My New/ used 07 mazdaspeed 3 **1st time mazda owner**

[PsychoticSmurf]

Hey guys,
So i just bought me a MS3 2 weeks ago, HOLY s***. Car pulls so hard, much harder then my GSX I had as a young man. Im very impressed with the car and have tons of fun driving it, but i got some questions the dealer ship cant answer.
Ive tried reading and answering them myself but am having troubles. I would really like to hook up with a nice member that would be willing and kind enough to more or less hold my hand and walk me through a few things. For starters ,y car inst stock and im having a tough time pin pointing what is stock and what isnt. ill post some pics when the sun breaks but right now cant get good pictures.

What i know is not stock:
* HKS suction intake ;p
* turbo inlet pipe
* turbo smart dual port BOV
* cat back borla exhaust

What im looking for:
** Tranny kinda grinds when shifting to 2nd when cold, ive read up on the issue and i know about the motor-craft gear lube swap but im curious if there is a point where you should just change out syncros ( it does have 60k on her and imagine the first owner just let it go

** Is my shifter stock? i know a picture is gonna be needed for this one, but ive read a incorrectly installed shifter could make the tranny issues worse

** Boost, ive read up on this but it only further confused me. My car came to me with a (http://www.turbosmartusa.com/product/dual-port) bov, its currently vented to the atmosphere, and im assuming recirculating a portion. ny question is how do i know this thing is correctly installed? while driving at highway speeds if i let off the gas even a lil it seems to dump quite a bit of boost, some things i read says this is normal others say this shouldn't be happening, others say it depends on the engine and how its tuned.

** Knowledge and a good bro to help me on my journey



Thanks in advance and i will get some pictures up asap
Psychotic

 

[chimmike]

Running VTA without an accessport is going to run poorly.

As for modding, probably an unknown if you have fp internals......this would be good info to know for sure. Depending on the miles, it's probably a very good time to yank the intake manifold and clean the hell out of the intake valves. Gunk-city.

 

[PsychoticSmurf]

thanks for the reply and sorry no pics yet. bigger post later when i get time.. Father in laws aorta started leaking shorty after i made first post.. im not unappreciative, just not a good time right now.

 

[Jdm_Mica]

Check that RMM for oem or aftermarket. There was a recall, vvt chain loosening.

 

[PsychoticSmurf]

So this isnt a stock RMM.. i was thinking about buying the 3 pc street unit kit from a forum member, does this thing look like a familiar brand? worth replacing or just leave it?

Shifter.. Looks stock to me, but i dont know anything.

top view

Just a lil showing off

So it appears i have the RMM but my second gear grind is still present when cold. The car currently has 62k on it and im going to assume the previous owner didn't do any PM. so i ask, what would you do at this junction?
Heres my current list for this weekend or next..

** Flush coolant with the garden hose, replace with new. Any suggestions on brand or type im all ears
** Drain tranny and inspect. New synchronizes could be in my future. Plz tell me what you guys are using as my local ford dealers seem to have never heard of motor-craft XT-M5-QS
** spark plugs. denso ITV 24s i guess
** yanking off intake and cleaning the valves, haven't decided to clean it out with carb cleaner and wire brush or crushed walnuts, depends on if i can get my hands on a blasting gun, thinking harbor freight.
** VVT will be checked out

Thats it for PM.. no oil change listed cause dealership changed it before i got it and they are doing the next few

Now for some aftermarket
This is where i will need slight guidance
$$ Im thinking about replacing all 3 motor mounts and and scraping the one on there now pending your guys opinions.
$$ stage 2 J. Barone shift plate kit
$$ hypertech programmer found one from a forum member for $175. dont think im ready for a cobb yet plus i can cycle this back in to the forums later on down the line
$$ Oil catch can
$$ DP

I was going to do those things in that order but im all ears as you guys know this stuff better then me.
Id really appreciate all the help i could get identifying where my car stand as far as what parts are stock i have shown and whats clearly not.. other then that i think ive done pretty well with the advice this site has offered me thus far.


Thanks
Psycho
P.S. am i posting in the right place lol

 

[PsychoticSmurf]

Ill also be looking in to how to tell if my FP internals are stock or not , but that for another weekend

 

[chimmike]

That RMM is an original street unit design. I'd probably upgrade to a new one just for giggles. That one looks rough and rusty.

 

[speed3 britz]

Yes,thats a stock shifter, and thats an HKS Suction Intake, not an AEM CAI. And advise swapping out the RMM. I recommend either JBR or CP-E

 

[PsychoticSmurf]

ok so ill get a stage 3 JBR kit anything on that list you guys think i should change?

 

[CW42]

I wouldn't worry about the 2nd gear grind. I have it quite a bit in cool weather. It never gets any worse and gets better when it's warm. From what I read it's common.

 

[brandonnicholso]

Don't even consider a down pipe until you find out if you have upgraded fuel pump internals. Google the vvt problem and look on youtube. There's a bunch of videos with the noise it will make if it needs to be replaced

 

[PsychoticSmurf]

yea i was for sure going to figure that out.. if its not im gonna hit edge up about a atp full DP cobb ap and auto tech FP.. so the women is off work im going to go start playing with my new toys