DistantTea
Member
- :
- Mazdaspeed... of DOOM!
There's alot of misinformation out there and alot of people who get the mazdaspeed and don't know what to expect. So a quick rundown of a few things:
1.) It has a ByPassValve... not a Blow Off Valve. And yes thats what you are hearing when you let off the throttle after any hard acceleration at ANY RPM. Some people think it sounds like a chipmunk, some think it sounds like old faithful shooting off... just imagine a sudden gush of air coming through a 1/4" hose... then stopping suddenly.
2.) The turbo sounds good, learn to read it. Its not too soft, its not too loud. If you think all cars need to have a turbine sound to them you've seen the fast and the furious too many times. The most powerful turbo cars in the world have no turbo whine at all... all you hear is a monsterous GWTHOOOOOSH until they let off.
3.) There is hardly ANY sound proofing on this car. The things you will hear: Intake surge, turbo whine, bypass valve, clutch shudder, power steering pump, suspension travel (springs and dampers are NOT silent runners), tire clunk (low profile hard tires...) and last but least quiet, every rock that gets kicked up under your car.
4.) A word about our suspension. Its hard and damn stiff (no jokes yet please). This is what is making the MSP one hellacious track and autocross car. This is also what is hurting my back. Our suspension is very agressive and causes all kinds of havoc to people who don't know what they are driving. Hit a pothole on the left side and feel as the sway bar jerks the car around. Those shocks and springs don't go very far, don't suprised when you bottom out springs quickly on really slanted concret like parking garage entrances. This is all perfectly normal for this car. The infamous clunk... well you'll know it when you get it. Its something I am VERY willing to deal with to own a $20k car that races as well as this. Hell new tires for a Porsche 959 cost about $3k each and have to be replaced in the rear every 9k miles... I'll spend nothing and three hours of no car to get my rear antisway fixed every year... fair trade.
5.) A word about the limited slip. FWD with limited slip means torque steer. You wanted grip around corners... you get torque steer when you drag race. Still don't know what your LSD is doing? Goto a parking lot and place a cone every 4 spaces apart. Take the slalom in first gear... see how fast you can go. In standing water I can do a 15' spaced slalom at redline in 1st and I can outcorner a Neon ACR for the first time in my life.
6.) Stereo. Its really nice. Stop bitching about it. Its a very fair $1500 system by my math. I can't build a better setup for that car for that much money. Stop listening to rap for a while.
7.) Drag racing. If you keep taking this car to the 1/4 mile track, or are street racing... you might have missed the point of this car. Want a 10 second car? I can build you a 10 second camaro for about $8k... how about a 11 second woodpaneled minivan for about $5k? Thats not what this car is about and it does a very poor job of it. I'm not dissing those who take the car to the track on occassion just to run... I"m talking about those that are complaining because they can't touch a Neon SRT-4 or a WRX at the street racing near Krispy Creme. How about you turn the wheel every once in a while? Go find some cones and feel good about your car.
8.) Paint. This paint is no different than any other current day mazda... it sucks and its thinner than paper. If you are going to race, stoneguard that mother before it hits the paddock.
9.) Turbo lag. I will admit I was suprised by the turbo lag in this car. Its not as bad as other cars I've driven but its quite apparent. You have no power whatsoever in 5th gear at 2000 rpms... why would you think you would? Read the dyno charts, you got seriously nothing below 4500 and dangerously nothing below 3000 in all except 1st and 2nd gear. Day to day driving should be done in the 2k to 4k range as a trade off of fuel economy and power. If you lift at 4k and take too long to shift you will come back at 2 to 3k with a big helping of turbo lag. And now a paragraph break because this is important.
Unless you feel like installing an antilag system the Garrett T25 is going to bite your ass during the hohum of every day driving. Its quick to spool up once called on but that means its also very quick to spool down when you lift. This can happen at ALL RPM ranges. So if you run it to redline in 2nd and then take too long to shift the turbo will spin down a whole hell of a lot faster than the engine will. It takes combustion and hearty exhaust gases to move a turbo, take that away and the turbo will falter in its job and take an indescribable amount of time to come back up to full boost. Call this turbo lag, call it hessitation, whatever. Just don't call it a poorly designed system. Be your own antilag when driving or racing. Just because you push in the clutch does not mean you have to lift entirely. Even day to day driving when I shift up I give a little extra gas after the clutch goes in and a little throttle early before the clutch comes back out. I always heel-toe when I downshift. Nothing is more frustating than to downshift from 5th to 3rd at 60mph to pass a truck and not having any zoom zoom ready to go. Rev match and keep the throttle up and when you downshift you have all kinds of boost connected to your right foot.
10.) There is no #10 because I've rambled on enough. But for anyone who dosn't know what kind of car they have, or keeps trying to figure out why a mustang GT keeps winning at the light... I hope this was helpful. The car is crude and brutally effective for what it was designed for. There are much more luxurious cars for $20k. There are much faster cars for $20k and I'm sure there are even better handling cars for $20k. But you have to look at the whole package and you really have to know what this car was designed to do before you buy it.
