Recent content by wmherman@mchsi.

New tire report New GY Eagle GT's installed. These tires look great on the car and appear to be wider than the stock Potenza's. Noise problem is gone and I feel like we're finally able to enjoy driving this car again. I suspect the rear alignment had been "off" from day one (causing cupping)...

New tires today I'm getting rid of the stock Potenza's today. They have 24k miles on them and have been noisy for ages (they cupped early in the process, ruining the enjoyment of driving or riding in this car which I purchased new - 2008 MS3). Even though they're not quite worn down to the...

Thanks for the info on the tires. Speaking of the car being geared too low, I agree. I wish 6th gear was more of an overdrive gear for cruising the interstate at 80ish. I guess Mazda wanted to make sure we'd have the power we needed, regardless of speed. I have a pair of C5 Corvettes, both...

All figures are degrees...

Yes, 15k is way too long. LR toe was 0.17 and RR toe was 0.13, both very much within spec. Total toe was 0.30. LR camber was -1.9 and RR camber was -1.5, again very much within range. The only thing the shop could figure is that maybe I ran the tire with low air pressure for awhile. I guess...

hilmark, I'm not sure but isn't the width the only difference between the two ramps? What year is your speed3? Mine is 2008. Could it be that the front end is different on our two cars so that you might not have a clearance problem with either ramp?

I asked my turbo what it prefers & it told me it really didn't care as long as I gave it a Michelob Ultra once in awhile...(dance) But seriously, I doubt there's anyone who doesn't agree that synthetic oil is superior to dino oil. The debate centers on whether or not there's enought difference...

How to make the Rhino Ramps work with the MS3 My car would not clear the ramps without using the 2x6's. I have a 45 degree angle cut on the front edge. I've added a 1x4 turned sideways so that the tire doesn't drop down when it goes off the end of the 2x6's and onto the ramp. This setup...

That's funny. Actually, you will probably get more oil out if you warm the engine up before draining it as it gets thinner and drains more easily. If you let the car sit overnight, the oil will be cold. Any oil puddling & sitting in "nooks & crannies" will still sit there no matter how long...

I'm looking at my owners manual right now & there are two different schedules the factory requires, depending on various factors. For the most severe conditions they require you to change oil & filter at 5,000 mile intervals. For non-severe conditions the interval is listed at 7,500 miles. It...

I changed my speed3 oil & filter for the first time today. The metal washer on the drain plug does not look like a crush-type washer. It looks like a regular, flat-surface washer. What did the washers the parts guy gave you look like? Most crush-type washers I've used before went on exhaust...

Funnel suggestion: Cut the bottom one inch off an empty, 1 qt plastic oil container (I used a Castrol container). Unscrew the cap & stick the makeshift funnel into the oil fill opening. Carefully pour the new oil into the makeshift funnel. All is well...