The MP3

[mp3moose]

Yeah so after many hours of thread reading and news posts on this site I have come to wonder if anyone with an mp3 has choosen not to modify there cars. It has always been a consideration for myself to tune my mp3 with everything from a clear side marker to engine replacment. Unfortunately my pockets have never been deep enough for proper consideration. So, naturally I turn to all of you for inspiration, new ideas on tuning, and any other new addition that I am dreaming to get for my 3. My point is this: Is it worth it to tune your car? No offense to you who have tuned yours; afterall you guys keep me entertained and upto date on mods. But, will it matter to you or anyone in a few months when our respective brother, the Speed 3, hits the streets? Or when the Rx8 arrives? Or something new from mazda or any other car manu? I love my 3 and I plan to keep it forever, but other cars have my attention aswell. Perphaps I just need some balls so I can sink my teeth into a turbo.
Anywho, just want some other opinions if possible.
Cheers

 

[APEXistud]

If you want your MP3 to fly, I say save you clams and spend the cash on a nice Turbo kit. That is basically the only way you're going to be able to knock the snot out of Civic SI's, hang with RSX's, piss off WRX owners and have other Protege owner drop their jaws in awww. So I say don't do anything and save for a turbo since the car already looks good.

 

[cjstringer]

Stock'n and rock'n

Mine is completely stock except for a K&N, which is only an ait filter. I love my car. I know it isn't the quickest thing to ever hit the streets, but I still get almost 30mpg in the city, and at autocrosses the car is feared. (Check the sig) I would mod if I had a ton of cash, but then I would have just bought a faster car. (Used 911, etc.)
Do what you like, but I say the car is rather sweet in factory setup. Tough to beat an out of the box racer like this.

 

[dolphin]

I agree with cjstringer. Stock is fine.

 

[Chuktang]

Stock Mp3 here.
Good nuff for me

Although I would like more power. I have yet to see a good performance boost without breaking the bank.

So unmodded it stays until I become indepently wealthy.

 

[appler]

I'm bone stock as well (with the exception of a MOMO Racer shift knob and a 1/2 inch chop off the height of the stalk--the stock knob is a cheap piece of sh*t). If you learn how to drive that car for real, there's no one in your price range that can touch you. Most people on this site are more concerned with how it looks than how it runs and have not taken the time to unlock even a smidgen of what this car is capable of. It's not one of the 8 best handling cars on the planet (Road and Track) for nothing.

Save your pennies for a high-quality turbo kit with all the trimmings, leave the rest alone, learn how to drive, and you'll dismantle most of these guys who took their pretty car and spent a sh*tload to make it uglier, slower, and a worse handler.

 

[big_ben]

Damn appler, you sound pissed off. I agree with you about the handling. I believe if you get the Ground Control coilovers because you want the car lowered, that's fine. But if you did it to make it handle better, you screwed up. Does anyone on this board really think they know how to make this car handle better than the suspension engineers from Tikico did. The handling is the best it can be without adjustable dampers. That is the ONLY way this car will handle better. But like I said, if you got the GC's for looks, fine, but if you got them for performance, big mistake.

 

[mp3moose]

Thanks everyone for the info and addvice. I am going stock for now. So hopefully after a few months (or years unfortunately) I'll see who makes the quality turbo by judging all of your dyno results and individual tests, then I'll make the comitment. So keep the mods pouring in so I can be a copy cat.
Cheers

 

[APEXistud]

I know for a fact that I can improve the handling of my MP3. The better handling will come at the sacrafice of civility. Do remember that everyone has a different definition of better. I would prefer to have my car to have more oversteer. The first step to getting more oversteer would be to of course a larger rear sway. My next step would be to increase to spring rates then finally add a badly needed limited slip. I'm not a suspension set up genius, but I do know what works. As far as I'm concerned if you're looking for a quality turbo kit, you should expect to spend some extra cash. Good luck in whatever you choose.