Potential SPEED6 buyer needs input...

[Beelzebubba]

How has the reliability been for the MAZDASPEED6? I'm thiking of buying an '06 Grand Touring.

Anyone out there have one with some miles on it (40-50k or more)? Has it been reliable?

 

[caddistang]

Well with mine at 52000 and me being the second owner. I have had a small transfer case leak. caused by weak motor mounts i believe. Also the day after i brought it home my turbo went bad. All under warranty so i didnt have to pay for none of my repairs. All in all i love the car. not the fastest thing on the road. cause they are thirsty fat bastards. But god they are fun to drive. good luck man! i know you wont be unhappy with it. P.S. you can haul around the family comfortably with them too.

 

[kendon]

i've got 45k on my 06 and the only problem i have run into is an accuator getting stuck and it was covered under warranty. other than that, i love this car. very subtle in styling and ample power. it could handle better, but it's built more for comfort. not sure what your other choices are, but this is hard to beat in my opinion.

 

[Beelzebubba]

Thanks for the input!

I fell in love with the MAZDASPEED6 when I was car shopping back in 12/05. At the time, the Mazda3 s 5-door was all that fit my budget. But I'd love to get my hands on a low-mileage SPEED6 now...

I also thought about the MAZDASPEED3 (the existing model, not the upcoming 2010), but the wolf-in-sheeps-clothing design of the MS6 really appeals to me! It's very stealthy!

 

[dparm1984]

The MS6 is just as reliable as any other Japanese sedan. It is not a drag racing car, so don't expect the diff/tranny to hold up to high RPM clutch drops and abuse.

It's built on a very solid platform and seems to be doing just fine as long as it is cared for.

 

[coyfish]

right right....just like i wouldnt expect an evo or an sti to hold up to the same abuse and your point is?

Evo's / sti's are lighter and smaller cars. Every car has its problems but speed 6's are "big" and heavy cars. For the same size / weight / comfort few cars handle half as well. Launching an evo is not as hard on the tranny as launching a much heavier speed 6.

One thing that is true are the bad motor mounts on the mazdaspeeds.

 

[Myriad]

who the hell you think you are bro??..........how the **** is the speed 6 MUCH heavier then an evo or sti........

if i'm correct the speed 6 is 3600
the sti is 3351 pounds and the evo is about 3200 pounds

yes motor mounts are bad stock just buy some good ones off of street unit and you are good to go.
have you ever parked your car ( that you shouldnt own) next to an evo or sti?? if you have ever you would see there is almost no difference in actual size!

so0o0o0o

how the **** is a 250 pound weight difference a HUGE difference?

learn a bit about the cars you are talking about..

and evo's have always had tranny problems and I havnt heard of one speed 6 blowing a tranny or clutch from doing a hard launch..

don't even respond just sell your car and buy a chevy or something.'


LOL 250 pound difference is s0o0o much heavier i'm sure!! LOL

Per the data plate on my 06 ms6 the listed weight is 4552 GVWR with a breakdown of 2449 lb at the front and 2103 at the rear. A 06 Evo IX weighs in at about 4000 GVWR and a 06 Sti weighs in at about 4100 (numbers I found varied a bit)... sorry, I didn't bother looking for the weight distribution on either of those. 10% heavier is a lot when it comes to cars. Thanks for playing.

 

[tunersteve]

Whoa! Everyone needs to calm down in here.

The MS6 weighs in at about 3600 lbs. It's a few hundred more than the Evo or STi, but it's a midsize, whereas the others are considered compacts. They inherently save some weight right there.

The MS6 has been a fairly reliable car, I don't see too many people having tons of problems with them after a decent amount of mileage. As it was said before, don't go dumping your clutch or beating the dog piss out of it and it will do you just fine.

I've got an '07, and aside from minor trim issues and a smoking turbo, the car has been phenomenal. I wouldn't consider another AWD sedan out there for the price.

If you do buy one, I suggest you get a rear motor mount, short shifter, and intake right away if you're going to mod it. It will clean up some of the loose ends that the car has stock, and you'll be even happier with the way it drives, without sacrificing comfort.

 

[Myriad]

C'mon Steve, you know it's nothing but love in here (wink).

In addition to what everyone has stated above I would also recommend looking into some new springs if you decide to go with the ms6. It's a small cash investment and a little elbow grease, but the difference in handling is night and day since the stock ride height is a bit on the tall side. There are a lot of different options ranging from a mild drop to scraping the pavement while parked. There is a great thread about that in the suspension section.

 

[coyfish]

who the hell you think you are bro??..........how the **** is the speed 6 MUCH heavier then an evo or sti........

if i'm correct the speed 6 is 3600
the sti is 3351 pounds and the evo is about 3200 pounds

yes motor mounts are bad stock just buy some good ones off of street unit and you are good to go.
have you ever parked your car ( that you shouldnt own) next to an evo or sti?? if you have ever you would see there is almost no difference in actual size!

so0o0o0o

how the **** is a 250 pound weight difference a HUGE difference?

learn a bit about the cars you are talking about..

and evo's have always had tranny problems and I havnt heard of one speed 6 blowing a tranny or clutch from doing a hard launch..

don't even respond just sell your car and buy a chevy or something.'


