New owner of Mazda 3 Sport

[Beslagic]

I have bought a 2006 automatic Mazda 3 Sport from the dealer and I will be getting it on Wednesday. When I get it I would like to do some engine mods nothing to big like a turbo or supercharger. I was looking at a cold air intake, exhaust and ignition timing little things like that so I can get the car to around 200hp + what other things can I do to the car to get it there.
And what kind of air intake and exhaust do u suggest?

Thanks for the help

Beslagic,

 

[Kansei]

200hp.. at the crank or wheels? At the crank, you may be able to do it with a turbo..but no way at the wheels. Cold air intake and exhaust might get you 10-15whp.. not the 60 or so you're looking for.

Welcome to the forums though. What color did you get it in? Oh and check out www.toprotege.com the toronto-area protege forums. Yeah it's a protege forum but there's 3s on there too. I'm thinking about starting to head to the meets since it's the closest Mazda club to me in Rochester, NY, USA/

 

[Beslagic]

Thanks, Kansei

I got the car in white and stock is 160hp its a 2.3L engine right so like 40 more hp.
I know the air intake and exhaust will not give me 40hp but I was just wondering what other things could I do to get it around there?

Also what type of air intake do u suggest because there are a few different types ?

Thanks

Beslagic,

 

[Kansei]

For intakes, they are pretty much all the same and boil down to either a short ram intake or a cold air intake. I have a cold air myself and like it, but there really isn't that much difference. Downside to a cold-air is a perceived chance of hydrolocking the engine since the filter is so low, but at least on the protege it's very well shielded (I'm guessing the same is true on the 3). Plus, you'd really have to submerge the filter for it to be a problem.

There's also a slight difference in power. I've heard that a cold air intake increases top end hp but might reduce low end torque, but then I've heard conflicting evidence too. Unless the 3 is radically different, I'm willing to bet that the difference between the stock intake and a short ram or cold air intake really comes down to just making a nice noise. They really do make nice noise hehe.

As for exhaust. I haven't actually personally heard any aftermarket Mazda3 exhausts but I can definitely vouch for this one as being incredibly high quality: http://racingbeat.com/FRmazda_3.htm

Racing Beat does a lot of work for mazda so it's really nice to support them as opposed to a company like Greddy or Magnaflow who could really care less about mazda.

One not-so-cool thing about the 3 though is that Mazda designed it with a 1-piece exhaust system that was installed onto the car before the rear suspension and all that.. it isn't easily removed. You have to cut your factory exhaust (it's repairable in case you ever want to go back) in order to fit any aftermarket system.

 

[Beslagic]

Thanks for the help

I was looking at K&N http://www.knfilters.com/search/product.aspx?Prod=69-6010TR
do you know if K&N intakes are any good?

Thanks,

Beslagic

 

[Kansei]

K&N makes nice products in general. I have their air filter on my intake right now, but it is of the oiled variety that you have to clean and re-oil. The more I think about it, the more I want to go with something like the AEM driflow filter.. who wants an oily intake haha.

Sorry if my help is a bit generic as the closest I've been to a Mazda3 was riding shotgun in the one the roommate I had last year drove. A nice solid car

 

[bumpin_p5]

K&N is good at what they do, period... But there might be a better and slightly less expensive intake out there. Injen is great from what I hear.

 

[tsunami]

injen, aem, fugita, f2 all make nice intakes for our cars... if you want to get to 200hp at the crank all N/A good luck... check out the sticky threads at the top of the perf section regarding N/A tunning stages 1-3....

 

[Beslagic]

http://f2cars.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=114
I might go for the AEM intake then is this one good? does it matter that it's for a 2004?
Well if I dont get it to 200hp that's ok I was just wondering if I could get it around there

Thanks,

Beslagic

 

[tsunami]

i would get the F2 brand intake http://f2cars.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=69 over the aem...

 

[Beslagic]

Thanks for the help

I will probably get it in a week or so after I get the car from the dealer
Also might get this HKS exhaust http://f2cars.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWCATS&Category=218
Does anyone have this and if so what do you think of it?

Thanks,

Beslagic

 

[tsunami]

i have not heard the hks exhuast... i would search and see if you can find a sound clip... i know i like the borla and the vibrant... the magnaflow is just a bit loud for me... the mazdaspeed isn't to bad from what i have heard..

 

[thebeansoldier]

Beslagic, congrats on the purchase. How much are you looking to spend? Reaching 200whp might run you way over $2000, especially if you're not installing the parts yourself.

Putting in a really good intake like the F2 and HKS will pretty much gain you the most power as HKS's diameter's wide to begin with and already removes the main cat. F2 CAI shows good top end gains over the AEM even though the F2 was dyno'd at almost 20F hotter.

Couple those with a header [which removes the pre-cat] and you might be around 160-165whp or higher. All the other bolt-ons are pretty much incremental, until the lightweight pulley sets get released. After that, you're pretty much done until you get into internals.

isn't MS exhaust = magnaflow?

 

[jhowey]

I would vouch for Borla, that is what I have. It is on the pricy end compared to other exhausts. But it has a great sound and added signifcant horsepower.

 

[jhowey]

For the price of that intake system i would go with the K & N typhoon, because it is convertable. I had a cold air but when I almost locked up my motor I moved it to a short ram. When summer comes I will be putting it back to a cold air again. So even though it is more money it also more practical.

 

[Protephile]

Congrats on the purchase and welcome to the forums.

I have intakes and headers in stock for the 3.
Check out the link in my sig...more than half of my intake customers have been from Canada.

 

[Beslagic]

Thanks

I might get some headers from you later.
Should i get an ECU and will this give me more power? if so what kind and how much do they go for?

Thanks,

Beslagic

 

[tsunami]

that ecu is for the proteges not our cars... the only viable option now for custom tuning the ecu is a 1400$$ stand alone called micro tech... unless you are really determined to hit 200hp or going turbo i would steer clear and just do bolt ons.

 

[Beslagic]

Ok

I will stick with bolt ons, I was just wondering if there was one for the car, I am not that determined to hit 200hp. I just thought it would not be that hard to get like 40 more horsepower with just a few bolt ons.

Thanks,

Beslagic

 

[tsunami]

its not a v8... with intake, header, exhuast, flywheel, advanced timing (free mod worth 3-4hp), lightened pullies and some head work you may hit 200 but prob not at the wheels... so that will probably put you around 180 ish hp to the wheels depending on mt/at and their respective drive train loss....