09 Mazdaspeed3 & 09 Cobalt SS

[FrequentFlyer]

"Dude, when you turn 18...." DON'T BUY AN MS3 because I don't want my damn car insurance going up. That is the problem with these "cheap" fast cars these days.

 

[intak3_bLkMs3]

i loved the way the old cb/sc looked dropped and removed spoilers almost bought an 05 ss/sc till i test drove the ms3. ms3 is pretty damn sleeper and i love the peoples looks when they hear the blow off. haha i had a kid at my school in a wrx with intake and a cat back ask me if it was turbo'd i told him it was a whistle in my exhaust to make it sound like it haha idiot... ne ways ms3 has a few specifics the cobalt is missing. and any car can be made a beast so that post about the tunability...

 

[60181]

I believe the 5500 cut off is due to the turbo not anything else. the KO4 isn't designed on our cars to spin past a certain point and that's why it lays flat by design. IMO, it's moot because short shifting results in a better power band....at least that's what I've found. Besides, I spin at the top of first and second already.

I just watched the road and track comparison test I think it was done in september sometime, and it was between the cobalt, wrx, evo, and ms3. All 3 cars besides the 3 were all new for 2009, each had been reworked. The 3 has been the same since it has come out. It was only a matter of time before it would have a tough challenge. I think mazda should introduce some new items for the 3 such as suspension tweaks, and getting rid of the 5500rpm drop off. That would put it back in the fight!....and maybe some drop some weight!

 

[SSMS3]

The Cobalt has a bit more performance, comparable cost and uses less fuel, 22-30. Most everything else is subjective. Had this car been available when I was shopping I'd have looked at, but feel strongly I still would have purchased the MS3

 

[MSMS3]

Well, lets see: GM copies the MS3 performance concept but in a crappy, ugly Cobalt body, which turns out to be 200 lbs lighter. Two hundred pounds in the quarter equals what -- two tenths? Two hundred pounds less weight does what to handling and braking?

And if you are trying to just get better 0-60 and quarter mile times for the car mags, go with a 5 speed that hits 60 in second gear and has to shift fewer times in the quarter, rather than our 6 speed.

It's marketing. It's not rocket science. The car's just 200 lbs lighter. And for reliability . . . . well we know what is going to happen there.

And it's gonna be a lot easier to get more safe aftermarket power increases from a 2.3 liter engine than from a 2.0 liter engine.

 

[15min5k]

I'm honestly not impressed with the Cobalt, they (GM) basically copied the concept of the MS3 like MSMS3 stated and put a powerfull motor (260hp/260tq) in a light POS car and did some suspension tweaks. The Mazda 3 was always a nice car to begin with at least. I wouldn't go with the new WRX either, I doubt that tranny can take much abuse at all. If I had to do it all over again with $25k to for a new car I would still go with the MS3 for a nice total package. $30k-$35k it would be a stripped EVO X GSR or BWM 135i

P.S. No lift shifts and launch control is for pussies IMO.