Learn Me Mazda 6

In reply to KATYB:

Ugh. I've still got my FWD clutch cherry, and it doesn't sound like this is the job to break it on.

I had to replace a trans on a v6/5spd once. After driving it i liked it 'ok'. Duratec 3.0 annoys me, personally.

Its a nice enough midsize v6 manual sedan as long as you dont compare it to a Nissan midsize v6 manual sedan.

as far as the MS6 and abrupt power transafer goes....

If you drive the car at 4/10ths is smooth and happy, if you drive ti at 8/10ths its agressive and grippy, if you try to drive it at 5 or 6/10ths it sometimes cannot decide intitially wether to dump power ot the rear or not and it can be abrupt, launches especially, its all or nothing, no 7/10ths launches or you bog.... its no perfect, but given 50K mile cars are in the mid teens show me something comperable for both price and perforamnce and size...

in a str8t line no the mazda6 is not a nissan altima. but seriously take them into the corners and its not even close. i looked at the nissan when i bought mine and ya the power is nice but the handling i couldnt stand. lower total grip and they let go very abruptly. the 6 in constast has lots of grip from the factory assuming losing the oem tires. admittedly they are undertired with only 215's but a rear rsb upgrade and rims and tires makes thinks very interesting. a set of 17x8 wheels and some 245 45 17's makes it alot more fun. do springs and shocks and both sways and the handling becomes very surprising. understeers at 7 to 8 tenths. over steers at the limit very playful rear end easily controlled add some throttle and it comes back in. lift a lil she comes around. the nissans for whatever reason always understeer from everyone ive ever driven. the duratec 3.0 really suffers from poor tuning. being run overly rich really hurts them. hence why i reccomend a mass air flow customizer. just that and a cai will net you 20 whp. and 18 wtq. power difference fixed. a pre tuned one for an injen intake runs 250 and you can buy and ebay intake and an aem dryflo filter and 325 and youve gained a good amount. which is really a good bang for buck modification.

To be fair i admit i was comparing the mazda6 to an altima se-r, and since then i havent DRIVEN an Ms6, so i dont have apples to apples from driving but i preferred the nissan interior.

power difference fixed.

?.... 3.5L - 3.0L =/= 18lbft. More like 40-60wtq.

I really like mazda6's among the 5+ yr old midsize sedan crowd. As long as you're not expecting to fall in love with the engine i think it should be on anyone's list of 5+yr old midsize v6/manual sedans to try out.

I drove a 4-cyl/5-speed one of my friends a while back, and while it was peppy, I don't think it was enough power for me.

I would be interested in doing some simple V6 engine mods just to get the motor tuned right.

like i said a maf custimizer. and to me headers are a must to save the engine. exhaust is not needed unless you do headers. no change in power while still running the stock manifolds.

I'll definitely keep that mind.