hello everyone, im new here

[ptruong31]

hello everyone!

so im currently in the market for a brand new car and over the past couple motnhs i been really wanting a civic si, but due to certain drawbacks i had to delay getting a new car for a while and recently started looking at other cars too. i want to expand and weigh my options so i can make a final decision. im actually quite new to mazdas, never owned one before in my life so i have a couple questions to start me off in here before i start searching around, and i hope i dont get flamed for these questions before searching >< lol. first off, to 09 mazdaspeed3 owners, how is the reliability of your ms3? how is it for a DD? i am a college student commuting between LA and OC so i need a pretty reliable car. 2nd, to ms3 owners with cobb accessport, how much mpg do you get while running economy mode on cobb accessport? i know on the civic si + cobb AP mpg jumped up pretty nicely o.o so i was wondering if the ms3 + cobb ap does the same thing. and 3rd, how is the insurance cost on your car? do insurance companies consider it a sports car? or is your insurance pretty low due to the fact that it is a 4 dooor hatchback. again, i would apologize for asking before searching, but will thank you and will be much appreciated for your replies.

 

[BillTheCat]

Can't speak of the AP question. Don't own one.

My '09 has had only 1 warranty problem so far in 16k+ miles- gas cap was sticking, refusing to come off, and it was apparently a bad filler neck. Fixed without blinking, under warranty. However, if you read around, you will see/hear that Mazda has gained a reputation for denying warranty claims for what appear to be questionable reasons.

Now, you can never believe 110% of what you read on the net, so take it all with a grain of salt. But the volume of such claims would suggest that there must be some truth to it. But that issue is a whole bag of worms unto itself, and has been beaten to death in several threads on this site recently.

As for daily driver factor- this car is a fantastic DD. It's got a pretty darned comfortable ride and the seats are fairly supportive. Road noise/exhaust noise is not too bad. I commute 55-60 miles per day round trip, and have no complaints.

State Farm recognizes this car as a 4-door hatchback rather than a sportscar, and my insurance is within $10/mo of what I was paying for a 2005 MINI Cooper S when I traded in. (About $900/year w/ 250k limits, but I'm an old fart.) By way of comparison, State Farm wanted nearly triple the insurance if I bought a VW GTI, even though it is also classed as a hatchback. Agent wasn't sure if it was a replacement parts issue, a theft frequency thing, or what.

If you take a Speed3 for a test drive & they let you rag on it at all, you may find the 2nd-3rd shift a little wonky. Easily fixed with $10 shifter bushings from TWM and an aftermarket rear motor mount ($90-150, depending on brand/model) which can be installed easily without even having to support the engine. Although I'd still support it, just to be safe. Hehheh.

 

[H3br3w_Ham3r]

I run an AccessPort on a performance map all the time and have never switched to an economy map. I want to be able to get on it at a moments notice. If you look at the map notes for the economy map the rev limiter is lowered to 4800 and you get a maximum 8 psi of boost. If you ever want suddenly decide to take someone on at the lights you'd be embarrassed. Also all its doing is limiting the amount of power you can get out of the car. If you just drive like a civilized person you will get the same results.

I currently run a map for just the Cobb Short Ram Intake and have averaged 28.7 mpg overall. This includes three visits to the road course, one to the drag strip, and three auto crosses. Stock I was getting about 26.5 mpg. I don't know what improved the MPG the most, the tune or the intake. The N/A civic will get better MPG regardless.

I've had my car for a year and a half and driven about 12,000 miles. Only thing that has gone wrong is a rear end link bolt came loose and started clunking. Mazda replaced the whole part at no charge even though it was just the bolt. The car has stood up extremely well to the hard driving I have been doing on the track. Still plenty of break pads left and the rotors look great. The stock tires will wear a bit fast but they only have a wear rating of 140 so what can you expect.

 

[Tyrdstorm]

I drove a 2002 Acura RSX Type S before I got my speed3 and my insurance dropped from about $130 per month to $98. I guess since the car is classified as a wagon they don't jack up the price. I was amazed, especially since the RSX was 6.5 years old, had a lot less power and no turbo.

