New MSP Owner (Possibly)

[mspeedp3.5]

There's a good chance I may be buying an MSP and I just wanted to say hello and take any advice/ information on what I should know. It's a 03.5 in the Titanium Grey I think it's called, has 50,800 miles, 2 previous owners and is in pretty decent shape. It already has the Turbohoses hard pipes, Turbohoses SMIC and Injen intake. I believe everything else is stock although the head unit has been replaced with a crappy Dual model.

I already have an Apexi Auto Timer that I'm going to install and I'm going to order an AutoMeter boost gauge and AEM EBC.

I'm downgrading financially (from a E46 BMW 325i) to something more practical and winter friendly (FWD vs RWD) and with more fun potential (boost!) I'll be honest, I used to own an 04 SRT-4 that I absolutely loved but had to get rid of for financial reasons at the time and this was what I was looking to get again but there's none around me that are in good condition and worth buying. I also really like the MSP's though and as I would love to get into AutoX, it sounds as though the MSP does pretty well out of the box. I do really like the looks and interior of the MSP as well though, just wish they had more power.

Anyway, my name's Ryan and look forward to meeting and talking with you all.

 

[christiansMSP]

how much is the asking price on the msp?

they are awesome cars if you trat them awesome..

but some people have bad luck with them... like all cars as well

welcome..

 

[littlemimus]

DO NOT BUY A MSP. THEY ARE HORRIBLE. jk

honestly if you fix the car or whatevers wrong with it as soon as you get it its an awesome car.

 

[mspeedp3.5]

how much is the asking price on the msp?

they are awesome cars if you trat them awesome..

but some people have bad luck with them... like all cars as well

welcome..

It's a certified pre-owned through a Mazda stealership, they're asking $9,998. After test driving it there was some clunking come from the rear suspension and I could tell it wasn't getting any boost. Sure enough after they took it in back, they said it needed new rear suspension bushings, a new ECV and WGA, I guess the wastegate was leaking all the boost so it was just running on motor. So I told them to fix it and then call me when it was ready so I could drive it again. Apparently they ordered the parts but they're still waiting on something (not sure which part) which is on backorder with no current ETA, hence why I still don't have the car. I asked them if there was anything aftermarket they could order instead but they're including a 3 year/100K mile powertrain warranty so I'm guessing that's why they're ordering OEM.

 

[christiansMSP]

good luck get it for 8k in cash!

 

[HighSpeed]

I have 163xxx on my MSP and it has been the best car that I have ever owned. I have had a 600whp Eagle Talon AWD, and 240whp All motor EG Civics, and well just about everything that you could call a "tuner", and I love my MSP. You just gotta take care of them. I have religiously changed the oil at 3k miles and kept up with all required maintenance. I just recently did the mods in my Signature.....about a month ago, otherwise Im stock.

The price might be alittle high but then again as long as you get a warranty and all the parts fixed, it might be worth it. And these cars are great for SCCA.

 

[mspeedp3.5]

Lol yea, thing is, I'm trading in my Bimmer and am a bit upside down in it so they're helping me out in a sense to get my payment where I want it. Here it is;

 

[mspeedp3.5]

Oh, I'm pretty sure it has an aftermarket exhaust but I havn't had a chance to get down and check it out yet.

EDIT:

One thing I still can't believe is that a company never made a set of projector headlights for these.

 

[Spiced MSP]

looks pretty clean

 

[NocturnalSpeed]

Sweet, go for it dude! The miles aren't bad. s*** I paid 8,500 for mine which had 77k I believe with no warranty.

Hope all goes well, o yeah welcome!

 

[Outlawstar98]

Yeah thats NOT stock exhaust. But Turbohoses is a great company who makes great parts!

But you just have to make sure you read up on this car and make sure you are 100% committed in buying this.

 

[mazdaspeed41]

From the looks of the Tip it looks like a GHL But did u ever look under the hood?

