New friends... 2018 manual R and my old reliable 2010 Mazdaspeed 3 with 155k on the clock.. Loving this R, just picked it up on Thursday..
Posted Mar 16, 2020, 1:32 AM UTC
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how do you like the Mazdaspeed 3? They always intrigued me but I went with the Focus ST instead. Of course now I've moved onto the R with a ND Miata in between (RIP, damn deer) but they've always piqued my interest
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I loved my 2008.5 MS3. It was reliable as heck and took a beating. The only thing you need to watch out for as I recall is the fuel pump needs to be upgraded early on. It’s a Stage 2 requirement.
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Fuel pump internals are a must. Hell, it should be the first modification on one of these.. I’ve met quite a few MS3 owners who bolted on whatever they could find and then jumped to changing the tune before internals.. Fuel cut is a real thing
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My best friend had a Speed3 in that Celestial Blue. Mine was black. You guys obviously got lucky with reliability. Mine made it to 82k before popping and my sisters boyfriends made it to about the same before blowing. I guess you guys must have stayed light on the mods. I was FBO/S4 on E. When my engine went I had probably 200+ pulls over 28 pounds of boost on a GTX 2871. We could never control boost on that thing, so I guess by the time I switched to an S4 the damage had been done already, my targets were 24.5. Got my second engine in and was making 350/350 on meth. Car has sat now since Thanksgiving of 2018.
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It’s my third and final mazdaspeed.. Wish they still made them! As these have been the most reliable and fun cars to own. Went to the R as there aren’t many choices these days, and I’m not much of a Subaru fan.
agreed. not a fan of the Subarus at all. fiancee wanted me to get something more practical than the Miata especially living in New England so the R was really the only choice. Maybe I'll pick up a MS3 down the road as a project car to beat on and keep my miles down. already at 15k in ~9 months of ownership, don't wanna run up the miles too quickly as the spektrum R will remain in my garage forever
I’m also in New England, Western Mass.. MS3 with snows has been unstoppable for me.. I’m going to be spoiled with the all wheel R..
southern NH here. it's sooooooo nice in the snow although the Miata was shockingly good with snow tires as long as it was 4" or less