US 2007 Mazdaspeed3 and Mazda3

[jbiird317]

well visited my mazdaspeed dealer today to verify all the stuff ive heard on here... talked to the main guy for about an hour and got all of his order information... hes ordering 3 ms3's out of a total 11 he is alloted for 2007, one cosmic blue GT and two red sports

he basically told me that if i gave the deposit, he could make one of those a custom order for me....so next week hes supposedly getting some detailed price info and hopefully get my order in which he assumes would be ready by sep/oct

number 1 on the waiting list ftw!

 

[seanw]

well visited my mazdaspeed dealer today to verify all the stuff ive heard on here... talked to the main guy for about an hour and got all of his order information... hes ordering 3 ms3's out of a total 11 he is alloted for 2007, one cosmic blue GT and two red sports

he basically told me that if i gave the deposit, he could make one of those a custom order for me....so next week hes supposedly getting some detailed price info and hopefully get my order in which he assumes would be ready by sep/oct

number 1 on the waiting list ftw!

Way to jump on it, hombre! FWIW here's an interesting press release posted by someone on Edmunds MS3 forum about the MS Axela:

http://www.mazda.com/publicity/release/200606/0606.html

Notice that the yen price difference from the Axela Sport is about 11%. Also the weight difference is 90 kilos. The MS Axela at least weighs in at about a little over 3000 lbs. Let's hope the US spec MS3 keeps close to that weight.

 

[vindication]

http://www.msprotege.com/forum/showthread.php?t=123637246
notice the AWD option. why didn't they put it in the MS3? Hopefully tehy'll bring that as an option sooner or later, hopefully sooner. Stupid ass mazda!

 

[seanw]

http://www.msprotege.com/forum/showthread.php?t=123637246
notice the AWD option. why didn't they put it in the MS3? Hopefully tehy'll bring that as an option sooner or later, hopefully sooner. Stupid ass mazda!

They only offer it on the 2.0 liter AT (20F on the spec sheet I linked), so maybe it's not very performance oriented AWD. It appears to add 140 kg (308 lbs) compared to the basic Axela (20C). If you added the 300 lbs. to the MS Axela, it would start getting a little porky at about 3350 lbs. Strangely, adding AWD hardly increases the price of the 20F over the 20C.

 

[Chris-BE]

This car is going to kick some ass.

 

[jbiird317]

http://www.msprotege.com/forum/showthread.php?t=123637246
notice the AWD option. why didn't they put it in the MS3? Hopefully tehy'll bring that as an option sooner or later, hopefully sooner. Stupid ass mazda!

i dunno, apparently the lsd in the ms3 is gonna be really good and you wont need awd, not to mention the weight saved by having only fwd

 

[vindication]

are the driveshafts on the M3 equal length or pretty damn close? If so, it will be better along with the lsd.

 

[seanw]

are the driveshafts on the M3 equal length or pretty damn close? If so, it will be better along with the lsd.

I think I read that they were, as part of the steps they're taking to reduce torque steer. Don't remember where I saw it, though.

 

[seanw]

Here are some random pix from a poster on edmunds of some MS3's on the ground.

http://www.kirill626.com/mazdaspeed3/_catalog.html

I don't know, I'm kinda wishing it was more distinct from the regular 3 hatch. The MS6 has the bigger grill opening (fake, but still looks cool) and the pronounced raise in the hood that makes it look a little sinister. The MS3's differences are a lot more muted and it's a little on the cute side. But style ain't everything. If it's even more of a sleeper than the 6, that's not all bad.

 

[jbiird317]

Here are some random pix from a poster on edmunds of some MS3's on the ground.

http://www.kirill626.com/mazdaspeed3/_catalog.html

I don't know, I'm kinda wishing it was more distinct from the regular 3 hatch. The MS6 has the bigger grill opening (fake, but still looks cool) and the pronounced raise in the hood that makes it look a little sinister. The MS3's differences are a lot more muted and it's a little on the cute side. But style ain't everything. If it's even more of a sleeper than the 6, that's not all bad.

sweet pics, i think that both the 6 and the 3 look agressive-ish but have some softer curves that make them more of a sleeper... i think its a good thing tho...

im very disappointed tho that there are still no pics of this cosmic blue color, i need to know what it looks like!!

