thinking bout buying an msp

[UnNamed]

hi everyone im new here and ive been lurking on here for a while just reading up on your cars so i can learn a little about it before i decide to buy it. the main thing leading me to this car is the 4 doors, turbo, and rarity of it. so i have a few questions for you guys:

- how has your car held up? this question is mostly directed to the people who take good care of their cars and drive it every single day. some cars just seem to have problem after problem even after you take care of it (dsm's come to mind). will this car have probs like a dsm even if i do my routine maintenance and replacement of worn or old parts.

- will this car take a constant beating? i drive an 96 200sx se-r (sr20de) and that car has seen redline at least everytime i get onto a freeway or find an empty stretch of road during my commute to work and school everyday. not to mention it gets beat on worse when im just driving it around town.

- are aftermarket and replacement parts easy to find for this car? does this car get good aftermarket support?

- in terms of moddability, can mod this for cheap and make decent power (250-300hp)? like would it be as easy as modding an sr20 or 4g63?

- i would like to know about the fun factor of this car, do you have a good time driving this car? do you feel like the car is tossable? tell me all about it. ive read the stock suspension is pretty decent, is that true?

- im pretty sure there are people who still post on here who had a bad experience with your car or a regret from buying it. can you tell me about your experience with it?

- last question, now i think i read on here that the engine runs on a timing belt, is this a non-interference engine or not?

thanks for your time! sorry if my questions have been asked too many times or anything.

 

[Knox Joe]

1. My car is fine, but I don't do any heavy launching, all my fun is on twisty mountain roads.

2. Turning, and carving turns, yes. Launching it and drag racing, no.

3. We have plenty of aftermarket parts, but no they're not cheap.

4. Funnest I ever had on four wheels (bikes are my thing),
I drive US129 (read; 318 turns in 11 miles, Deal's Gap, AKA the dragon's tail, www.dealsgap.com, www.tailofthedragon.com) a couple times a year with it.

5. I had the turbo, and some other parts replaced under warranty.

6. I dunno, I know it has a timing belt.

 

[Turtle of Time]

I'm actually about to put my car up for sale.

The only problem everyone who is stock on this car that have it are either the clunk, amp/sub/stereo going out... other than that the car has no problems if you dont rag on it or up the boost without proper management.

I replaced my brake pads around 25k miles on the front (but did an all around job) due to spirited driving.

I don't think this car can take a beating really, unless like above supporting mods are on the car.

Aftermarket is there, its just expendsive since well... i'll let you search to figure out why. Also I've never been biten by the mod bug so i wouldnt know

As far as the fun factor? hanging on for dear life at the twisties always bring a smile to my face, especially on rainy nights, the car has awesome pickup and acceleration, it also handles like its on rails, and at times i tend to get over-confident so it makes it more thrilling to try and tackle more challenging roads. and the looks (especially when the Mica shows) are more than superior

The factory shifter is also pretty good and is very smooth and not notchy.

As far as bad experiences with the car? well... other than the amp/sub/radio/clunk i've had no problems with it,

 

[UnNamed]

I don't think this car can take a beating really, unless like above supporting mods are on the car.

can you elaborate on what you mean about supporting mods? i would have to mod something to beat the crap out of the car daily? im the kind of guy who likes to redline it everychance i get or toss it around a corner when im sure no ones around to get hurt if i mess up.

 

[msp35]

Had the car 60k+ miles. Redline everytime I drive.....damn right. I just love to hear that turbo spool. throw it into a curve and come out short of breath. This car is a blast to drive. IMO probably the most practical daily driver available. If you're looking to push north of 250whp then you may
actually be looking into considerable expense. Just search, there are several threads about what it takes to get to (x) amount of power.

 

[Chiguy_2002]

I had my car for 80k miles. Put about 20k in the year I had it, with no major issues. My girl had hers for over 100k. Still ran fine, though she had replaced a few things on it. Maybe she can elaborate, she got hers new. It is really fun to drive and tossable. Traded mine for something more economical.

 

[MSPRO]

I had my car for 80k miles. Put about 20k in the year I had it, with no major issues. My girl had hers for over 100k. Still ran fine, though she had replaced a few things on it. Maybe she can elaborate, she got hers new. It is really fun to drive and tossable.

LOL His Girl did buy hers new lol. I never had any problems with it that weren't caused by things I had done. I broke the LSD at 46k miles after beating on it at the track the weekend before. I had a wheel bearing go out at 86k miles, and thats pretty much it. I sold it with 104k miles b.c I wanted something that was more sutible as a daily driver. The way I had mine modded, it was kinda harsh for everyday use for me anymore. I do miss it sometimes as it was a fun car. I actually sold an 01 sentra se that was had a sr20det in it for the MSP back in 03. I turboed the stock sr20 in the O1, and took the turbo off before trading it in. I know the sr20 is very reliable and can take a beating and I had heard things about how the FS-De likes to throw rods, but overall I was very happy with mine. I used to wish it would blow up so that I had a reason to build it but it didnt ever happen.

