+1

 

mazda 3

 

wtf??? are you serious??? this effin hole? dude put your mouth on there and blow on it and see if it leaks. it doesnt but if it did under higher pressure i really doubt that this is the cause of our car not giving out full boost or power. trust me i already replaced it with the forge bpv and the difference is negligible.




i will say this last thing to the thread starter who owns a lancer. i owned a non turbo lancer 02 oz and always sweated the evos turbo performance. this car from the factory with an intake is faster in a straight line than a stock evo. it destroys it on the highway (not that i race street). there is just no feeling to describe how that turbo pins you to the seat every time you step on it. i love boost and i will never look back. this may or may not be relevant to you life, but im just describing how i felt coming from the lance to the ms3. btw the build quality and interior are night and day. i cringe every time i look at the lancer cheapo plastic interior and the new lancer interior is nice but a little funky. i dunno its your decision ultimately but i hope all of our input helps with your decision. oh btw, be prepared to never get a second glance from cops or people since this car mixes in with the sea of other mazda 3's. that could either be a good thing or bad depending on how you look at it.

 

I'll agree with that, you really have to know what you're looking for to tell a MS3 from a normal 3 hatchback. I had one behind me and it took me 10 minutes of constantly looking back and running it through my mind to figure it out. I wish the WRX came with as big of a turbo as the MS3, my turbo is tiny in comparison (yes I have turbo envy).

 

so i'm assuming there's very little turbo lag from all the rave reviews i get huh, lancerj? I do appreciate all the input, it's cool - and i'm leaning more and more toward the ms3. i had NO idea it would beat a stock evo on a highway roll/pull? I always assumed i could "keep up with one", but never beat. have u tried it? thats awesome. idont street race - at all. but on the highway, i aint gonna lie - i'd probably run a few people on a roll if i was challenged by some ********. Ooh and I think i'd love the attention , but its also really cool - cause it looks like it'd be a sleeper, ya know? there's no visible sign whatsoever of it being turbocharged.

 

Turbo lag isn't a big deal on any production car that isn't a masked race car. What's more, what a lot of people perceive to be turbo lag isn't. A MS3 makes almost the same power as an STI or Evo but since it's FWD it doesn't suffer the same drivetrain losses. From a dig it wouldn't stand a chance but from a roll I would bet on the MS3.

 

I like the styling of the lancer better but you can't beat the MS3 for the price imho... You can also get a nice Navi unit for about $1,000

 

well the dealer was saying i can't get one in the one on the lot i was lookin at. I wonder how much extra money i'd have to spend to get one custom installed then..the choice by the way , at this point, if there was one, is to go w/ the white lancer gts (navi system, paddle shifters, etc)., or a silver mazdaspeed (no navi, but 6spd manual turbo).

 

my friggin adjuster is takin too damn long to total my sh[i]t up

 

the turbo lag can vary. people always complain about lag this and that, but like the other guy said, lag will only hurt if youre racing. mine is a daily driver and im never even in boost on a day to day basis and the car performs like a little peppy 4 banger. the power band on this car is from 3000-5700. its very weird but mazda decided to cut the power up top (all the dynos prove it and you can feel it) maybe for emissions or something. but thats nothing a few simple bolt ons and tuning can fix. just an intake will give you 20 hp. the turbo is a ko4. its tiny as hell but the gti turbo is a ko3, even smaller. thats why they say that thing has no lag because its so damn small and quick to spool up.

 

before you make any move i would read up also. its good to have more knowledge than the dealer when you buy a car.

http://www.mazda3forums.com/index.php?board=10.0

 

How does the K04 compare to the TD04-13T in the WRX? I always figured the MS3 had a bigger turbo since I can't imagine any car company going smaller. I noticed my car runs out of steam up top as well, I assume it's like you said, an emissions or reliability thing.

 

lancerj, ive read a whole lot, and watched a lot of videos too. I think i've got a fair idea of the pros and cons now, so i've pretty much decided on going w/ the mazdaspeed. And insurance will be totaling it, i just have to wait for the check i guess...and pay off the rest of my lancer, then i can make an offer.

One random critique or question: it's kind of weird that the MS3 doesn't have a hood scoop when the intercooler is top-mounted. But a lot of ppl prefer the sleeper look - it just seems it wouldnt hurt if they had one.? im confused to see how air reaches the intercooler at it's current stock set up?

 

it has vents from the front of the hood to the back w/ special scoops that direct air to the intercooler... if you look closely at a standard mazda 3 and then look at a mazdaspeed3.. you'll see the hoods' are different... also the same on the mazdaspeed6 vs. mazda 6

 

Ooh okay. thanks! Well, I'm officially lancerless now - and now the "waiting" commences...cause i have to wait to get the insurance check back, and from what my dad was tellin me, we'll have enough left over after paying the lancer off to use for a sufficient downpayment, however...that might take up to 2 or possibly 3 weeks (i've been told) - - and in the meantime i'm gonna be back driving my dads POS, that has no power locks, windows, radio, cd player - and the driver side window does not roll down, and it's been gettin up to 75-80 degrees here. Also, that's a long time to wait to buy a new car when the one you want soooo bad is on the lot ready for you ---and for someone else for that matter...i'm just worried about someone else maybe coming in and scooping that ***** up.