Adding mods, but in what order?

[Neofolis]

I have spent the past day searching the forum for various info, but it just seems to raise as many questions as answers.

Currently my only proper mods are wheels and H&R springs. Unfortunately, although I know basically how any engine works, I am new to modding and haven't done much under the hood before.

I am currently looking to spend $200-$300, preferably on HP gains, I could spend a bit more if there is good reason to, but I was wondering how different mods effect each other and what order to do them in.

Because of my current budget, I was thinking SRI and maybe TIP, but wouldn't more air in mean you also need to get more air out. I considered a Test Pipe, but being in the UK, I have to have both Cats. I also read a post that mentioned that it is better to have some kind of ECU control/upgrade before upgrading other parts, so there is less of an issue with sensor errors, CEL's, etc.

Also, because I will probably upgrade one or two bits at a time, depending on cost, I was thinking it would be preferable to avoid having to replace an earlier mod, because of a later mod, e.g. I don't want to add an SRI then later add a TMIC or FMIC, which would make the SRI useless.

I know I won't get a lot of an upgrade for $200-$300, but like I said I could spend a bit more, if it is for something that is the most sensible first step.

Sorry, if all of this has been answered before, I have searched and read "The "What should I do to my Mazdaspeed6 first" thread" and the "MS6 Performance Mods List", but they don't address all of the issues that I am concerned with.

 

[Marauder.45]

Is that 2-300 US, Euro or Pound?

Technically we're supposed to have our second cat too, (sssh)

Mods are your personal order, with how far you plan to go and how much you are going to spend.

Tuner is never a bad start, and you'll always be using it. Cobb AP is $695 US.
Big gains come from the turboback. So a cat'd DP would be huge. $7-900 US.
Guys are doing ok with the stock exhaust from the cat. So you don't really need to touch it for a while.

Doing an intake without the TIP seems to be looked on as a waste.

Car and Driver just did a CAI/DP/CBE on a Subaru, they ran the parts without a tune and found 30hp gain. Then got a Cobb tune and found 50hp gain with the same set up. Tune goes a long way.

 

[coyfish]

Go to protegegarage.com and check out the intake / inlet combo. Its like 150 bucks which is a great deal. Not sure why you think TMIC / FMIC will make intake "useless." TMIC's have nothing to do with the intake and most FMIC's (except corksport which has its own ram air intake thing) fit fine with aftermarket intakes. You don't really "need" a tune until you get a downpipe or aftermarket turbo or get around 280ish whp. I am still untuned with all my mods.

My advice would be to start simple and work your way up. That way you can learn as you go and won't make costly mistakes. The mazda ECU unlike some other cars is very adaptive. It can learn a variety of mods. There are people pushing 320 whp with bigger turbos untuned.

Good mods to start with that cause no problems and are cheap / easy are . . .

intake / turbo inlet / Bypass Valve / test pipe / shifter bushings / shortshifter / rear engine mount

happy modding !

 

[Metallic36]

Why would the SRI make a FMIC useless? (dunno) Coyfish explained it well.

 

[Neofolis]

Thanks for your input. Like I said, I don't really have any experience modding, so the FMIC/TMIC/Intake was probably not a good example, probably the result of me misreading something elsewhere on the forum or remembering incorrectly, but I seem to have read a couple of things where people have had to replace a previous mod, because of a new one.

As I understand it, there are two Cats, one in the downpipe and one in the main exhaust, so as long as I use a Catted Downpipe and Catback exhaust, no problems?

From what I can tell then my best bet for a $200-$300 (US) spend would be SRI and TIP. If I upgrade the turbo at some point, the TIP would still be OK with the correct adaptor, right? Then I could add a BPV as my next mod before moving on to the exhaust?

 

[Blendercloud]

Yes, there are two cats. One is in the downpipe like you said, the other is just after the downpipe. It is separate piping that is flanged into the rest of the exhaust, so you can remove that second cat with a test pipe and replace it relatively easy when you need to do an emissions test, etc.

You will be able to use both the intake and turbo inlet pipe throughout the rest of your modding, so pick quality parts! Don't think that upgrading the way the car takes in air means that you have to upgrade the way it exhausts. That is typically true, but not really in this case. In the case of the MS6, you will find that the stock intake is drastically more restrictive than the stock exhaust. You can upgrade intake and inlet pipe and feel much better about your car even without doing other mods.

My advice is similar to the posters before me. Go with an intake, inlet pipe, rear engine mount, and some Denso ITV22 spark plugs. If you go with Protege Garage's intake+inlet pipe combo, you can get all that done for around $300 US. It will also be a good way to learn how to change your spark plugs if you don't already know how.

With those you get enhanced driveability, smoother shifting, safety measure against detonation/spark knock, and most-likely better fuel mileage.

 

[Super Shredder]

make sure the wheels you got weight less than the stockers

 

[Neofolis]

Yes, I did think about the PG combo, as it is very competitively priced, but I also keep seeing how highly owner of the Cobb SRI & Inlet rate them.

Don't mention the wheels, circumstances beyond my control lead to me having heavy wheels. I will try to address this with suspension upgrades, but may have to replace them with lighter wheels in the future.

