After a week, here's what bothers me

[Breezy]

OK, so I've had a chance to drive my new MS3 day to day for a week. Here's some things that Mazda needs to improve ..

1. notchy transmission when cold. This really changes the car from fun to drive to a pain to wrestle with. It's a big issue with me.

2. I wish I could turn off the boost sometimes, when driving for fuel economy (cruise mode) or more particularly when driving in a snowstorm or when valet parking it.

3. I wish the fenderwells had some (more) soundproofing in them. Running through slush and rain creates a lot more noise than it should.

4. I wish it had a boost gauge but I don't want to add an aftermarket one, at least not yet.

 

[autoxes]

2. I wish I could turn off the boost sometimes, when driving for fuel economy (cruise mode) or more particularly when driving in a snowstorm or when valet parking it.

(confused) A turbo'd car that makes boost all of the time? No way man! There isn't much getting around that, other than an aftermarket boost controller, just turn that thing way down. Otherwise, you're stuck. As far as fuel economy goes, it's strongly dependent upon the weight of your right foot.

 

[sleeper3]

1. get the shifter bushings, I bet it would help.
2. get an electronic boost controller.
3. dynamat EVERYTHING if you want a quiet car.
4. I had my boost gauge within a month of buying the car.

 

[Rotus8]

You can make a valet mode by interrupting the boost control solenoid. Limits to about 8-9 psi.

 

[sleeper3]

I start getting worse gas mileage when my boost gauge reads -10 psi, which is about 70ish mph or lower depending on the temperature outside.

 

[SwampAss]

1 and 2 will get better as the car wears in.

 

[Mid_Life_Crisis]

I have the shifter bushings. They did nothing for cold shifting. After things warm up, definitely, but not cold. If it annoys you that much, try upgrading your tranny fluid.

 

[sleeper3]

hmm I guess I just don't experience the cold shifting in south florida. lucky me.

 

[subparpunk03]

tranny fluid helps the cold shifts a little bit... theres not much getting around it. This car gets finnicky until its warmed up. Just something you have to deal with

2, and 4 will be solved by the accessport which should be released at the end of march. it will have several maps that come with it to reflash your ecu with. You will be able to flash with a "higher efficiency" map that will give better fuel economy but limit your performance. I think there is also a valet map but I'm not 100% sure. And of course the performance map which will make your car faster. The AP can also display info from factory sensors, i.e. boost, lambda, etc. Its a pretty dandy little unit.

 

[evo2ms3]

You want to turn off boost?? Just stay light on the throttle and don't boost! Of course, without a boost gauge, it's gonna be hard for you to tell.

 

[sleeper3]

tranny fluid helps the cold shifts a little bit... theres not much getting around it. This car gets finnicky until its warmed up. Just something you have to deal with

2, and 4 will be solved by the accessport which should be released at the end of march. it will have several maps that come with it to reflash your ecu with. You will be able to flash with a "higher efficiency" map that will give better fuel economy but limit your performance. I think there is also a valet map but I'm not 100% sure. And of course the performance map which will make your car faster. The AP can also display info from factory sensors, i.e. boost, lambda, etc. Its a pretty dandy little unit.

a lot of cars are like that now. especially with automatic trannies. they actually put thermostats on some of the transmission cooling systems to warm them up faster.

 

[sleeper3]

You want to turn off boost?? Just stay light on the throttle and don't boost! Of course, without a boost gauge, it's gonna be hard for you to tell.

I start getting worse mileage when I am still in vac.

 

[clos561]

well it depends on how fast ur going, if ur going around 45 miles a hour. ur best bet is to stay light throttle and under vacuum. i do this all the time and average 26mpg

 

[Bu11dogg2]

There isn't much getting around that, other than an aftermarket boost controller, just turn that thing way down. Otherwise, you're stuck. As far as fuel economy goes, it's strongly dependent upon the weight of your right foot.

(wow)(wow)(wow)

 

[USMS3]

I had to get used to behaving with my right foot, too. I was getting 250 miles to a tank, but the better I get with my feet, the better I get out of my tank - Im up to 300 so far. Still working on it though.

 

[sleeper3]

at 60 miles per hour with the cruise control on I get 38 miles per gallon. at 70 mph I get 23 mpg.

 

[SwampAss]

@ 70 I average 35 or so on level road.

 

[SwampAss]

Sig lol!

 

[fourthmeal]

OK, so I've had a chance to drive my new MS3 day to day for a week. Here's some things that Mazda needs to improve ..

1. notchy transmission when cold. This really changes the car from fun to drive to a pain to wrestle with. It's a big issue with me.

Change the trans fluid to a full synthetic like Redline or Mobil1

2. I wish I could turn off the boost sometimes, when driving for fuel economy (cruise mode) or more particularly when driving in a snowstorm or when valet parking it.

You can do this with a boost controller / piggyback

3. I wish the fenderwells had some (more) soundproofing in them. Running through slush and rain creates a lot more noise than it should.

Simply spend ~$150 on sound dampening from Raamaudio (Raammat material and Ensolite material) and cover most of the sheet metal (doors, parts of the floors, wheel wells, etc.) with the mat. Not only will you solve the road noise problem in the wheel wells, you'll also have the foundation for a superior audio system. Don't spend many hundreds of $$ on Dynamat for the same stuff.

4. I wish it had a boost gauge but I don't want to add an aftermarket one, at least not yet.

This sounds like a problem that already has a solution.

 

[Breezy]

Thanks for the replies everyone. Yes I will be looking into syn ranny fluid once I get it to a good break in point. Does anyone know if the synchros are solid brass or they have fricton material on them? If they have fricton material a simple graphite based additive like Ford limited slip fluid should solve the problem in no time.

As for the other items .. I drive pretty fast in cruise mode (north of 75) and at those speeds the turbo boosts up easily .. too easily to the point where, if you're looking at instant mpg, it drops to 7 or 8 mpg in no time, with just moderate load. I cannot lift off the gas to climb a hill for instance. But If I had a method where I could dump the boost I could cruise at speed without getting into the gas like that I could climb into the throttle to keep up speed. Also the other times I could use it in slick conditions or while I turn my car over to a valet, etc. I think there is a real market for that kind of thing just to make the car more flexible. That accessport thing sounds like a good deal provided there's a dash type switch to control it or something. I look forward to hearing more about that.