 

[CitizenPro]

Be ready to add your name to the Broken LSD list

 

[MrDiggler]

I'm happy with mine. The handling is insane. It looks great too...today a PYT at the gas station told me my car was hot. Probably because I just got married, lol.

There are issues and there will be more, but read up and make an informed decision. The most serious flaw is in the LSD. Mine broke at low speed and even lower throttle, and I don't beat on my car. Don't expect the dealer to be enthusiastic about covering it (or much of anything) if it's still under warranty.

Finally, if you insist on spending all your time near the redline, nothing is going to last forever!

 

[Unispeed]

Might you be interested in mine?

http://www.mazdas247.com/forum/showthread.php?p=2681841#post2681841

See post 11

hi everyone im new here and ive been lurking on here for a while just reading up on your cars so i can learn a little about it before i decide to buy it. the main thing leading me to this car is the 4 doors, turbo, and rarity of it. so i have a few questions for you guys:

- how has your car held up? this question is mostly directed to the people who take good care of their cars and drive it every single day. some cars just seem to have problem after problem even after you take care of it (dsm's come to mind). will this car have probs like a dsm even if i do my routine maintenance and replacement of worn or old parts.

- will this car take a constant beating? i drive an 96 200sx se-r (sr20de) and that car has seen redline at least everytime i get onto a freeway or find an empty stretch of road during my commute to work and school everyday. not to mention it gets beat on worse when im just driving it around town.

- are aftermarket and replacement parts easy to find for this car? does this car get good aftermarket support?

- in terms of moddability, can mod this for cheap and make decent power (250-300hp)? like would it be as easy as modding an sr20 or 4g63?

- i would like to know about the fun factor of this car, do you have a good time driving this car? do you feel like the car is tossable? tell me all about it. ive read the stock suspension is pretty decent, is that true?

- im pretty sure there are people who still post on here who had a bad experience with your car or a regret from buying it. can you tell me about your experience with it?

- last question, now i think i read on here that the engine runs on a timing belt, is this a non-interference engine or not?

thanks for your time! sorry if my questions have been asked too many times or anything.

 

[orlandomsp]

To answer your last question, yes the engine has a timing belt, not a chain, and yes, it is a non-interference engine. Good luck with your decision, I love my msp.

 

[UnNamed]

cool. what im reading on this board is giving me mixed feelings on this car. sounds like the car handles pretty good stock which is a plus for me and the looks are kinda cool to me too. also the fact that it seems like a rare car. but that lsd and what seems to be low power potential unless i build up the engine kill it for me. aaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh cant decide!

 

[Alejo_NIN]

i would buy the car all over again only because i'm a mazda guy and no other car under 15k takes my heart

and yes, it is a ******* pain in the ass..
you got the weak ass LSD ( http://www.mazdas247.com/forum/showthread.php?t=123647943&goto=newpost my lsd died)
the noises are something you can live with...
the looks are like no other (they think my car is an EVO lol)
it is quick, not too quick tho...
there is support from many companies and parts are expensive...but when there are only a handful of MSP, it is kinda hard to make money by selling cheap (not so with hondas where there is a honda for every chinease)

do i recommend you to buy it??
well, it depends....how dedicated are you to the mechanics side of cars?
can you afford for the car to be down for at least a month every year?
things are going to break and if you r not under warranty these things would be expensive...

don't buy it...get an srt-4 n be done with the speed factor....get a MS3...or something else...coz chances are...you'll end up hating it...

my .02 cents

 

[UnNamed]

^ ah thanks for the honesty i will definately keep that in mind when i check one out in person.

 

[txrxs]

They are selling for nothing these days. Buy one, enjoy it for what it is stock. With the money you save, buy an older/better platform and make that one fast.

 

[kamon8404]

Well I purchased mine back in may of this year. I love it so far. Yes, the threads about things breaking scare me too but, you can't let that bother you.

Today, I was riding next to a newer corvette and we were doing atleast 20 over the 60 mph speed limit going into a turn, and when i came out of the turn neck and neck with him he looked pretty shocked. Then when he tried to mash it going out of the turn, I just dropped and it kept up with him decently until we got to the light. Thats when we gave me the head bob of approval and I just laughed because I bought mine for 13k and he probably bought his for over 50k.
Thats when I realize how much I really love this car, and am debating what I want to do to make this car extremely reliable and unbreakable, and the answers I keep coming up with are welded lsd which brand new you can get for around 600, and a built bottom end. Now more and more companies are selling bottom ends and you can pick one up brand new for around 3.5k. If I you add that up thats under 20 grand for a car that would be utterly amazing. YOU DECIDE!

 

[Chiguy_2002]

Here are a couple MSP for sale in the Cincy area...

This was mine...

This was Amy's