Recent content by SandMan2

benben01--- You've got a MS3 and a CX-9! I also have a MS3, 2007 with 35K miles on it. My wife actually hates driving it (too noisy and "jerky" which I think is her word for tight handling). But I like driving the CX-9, it's a nice smooth car. I'm not sure about the location of the bracket...

I thought I had a detonation problem, but Mazda in las vegas just fixed the vacuum hose booster bracket. that's what listed on my repair order. so far no knocking!

Dealer called and said it's the vacuum hose booster bracket..was loose. We'll see...

Wow, I'm glad I found this thread. My car has been making this noise for weeks now, it started around 8K miles. It's been at the dealer for two days--both the service manager and tech could hear the sound, which occurs at low RPMs under load. They told me it was engine knock, but they're not...

I appreciate the input, but I shouldn't have to use premium in this car...if i have to resort to that, I will demand that Mazda take it back.

So I have been hearing a low grating sound from my engine at certain RPMs. I thought it was in the transmission. It's been doing this for about 2 or 3 weeks now. I finally got a chance to bring the car in to the dealer. The dealer is now saying that it's engine knock (or pre-ignition). I...

^ Agree, that may be a good point. Also, I don't think we could live with the base model 3, we'd probably end up spending over 20K anyway just to get more options. We actually only paid 29K for our CX-9 b/c it had 2K miles on it, even though the MSRP was 42K.

I am trying to talk my wife into selling her 12 mo. old CX-9 AWD GT for a 2010 Mazda 3. While I like the CX-9 and it's got all the goodies-nav, gameboy sys, moonroof, satellite radio, tow, etc-it's pricey and uses a fair amount of gas. Plus, my wife doesn't really drive anywhere except to take...

Yeah, this is definitely the time to buy a CX-9. I bought mine a few months ago when there were still lots of new 08's on the lot and I got a slightly used one (2000 mi) for 13K off MSRP--loaded GT with the gameboy, AWD, tow, tint, clearbra, navi, etc. It's an awesome car, especially with all...

welcome, i've spent a lot of time in the UAE flying KC-10s. It's hot there! I thought Las vegas was hot but man it's like an oven there in the summer. But it's also an impressive area with places like Abu Dhabi and Dubai to choose from. What do you think of it?

So are you choosing between a MS3 and CX-9? B/c they couldn't be more different cars. But, I do own one of each, and they are great cars. I prefer the MS3...it's a real sports car...but the CX-9 is a better family car.

That's not exactly true... A good example of this is the Speed 3. It's as modern as you can get with a turbo charged direct injection motor. An simple CAI on the MS3 yields an avg of 20WHP and a DP (down pipe) for another 20-30WHP. Both bolt ons with no reflash necessary. There are plenty of...

the v6 mazda6 only gets 2-3mpg better so it's not a big difference

do you think the mpg in the 9 is much worse than the V6 sedan would be in daily driving?

I just bought a grand touring AWD. I was torn between that and the new Mazda6 b/c of the gas mileage difference (17/25 vs 15/21). But there is only a 3 mpg difference between the two, so that doesn't seem to be a huge difference. I'm wondering if an intake will bridge the gap and give me an...