Hi all. I live in Colorado Springs and just bought my first Mazda, an '09 Mazdaspeed 3. I'm coming from an '05 SRT-4 which I was extremely happy with. I commute to Denver four times a week so I ran up the miles pretty fast on the SRT-4 and wanted to get something new before hitting 100k miles.

I had a few bolt-ons on the SRT-4 and am planning to do the same with the Speed3. I've been reading horror stories of blown motors on the Mazdaspeedforums.org boards though that have me a little worried. Any Speed3 owners here in town with minor bolt-ons have any trouble with their cars? I see a lot of the guys that are blowing their motors are well over 300whp. My SRT-4 was 220whp/265wtq and I was pretty happy with it, could take Evos, STis, Z28s, Mustang GTs, etc. on the highway. I would like to get a bit more power than that out of the Speed3 but still under 300. My plans to start with are intake and full turbo-back, besides the rear motor mount and shifter bushings which everyone seems to be in agreement should be the first things to do.

I really like the car so far. The interior is way nicer than the SRT-4 and the car has a lot more options. It feels slightly slower stock but it isn't likely to stay stock for long. Has anyone here bought from Bob Penkhus and modded their car? Do they try to void your warranty over unreleated crap like saying your exhaust caused your windshield wipers to stop working or are they fairly mod-friendly?

Anyway, looking forward to learning more about the car and hopefully getting involved in the Colorado Mazda community.

Hey-

I'm confused to on what a "to-do" list looks like on my MS3 as I have read the same stuff on "horror stories" and the list; CAI,SRI,Turbo back,BOV,Short shift, bushings, exhaust, motor mount (this and turbo back are new to me) can be somewhat daunting.

I can tell you that is seems that some dealers are "pro mod" and some not. Most drivers here have a ton of experience with both and/or are very tech savvy. I can also tell you from first hand experience, I have the MazdaSpeed factory CAI and I like it a lot. There is a different sound you have to warm up to, but other than that (and a strict warning about deep puddle avoidance) it's worthwhile.

Hmmmm...four days a week to Denver, eh? You don't happen to work at Buckley AFB, do you?

Right on welcome! I bought my speed6 from penkhus as well, granted never had any issues yet come up to warrant bringing it back down there. I think most of what you're reading about motors popping is the fact that the stock mazda tune on the motor has a lean spot just under 3k RPM's and if the motor is at 100% load it ends up weakening the rods and finally those are what go. So just be mindful of keeping a 100% load off ur motor under 3k rpms and you shouldn't have any problems.

As far as your mod list goes, I think you should hold off on the exhaust (it really doesn't net you any gain in HP save for a test pipe) and replace that with a bov of some sorts as you'll most likely gain more HP that way. A CAI, TIP, and TMIC I think are also very good starter mods (what I've done my mine). From there boost controler (electronic btw) and then after that whatever you really have a fancy for.

Welcome to the club. If you want mild gains with a few easy bolt on mods, start with an intake, turbo inlet and aftermarket blow off valve.
Turbo back could become a PITA if you don't have a Standback or AP to tune with, especially with the downpipe. Beyond that, un upgraded top mount will help, but you probably won't need to spend the money on that until next spring (the heat of summer is likely gone to cause heat soak issues).
Any questions or if you need help, don't be afraid to ask.

Welcome to the club! My first mods are the HKS BOV and the Mazdaspeed CAI and I love them! The car seems to pull a bit more than when it was stock, plus I am addicted to the sound that both of them make. Hope to see you at a meet soon!

Welcome. A few of us meet at the Sonic by Chapel Hills mall. 6:30ish on Friday nights.

Welcome to the club! Like Troy (movor) said, an intake, turbo inlet, and if you want a new BPV are good choices that won't kill your car. I also have a Streetunit test pipe that replaces the second cat and won't negatively affect the car and requires no tune. Also an upgraded rear motor mount is something to look into. It really helps imo.

Enjoy your Speed!

Welcome to the mazda world. Like PRX said, we meet just about every week at the sonic chapel hills

Welcome!!

RX-7 Chris wrote:Welcome to the mazda world. Like PRX said, we meet just about every week at the sonic chapel hills

I wish you guys met up on Saturdays, I can't get Jeff out of the house on Fridays.

Welcome!

Bob Penkhus has never given me any trouble with my mods. I go to the one in Motor City for my oil changes and have had some warranty work done with zero issues (Diana Defino is the Service Manager and is pretty helpful).

Wifey2Speed3lvr wrote:I wish you guys met up on Saturdays, I can't get Jeff out of the house on Fridays.

Someone else asked about that. Maybe we can discuss the possibility.

Told Jeff yesterday about Friday meets and he got sad...Let us know though what everyone decides. So I can let the old man know.

Maybe you could change nights every other meet?