 

[seanw]

I don't know why I didn't notice this before. The Mazda Axela press release (http://www.mazda.com/publicity/release/200606/0606.html) lists a power rating of 194 kw for the MS Axela, which is equal to 260 hp. Crossbow posted a scan of a US spec sheet confirming 260 SAE. But the info in the press release is the first official Mazda info showing a specific rating.

I suppose the US spec MS3 could have a lower rating, maybe due to different emissions standards or some such. But, FWIW, the MS Atenza is rated at 200 kw or 268 hp, 6 hp less than the MS6 274 SAE net.

 

[Wes]

Here are some random pix from a poster on edmunds of some MS3's on the ground.

http://www.kirill626.com/mazdaspeed3/_catalog.html

I don't know, I'm kinda wishing it was more distinct from the regular 3 hatch. The MS6 has the bigger grill opening (fake, but still looks cool) and the pronounced raise in the hood that makes it look a little sinister. The MS3's differences are a lot more muted and it's a little on the cute side. But style ain't everything. If it's even more of a sleeper than the 6, that's not all bad.

Is the one on the left Black Mica??? Cuz it looks like a dark grey... what color is that?

 

[RHAGEL]

Is the one on the left Black Mica??? Cuz it looks like a dark grey... what color is that?

Black Mica is sort of grey. It is black but has a lot of silver/gray metallic that give sit a gray look. Its pretty nice.

 

[seanw]

Black Mica is sort of grey. It is black but has a lot of silver/gray metallic that give sit a gray look. Its pretty nice.

If it is, that must be a real fluke of the lighting/camera, cause I was just looking at some black mica MS6's on a dealer lot and they are a lot darker than that. I'm thinking they just happen to have a pre-production carbon gray / galaxy gray since those colors are being produced for the Japanese MS Axela.

 

[dmitrik4]

i'm wondering how much more tire the extra fender flare width will allow. hopefully 245s at least. too bad the wheels are wack-ass 18x7s.

 

[RHAGEL]

i'm wondering how much more tire the extra fender flare width will allow. hopefully 245s at least. too bad the wheels are wack-ass 18x7s.

245's would be way too wide. For a FWD car like this, 225 would be more than enough. If you were to get a 8.5 in. wheel with 245's the car would handle horribly, noy to mention the road noise.

 

[dmitrik4]

i was thinking for autoX, not for street use...sorry. for road use, i agree. the car is capable of getting someone into enough trouble as it is.

but why would it handle "horribly" with 245s? i understand some transitional crispness might be lost in favor of ultimate lateral grip (esp w/ the stock-width wheels), but the MSP seems to work OK on 245s (6th at Topeka last year). the new Civic Si's work fine on 245s from what i've heard. is there something unique about the MS3?

should i abandon my plan to run 225-width Hoosiers on 13x8 wheels on my 2000-lb corolla?

 

[sjdmp5]

I'm thinking a 245/35/18 Kumho V710 won't fit on the stock rim.

 

[RHAGEL]

i was thinking for autoX, not for street use...sorry. for road use, i agree. the car is capable of getting someone into enough trouble as it is.

but why would it handle "horribly" with 245s? i understand some transitional crispness might be lost in favor of ultimate lateral grip (esp w/ the stock-width wheels), but the MSP seems to work OK on 245s (6th at Topeka last year). the new Civic Si's work fine on 245s from what i've heard. is there something unique about the MS3?

should i abandon my plan to run 225-width Hoosiers on 13x8 wheels on my 2000-lb corolla?

I think you would lose a lot of feel from the car as well as be able to feel any bump and groove in the road. I'm no expert, but I would think a tire like that would just be over kill.

 

[dmitrik4]

not worried about feel, just speed through the course. it's only overkill if your times don't improve.

I'm thinking a 245/35/18 Kumho V710 won't fit on the stock rim.

indeed...see "wack-ass wheel widths" comment above. it depends on how friendly one is with the tire-shop guy, i suppose. stupid blingin' 18-inch wheels!