Proud and Psyched new Mazda 3s owner

[ZoomVT]

Hey all,

i stumbled across this board and think its awesome. This is the first car i have owned new and since all my prev cars were POSs then never really learned much about performance and mods, etc. However, i am really interested in all the stuff that you guys talk about.
I testdrove the Mazda 3i (it fit my budget well) and liked it a lot, but then testdrove the 3s and LOVED it. So since friday i now own a 3s 4 door Titanium Gray with red cloth interior and sunroof and 6-disc changer.
I ABSOLUTELY LOVE MY CAR

Now as i said, i read some of the posts in here and i have a couple of questions, bear with me if the questions are stupid, but im new at this.

I read someone mention they were going to use synthetic oil. whats the benefit? in the same thread someone mentione dthe the time between oil change had to be 3 months regardless of the mileage, why is that? I wonder because i have already put in 1000 miles since last friday, and at this rate i am gonna have to be gettin the oil change quite often.

I also read certain people had experienced some glitches (A/C, Transmission, and somebody mentioned a possible recall on the breaks). I am not really worried about it but want to be aware of it.

I am also looking into tinitng my windows, and from what i read, 20-25% sounds like a good idea. Anyone know where i can get it? and how much will it cost me? I am also looking into maybe painting the calipers, (not sure if it will look good, i am not big on modding my car to make it look like a race car, i sort of like the clean, racy look of the car as it is).
And finally i was also thinking in maybe adding the nav system but i dont know if its available as an aftermarket option.

Thats for now, but i have a ton of questions.

 

[Gbourdon]

Welcome aboard. I dont have the answers to all of your questions but be prepared to get told to search. There is a lot of good information on here. Also, check out the NEPOC section. We dont have any members with Mazda 3s that I know of but you would be more than welcome to join. Burlington is a great place, I had some friends that went to St. Mikes.

I work down in Bellows Falls, VT. Once again, welcome

 

[razorblade kiss]

Welcome aboard. I dont have the answers to all of your questions but be prepared to get told to search. There is a lot of good information on here. Also, check out the NEPOC section. We dont have any members with Mazda 3s that I know of but you would be more than welcome to join. Burlington is a great place, I had some friends that went to St. Mikes.

I work down in Bellows Falls, VT. Once again, welcome

Do a search newb! :mad:

 

[razorblade kiss]

Just kiddin. lol. Keep the car as close to stock as you can. You'll thank me in 2 years. The car is designed to run the way it comes out of the factory. Except for a few small changes. Rims change the way a car rides and handles, body work cracks, exhausts will get you tickets etc. Tints are cool though. Congrats on the car. ANd on the whole newb thing? Well I only have 60 somethin posts, and have had my 3s since this past saturday! Amazing car, I love it just like you do. Welcome to the boards.

 

[sam1]

welcome to the board=). i just totalled my 02 protege on the 19th and ended up with a mazda 3 as well and i love it. already have almost 500miles in less than a week=). but anyways, about your oil question, you always change it every 3000mi or 3months because oil will lose its viscosity (basically its ability to lubricate) in that time period. you could go synthetic, but theres no real need to, except for extended oil change intervals. but itll cost about the same in the end with the prices of synthetic. im staying with the good ol tried and true normal oil. as for gliches, none yet for me, but the first models are always bound to have little quirks that need worked out. also, you can get tinted at tons of places. i took my protege to tint works and was very impressed with them, so thats where ill go this time. just make sure to get good tint. the metallic is the best cause its scratch resistent and has a lifetime warranty. but anyways, hope you have fun in your new ride, i know i am=).

 

[Loose]

Congrats on the car

Congrats on the car. lots of new questions as a new owner. I recommend checking the boards every so often to keep up on what is happening to other ppls rides.

Synthetic oil is "more durable" than conventional i.e doesn't break down as fast. If you use the 5/30 that MAzda recommends and you change the oil every 3k you shouldn't need synthetic. (my opinion)

The brake problem that you hear about is excessive brake dust accumulation most commonly on the rear rims. if you put a light coat of wax on the rim and clean them regularly you will be fine but if it is a nusience that by all means call the dealer and ask if they will replace the pads.

Unsure if you can add the nav system aftermarket or not.

There are some very knowledgable people here on the boards (will not mention names), if you read the board regularly you will figure out who the are. They can lend insight and advice in the future.

Congrats on the car again, no doubt you'll love it.

Tim

 

[dulog]

Congrats on your new car. 1000 miles since Friday thats funny. I find myself making excuses to go places just cause I want to drive it at times.

I think that's a good question about the tint cause I'm thinking about getting mine done too. Obviously it's going to be somewhere different for different loactions, but how you find a good place to work with it what I'm wondering about. My dealer said they'd do it for 240 I think (35% all side windows and back on my 5dr). I called a detailer in the phone book and it was about the same. How do you know which ones best or if it matters - I don't know and I think thats a good questions. Most likely Im guessing either would do a good job but I suppose I could compare waranty, check with bbb and stuff to have more peace of mind. I'm also thinking about a stone guard or 3m clear bra and I'm a little more uneasy about who to trust for that.

I haven't had a lot of the problems others have had. I do get more brake dust on the rear than on the front, but it seems to be not quite as much now (I have 2200 miles now). I've seen a lot of different opinions on how normal this is in these forums so I'm not sure what to think of that, but I am certain that there haven't been any recalls related to brakes unless something happened in the last few days. AC seems good to me, but it hasn't really been hot enough here in Portland for me to be needing stronger AC. Keep in mind that you'll see a lot of possible glitches in here that may or may even be noticable on your car. There's a lot of good info in here and a lot of good insight from people who know a hell of a lot more than me. I recommend searching around but don't let people get you paranoid about things that might not even be an issue for ya.

 

[3Chick]

Hi there! I am a newbie too, love my S, my favorite car so far! Anyway, as for the brakes, I called my dealership and spoke with the service manager and he said that he hadn't heard anything from Mazda about them and that my pads should last me atleast 60k miles and if I had a problem with them wearing out before then to bring it in and they would take care of it. So Im going on my merry way about it at this point. I wash the car frequently so its not a big deal to clean the dust for me. As for the AC I think that the black dash is the biggest problem, most seem to be pretty happy with the sunshade as a solution. I havent had any problems with my transmission, I've got about 2000 miles on it so far.

 

[ZoomVT]

thanks all for replying. As i said before i am not too concerned with any problems the car may have, the warranty sounds pretty good.
i dont think im ready to make any mods to the car yet, i am enjoying it stock. i just really want to get the windows tinted, and maybe a protect the paint from rock chips.

 

[razorblade kiss]

thanks all for replying. As i said before i am not too concerned with any problems the car may have, the warranty sounds pretty good.
i dont think im ready to make any mods to the car yet, i am enjoying it stock. i just really want to get the windows tinted, and maybe a protect the paint from rock chips.

ROCK CHIPS!!! (fu)

 

[Tonys3]

i have no answers But congrats on the ride !!!!! welcome to the board