ive got about $200....

1moreMPH

Member
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03.5 Speed sunsilver
ok, here's the deal, ive got about $200 bucks and i wanna do something wit my 3.5 sunlight silver zpeed. I havn't done anything at all to it (except for a tight 'MAZDASPEED' windshield decal my friend gave me). So, what should i do -- cosmetic or go go -- all suggestions are appriciated, remember budget.
 
Blitz DTT DC2. Monitors your boost and makes it so you don't have to wait 30 sec to shut down your car every time. $120. Next, either get a AWR front motor mount so your car doesn't bounce so much when you spin the tires or start saving for an exhaust or intake. There will be people who tell you to get a boost controller, but it doesn't sound like you have a lot of money to blow so why void your warantee?

Another idea to do with the $80 is go get some high-temp primer/paint (color of your choice), and a wire brush and touch up your brake rotors (I'm sure you see that they are probably rusty and take away from your rims look). Also, some redline MT-90 synthetic tranny fluid will make your shifts much more smooth. Getting some shifter bushings wouldn't hurt. All are pretty cheap mods.
 
jurgs01 said:
Blitz DTT DC2. Monitors your boost and makes it so you don't have to wait 30 sec to shut down your car every time. $120. Next, either get a AWR front motor mount so your car doesn't bounce so much when you spin the tires or start saving for an exhaust or intake. There will be people who tell you to get a boost controller, but it doesn't sound like you have a lot of money to blow so why void your warantee?

Another idea to do with the $80 is go get some high-temp primer/paint (color of your choice), and a wire brush and touch up your brake rotors (I'm sure you see that they are probably rusty and take away from your rims look). Also, some redline MT-90 synthetic tranny fluid will make your shifts much more smooth. Getting some shifter bushings wouldn't hurt. All are pretty cheap mods.
Great suggestions Jurgs. I highly recommend both the TT and the motor mount. I have both and couldn't be happier with them.
 
i'd say gauges. $200 isn't exactly much, get a nice boost gauge and then 2 others (whatever your preferences are), a plate to mount them under your receiver, and your $200 is gone.


also, free mod, remove tight mazdaspeed decal
 
jurgs01 said:
Blitz DTT DC2. Monitors your boost and makes it so you don't have to wait 30 sec to shut down your car every time. $120. Next, either get a AWR front motor mount so your car doesn't bounce so much when you spin the tires or start saving for an exhaust or intake. There will be people who tell you to get a boost controller, but it doesn't sound like you have a lot of money to blow so why void your warantee?

Another idea to do with the $80 is go get some high-temp primer/paint (color of your choice), and a wire brush and touch up your brake rotors (I'm sure you see that they are probably rusty and take away from your rims look). Also, some redline MT-90 synthetic tranny fluid will make your shifts much more smooth. Getting some shifter bushings wouldn't hurt. All are pretty cheap mods.


Dang man, that sounds awesome -- my first thought was to up the turbo psi....but i guess that would take a bit more time/effort/mulah. The Blitz DTT DC2 though, does that actually do anyhting performance-wise, or is it simply a turbo timer? Does it tell you what psi you're boosting at (like a guage pod)? Also, that motor mount sounds very worth-while...these MSPs are real light and like to jump around on quick starts...but what exactly does it do (technically please -- is it like a bracket for the motor?). Lastly, what kind of paint should i use on the calipers (i like 'em red) and can i do it myself with the wheels on the car, or not? also...bushings? no clue. THANKS A LOT FOR THE SUGGESTIONS...i prolly sound like a baffling idiot, but im just getting into this sort of thing, so help me out. Thanks again, i'll try and do ALL of that.

(yupnope)
 
blitz thing is a turbo timer, nothing performance wise, lets you see boost pressure.
motor mount does exactly what the name implies. it's the thing that mounts the motor to the car. the awr mount uses stiffer polyurethane (i think) rather than the stock rubber, so the motor doesn't move, which is what causes the jumping around, the motor moving
paint- use caliper paint. you can do it yourself, you at least need to take the wheels off, if not the caliper itself. overspray looks like s***, don't do it
shifter bushings- search for "kartboy bushings" there is a lot of info about them
 
thanks jred. that helps....

keep 'em coming (doughpoke

also, all the stuff that was first said and from here on out....is it under warranty? Cuz im not gonna void that.
 
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depends on your dealer basically. technically nothing mentioned, other than boost controller, will void your warranty, but some dealerships are bitches about it, so it depends. some guys from near you (i think there's some on here) would be able to better advise you
 
jred321 said:
i'd say gauges. $200 isn't exactly much, get a nice boost gauge and then 2 others (whatever your preferences are), a plate to mount them under your receiver, and your $200 is gone.


also, free mod, remove tight mazdaspeed decal

What can he do with any guages besides the boost gauge at this point? Besides a wideband an a/f gauge is just a light show. Oil press? Temps? I just don't know what gauge would actually be functional and not just fancy crap he wouldn't use.

best mod that can be done =
also, free mod, remove tight mazdaspeed decal
As for warranty most dealers will void it for adding a hula girl to the dash in my experience so I said screw it and went all out lol.
 
i'm just saying what i would do. gauges=planning ahead, not necessarily useful now. i know what i would do isn't what most people would do. i'd go with an egt and prob. oil pressure to keep it cheap but that'll probably still be over $200

you can also try to get a shop to replace your cat(s) with a section of straight pipe, that'll help things out
 
jred321 said:
oh yea, for cheap you can also remove the rear weatherstripping and the coolant tb bypass mod
Oh nice good call on the weatherstripping. Non warranty related, free, and easy.
 
That's also a good idea. Buy a high-flow cat and have it welded to a custom 2.5" midpipe. I would go with SS, so it might be a bit more than 200. You will keep your warantee doing this and if you drop in a K&N air filter you will have some great bang for the buck.

As for painting the rotors here is a thread:

http://www.msprotege.com/forum/showthread.php?t=67030&highlight=paint+rotors

A guide to cheap AWR motor mounts is listed in the modder's guide.

II have attached a pic of what the blitz TT looks like. It keeps your car running and it has a digital boost guage. It reads in HKpa, but there is about 14.5 psi to 1 HKpa so it is easy to convert. Very good mod for the money. If you buy the TT and boost guage separately it will be 1.5 times as much for low grade models and you have to find places to mount them.

Also, we don't mind giving you ideas but you should spend a good amount of time reading through old threads. I didn't make my first post till like 3 months after I joined because I just read what people had been talking about and then researched to see if it was valid or bulls***. Almost everything you can imagine has been discussed over the last year or so.
 

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jred321 said:
oh yea, for cheap you can also remove the rear weatherstripping and the coolant tb bypass mod

definitely don't have a clue what you're talking about... (mswerd)
 
jred321 said:
i'd say gauges. $200 isn't exactly much, get a nice boost gauge and then 2 others (whatever your preferences are), a plate to mount them under your receiver, and your $200 is gone.


also, free mod, remove tight mazdaspeed decal

...am i getting the vibe that you don't like my speed decal? I think it's hella tight, makes it look so badass and sporty. It's stayin' on. (laugh)
 
1moreMPH said:
definitely don't have a clue what you're talking about... (mswerd)
there is a strip of weatherstripping running along the back of your engine bay, where the hood meets the engine bay. just take it off.
for the coolant bypass, there have been some threads on it recently, basically stock there is a coolant line going to your throttle body to keep it from freezing in cold weather. what you do is just loop the line back on itself so the hot coolant doesn't go to your throttle body and you keep intake temps lower
 

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