new ms3 GT owner

[silvermist99]

Hello all,

just got a red 08 mazdaspeed3 GT. its a GT because its American model :)

Right now I have a 02 vw gti that I'm going to sell soon.

I haven't have time to play with the 3 yet :( Picked it up yesterday and left it at home since I'm too busy with work.

I have a few questions, can the temp be changed from F to C? I know my friend's mazda 6 can do it after pressing and holding AMB button yet?

I noticed on edmunds the regular 3 has a 34 ft turning radius and the ms3 is rated at 36 ft. Are there steering wheel bump stops on the suspension or something to prevent rubbing on the 18s? I find it really difficult to park the car into my garage lol.

will the car be a lot slower (noticable) on 87 gas and gets worst mileage or when they are brand new? I think its running 87 right now.. from what I can remember the other MS3 with some mileage I drove was a bit faster then mine.. but i've only driven my car for 10mins and didn't beat on it.

[Jeff-TheBiz]

will the car be a lot slower (noticable) on 87 gas and gets worst mileage or when they are brand new? I think its running 87 right now.. from what I can remember the other MS3 with some mileage I drove was a bit faster then mine.. but i've only driven my car for 10mins and didn't beat on it.

If it is a mazdaspeed, premium fuel is required, should say in your manual..

[silvermist99]

If it is a mazdaspeed, premium fuel is required, should say in your manual..

I had similar symptons when I got the gti, the previous owner had 87 in it and the car slow & getting 13L/100km. after a month and a couple tanks of gas power was restored & I was getting 9L/100km.

my question is does this car adjusts to the 87 octane to prevent knocking and cut power?


Another questions for other ms3 owners, are there any ms3 rubber floor mats avaliable / made for the car?

[Wild Weasel]

It will adjust to prevent damage, but you're basically crippling it. 91 octane is not optional on these cars. You must run premium gas.

Congrats on getting the US car! Enjoy the leather seats. Did you get the nav system?

[alhope34]

Yea, keep running 87 if you don't want the engine/turbo to run very long. 91 is a MUST. And for winter rubber mats, I just got the dealer to throw in a set from the normal Mazda 3. They fit perfectly.

[Wild Weasel]

Was that issue with the gas pedal catching on the mat ever resolved? Did they make a change to the mats?

[alhope34]

The only problem I had was the dealership put the winter mats on top of the summers, so the clutch would catch and sometimes not go all the way to the floor if the mat slid up a bit, but once I noticed I just took out the front summer mats and kept the winters by themselves. Nothing catches now.

[silvermist99]

It will adjust to prevent damage, but you're basically crippling it. 91 octane is not optional on these cars. You must run premium gas.

Congrats on getting the US car! Enjoy the leather seats. Did you get the nav system?


I got leather but no NAV :) I have a Pioneer D3 that I just ripped off my gti today, I'll probably put it in the 3 in a few months when the weather is warmer.

Today is the first day i drove the car around, parked it in an asian parking lot to eat lunch. I happen to sit by the windows & saw two group of kids look at my car! checking out the inside & outside. In the 2 years i've owned my gti it never happened before. Now I kind of want an alarm.

alhope34: I Know it needs 91 I've owned turboed cars before. today is only the 2nd time i've driven the car and its still on the same tank of gas that dealer put in.. which is probably 87 since this car doesn't feel any faster then my gti (yet).

Pics coming soon :)

[silvermist99]

had similar symptons when I got the gti, the previous owner had 87 in it and the car slow & getting 13L/100km. after a month and a couple tanks of gas power was restored & I was getting 9L/100km.

my question is does this car adjusts to the 87 octane to prevent knocking and cut power?


Another questions for other ms3 owners, are there any ms3 rubber floor mats avaliable / made for the car?

[JonsMazda]

grats and welcome :)

[CanadaGTO]

Another MS3 owner :) congrats and welcome.

[oneurt]

hey. I got a red 08 GT as well, from the US. to switch the temperature from F to C, you have to do this.

switch the temp display to show the ambient temperature.

then hold the power button and the aux button for about 5 seconds. After that release and it should change. (this is going off the top of my head but I'm pretty sure this is what I did)

Welcome aboard.

P.S its not in the manual.

As for floor mats I haven't seen any mazdaspeed specific floor mats, but the winter ones from the MZ3 will fit.. Or else look into buying the Weathertech winter mats.

[silvermist99]

hey. I got a red 08 GT as well, from the US. to switch the temperature from F to C, you have to do this.

switch the temp display to show the ambient temperature.

then hold the power button and the aux button for about 5 seconds. After that release and it should change. (this is going off the top of my head but I'm pretty sure this is what I did)

Welcome aboard.

P.S its not in the manual.

As for floor mats I haven't seen any mazdaspeed specific floor mats, but the winter ones from the MZ3 will fit.. Or else look into buying the Weathertech winter mats.


Thanks Garrick, did you bring your MS3 to service at canadian dealership yet? any problems? I guess I am not the only MS3 GT here!

I figured out teh F to C thing, its in one of the TSB here on this site thanks.

Now what I really want to find is a km/h gauge faceplate for the MS3.. the speedometer is bothering me, I look at the gauge and it says "40" then I pause for a second and wonder why I'm driving so slow & gun it :loco. I have no idea how fast or slow I'm driving most of the time.

Also any way to switch the miles/mpg stuff on trip computer km .. L/100km?

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2053/2340870769_bd15d77eb2.jpg?v=0
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2296/2341705144_a7e46c6048.jpg?v=0
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3290/2341705748_f7e1cf25bb.jpg?v=0
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2293/2340871191_920afcbc61.jpg?v=0

[ptfire]

Congratulations on your new car. I was considering bringing a MS3 from the States too but got an incredible deal here so it wasn't worth it.

[jaM3ican]

welcome to the forum


i am very envious of that cntr drink/armrest in the rear

[Jeff-TheBiz]

The only problem I had was the dealership put the winter mats on top of the summers, so the clutch would catch and sometimes not go all the way to the floor if the mat slid up a bit, but once I noticed I just took out the front summer mats and kept the winters by themselves. Nothing catches now.

Do you mean like this:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2293/2340871191_920afcbc61.jpg?v=0

You really should take out the stock mats (driveside mainly), if you put winter mats in.

If the winter mat slips and moves forward, it may catch the accellerator and then your in bad shape.

[Cardinal Fang]

I love the rear cup holder. I think thats standard in all the new Mazda3's now.

[silvermist99]

advise taken i'll remove the stock mat under the winters.

Are there any Australian mazda 3 board? I want a mps/speed3 km/h cluster :/ Just want to swtich the faceplates. All the ones on ebay are regular 3 in mph.

[oneurt]

I bought weathertech rubbermats up front and I leave my carpet mats underneath with no problems. the Weathertech mats look to be a bit longer so that's probably why they don't move around.

Unfortunately there's no way to switch to km/L. That's apparently proprietary for the US and Can models. which doesn't bother me so much. I'm used to the miles now so I can drive with either, There's really only a few speeds you gotta memorize hehe.