Question About Turbochargers!!

[Gio81]

Hello all! So the big question is this... Does anyone out there know of any good turbo kits for a Mazda3 GT and not the Hiboost but any others? And my second question because i've been hearing both yes and no... i want confirmation on this once and for all.... are turbo kits illegal for street?

[dentinger]

as far as i know, HiBoost is the only turbo kit manufacturer for the mazda3.
altho, some people have pieced together custom kits.

and no, turbo's arent illegal for street use. your thinking of Nitrous ;)

here, take at look at this section on Mazda3Forums. you should be able to find your answers there.
http://www.mazda3forums.com/index.php?board=963.0

[midnightfxgt]

HiBoost makes THE kit right now. Their are talks of others from F2, TriPoint and Reactive Racing. If I was to buy a kit (again), I would wait for Reactive... they are going to have a fully self tunable stand alone out soon. Wait for a few guys to test it and go with it. Will be a little ways out yet, so start saving. There is a LOT to know when boosting these cars. So read up :)

-John

[WeatherB]

HiBoost makes THE kit right now. Their are talks of others from F2, TriPoint and Reactive Racing. If I was to buy a kit (again), I would wait for Reactive... they are going to have a fully self tunable stand alone out soon. Wait for a few guys to test it and go with it. Will be a little ways out yet, so start saving. There is a LOT to know when boosting these cars. So read up :)

-John

Ya, the Reactive Racing looks really promising. My biggest concern with these bolt-on kits is the ramifications it'll have on your insurance. Yes, you don't have to tell them, but I'm sure they'll gripe when you have an accident and try to claim.

[dentinger]

ya, but im sure it all depends.
ie, i cant see you having a problem if you were side swiped. altho, driving 80km's into a tree is a different story.

[midnightfxgt]

Yeah, your insurance company can cancel your policy if not disclosed. In the spring when the parts in the basement are installed, I am having a full appraisal and switching to a company that covers it all. I was quoted about $400-500 per year more, but with all my mods, thats nothing if it means I am covered :)

-John

[dentinger]

$400-$500 more a year doesnt seem that bad.
thats only wat, about an extra $40 a month.

[dentinger]

wait. i thought you were already boosted?
or is that one of the other sponsors im tihnking about??

[WeatherB]

Yeah, your insurance company can cancel your policy if not disclosed. In the spring when the parts in the basement are installed, I am having a full appraisal and switching to a company that covers it all. I was quoted about $400-500 per year more, but with all my mods, thats nothing if it means I am covered :)

-John

That's not bad at all... Maybe you can give us an update once you've notified your insurance company.

[midnightfxgt]

wait. i thought you were already boosted?
or is that one of the other sponsors im tihnking about??

I am a sponsor, and boosted lol. I just havent told my insurance company.:blush

[Wild Weasel]

I couldn't find anyone besides Facility to insure my Sunfire due to the mods. Regular companies wouldn't touch it and specialty companies only wanted custom stuff 15 yrs old or older.

Do you mind my asking who you're going with? Is it a facility insurer?

[midnightfxgt]

I cant recall the name... I have it somewhere if your really interested. I think they are a facility company though.

-John

[whiteomega]

there's the hiboost kit, and there's also a kit from turbokits.com:

http://www.turbokits.com/3_turbo_kits.html

not sure how it compares to the hiboost one.

[Wild Weasel]

I cant recall the name... I have it somewhere if your really interested. I think they are a facility company though.

-John

Ah. Nevermind then. The facility companies wouldn't give me comp-only coverage so it wasn't worth pursuing. :(

[whiteomega]

Yeah, your insurance company can cancel your policy if not disclosed. In the spring when the parts in the basement are installed, I am having a full appraisal and switching to a company that covers it all. I was quoted about $400-500 per year more, but with all my mods, thats nothing if it means I am covered :)

-John

i don't know if they can cancel your policy, but than can definitely deny a claim. either way, it's bad for you.

[whiteomega]

I cant recall the name... I have it somewhere if your really interested. I think they are a facility company though.

-John

i'd be interested in knowing too.

[ptfire]

Having turbocharged NA cars before it would be cheaper and better to sell your Mazda3GT and buy a Mazdaspeed3. In the end you will be way ahead, plus you will have a better starting point to start modding from.