LOL 250 pound difference is s0o0o much heavier i'm sure!! LOL

Wow dude what disrespect. Even if I was wrong you don't have to act like that. 400 lbs is quite a lot with respect to cars. Anyway I don't want to argue especially with people who can't control themselves.

 

[coyfish]

A bit lol . . . appology accepted but damn dude. Telling me I shouldn't own my car, I should sell it . . ., and calling me out on things I never said.

I said the STI / Evo are lighter and smaller than the speed 6. That is true.

Never said they were or were not compacts. Maybe "much heaver" when comparing an EVO to a speed 6 was too bold but 400 lbs is a lot when your dealing with performance.

 

[tunersteve]

well.....i assure you I can control my self and I do admit your comments were read when I was already in a bad mood so sorry for being a bit 2 nasty.

but you are very wrong and the evo and sti are not considered compacts that is totally wrong...4 door and pretty similar dimensions equal a sedan!

I think you misunderstood my point. The Evo/Sti (old model) is available as a sedan, just like the MS6. What I'm saying is that the car is going to be slightly heavier since it's a bigger car (compact vs. midsize). If you were comparing strictly compacts in that segment, it would be the Evo/Sti/MS3, although the MS3 doesn't have AWD.

There's a difference between body type and chassis size.

 

[tunersteve]

ok ok ok...no 1 ever said the new sti...which is a 2 door yes a compact yet the evo is still a 4 door sedan =)

The new STI is a 4 door hatch.

 

[Killer]

wow.

 

[coyfish]

Well someone on this thread said he saw a guy in a speed 6 fully gutted out with carbon fiber running 10's.

 

[Killer]

lol oops it is? lol yeah WOW!!

It was in reference to your attitude. Tone it down a bit please. Thank you.

 

[8chman]

I've had my 07 since July 2007. Every km of almost 60,000 brought a smile to my face. [Knocking on wood while typing] I haven't had a single problem. I wouldn't say I drive it hard, but I do drive aggressively almost all the time. (It's hard not to with this car)

Only mods so far, CAI and TWM short-shifter. I'll probably stop there though.

My only complaint is that it does feel a bit too big and heavy for me when pushed hard through transitions, so I'm getting a 2010 Speed3 to replace it and my wife will be taking over our Speed6 this August. Lucky for me she is a driver and knows how to drive stick.

Good luck in your hunt for a Speed6, and if you get one, enjoy!

 

[Stealth01]

I've owned my 2006 since March of 2008, when it had 22K miles on it. It now has 30K miles on it, and the only issue I've had is the smoking turbo, which is a result of bad seals on the K04 turbo and was repaired under warranty. I never dump the clutch -- always feather, even at high RPMs -- so I'm hoping the rear diff mount won't be a problem either. Those are the big problems stock MS6s run into. Smoking turbo and sheared rear diff mounting bolts.

Start modding, and other problems can come up, of course. And Mazda's not too friendly about your warranty when that happens.

As far as the difference between an STi/EVO and the MS6? Well, that weight difference and their slightly higher HP/TQ results in about a .6 second difference in the 0-60 department. Last I checked, it was like 4.8 for the STi and 5.4 for the MS6.

However a HUGE difference -- the STi and Evo are still in production. THe MS6 no longer is.

 

[Mistersix]

i've had mine for about a year now and love it. i shopped the evo, wrx, and such, and though those cars (on paper) are faster, they dont have the amenties i like.

its the little things that set it aprart. advanced key, better quality fit n finish (IMHO), two step power windows, auto windows down from the key fob, much better sound system, TMIC with no scoop for stealthness, bigger trunk, and not everyone has one. at least i rarely see a ms6.

the gas mileage for the given performance is excellent. i recently got 347.6 miles and filled up with 13.888 gallons. thats 25.028 MPG average. AVERAGE!!!! thats freakin awesome if you ask me.

so for me it wasnt about which car had the fastest 0-60 time, or best slalom, skidpad, figure 8, etc, etc.....

one thing that is a problem however is the paint. it chips very easily. yeah the paint ****** sucks. downright sucks! my car will def be gettin sprayed some day. hopefully soon. winter was not nice to my hood

 

[Blendercloud]

the gas mileage for the given performance is excellent. i recently got 347.6 miles and filled up with 13.888 gallons. thats 25.028 MPG average. AVERAGE!!!! thats freakin awesome if you ask me.

Just to further illustrate this user's quote... I'm running some relatively healthy bolt-on mods (and enjoying them). However, I went on a 750 mile round trip (95% highway miles) last weekend and averaged 33.2mpg for the trip. If you decide to mod and open the car up a little bit, you can be rewarded. Granted, I kept my foot out of it on the highway and was going consistently 80mph.

...I was also not using the cruise control. Tricks of the trade.