Prospecting

[AWD_Junkie]

Hello all,

I currently drive a Subaru STi which is going to begin the process of being transformed into a track only car. I was interested in looking into Mazda when I stumbled accross the Mazdaspeed 6. As the username suggests I love AWD over anything else and when I saw the price of an 06 I decided to do some research.

I'm new the Mazda and this forum completely. The MS6 will be my daily. My question for you guys is how does the MS6 perform? How are the maintenance costs and what should I look out for when I find the right car I'm looking for?

Thanks in advance

Stephen

 

[/RX-8Chick]

If you're looking at an 06, make sure the clutch has been taken care of.

 

[AWD_Junkie]

Kinda knew that already. What I'm looking for is do these cars burn oil? Are there any problems with transmission? Rear differentials? Suspension? Obviously the car will have some miles on it so I want to know what I'm getting into.

 

[/RX-8Chick]

I'm lightly modded and I don't have any issues with burning oil. Are you planning to mod much?

 

[AWD_Junkie]

No mods. It will be my daily driver.

 

[Flightmedic]

Rear diff mounts where outsourced to fisher price so upgrading them would be wise. There are a few good options on the market that are pretty cheap but a pia to install. Tranny are rock solid and the car doesn't burn oil but there are some issues with smoking turbos that you want to look out for. Let the car idle for 10 minutes and you will see if you have one of the bad turbos. The stock suspension other than wheel gap and ride height is perfect for a daily driver. Hugs the corners and comfy ride all in one.

 

[lynnriderm6]

Yea i had a 06 ms6 and loved it never had any issues with it and i had a decent amount of mods on it (i/tmic/cbe/mm/bov/cobbstage 1/h&r springs/and a few more) and it treated me perfect...if you are going to launch it a bunch of times i would say buy the rear dif brace other then that car was rock solid for me.

 

[batou079]

A daily driver MS6, if not driven HARD all the time you will be 100% perfectly fine for a long time.

only things for comfort/peace of mind that you can take care of ahead of time were mentioned... clutch being too stiff (TSB fix), rear diff mount (upgrade), and thats about it. Everything else as stock is 100% perfect for DD comfort and reliability.

enjoy your MS6!! if you can actually resist the mod bug, even some light modding for the MS6, i will be impressed!

 

[AWD_Junkie]

Mod bug goes straight to my STi. I'm pulling the motor this weekend to rebuild it with all forged internals to get ready for my bigger turbo. How's the gas milage on the MS6? I know it's a turbo and it's not going to be the greatest but if it's anything over 17 highway which my STi gets I'll be happy. Yes I have a heavy foot.

 

[/RX-8Chick]

I usually get 24-25 mpg.

 

[chiefmg]

The MS6 is a comfortable car stock. As long as you have no problem with driving a manual in rush hour traffic you should be happy. The sleeper look is a plus.

 

[AWD_Junkie]

I'll definately enjoy the sleeper part. I'm tired of civics, SRT4s, integras and all over rice-mobiles out there trying to race my STi.

 

[chiefmg]

Well you still may get that with an MS6, my wife tells me she is always getting ricers revving on her. Me, I just get those newer butch Camrys thinking they can keep up with me until I hit a corner. I love watching their eyes as they are fighting massive understeer!

 

[wannabe]

i only get revved at once in a blue moon, but yeah, like mentioned above, i know plenty of people that have kept a speed6 stock and have had little to no problems.

the main issues with the 06s have been addressed via TSB/recall:

purge valve
clutch
bad seals
advanced key antenna