[midnightfxgt]

Having turbocharged NA cars before it would be cheaper and better to sell your Mazda3GT and buy a Mazdaspeed3. In the end you will be way ahead, plus you will have a better starting point to start modding from.

Whoa.... come again? I dont think that is the case for everyone. First of all, what if the person has a Sedan (God Forbid, I know... ;)). They have no option to keep that body style.

Now look at how the financials can be... Trading in your car, lets say a 2004 Mazda3 hatch is going to net you about 15K, probably less. A dealer I would estimate at somewhere in the 13K range (on a trade). Now factor in that a Speed3 is about 30K + tax, your looking at owing like $19000 in difference with tax.

Do I think someone is better to spend $15-$20000 to upgrade to a speed3? Thats not my decision, but its not one I would decide to do! I would (and did) rather spend $5000K on the turbo kit and be ready to go. Your 15K ahead..... but your missing a warranty, LSD (crappy one, but still) and a 6spd.

As for a better starting point for modding, I dont think that is the case either. Upping the boost past 10PSI (approx 280WHP with the Highboost) can get you into problems... but upping the Speed3 boost can cause issues too.

Its a Pro and Con list that each person would have to consider.... based on mileage, trade-in, finances etc etc....

-John

[midnightfxgt]

After Re-reading my reply, I dont want people to think I am hating on the Mazdaspeed3 at all.... I think its an amazing car! Hell, if I didnt have a MZ3 I would have bought one in a second!

Oh, there is also a link for people looking for a small MZ3 Boost FAQ ;) - http://www.torontomazda3.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=19650


-John

[CanadaGTO]

I think any talk of it being "worth it" in a money sense is wrong headed.

The bottom line is, do you have the drive and passion to do it. It takes a lot of work, time, tools, space and sweat. In the end you'll have the satisfaction of knowing the beast is as much to do with you as the kit.

There's a certain sense of awe I get from seeing cars that have had this done to them, the older and more mundane the better :)

I have nothing by respect for those who do it, they are true enthusiasts. However..... I like my MS3, and think it's worth every penny.

[midnightfxgt]

Good point Pat... it is more work to build a kit than buy a car with one on it.... But the financial side does factor in for me also. If I had a speed3 it would have a ton done to it also... Some people smoke, do drugs, drink all the time, but I like to mod ;)

-John

[dentinger]

Some people smoke, do drugs, drink all the time, but I like to mod ;)


+1

[S.F.W.]

"Either you sling crack rock or you got a wicked jump shot."

[1flycdnM3]

"Either you sling crack rock or you got a wicked jump shot."

hahahaha Boiler Room... Giovanni Ribisi.... great movie :)

hey, im still weighing my options too, but from a financial standpoint and the fact I do enjoy a sedan, I am not spending the extra money on a Speed3 :)

Plus, I am already building a car/mods that i like so getting a Speed3 would give me a better starting point for sure, but still have to start from scratch in the modding-sense...

[Gio81]

Thanks for all the feedback and call this a stupid question if u will, but dont most turbos fit a mazda or any car for that matter and all you really need is the proper piping? In my case right now the car is stock and all i wanna add is a turbo kit. I heard that tuning a car after boosting can be a pain and very expenisve... has anyone had any real issues with tuning afterwards?

[1flycdnM3]

I am not the right person to respond to this, but tuning is not difficult if you know what ur doing. I blew up my turbo accord so ive learned many lessons from just that, but it's not impossible to learn by any means.

yes, you "can" build your own turbo, but this does become a little more complicated and requires alot of reading and understanding (what to buy, how it works, proper installation, etc.) so that's why the "kits" help you as they take the guess-work out of the equation and allow you to do the less-complicated things (guages/pods, blow-off valves, etc.)

[RX9]

there is some kind of supercharger for mazda3.
few weeks ago, i was talking to a tech in dealer, as we talk about the turbos, he said he saw the supercharger on the market, around 10psi top, but need engin mod and computer mod, because in order to use that SC, you have to lower the ratio to around 8:1, total cost wont be cheap and only saw it on Ford fouces not mazda3.

[Gio81]

Why havent our good friends at Mazda built a turbocharged 3 sedan? why does it only come in the sport? Whats the deal with that?

[condor888000]

Various theories are out there.

1) Speed6 was a sedan, didn't want too much competition.
2) Last gen MSP was a sedan, time to do a hatch.
3) Hatches are more popular in other areas of the world so one design as a hot hatch made more sense economically.

