Some noobish questions...

[homar]

My apologies if I'm asking lame questions, but I've read through most of the forum to no avail. Anyhoo...

1) How long do you let the car warm up in the morning/cold? I usually wait the 5 minutes until the temp gauge starts moving.

2) I'm way upside down on my financing so I'll be keeping this car for awhile. I've been quite worried after reading about the many problems people have. Not gonna mod at all, is this car gonna start falling apart as I start getting above 2000 miles? Any comments from people with 15k+ would be appreciated.

I'm sure I'll have other stupid questions so thanks in advance.

edit: Forgot one other thing. Without a turbo timer and with normal (not hard) driving, should I let it idle for a minute before turning it off?

 

[Striker187]

1) i start it up, wait maybe 15 secs and i'm off. course i don't push it until the temp gauge reaches its equilibrium point. i keep the revs under 3k till then. just don't get on it while the engine is cold and you'll be fine.

2) if you're not gonna mod the car, you'll be fine. mazda builds some pretty decent cars. my uncle's old 626 had 240000+ miles on it when he sold it. no problems with it at all. just treat the car right and it'll be good to you .

EDIT: according to the little visor flap that came with my car, it said to let the car idle at least 30 secs after sustained hwy driving speeds or hard runs. i ALWAYS let my car idle at least 30 sec when i've been driving on the hwy for a while. granted the turbo is water-cooled so you don't really have to worry about oil coking but still, it's probably better for the turbo in the long run to let it cool down a little before shutting the engine off.

 

[unwrittenLaw]

I'm coming up on 15K..and no major problems yet...just be decent to it and it should be fine...

 

[chino]

Do you mean you let it sit and warm up? I never do that but I live in Texas so it doesn't get cold. I do run the car for at least ten minutes before going into boost though.

Yes the MSP has issues. I think this forum does an excellent job of MAGNIFYING the problems to the Nth degree However. My car has 6000 miles on it with ZERO, yes NO problems. I am not flashed and I had the newest bushings put on before I picked up the car. Will the car start "falling apart"? I doubt it but I am sure the usual suspects will be along to post behind me and tell you otherwise.

BTW Welcome and enjoy the ride. God knows I do!

 

[Dexter]

i have 16,000 miles. No major issues (sub blew. woo-wie)

 

[homar]

Thanks guys!

 

[spacemonkey]

You might want to consider some basic mods like a turbo timer and boost gauge. Boost gauge is helpful so you know when your boosting before idleing or spooling up before proper warm up. That can always save your car's life and Garrett(your T25 turbo) will thank you.

Take care of the car and it should do fine...like regular oil changes and just check your car.

Our turbos are water cooled??????@#$! So my TT, oil pressure gauge and temp is useless? Well not completely useless but I always thought it was oil cooled.

 

[jaymode]

i think the turbo is oil and water cooled.

 

[muohio]

i think the turbo is oil and water cooled.

Mine's not water cooled, but cooland cooled

Actually oil may cool but it's for lubrication and it is liquid cooled. There is a coolant line leading to it along with the oil line. I always let mine cool down, but it's near impossible to keep it under 3k for 10 minutes when I drive to work.

 

[yashooa]

30,000 since Feb 23 2003 almost completely at 12PSI no problems other than the clunk which I need to get fixed but hate to give my car away long enough for them to do it. But next week it's getting the new bushings.
I have really enjoyed the car thus far.

 

[loudpdl]

1) i start it up, wait maybe 15 secs and i'm off. course i don't push it until the temp gauge reaches its equilibrium point. i keep the revs under 3k till then. just don't get on it while the engine is cold and you'll be fine.

Before the car is warmed up, it's good to keep the revs down as well as the boost. You can get a lot of boost (turbo temp) at even 2500 rpm if you're on the gas.

 

[jersey_emt]

1) i start it up, wait maybe 15 secs and i'm off. course i don't push it until the temp gauge reaches its equilibrium point. i keep the revs under 3k till then. just don't get on it while the engine is cold and you'll be fine.

Before the car is warmed up, it's good to keep the revs down as well as the boost. You can get a lot of boost (turbo temp) at even 2500 rpm if you're on the gas.

I never heard of anyone going WOT only to shift at 3K each gear. You'd be shifting like once a second.

But yeah, you get full boost at around 3K.

I take it easy (light throttle, < 3K rpms) until the temp gauge is pointed straight to the left (normal temp).

 

[loudpdl]

When I installed my gauge, I was surprised to see that boost was up (> 3psi) at even half throttle.

 

[funnylittlman]

1. wait 30 seconds to 1 minute. I like to wait a couple just to get the RPM's down to about 1,250 or less. You just have to be easy on it when warming up (like striker said... keep it under 3K and don't boost)

2. Injen intake shouldn't hurt if you want to do SOMETHING. Or a K&N Pannel Filter and some gauges. General rule of thumb, if you keep the car in good shape, it'll be ok I only have 9K on mine and all i've had is the similar problems on here: E Bushings replaced, Flash, Coolant Leak. She's been a good car to me *knock on wood*

 

[t3ase]

The car's up to speed.. Are you?

 

[funnylittlman]

^^^^^ we'll see.... it's got every Mazda fix there is currently

 

[spacemonkey]

The car's up to speed.. Are you?

I still have that on my visor...