Temptations to upgrade...

[wtom]

Okay Draxas is making this too tempting for me;

http://store.draxas.com/browse_products.asp?Cat=2&Sub=95

I am really interested to grab the Eibach springs, the exhaust with high flow cat, and the AEM polished CAI...

Can you guys talk me OUT of doing this????? LOL

Seriously though, I\'m a newb to upgrading a car\'s performance. What kind of things am I looking at by getting any of the above parts? Everything else on the car will remain stock for the time being.

Springs - may cause problems with warranty if suspension has problems (?)
Exhaust - possible problems in the long run with the actual engine? valves? pistons?
Intake - CEL? rattling?

Also I am totally impatient to do any install on my own so I\'d probably want to take this to a shop to do, how much will that cost? I\'ve heard under $100 for an exhaust swap. Maybe $100 for everything? :D

[MajesticBlueNTO]

Originally posted by wtom


Okay Draxas is making this too tempting for me;

http://store.draxas.com/browse_products.asp?Cat=2&Sub=95

I am really interested to grab the Eibach springs, the exhaust with high flow cat, and the AEM polished CAI...

Can you guys talk me OUT of doing this????? LOL

Seriously though, I\'m a newb to upgrading a car\'s performance. What kind of things am I looking at by getting any of the above parts? Everything else on the car will remain stock for the time being.

Springs - may cause problems with warranty if suspension has problems (?)
Exhaust - possible problems in the long run with the actual engine? valves? pistons?
Intake - CEL? rattling?

Also I am totally impatient to do any install on my own so I\'d probably want to take this to a shop to do, how much will that cost? I\'ve heard under $100 for an exhaust swap. Maybe $100 for everything? :D

i\'ll talk you out of the springs since the stock suspension setup handles quite well. :) with the crappy stock tires, i\'m sure you haven\'t experienced the limit of the stock suspension so upgrading the springs, at this point, would just be for cosmetic reasons.

also too, depending on how low the springs are, the stock struts may wear faster than normal. if you\'re gonna do suspension, do it right the first time...get struts that are designed for lowered applications to go along with the springs.

as for the cat-back exhaust, there won\'t be any problems later on with the actual engine. valves and pistons will be fine...we\'re just expending exhaust gases and nothing else. however, if you start playing with things before the catalytic (i.e. headers that remove the pre-cat) THEN that could be a problem since Oxygen sensors are now involved and the removal of pre-cats decreases the life of O2 sensors and also causes them to give wacked out readings that could throw a CEL.

intake - well, this could be a sore spot with some dealerships...they could try to deny the warranty saying that everything after the intake is affected (basically the entire engine) without even trying to prove the root cause. however, the main thing to be concerned with for an intake is the Mass AirFlow Sensor - MAF - (how sensitive is the Mazda MAF to the oil that is on the CAI filter?)... and, has the intake been designed such that the car won\'t run lean with the added air....i know the AEM was designed this way so that it won\'t throw a CEL...the Injen, i\'m not too sure about.

if you\'re getting springs installed...bank about 15-30 minutes per wheel at a shop. depending on their labour rate, that\'s approaching $150 for a spring install (see why getting struts at the same time is a wise decision, for the fronts, the struts have to be removed to get at the springs...if you get struts later, you\'ll pay twice for the same labour....the back, from what i remember, the struts and springs are independent, but i\'m not too sure)

intake, shouldn\'t take that long for a shop to do...if the bumper has to be removed, that\'s the long part...bank about 45 minutes for this so about $50 at a shop.

[midnightfxgt]

Warren,

NO shop you just walk into without knowing them will do all that for $100. The exhaust SHOULD be relatively easy, and the CAI is a cakewalk. Springs arent usually too bad, but if you are not mechanically inclined, call a shop.

Springs, you will need an alignment after.

CAI - No issues, except possibly a CEL (may wanna see the MZ3Forums to be sure)

Exhaust - Better mileage and better sound :)

~JOHN

[midnightfxgt]

OOPS, I began writing my post before I notice Majestic\'s post.

[MajesticBlueNTO]

Originally posted by midnightfxgt


OOPS, I began writing my post before I notice Majestic\'s post.

i forgot about the alignment :hoho thanks for pointing that out :)...that\'s another $50-80 (depending on which shop you go to).

[MazdaTree]

has anybody seen any walkthroughs for installing the aem intake on a mazda3?
i want to do it myself and im curious to see how hard it is...

also has anyone removed their resonator i herd if gives better mileage and a growl to the sound...?

[FLIPDADY]

Don\'t forget you use more gas. I had a customer who complained that he was going through more gas after installing his exhaust and intake. The intake should be easy to install beacause they come with instructions.

[midnightfxgt]

You should get better milage I would think from an exhaust, because it will flow better. Maybe the increase in Air and Fuel from the intake is causing the milage reduction.

~JOHN

[wtom]

Originally posted by FLIPSPEED


Don\'t forget you use more gas. I had a customer who complained that he was going through more gas after installing his exhaust and intake. The intake should be easy to install beacause they come with instructions.

I think that is due to the increased fun factor and lead foot factor after getting more Grrrr in the engine. :)

Dang, thanks guys for your responses. MajesticBlueN... :)

Yeah I thought about the springs during lunch and decide to skip those. I\'d hate to be stuck on a snow mound during the winter, that or just plowing snow.

Exhaust with high flow cat... no header upgrade, so no worries about emissions tests or CEL due to failing O2 sensors. Intake I\'m probably going to stick with AEM although Injen seems a bit more attracting, no idea why but on instinct I wanted Injen over AEM.

Install wise, I probably wouldn\'t mind tackling the intake but the cat back exhaust I would definitely need to get a shop to do it for me.

