CX-7 Performance 0-60

[HeavyH20]

I am sure many have read reviews indicating that the CX-7 was an 8 second zero to 60 mph vehicle. So, I picked up a DashHawk, and with a clean start, in drive, that was about what I saw. Anything from 7.9 to 8.1. As expected, much like the reviews.

Then, I decided to make some additional runs using the manual upshift mode. I also did a more aggressive launch by loading up the trans and getting the RPM's to just over 2000. With that, runs were now under 7 seconds. I then played with the shift points, and got it down to about 6.5 seconds. With a little tuning, this vehicle could really wake up. I am curious what it can do other than stock.

 

[mikey1981]

wow - u got it under 7, thats pretty impressive. and that graph is awesome. was that 60mph in 2nd gear?

 

[HeavyH20]

I was happy with sub 7. The traction control would get involved occasionally and slow things up.

If I held onto second for the 0-60 run, times slipped to a low 7, high 6. But, if I shifted to third, it kept the car in the torque band better. So, it was in third gear for the good runs.

The speed is on the left side, in red. Kind of hard to see. The numbers at the top are the samples taken from the onboard computer.

 

[SuperStretch18]

That's why I'm always in manual mode! Auto seems to shift to quickly and keep you out of the 3-4000 rpm range. Too bad they didn't offer a true manual, but oh well...

Just out of curiousity, is yours stock?

 

[otnielarencibia]

so from what you saw...at what rpm would you shift at to get the best times?

 

[HeavyH20]

Stock, for now. I wanted to baseline it before I changed anything.

As for shifting, I intitiate the 1-2 at 5500 and then 2-3 at 5200. It plays the torque band better and the power drop with the small turbo. I did a few extra runs last night, and held onto the gears until 6000 before the change (it is not quite immediate, so it pushes near redline), and I did about 7.3. So, earlier out seemed to feel slower since the shifting was smoother, but the results were much better.

I think that is why leaving it in Drive nets slower times. It holds onto each gear way too long.

 

[SuperStretch18]

so from what you saw...at what rpm would you shift at to get the best times?

From the graph, it looks like:

0-1: @2250 rpm
1-2: @6200 rpm
2-3: @5800 rpm

 

[HeavyH20]

Yes, you initiate the gear change at the RPM's I indicated, and they net the actual shift points recorded. The changes are not immediate with the manual shift. There is a bit of a delay. That delay is what seems to hurt the car in plain Drive. It is about 600 to 700 rpm for the trans to react to the gear change request.

 

[dirtyhat]

VERY good posting H2O. I am interested in seeing what the CPE CAI will do for you times. Are you planning on adding any after market pieces in the near future.

I can't wait for someone to do a custom tune on these vehicles. You should start one up. The shift points alone would be a nice mod.

 

[SuperStretch18]

Ditto; thanks for the post!

 

[HeavyH20]

Hope it helps anyone looking for a little more

CP-E is working on a plug and play tune for the CX-7. They are very good about their testing, so I expect them to find similar shift points. I will also be adding the cold air intake and BOV after the CP-E tune release. I will baseline with just the tune, then the CAI, then the BOV. After that, I will probably get an improved intercooler and look at the Cat back. My goal is to get solidly in the 5's 0-60 and quarter mile times (which I have to test on the stock, yet) in the mid/low 14's.

I want to CX-7 to go as fast as it looks

 

[mikey1981]

plug n play - r those safe in the long run and will they do anything to the factory warranty, or, could u just unplug it whne the car is serviced without a tech knowing? all this stuff is new to me

also witha BOV - getting just one of those i read a poster that said the factory one is garbage, is that a worth while part upgrade that will do anything for the car

 

[HeavyH20]

The plastic factory BOV one leaks at full boost, so you bleed horsepower, a little. The replacement will help get the last few out of the stock engine, but, it will be a requirement for a tune change where the boost is pushed a little past 15.6 psi.

As for the PNP chip, it simply runs a loop outside of the stock computer, so once unplugged, there should be no footprint.

 

[mikey1981]

thanks !

 

[Mazda3]

Yeah, the shift points in the CX-7 need a little tweaking. In most new cars they shift to soon leaving a few 100 useful RPM's wasted in each gear. In the CX it holds the gears to long. The PCM shifts at about 6200 RPM, but I find it works best if you use the manual mode and get it to shift at about 5800 RPM. It won't take much for a good PCM tune to drop 3/4 second off the 1/4 mile time.

I think you will see more PCM updates from Mazda as well. The last update definately improved the drive, but there's still some left on the table IMO.

 

[HeavyH20]

Yep. I noticed a 600 to 700 RPM lag. And, with the monitor in place, I saw spark retard kick in from 1-2 when leaving it in drive. Not good for the engine or the times.

Also, if you check the CX-7 torque and bhp curve compared with other 2.3 turbo engines, the power drop above 5500 is more pronounced. So, I switch a little earlier and actually experienced a .4 second gain to 60 mph.

 

[HeavyH20]

Did some more testing with shift points. Once again, lower is better for shift points. 6.02 seconds.

I got the newer flash from Mazda at my first service visit (glove box damper hinge was broken). For the good runs, I turned off TCS, launched at 2500and shifted at 5400 1-2, 5600 2-3.

 

[spike blue]

wow great i knew that the cx-7 has a potential!!

 

[HeavyH20]

Yes, not bad for stock, at all!

The shifting in manual mode is much more crisp with the new flash. Instead of a 600 to 700 rpm lag, the shift lag is down to 300 rpm 1-2 and, some how, an almost immediate 50 rpm from 2-3. That part was surprising. The shift points are the flat spot just before each of the rpm peaks on the graph posted above.

And, looking at the C/D review, 0-30 is the same 2.4 secs, 0-40 is 3.4 versus 4.0 secs, 0-50 is 4.5 versus 5.6 secs, and lastly, 6.0 versus 7.9 secs. What I do not see is how it took 2.3 seconds to go from 50 to 60 mph in the C/D test. If you look at the chart, the acceleration is pretty linear. There is a curve, which is expected, but not nearly as bad as what C/D reported.

Next, a quarter mile test.

 

[Int3grity]

Good post. what else can your data logger do? just curious been looking into getting one that does this and also tells me any codes the car puts out