 

[coyfish]

if im not mistaken if you plan on upgrading your turbo to a bigger garret turbo you will need a different turbo inlet pipe. The turbine housing is bigger than the stock turbo. But honestly the inlet pipe is cheap. Get the PG inlet pipe. I spent 200 bucks on the CPE only to find it doesn't fit well. I returned it and im now waiting on the 1/2 price PG inlet pipe. You can just sell it when your done. One of the cool things about modding is that parts don't go bad for the most part. You can resell them and get most of your money back.


As for the replacing mods because of problems with newer mods. Only ex I can think of is with FMIC's. Some front mounts don't fit with some air intakes. With a speed 6 you don't need to worry about it though. We only have 2 brands to choose from (corksport / cpe). Corksport has its own intake thing so you won't need your intake anymore and CPE fits fine with most intakes.

That or when people buy the COBB AP tuning device they choose to buy all cobb products so they most closely resemble the generic maps cobb provides. With the new self tuner software available however you don't really need to do that.

And you may already know this but it doesn't hurt to point out that catback exhaust doesn't have cats. It means the exhaust "back" of the cats. There are 3 pieces to teh exhaust. The downpipe right off the turbo which connects to a short 1.5 foot test pipe which connects to the rest of the catback. The test pipe comes out very easily. I can swap mine in and out in 15 minutes. Might take you longer the first time because those bolts are TIGHT, especially if they are rusted.

 

[coyfish]

Yes, I did think about the PG combo, as it is very competitively priced, but I also keep seeing how highly owner of the Cobb SRI & Inlet rate them.

Don't mention the wheels, circumstances beyond my control lead to me having heavy wheels. I will try to address this with suspension upgrades, but may have to replace them with lighter wheels in the future.

Cobb makes good products but ive read bunches of people complaining about messed up fuel trims and other problems with the cobb SRI. Im yet to see any complains with the PG. Not trying to advocate one or the other but just letting you know. Whatever brand you decide I would advice to get the inlet / intake the same brand so they fit the best.

 

[Neofolis]

Thanks, so it looks like I will probably go for the PG Intake & TIP, assuming Ken can ship to UK. This is probably a stupid question, but although I would prefer the look of the black powder coat option, wouldn't the polished finish be the best for reflecting external heat and wouldn't a matt black be the worst finish for absorbing heat, even if the powder coating adds a minute layer of insulation? I've seen some people write that the air temperature in the intake on our engines doesn't make any difference, but if that were the case why would anyone bother with CAI's?

 

[tunersteve]

The finish will cause negligible differences between colors. Same as going with stainless vs. silicone.

I don't have any experience with the PG TIP and SRI, but it seems to get good reviews from most on here. I have the Cobb inlet and it's a nice piece. With the AP, my fuel trims are pretty solid right now.

 

[kendon]

i think you would be hard pressed to get a better deal other than the pg full intake setup. i've had mine on some where in the range of 3k miles and i have no complaints. i would pm ken and get the "larger filter" upgrade option. i can't remember who it was, but they made a valid point about a larger cone filter being of some benefit. i want to say it was in the original pg intake thread in the 6/forced induction directory. in any event, happy modding.

also, has anyone tried the corksport full intake? that might be another option too.

 

[Neofolis]

Thanks Steve, I feel better about the idea of ordering black now. Thanks Kendon, I assume the PG full length short ram intake, is the SRI + TIP. I think you are right about the mention of larger filters being in the original PG thread, I remember reading it at the weekend.

So now I'm thinking get the PG full length and Bendercloud mentioned plugs and Rear Motor Mount. I'm a little put off the mount, partly because of the greater vibration at tickover, but also because I don't have any issues with the way the car shifts, I even like the original clutch most of the time. I was thinking instead I should increase my budget slightly and get the Forge BPV. So would the PG full length SRI with larger K&N plus the Forge BPV, be a good combination to start my performance mods? I'm guessing, "Yes", as it is still two out of four of Steve's $500 package in The "What should I do to my Mazdaspeed6 first" thread.

 

[Blendercloud]

Unless your stock bpv is leaking don't bother with the forge right now.

 

[ms6acton]

Unless your stock bpv is leaking don't bother with the forge right now.

unless u want super mario jumping around in your engine bay

 

[Neofolis]

That wasn't what I was expecting, so why would it do that?

So, if I go for the engine mount, should I choose the 70 or 88 Durometer version?

 

[Blendercloud]

That wasn't what I was expecting, so why would it do that?

So, if I go for the engine mount, should I choose the 70 or 88 Durometer version?

I highly recommend the CP-E 70 durometer engine mount. I know the RPM store carries them. It's the only mount I've never heard anyone complain about falling apart and plopping your engine onto the ground.

 

[kendon]

i highly recommend the cp-e 70 durometer engine mount. I know the rpm store carries them. It's the only mount i've never heard anyone complain about falling apart and plopping your engine onto the ground.

+1

i want to say i've seen people make comments on the "harshness" of the 88 duro, other than that i can't say i've read any other "complaints" about it. if that even qualifies as a complaint.

 

[Neofolis]

I assume that is the CP-E Wishbone Motor Mount. If the AWR is really not worth getting or is that much worse, then I think I will leave the mount for now, because I was hoping to get everything from one place, as the shipping costs to the UK are likely to be prohibitive.

Maybe I should just go for the PG full intake and a strut tower brace, which is something that I need to do anyway to try to address the weight of my wheels. Does anyone know if the Corksport brace is good or whether I should spend a little more for one of the GT spec braces, strut or ladder?

Sorry I'm dragging this decision on for so long.