I would assume a Civic Si would be classified close to the same as the RSX Type S, but who knows. You could always call your insurance and get a quote, they can do it in a matter of minutes while you're on the phone.

 

[Nismothecat]

I drove a 2002 Acura RSX Type S before I got my speed3 and my insurance dropped from about $130 per month to $98. I guess since the car is classified as a wagon they don't jack up the price. I was amazed, especially since the RSX was 6.5 years old, had a lot less power and no turbo.

I would assume a Civic Si would be classified close to the same as the RSX Type S, but who knows. You could always call your insurance and get a quote, they can do it in a matter of minutes while you're on the phone.

Honda's get stolen all the time. one reason why thier insurance is so high.

 

[dizzin9]

what's your budget? i would assume it's on the 20k+ range. it's pretty reliable for a boosted car but if you really want to be "safe" i would get a n/a car. as far fuel economy, u just have to shift like a grandma around 1500ish to maybe 2k rpms - which is dumb because that is not the reason u bought a performance car. if u want reliability and fuel economy u might want to check out the prius.

 

[aaronc7]

if you are worried about mpg and economy map on the AP...check out the yaris i hear its pretty sweet

 

[08cosmic3]

Honda's get stolen all the time. one reason why thier insurance is so high.

The rsx has one of the highest accident death rates of any car. It's small and very fast, is usually owned and driven by very young guys that street race.

 

[kvndoom]

I've only had mine about 3 weeks, but so far I've gotten right at 20 city and my one highway trip yielded 28. I had a first-gen Mazda6 with the n/a 2.3, and it got about 24 city and 29 highway (real-world, not EPA sticker), so I haven't lost much, but have gained a hell of a lot more power. The grin that overwhelms my face every time I get thrown back into the seat is something you can't put a price tag on.

I traded in a 2007 RX8 to get the MS3, and my insurance dropped. It doesn't seem like insurance companies classify it as a sports car.

I love the ride. It's obviously stiffer than the regular 3 because of the sports suspension, but 95% of the time I'm in bliss when driving it. I don't know how the cloth seats are, but one of the reasons I chose to get a GT is because the Alcantara/leather is incredibly comfortable.

My most awkward shift is 4-5, which apparently isn't the norm, from posts I have read.

 

[ptruong31]

hahaha thanks for your inputs guys, lots of information, and regarding the comments about the yaris // prius its not that im heavily worried about mpg and fuel economy to the point where i would start buying some hybrid or super slow car, i want to get a fun / reliable car with fairly good gas mileage. now, on other forums i get multiple inputs that the 09 ms3 still has hydrolock and motor mount problems and some people saying that its already fixed...may i get some feedback on this from anybody with an 09?

 

[08cosmic3]

It's been a while since I read where someone's motor fell due to the tranny mount breaking. Most commomn on 2007 with a few 2008's also. Seems like I've read of only one 2009 with tranny mount failure.

If you go with a CAI be aware that you need to avoid high water at all cost. If your not sure how deep the water is then back up and go around. If it's too late, cut the engine asap when hitting the water. I chose the Cobb sri so as not to have to worry about hydrolock. There will be those that will tell you it is almost impossible to hydrolock a MS3, beleive them if you dare.

 

[stageup]

17k miles so far, will be 2yrs in sept.

nothing major

 

[gordo79]

ive had my 09 MS3 for about a month and half and love it.... the MPG arent bad... and my insur is only 109 a month but then again ur insur depends on ur driving record..... to be honest i drove the SI and really wasnt impressed with it... got into a speed3 and well we know what happened..... but its truely up to u, its ur money..... but personally i would go MS3, more power, better handling, ect..... good luck.......

 

[Nismothecat]

The rsx has one of the highest accident death rates of any car. It's small and very fast, is usually owned and driven by very young guys that street race.

an RSX is very fast. the MS3 must be a rocket ship.

 

[leadf00t]

an RSX is very fast. the MS3 must be a rocket ship.

Yeah my rocket ship ate one of those last week, yummy !!