Hello, my name is Jake and I live near Seattle, WA. I am a UTi graduate and I just got my mazda 3 a little over a week ago (and put 700 miles on it already). I love it. I drive vehicles all day long as part of my job (automotive technician) and this is one of the finest looking and built cars I have driven over the past few years. Glad to be part of the mazda community now and also looking forward to building a sweet little mazda 3 and maybe helping out anyone with some questions reguarding mechanical issues and mods. This is the first brand new vehicle I have ever owned also. I have a few questions about it if anyone has any info it would be greatly appriciated. I just had cold air intake, exhaust and a short shifter installed yesterday.
Question 1: why did they leave the stock exhaust collector on the vehicle? Is this a correct install for the mazda speed exhaust? I understand it may be part of the emmision system on the vehicle but from my experiance they dont really do much besides cause restriction.
Question 2: Why is the exhaust system installed with a bunch of exhaust clamps? Everytime i have ad exhaust installed it has been fully welded qhich usually provides better sound and performance. If i take this to an exhaust shop and have them welp the tubing were the clamps are installed and remove the cheap clamps will this void the warranty on the exhaust system?
Question 3: After the short shifter install it is off to the side which im sure is correct, but the actual shift throw still seems the same (about 3 to 4 inches) which in my opinion isnt really a short shifter. (i had an integra with short shifter and the throw was about an inch between gears) I went tot he dealership today and sat in a stock one again to get a feel for a stock shift throw and it doesnt feel much different than the short shifter) I also under stand the short shifter is only a 20% reduce in throw but i figured that would be noticable. Is there a way to install a short shifter to put the shifter off to the side but bypass the actual throw?
I guess im feeling kinda ripped off after seeing the cheap exhaust design and not being able to notice any shorter throw. For what i payed for the parts and install i could have done it myself with better parts and way cheaper. but voided warranty.
If anyone knows about these subjects and has an info that would be great.
The cold air is a great add on tho and i notice first gear seems alot more responsive than before. Feels like a little more torque. Sorry for such a long post as this is my first one but again glad to be here and loving my new mazda (cheap aftermarket mazda parts and all). Hopefully my experiance in this industry will be able to help you guys a little. (hump)
So im guessing i posted this in the wrong spot. Sorry again im new to the whole forum thing.
Question 1: why did they leave the stock exhaust collector on the vehicle? Is this a correct install for the mazda speed exhaust? I understand it may be part of the emmision system on the vehicle but from my experiance they dont really do much besides cause restriction.
Question 2: Why is the exhaust system installed with a bunch of exhaust clamps? Everytime i have ad exhaust installed it has been fully welded qhich usually provides better sound and performance. If i take this to an exhaust shop and have them welp the tubing were the clamps are installed and remove the cheap clamps will this void the warranty on the exhaust system?
Question 3: After the short shifter install it is off to the side which im sure is correct, but the actual shift throw still seems the same (about 3 to 4 inches) which in my opinion isnt really a short shifter. (i had an integra with short shifter and the throw was about an inch between gears) I went tot he dealership today and sat in a stock one again to get a feel for a stock shift throw and it doesnt feel much different than the short shifter) I also under stand the short shifter is only a 20% reduce in throw but i figured that would be noticable. Is there a way to install a short shifter to put the shifter off to the side but bypass the actual throw?
I guess im feeling kinda ripped off after seeing the cheap exhaust design and not being able to notice any shorter throw. For what i payed for the parts and install i could have done it myself with better parts and way cheaper. but voided warranty.
If anyone knows about these subjects and has an info that would be great.
The cold air is a great add on tho and i notice first gear seems alot more responsive than before. Feels like a little more torque. Sorry for such a long post as this is my first one but again glad to be here and loving my new mazda (cheap aftermarket mazda parts and all). Hopefully my experiance in this industry will be able to help you guys a little. (hump)
So im guessing i posted this in the wrong spot. Sorry again im new to the whole forum thing.
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