My 2007 Mazdaspeed3 dyno!

[CTGrey02]

Maybe the engine was like "zomg 94 octane wtf"

The engine has no way of knowing what octane fuel it has in it. If the cars designated gasoline is 91 octane, you wont see a performance boost from using anything higher with out getting the timing bumped in the ECU.

More dyno's of the cars will tell us if he A... has a factory freak. B. Car could be underrated.. by a lot according to this or C.. the Dyno operator couldn't figure out which gear to operate in.

 

[SeanMSIII]

The engine has no way of knowing what octane fuel it has in it. If the cars designated gasoline is 91 octane, you wont see a performance boost from using anything higher with out getting the timing bumped in the ECU.

More dyno's of the cars will tell us if he A... has a factory freak. B. Car could be underrated.. by a lot according to this or C.. the Dyno operator couldn't figure out which gear to operate in.

Word from MS6 owners is that its ECU appears to bump timing. Apparently many a thrill can be had from running 100 octane. One guy runs nothing but. If I can find some without taking heroic measures, I'll try it. Oh, yeah, I don't think that can explain the bizarro dyno results, either. What do you all think about the idea that he might be playing with a concealed boost controller?

 

[CTGrey02]

If it does take advantage of it then the ECU is obviously reading from the knock sensor and bumping the timing up. Adaptive tunes. Yum.

 

[Kansei]

I know on a lot of NA cars that recommend or even use the word "require" talking about premium fuel, they'll retard the timing if you don't use it.. Protege MP3, Nissan Altima/Maxima come to mind.

I never heard of a car taking advantage of a higher-than-recommended fuel grade though. If it gets confirmed, that's awesome!

Edit: *ExxonMobil rejoices*

 

[SeanMSIII]

I know on a lot of NA cars that recommend or even use the word "require" talking about premium fuel, they'll retard the timing if you don't use it.. Protege MP3, Nissan Altima/Maxima come to mind.

I never heard of a car taking advantage of a higher-than-recommended fuel grade though. If it gets confirmed, that's awesome!

Edit: *ExxonMobil rejoices*

It's a turbo thing since it has no problem with compressing the higher octane stuff. I heard that the STi ecu, for example, will bump timing for up to 96 octane (I think). I haven't heard any speculation on the DISI ecu's limit, but like I said MS6 owners running 100, say it's a blast. I've yet to see a station offering it around here and I don't think I'll buy by the container. Anybody in Austin, who's seen it at the pump, please let me know.

 

[Kansei]

...say it's a blast.

... all the way to the bank

not that people with turbo cars bought them for their stellar gas mileage anyway haha

 

[SeanMSIII]

... all the way to the bank

not that people with turbo cars bought them for their stellar gas mileage anyway haha

True, but mileage is like my old Altima SE, around 20 city 27-28 highway. Yeah, the 100 octane would just be for amusement.

 

[Kansei]

True, but mileage is like my old Altima SE, around 20 city 27-28 highway. Yeah, the 100 octane would just be for amusement.

That mileage isn't too bad at all. I'm sure if you got into boost all the time it would suffer a bit more but it really isn't bad considering the power you're making. My mom gets 16mpg in her 265HP Altima, and that thing weighs 2-300 pounds less than the MS3

 

[CTGrey02]

Last time I checked a gallon of unleaded race fuel (make sure it's unleaded... cat's don't like lead) was about 6 bucks.. it's been a good year since I've been to the track. That's an expensive way to drive around.

 

[SeanMSIII]

That mileage isn't too bad at all. I'm sure if you got into boost all the time it would suffer a bit more but it really isn't bad considering the power you're making. My mom gets 16mpg in her 265HP Altima, and that thing weighs 2-300 pounds less than the MS3

Whoa, staying OT for one more post, b/f some uninformed person thinks the MS3 weighs more than and Altima and has less hp, per Edmunds the '06 SE weighs 90 lbs more and is rated at 250 hp. The Altima's a pretty light car for its size, but not that light. If you're talking about the SE-R, it weighs 225 lbs more and is rated at 260 hp.

 

[Kansei]

Oh I must have been thinking of the weight of my mom's old 4-cyl model.

so yeah.. Altima 3.5SE - 3197 pounds
Mazdaspeed3 (tested by edmunds InsideLine) - 3163 pounds

let's just hope the Mazdaspeed3 lacks the painful torque steer of the Nissan

 

[altspace]

Did you also know that part of the ducting under the hood goes to the battery to cool it off?

