdaspeed6.

My Speed6 originally belonged to a brother-in-law, who got moved overseas and couldn't take the car. He left, his wife procrastinated on the sale, and I stole it from him, almost new, at the CarMax cash trade value which was $7K less than KBB. Win.

After factory and extended warranties expired, I started with almost all bolt-ons, suspension, brakes, etc. Currently its riding on the Evo X GSR's Enkei's and while they are great/quality wheels, I just dont like the way they look on my car - hence the hunt for MR's BBSs.

TL;DR - HI!

 

Welcome! Many of us, myself included, don't know much about the tuning of a Speed6. Can you educate us a bit?

 

K&N and put fuel in?

 

Not really funny.

Still curious about the Speed6.

 

Cobb AccessPort or Versatune; there are no standalones for the Mazdaspeed 3/6 platform.

 

Correct. Cobb AP is the most common tool for tuning on the speed3/6 platforms.

I will not claim to know anything about actually tuning the car, but I do understand the necessity and general concepts behind most tweeks done.

My car specifically has Cobb SRI, Cobb TIB, Forge BPV, Autotech HPFP internals, custom FMIC, ebay DP, straight pipe exhaust, H&R springs, Bilstein struts, Rotora(? cant remember for sure) drilled rotors, Hawk HPS pads, and Enkei Evo Xs wrapped in 245/40 Firehawk WideOval Indy 500. It is currently running a Stratified S2 tune from the Cobb APv3 with <2 gallons of E85.

Current goals are - swap EvoX Enkeis for the MR BBS, swap spring/strut setup for BC coilovers, meth, 51r Braille battery, 4" HTP intake, and then finally big turbo with final goal of ~430hp/400lb.tq

 

^ If you want good quality coilovers, Fat Cat Motorsports now makes coilovers for the MS6, you can order just height-adjustable, or 1-way, 2-way, or 3-way adjustable with custom valving for your application and spring rates. Or you can just send Bilsteins for a custom revalve and pick your springs. Should be a night and day difference from the BC junk.

 

OP, thank you for the detailed reply. Very interesting. Any idea as to how fast/quick it is?

 

I looked at FCM but didnt see anything for the 6. Pricing also seems like it would be significantly more since it would be custom built. I just want it even lower, hate the 4x4 look. Not looking to autocross.

The car is quick, fast, and agile for being a fatass boat. Nothing overly impressive and definitely doesnt respond as well as other platforms to modifications yet it is far more comfortable then a Evo, WRX, Mustang, or SS(IMHO).

 

You need to call them or fill an online contact form; I strongly recommend calling. Shaikh could just revalve and modify the struts/shocks for shorter springs. Google up "fat cat motorsports mazdaspeed6 review" and my review should come up first. You do not want to drop the car too much to compromise suspension geometry, mine is lowered only about 5/8" IIRC.

 

Just so you know the audience, Evolution owners don't buy their cars with the idea of comfort in mind. Aggregately, we care about the three things that cars do: acceleration, deceleration, and cornering.

 

Welcome to EvoM! I used to own a CX7 that I tuned with Versatune so I'm a little familiar with the Speed6. I've seriously considered buying one on several occasions but never pulled the trigger. Sadly, one of the main reasons I haven't and probably won't ever go back to that platform is because I can't stand the Mazdaspeed forums. The support and information on this site is far superior to anything I ever gained from the Mazdaspeed community, and we don't make you pay for it either.

 

FCM pricing starts at $2200 so I'm not even going to consider it. The H&R's alone got me approximately a 2" drop. I want more to tuck the rear wheels. I am not concerned so much with geometry at this point. I have realized the platforms potential and would rather stick to what the car can do, ride low and comfortably.

I completely understand the focus of the EvoM forums. I wouldn't expect anything else. Personally, for the $$$ and if looking at just the pure driving aspects of the vehicle, I would prefer to build an '05 Mazdaspeed Miata. The car can be found for around $8k and is an amazing platform to build for autocross and track while being great for daily fun. I'm too poor to buy and build an Evo b/c family and I dont like car payments.

I did hate the fact that I had to pay for the best features on Mazda*********** but it did seem to keep the riffraff and stupid questions down a bit. I have noticed the knowledge has increased on the platform a ton over the last 3 years and has helped the forum and platform grow. Its almost like comparing apples and oranges since there is a 12 or 13 year difference between the platforms. There are few platforms that hold a candle to the Evo. Too bad this is its last year in production. I might have to go snag one off the lot before it is too late.

 

You can get a custom revalve for $250 per corner, so it would be $1k + shipping costs + springs.

+1 on the Miata, they are stupid cheap to run.

 

Welcome I owned a speed6 also prior to my evo and it was still a great car. Locally PERM is around here and dj is the pioneer for the top mount setup on the speed6s. Although the fueling has come a long way from when I owned mine with all the fifth port injection now! Post up some pics