Oh, I'm pretty sure it has an aftermarket exhaust but I havn't had a chance to get down and check it out yet.

EDIT:

One thing I still can't believe is that a company never made a set of projector headlights for these.

 

[mspeedp3.5]

Engine pic, didn't look real closely at it when I had the chance, just took a quick glance;

 

[DarkAngel]

Dang is that a Steed Speed Mani I spot. Also has the hard lines and and upgraded SMIC too. MIssing the top cover though but no biggie.

Couple of nicks on the rear bumper but other than that it looks solid. Yea try negotiating a lower price. As far as stealerships go, my experience they can say they are helping you out but you have to read the fine print before signing any paperwork.

 

[Outlawstar98]

SteedSpeed Exhaust Mani awesome mani there!

But looks like stock motor mounts... Which the stock ones SUCK.

Looks like the MAF was relocated at one time aswell.

 

[mspeedp3.5]

Dang is that a Steed Speed Mani I spot. Also has the hard lines and and upgraded SMIC too. MIssing the top cover though but no biggie.

Lol nice, I was just looking at the polished Steed Speed manifold and was thinking how nice that would be to have on there! lol

Also, are the P5 headlights a direct swap in a sense, what all exactly does that entail?

Couple of nicks on the rear bumper but other than that it looks solid. Yea try negotiating a lower price. As far as stealerships go, my experience they can say they are helping you out but you have to read the fine print before signing any paperwork.

Yea, I used to work for one back in the day, sold cars for a bit so I know most of the ring-arounds

EDIT:

Thanks for the warm welcome as well guys, some guys (IE Bimmer fanatics) can be real douche bags. Luckily our local chapter are a bunch of great guys that are friends for life, they told me to go for the MSP as well, I was looking at a SE-R SpecV also.

 

[DarkAngel]

Lol nice, I was just looking at the polished Steed Speed manifold and was thinking how nice that would be to have on there! lol

Also, are the P5 headlights a direct swap in a sense, what all exactly does that entail?

Well they will swap right in but you have to redo the wiring since Sedan is H4 and the Hatch has dedicated high/low beams. Low is H7 and High is 9005.

A bit of rewiring and you can make it work. Also one problem when doing this is the Sedan when switching to high beam cuts off the low beam. The Hatch actually leaves both on at the same time. A simple diode can cure this problem or a relay can do the trick as well. Just have to wire them in correctly.

 

[mspeedp3.5]

Well they will swap right in but you have to redo the wiring since Sedan is H4 and the Hatch has dedicated high/low beams. Low is H7 and High is 9005.

A bit of rewiring and you can make it work. Also one problem when doing this is the Sedan when switching to high beam cuts off the low beam. The Hatch actually leaves both on at the same time. A simple diode can cure this problem or a relay can do the trick as well. Just have to wire them in correctly.

Good to know, thanks man.


Anyone have an idea of just how much power I'd be making with the current setup you see? Obviously when everything is fixed and working correctly.

 

[dandan2]

depends on if it has a piggy back or not. oly way to tell is to pull the caarpet up on tha passenger side floorboard and take the ecu plate out and see if there is anything tapped into the wiring or a unichip in there. if not probably 175 to 180 hp tops. if u buy the car and get something to tune with u could get past the 200 mark.

 

[mspeedp3.5]

depends on if it has a piggy back or not. oly way to tell is to pull the caarpet up on tha passenger side floorboard and take the ecu plate out and see if there is anything tapped into the wiring or a unichip in there. if not probably 175 to 180 hp tops. if u buy the car and get something to tune with u could get past the 200 mark.

This will be my DD so I don't want to blow anything up, just wanting something that's more peppy then what I've been driving. If I end up buying it, which I'm hoping I will sometime this year, damn back-ordered parts, I'll be hooking up that boost gauge to check where I'm at but is between 8-9psi a pretty safe bet for a DD with stock internals?