I'm done. Not that anyone was reading.
1.) It has a ByPassValve... not a Blow Off Valve. And yes thats what you are hearing when you let off the throttle after any hard acceleration at ANY RPM. Some people think it sounds like a chipmunk, some think it sounds like old faithful shooting off... just imagine a sudden gush of air coming through a 1/4" hose... then stopping suddenly.
2.) The turbo sounds good, learn to read it. Its not too soft, its not too loud. If you think all cars need to have a turbine sound to them you've seen the fast and the furious too many times. The most powerful turbo cars in the world have no turbo whine at all... all you hear is a monsterous GWTHOOOOOSH until they let off.
3.) There is hardly ANY sound proofing on this car. The things you will hear: Intake surge, turbo whine, bypass valve, clutch shudder, power steering pump, suspension travel (springs and dampers are NOT silent runners), tire clunk (low profile hard tires...) and last but least quiet, every rock that gets kicked up under your car.
4.) A word about our suspension. Its hard and damn stiff (no jokes yet please). This is what is making the MSP one hellacious track and autocross car. This is also what is hurting my back. Our suspension is very agressive and causes all kinds of havoc to people who don't know what they are driving. Hit a pothole on the left side and feel as the sway bar jerks the car around. Those shocks and springs don't go very far, don't suprised when you bottom out springs quickly on really slanted concret like parking garage entrances. This is all perfectly normal for this car. The infamous clunk... well you'll know it when you get it. Its something I am VERY willing to deal with to own a $20k car that races as well as this. Hell new tires for a Porsche 959 cost about $3k each and have to be replaced in the rear every 9k miles... I'll spend nothing and three hours of no car to get my rear antisway fixed every year... fair trade.
5.) A word about the limited slip. FWD with limited slip means torque steer. You wanted grip around corners... you get torque steer when you drag race. Still don't know what your LSD is doing? Goto a parking lot and place a cone every 4 spaces apart. Take the slalom in first gear... see how fast you can go. In standing water I can do a 15' spaced slalom at redline in 1st and I can outcorner a Neon ACR for the first time in my life.
6.) Stereo. Its really nice. Stop bitching about it. Its a very fair $1500 system by my math. I can't build a better setup for that car for that much money. Stop listening to rap for a while.
7.) Drag racing. If you keep taking this car to the 1/4 mile track, or are street racing... you might have missed the point of this car. Want a 10 second car? I can build you a 10 second camaro for about $8k... how about a 11 second woodpaneled minivan for about $5k? Thats not what this car is about and it does a very poor job of it. I'm not dissing those who take the car to the track on occassion just to run... I"m talking about those that are complaining because they can't touch a Neon SRT-4 or a WRX at the street racing near Krispy Creme. How about you turn the wheel every once in a while? Go find some cones and feel good about your car.
8.) Paint. This paint is no different than any other current day mazda... it sucks and its thinner than paper. If you are going to race, stoneguard that mother before it hits the paddock.
9.) Turbo lag. I will admit I was suprised by the turbo lag in this car. Its not as bad as other cars I've driven but its quite apparent. You have no power whatsoever in 5th gear at 2000 rpms... why would you think you would? Read the dyno charts, you got seriously nothing below 4500 and dangerously nothing below 3000 in all except 1st and 2nd gear. Day to day driving should be done in the 2k to 4k range as a trade off of fuel economy and power. If you lift at 4k and take too long to shift you will come back at 2 to 3k with a big helping of turbo lag. And now a paragraph break because this is important.
Unless you feel like installing an antilag system the Garrett T25 is going to bite your ass during the hohum of every day driving. Its quick to spool up once called on but that means its also very quick to spool down when you lift. This can happen at ALL RPM ranges. So if you run it to redline in 2nd and then take too long to shift the turbo will spin down a whole hell of a lot faster than the engine will. It takes combustion and hearty exhaust gases to move a turbo, take that away and the turbo will falter in its job and take an indescribable amount of time to come back up to full boost. Call this turbo lag, call it hessitation, whatever. Just don't call it a poorly designed system. Be your own antilag when driving or racing. Just because you push in the clutch does not mean you have to lift entirely. Even day to day driving when I shift up I give a little extra gas after the clutch goes in and a little throttle early before the clutch comes back out. I always heel-toe when I downshift. Nothing is more frustating than to downshift from 5th to 3rd at 60mph to pass a truck and not having any zoom zoom ready to go. Rev match and keep the throttle up and when you downshift you have all kinds of boost connected to your right foot.
10.) There is no #10 because I've rambled on enough. But for anyone who dosn't know what kind of car they have, or keeps trying to figure out why a mustang GT keeps winning at the light... I hope this was helpful. The car is crude and brutally effective for what it was designed for. There are much more luxurious cars for $20k. There are much faster cars for $20k and I'm sure there are even better handling cars for $20k. But you have to look at the whole package and you really have to know what this car was designed to do before you buy it.
I'm done. Not that anyone was reading.