[midnightfxgt]

there is some kind of supercharger for mazda3.
few weeks ago, i was talking to a tech in dealer, as we talk about the turbos, he said he saw the supercharger on the market, around 10psi top, but need engin mod and computer mod, because in order to use that SC, you have to lower the ratio to around 8:1, total cost wont be cheap and only saw it on Ford fouces not mazda3.

No such thing yet for the Mazda3... any SC kits for the focus, wont fit the Mazda3. Any boost on these requires a computer change. A compression ratio of 8:1 shouldnt be needed, at all. Thats a low CR... when I build this motor (hopefully near the end of the year) I will go with something along the lines of a 9:1.

Thanks
John

[Wild Weasel]

Thanks for all the feedback and call this a stupid question if u will, but dont most turbos fit a mazda or any car for that matter and all you really need is the proper piping? In my case right now the car is stock and all i wanna add is a turbo kit. I heard that tuning a car after boosting can be a pain and very expenisve... has anyone had any real issues with tuning afterwards?

It depends on how you look at it. Sure, a turbo is a somewhat generic part in that you can use anything you have room for and can fab up a manifold for, but it may not give you what you want. You choose a turbo based on all sorts of things from the size of the engine to the amount of boost you want. It's not a one-size-fits-all scenario.

You're right in that it can be expensive. Once you have your manifold, the turbo, and the charge pipes, you then need to manage the fuel and keep from blowing up your engine. If you want higher boost, then you have to start changing the internal bits to something stronger.

It can be as cheap as a couple grand, and as expensive as you want it to be. It all depends on what you know and what you want to accomplish.

[Gio81]

How do you guys feel about a performance chip? And are there any good companies making them for Mazda3?

[Wild Weasel]

There are no performance chips for these cars. Perhaps someone can chime in here about available programmers, if there are any. I know COBB is working on one for the MS3 but I have no idea whether there are any for the other engines.

You're a noob, so I don't know whether you even know what you're talking about. If you're referring to the crap sold on ebay and what not, then read this:

http://www.wildweasel.ca/HowTo/Auto/PerformanceChip.aspx

[Gio81]

My status is "noob" because that is what i was given when i signed up... it hasnt changed and not sure on how you can really... seeing that yours says "member" why dont u enlighten me. The question was asked bc i've been told by Mazda drivers and non that such a thing can be helpful and yes there is a company that makes a chip for Mazdas and so many others called Jet Performance... anywho my question was simply if it was recommended? This question is for all: Is it true the 07 Mazda3 front grille is attached to the bumper or is it a bolt on like the 06 and under?

[midnightfxgt]

Find someone who has used the "Jet Performance Chip" in their Mazda3, and has proof it does anything and I will be amazed. Companies are going through TONS of research to even get a spliced in piggy back to work. As of right now Stand Alone is the only tried and true way.

-John

[whiteomega]

as midnight said, standalone is the only way known method that works.

there has been some feedback about piggy-back ecus where people have noticed it works for a while, and then the mazda computer detects a different situation and alters is own behaviour, effectively negating the piggy back. it's true that for some vehicles, a chip does help. in the case of the mazda it'll only be a waste of money (for now)

[Wild Weasel]

I didn't mean "noob" as an insult. Your status is noob because you're new here. Since you're new here, I don't know anything about you or have any idea what you might already know.

Now that I know you're talking about the Jet chips, I urge you again to go look at the page I linked in my first post.

If you'd like though, I urge you to do some research and find out how the chip does what they say it does. Not just some technospeak about reprogramming the magic computer. Find out exactly what is parameters are changed and why. :)

With a proper programmer, or a proper chip, you can find out this stuff because it's important. :)

[Cosmo77]

MAn I know turbo's are great...but have you done anything else to your car....sounds to me like your just happy to do some mods to your car, and all the power to you. But I think that a lot of people will agree with me hear whne I say "all the power in the world means nothing if the car don;t stop or turn"....maybe you would be better off to put the MAJOR engine mods on the back burner and start with CAI's, CAt back's, Suspension up grades or work on the brakes. All of which you can do for far less than a turbo kit I think. Thats just me though. I always work on the suspension and brakes frist on my cars before the MAJOR engine changes.

Just my 2 cents, but its your choice man, keep us up on your progress