 

[Kansei]

Thought that part of the ducting wasn't attached to the hood.. just under the hood, looking like it is a part of the intake. I was intrigued by that when I first saw it.. didn't realize the car batteries got hot enough that it was an issue.

 

[hellcat]

The engine has no way of knowing what octane fuel it has in it. If the cars designated gasoline is 91 octane, you wont see a performance boost from using anything higher with out getting the timing bumped in the ECU.

More dyno's of the cars will tell us if he A... has a factory freak. B. Car could be underrated.. by a lot according to this or C.. the Dyno operator couldn't figure out which gear to operate in.

I am going to go out on a limb here and say the person making the 94 octane comment was joking. Also, if the engine was made to run on 93 octane and you put lets say 91 octane in it and it knocks, won't the computer pull timing or take some other performance robbing action to correct this? This would seem to make the car aware of what octane it is running on.

 

[neit_jnf]

Mazdas ECU's (even non turbo ones) adjust timing based on knock readings, intake air temps, coolant temps, etc. The RX-8 for example runs crazy ignition timing advance unless knock is detected, timing is then retarded but the ECU keeps trying to bump it back up; same thing happens with the MSP3/MSP6/CX-7 ECU but it will even lower boost and reduce electronic throttle opening in certain situations, all to keep the engine safe.

 

[hellcat]

Cool, a better explanation!

 

[Hughes412]

I have no doubt that this car is capable of putting out these numbers, and you had the absolute perfect conditions. Lets try and look at this as a whole. Here is another dyno, that is more objective, and seeks to achieve a realistic amount of power. It's not done personally. Then compare it to the dyno you got. Take it or leave it, and make your own opinion. If you take everything as the truth, this means your Speed 3 will absolutely trounce the Magazine's Speed 3. They are like two totally different cars regarding HP.

http://www.automobilemag.com/features/0610_gti_civic_mazdaspeed3_dyno/mazdaspeed_3.html

The fact is, when you purchase a Speed 3 or Speed 6, it's a flip of the coin, and this car has tuning issues to the point where climate is playing too big of a role on how this car performs. You may get a fast one, or you may get a severly underpowered one. Perhaps, if you take a 259whp dyno done personally, and combine it with a 215whp dyno from a credible magazine, what you are looking is about a 230-235whp dyno average. I won't call BS, but I will call that a VERY generous dynograph. The torque seems to be even across almost all dynos. Why the huge dicrepency between HP, and not torque on various dynos?

Personally, I find my Speed 6 to be very finicky. Some days it's noticably faster then others. I never had that inconsistency with my STI, as the car was FASt all the time, which tells me Mazda still has a ton of work to do to get this engine running right. Def a work in progess IMO. I only wish my Speed 6 had even 240whp. I'm sure many Speed 3 or Speed 6 owner wishes that as well. With those numbers you put out, assuming they are accurate, you should be able to run your Speed 3 at the track in those climates and run 13s without a problem. Your Speed 3 will also be able to take out the EVO or STI, so congrats.

This is a very good statement.

 

[Hughes412]

Well I don't want to make anybady mad, but if this car got 255 whp and 247 wtq, what happen to the torque limiter? Was this done in 3rd gear? If so then there is no limiter. And I think that you would want the hood open to dyno a TMIC car, gets more air.

 

[SeanMSIII]

Oh I must have been thinking of the weight of my mom's old 4-cyl model.

so yeah.. Altima 3.5SE - 3197 pounds
Mazdaspeed3 (tested by edmunds InsideLine) - 3163 pounds

let's just hope the Mazdaspeed3 lacks the painful torque steer of the Nissan

If you stomp on it you will get torque steer. It definitely will nudge the steering wheel over, but it's manageable. My Altima was an '02 with 235-40 hp and AT (Hey, you ever drive the 101 in SF with MT? No fun). Torque steer was never a big deal in it, either. But it'll be interesting to see what it's like when people start modding MS3's and adding 30-40 hp.

 

[justanotheradikt]

Oh I must have been thinking of the weight of my mom's old 4-cyl model.

so yeah.. Altima 3.5SE - 3197 pounds
Mazdaspeed3 (tested by edmunds InsideLine) - 3163 pounds

let's just hope the Mazdaspeed3 lacks the painful torque steer of the Nissan

test drove one tuesday.... it has torque steer...pretty bad IMO, i could deal with it but it kinda upset me how much was there. right after i drove a ms6, now THAT is a beauty. so smooth. i love that car.