Fun Daily Driver: A Mazdaspeed story

We had a bunch of these on one of the Zoom Zoom Live tours I worked.  We were supposed to have MS3's but the boat bringing them fell over.(Look up the story of the Cougar Ace)  We had to design the courses to keep them from eating their own front feet but they were fun cars.

One thing I remember was the tendency of them to pop out of 2nd or 4th gear under heavy braking.  As one of the hired drivers I spent a bunch of time trying to figure out how to stop it from happening to the people that waited in line for their chance to flog the cars.  There is a weight on the shift linkage on top of the transmission that helps the feel of the shifts.  The linkage swings front to back and in 2nd and 4th the weight is in the back location of the swing.  Get into the ABS and there is a good chance it will pop out of gear.

We pulled all the weights off and had them in a drawer in one of the tool boxes until we gave the cars back.

In reply to jgrewe :

Interesting. Never had mine in that situation so I couldn't say. 

Ordered a boost gauge today. Went with the tinted 30psi glowshift. Should match the factory gauges pretty well. Ordering the pod I want next payday. Going to splurge on the cp-e 3 gauge center pod. Already have approval from SWMBO because it's the only one that has that level of fit/finish AND retains use of that little cubby 

Question: since this isn't going to be some crazy build and I'll be using (most likely) an off the shelf tune down the road, do I need a wideband or would a "narrowband" gauge be fine?

In reply to MazdaFace :

The upstream O2 sensor is a wideband from the factory.

What all are you looking to measure? I just keep my Accessport mounted in gauge mode for BATs, Boost, AFR, LTFT, and actual coolant temps.

Well the issue is it's probably going to be a pretty long time until I have enough set aside for an accessport/supporting mods & in the meantime I'd like to be able to moniter AFR. Theoretically should I be able to splice a wideband into the upstream o2 sensor? 

In reply to MazdaFace :

Someone else here may know better than me but you will still need a controller of some sort even if you splice the O2 sensor. At that point it's less dangerous to simply add another bung or use that no weld version AEM offers. The stock AFR calculation and monitoring is done by the ECU independent of a separate controller.

Most aftermarket down pipes like the CPE one that I run have a second bung already installed for that purpose. You're not there yet though.

Another option would be an OBD2 driven monitor like Torque using a Bluetooth connector and an old phone or tablet. The data is already there and accessible just not shown on the stock gauges.

You may also want to look at VersaTune which is a bit cheaper than the Accessport. I'd have gone that way if I already didn't have the Accessport by the time the software was mature as it's a bit more flexible. 

In reply to The0retical :

Thank you, definitely given me more to think about. Side note, just finished putting on the JBR boost tubes & corksport bypass hose. 

Took it for a drive. Seems to make power sooner and seems to pull harder. Honestly didn't expect as big of a difference. $60 well spent and SWMBO approved

Wait a cotton pickin' minute!!!!....a 65-66 'vair sypder , a '56 Nomad and SWMBO flashin' the approvatory hand signals.....what else is hiddin' in there??? Congrats on the 'minor' Victory

Not to thread jack but a quick skim of this thread has me worried about the intake on my car. 2008.5 MS3 all stock except an AEM CAI. It’s been on there a while. My research suggested it would be fine on a stock car that can maintain 1600 psi at the fuel rail under full boost which it does. Am I mistaken? 

In reply to spandak :

You're probably fine. Mazda actually sold that AEM intake branded as a Mazdaspeed part for a while, and it's desirable as it's one of two CARB approved intakes.

You are correct that the HPFP pressure is what matters in that situation. The stock internals have a tendency to run out of steam in the mid 5000 range (at least in my 2011) which leads to leaning out and potential detonation. The extra flow from the intake can exacerbate that situation. Anything around the 2.65 stock diameter area the ECU seems to be able to compensate for the extra flow. Larger than that and the ECU really hates life and can barely run.

I think the problem is likely overblown by the Mazdaspeed community but there were a lot of very public ZZB motor fatalities the early years of tuning the platform which seems to have lead to that hardline attitude.

In reply to The0retical :

I've kind of felt that way too. I remember when the ms3 first came out and the only things I remember hearing at the time was them blowing up. Never actually met someone who's had it happen though. 

In reply to MazdaFace :

There was a thread and pictures in r/justrolledintotheshop about a year and a half ago where someone blew out the bottom of their motor after going WOT in 6th at a low speed. It basically dumped everything that could move from the block into the oil pan.

The platform is pretty well nailed down at this point and development seems to actually be accelerating which is kind of weird to see on something that's both been dead for the last 5 years and the North American head of Mazda seems to be actively distancing the company from.

I've never met anyone in person either who it happened to either. Most threads in MSO or MSF that I come across where it did happen in the last several years seems to be done at higher power levels (ie. 500+ HP) which obviously increases the risk.

Edit: Now that you've put out that picture we're going to need a little more info about the Nomad and Corvair... Also the bottle of Rotella T6 was a good choice

The0retical said:

In reply to MazdaFace :

Another option would be an OBD2 driven monitor like Torque using a Bluetooth connector and an old phone or tablet. The data is already there and accessible just not shown on the stock gauges.

And this is what Torque Pro looks like on an 8" tablet. I have the AFR and other stuff on another screen(just swipe up or down to change).

In reply to The0retical :

I remember reading somewhere the Mazdaspeed intake was the same minus the air straightener before the MAF. That’s what I was actually looking for when I came across the AEM one on Craigslist. The price and the fact its legal here in Cali was a no brainer. You seemed to knowledgable on the platform so it’s good to get confirmation. 

I love the car even though it’s temperamental sometimes. I always liked the Speed6 too, AWD with a turbo and a stick, it’s a compelling package. I’ll be following this thread!

MazdaFace said:

 

I hope we can still be friends after I say this.

That corroded battery hold down makes me weep. It needs a little love in the blast cabinet and some powder coat. 

MazdaF as you continue on this path be ever aware that Cuzin'E is ALWAYS lookin' over your shoulder....and he happens to be in your neck o' da woods...so to speak   Plus now that he's seen the Nomad.....just sayin' 

In reply to Cousin_Eddie :

Funny you mention that. Probably going to try to move the cabinet into the building tomorrow on my day off and do exactly that. 

Update: battery hold down still E36 M3ty looking. Had to take one of the dogs to the vet on my day off. But the corksport rear differential mount came today and it is the nicest looking thing that will probably ever be on that car. Shame no one will see it 

I used a Scanguage "Ultraguage" to monitor boost, and fuel pressure before I bought my Accessport.  
I think they were $100 and plugged into the OBDII port.  I bought their window mount and I'm now running it in my Jeep Wrangler.    

http://www.ultra-gauge.com/ZC/

Have to wait to order the pod for it but this showed up. As did the oil for my next oil change 

downside to procrastinating your oil change is... you still haven't done your oil change. plus side of it is it gives you time to order things. Ordered corksport's sandwich plate & the OE spin on filter conversion from edge autosport. going to be running an oil pressure gauge eventually and figured I'd just get everything ready for it. Anyone have any experience with sandwich plates? (cue jokes about dinnerware)

cousin eddie: blast cabinet is almost setup so the hold down should look better soon.

MazdaFace said:

cousin eddie: blast cabinet is almost setup so the hold down should look better soon.

My brother, I am on the edge of my seat. Those kind if little details really make the difference. Do enough of those little things and suddenly the whole picture is beautiful.