MazdaTree, there was a walkthrough that I saw from Mazda3Forums.com for Injen CAI, not AEM however. Should be similar, no?

http://www.mazda3forums.com/viewtopic.php?t=11721

[MazdaTree]

its prolyl similar thanks wtom
i jus wanna get a basic idea

[MajesticBlueNTO]

Originally posted by FLIPSPEED


Don\'t forget you use more gas. I had a customer who complained that he was going through more gas after installing his exhaust and intake. The intake should be easy to install beacause they come with instructions.


Originally posted by midnightfxgt
You should get better milage I would think from an exhaust, because it will flow better. Maybe the increase in Air and Fuel from the intake is causing the milage reduction.

~JOHN


theoretically the better airflow from the intake and exhaust should reduce the amount of fuel consumed... however, when people get intakes and exhausts, the tendency is to step on the accelerator into the higher rev ranges to hear the sound and, in some cases, experience the added HP ;)

anytime you allow the engine to breathe better, you\'re making it more efficient... romping on the accelerator into the higher rev ranges is guaranteed to give piss poor gas mileage (i do it all stock and my gas mileage the last fill-up was TERRIBLE)

[wtom]

No probs, MazdaTree


Originally posted by MajesticBlueN

anytime you allow the engine to breathe better, you\'re making it more efficient... romping on the accelerator into the higher rev ranges is guaranteed to give piss poor gas mileage (i do it all stock and my gas mileage the last fill-up was TERRIBLE)

Does anyone else also find that they have to rev quite hard in first and second to keep up with most traffic off green lights? Sometimes I want to baby the car but being \"gentle\" with the acceleration... all other cars beside me are already driving away and I\'m holding up traffic behind me (not that I care... at least I try not to). :p

But yeah even all stock, I love revving... something about revving engines and testosterone... ? hehe

[FLIPDADY]

Why else would you put these parts on an already good car?

All of us has that want to go faster gene right?:D

[wtom]

Originally posted by FLIPSPEED


All of us has that want to go faster gene right?:D

So we have either;

Need for Speed gene

OR

Fast and Furious gene

and for those who have not survived the Fast and Furious gene, they were

Too Fast and Too Furious

[midnightfxgt]

no no no!!

The need for speed gene is the need to go fast

The fast and furious gene is the need for vinyl

:)

~JOHN

[RedRaptor]

Fyi:

You guys might want to read this article in the Torontostar.com about modified cars.

http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1095329798485&call_pag eid=968867497088&col=969048871196

[wtom]

That\'s bull shit... I don\'t have to go tell my health insurance company anything if I suddenly improve my health or make my every day life a more exhilerating one. And that is plain bull shit to assume that owners with a modified car will drive faster and more dangerous! Ontario auto insurance really needs a revamping...

[civiclad]

Originally posted by RedRaptor


Fyi:

You guys might want to read this article in the Torontostar.com about modified cars.

http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1095329798485&call_pag eid=968867497088&col=969048871196


That\'s one of the many reason\'s I won\'t be making any modifications to my car. Plus, I don\'t want to give Mazda Canada any excuses for not honouring my warranty.

[RedRaptor]

Originally posted by wtom
And that is plain bull shit to assume that owners with a modified car will drive faster and more dangerous!

Let me play the Devil\'s Advocate here:

Not everyone that has a modified car will drive faster or dangerously. But is it not safe to say that modifications such as a CAI, Exhaust and Springs are \"performance\" improvements? So with all these performance modifications, wouldn\'t a driver naturally want to drive faster than usual because he/she wants \"feel\" the extra horse power and make good use of these performance improvements?

There have been posts here & M3F and is a general conclusion that gas mileage isn\'t that great after installing these parts because the driver will have a heavier foot.

If I had all those mods on my car, I would definately push it harder and faster to feel and hear my mods. Wouldn\'t you?

Just a thought. I am not against mods, what you do to your car whether its rice or nice is your business, and you shouldn\'t let anyone tell you what to do. But when it becomes an issue with your insurance company, then I think its something you should at least consider.

btw: My insurance company has warned me already when I signed up for my policy that if I do any mods including engine, body and wheels I must let them know immediately or else they have the right to cancel my policy.

[FLIPDADY]

If you\'re ever in a car accident and your insurance company finds out about mods you failed to mention to them they can deny your claim.

[majic]

I would imagine you would have the same MPG if not better.. as others have stated, at normal driving conditions (granny driving) you\'ll get better fuel mileage but then at the same time you\'ll want to WOT it more often :D so that will balance out and you\'ll prolly see 1-2mpg increase... goldwing2000 from msprotege.com got 2-4mpg increase with his intake..

[wtom]

Can someone take this pic and add in the part names? or just state which part is what?

http://store.draxas.com/img_item_full/mz3exh.jpg

Thanks in advance!

[FLIPDADY]

The long pipe is the muffler and resonator assembly. There is a exhaust tip in the middle of the picture along with the extension pipe. Then in the top left corner is your cat. converter. The rest of the small pieces are exhaust clamps, nuts, bolts and gaskets.

[wtom]

Tanks, Flip :)



MajesticBlueN
in the exhaust pic...the part in the upper right is the hi-flow cat, the part below it looks like the piece that slips over where you have to cut the stock exhaust (for those that don\'t chose the hi-flow cat option...you can tell by how the hangars are similar between the 2 :) )....the pipe on the left has the resonator (the bulge at the bottom of the pipe) and the muffler. the pipe in the middle is what attaches to the pipe on the left and goes over the rear axle components. the tip is below the middle pipe and below the tip is the exhaust gasket...below that are the t-bolt clamps to attach the tip and the pieces you have to slide over each other

[FLIPDADY]

NP!