2014 Mazda3 2.0L Mods

[Ryan042]

Hey guys, I just picked up this car a few months ago and was wondering what mods are recommended for performance. I was looking into a SRI, and Axle back exhaust but I heard you can have similar performance gains by replacing the mufflers in the exhaust. I was looking at the corksport SRI but just want some feedback on what else would be available. I am regularly around the Newmarket area for work. Any feedback on shops around this area and recommended SRIs and other mods would be great.

[Canadianbacon]

Should of got a 2.5

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[Ryan042]

Should of got a 2.5

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I'm not unhappy at all with the performance and fuel economy, it does what I need it to. I was just wondering what parts are good to put on because I like modding, and want to put on fairly inexpensive things to change the sound and throttle response.

[Default User]

SRI and Axleback is a good start. Not gonna gain anything - but it will feel peppier.

Lower it - eibach ProKits
Suck it - corksport SRI
Blow it - Magnaflow muffler

[Dubcee]

Give it grip - summer tires
Help it exploit that grip - alignment, rear sway bar, suspension
Tighten the nut in front of the steering wheel - take advanced driver training and do autocross
Help it stop - summer tires, performance pads and rotors
Make it sound good - axle back exhaust

[Ryan042]

SRI and Axleback is a good start. Not gonna gain anything - but it will feel peppier.

Lower it - eibach ProKits
Suck it - corksport SRI
Blow it - Magnaflow muffler

I don't think I'm going to lower it because I'm going to drive it during winter too. Are there any good shops around to buy the SRI and muffler?

[Ryan042]

Give it grip - summer tires
Help it exploit that grip - alignment, rear sway bar, suspension
Tighten the nut in front of the steering wheel - take advanced driver training and do autocross
Help it stop - summer tires, performance pads and rotors
Make it sound good - axle back exhaust

Nice, do you have any suggestions for summer tires, and would it be better to stay at 16 or go to 17? Also what rims would you recommend if going to 17?

What does tightening the nut do? Would this car actually be able to compete in auto cross? I just daily drive it now

[Dubcee]

Nice, do you have any suggestions for summer tires, and would it be better to stay at 16 or go to 17? Also what rims would you recommend if going to 17?

What does tightening the nut do? Would this car actually be able to compete in auto cross? I just daily drive it now

Tires: Continental ExtremeContact DW are my.goto. Cheap, grippy, comfortable. Perfect DD summer tire. If you want to prioritize comfort, stay with 16s. If you want more steering response at the cost of some comfort and price, 17. As for wheels, Fast and Tire Rack have plenty of selection and nice preview tools, but avoid heavy wheels (over 19 pounds) as they will kill steering response.

The Nut: The nut in front of the steering wheel is you! By taking advanced driver training you will be able to see farther, brake harder, turn faster, drive smoother and more, all for much less than a collection of suspension mods. Suspension mods will increase your car's abilities but unless you are pro you will not be anywhere near the stock car's abilities.

I'm not talking Young Drivers or something. I'm talking learning to handle your car at its limits, and learning where they are. I highly recommend www.carcontrolschool.com as the instructors are all from racing backgrounds and you learn in your own car.

As for autocross, I recommend it not to compete to win, but to compete against yourself and sharpen your own skills. It's excellent vision and at-the-limit practice while being safe and very cheap.

[Ryan042]

Tires: Continental ExtremeContact DW are my.goto. Cheap, grippy, comfortable. Perfect DD summer tire. If you want to prioritize comfort, stay with 16s. If you want more steering response at the cost of some comfort and price, 17. As for wheels, Fast and Tire Rack have plenty of selection and nice preview tools, but avoid heavy wheels (over 19 pounds) as they will kill steering response.

The Nut: The nut in front of the steering wheel is you! By taking advanced driver training you will be able to see farther, brake harder, turn faster, drive smoother and more, all for much less than a collection of suspension mods. Suspension mods will increase your car's abilities but unless you are pro you will not be anywhere near the stock car's abilities.

I'm not talking Young Drivers or something. I'm talking learning to handle your car at its limits, and learning where they are. I highly recommend www.carcontrolschool.com as the instructors are all from racing backgrounds and you learn in your own car.

As for autocross, I recommend it not to compete to win, but to compete against yourself and sharpen your own
skills. It's excellent vision and at-the-limit practice while being safe and very cheap.

I was looking at those tires but they don't come in the 60 sidewall, are there any others that come in 205/60R16? Haha totally missed the thing about the nut, I'll check it out for sure thanks!

[Dubcee]

Unfortunately there's no summer tires I can find with a 60 sidewall :/ I run 205/55/16 without issue. Your speedometer will read 103 when you're actually going 100. Per every 100km travelled your odometer will add 103 (an extra 3000km for every 100,000km travelled).

Hopefully this situation changes soon. But in the meantime, no big deal.

[Ryan042]

Unfortunately there's no summer tires I can find with a 60 sidewall :/ I run 205/55/16 without issue. Your speedometer will read 103 when you're actually going 100. Per every 100km travelled your odometer will add 103 (an extra 3000km for every 100,000km travelled).

Hopefully this situation changes soon. But in the meantime, no big deal.

I may just go up to 17" after winter then depending on what I can find, are there any all seasons that are comparable? I'm mainly going to be using the car for commuting, and really just want something better than the stock avids. I'm going to run the Continential WinterContact Si for the winter.

[Default User]

I don't think I'm going to lower it because I'm going to drive it during winter too. Are there any good shops around to buy the SRI and muffler?

I believe Nextmod Mississauga sells and installs

ProKits are a mild drop with factory-like ride quality. Many members have gone with ProKits on their DD's.


I may just go up to 17" after winter then depending on what I can find, are there any all seasons that are comparable? I'm mainly going to be using the car for commuting, and really just want something better than the stock avids. I'm going to run the Continential WinterContact Si for the winter.

17's or 18's in summer
16's for winter

IMO - tires are important - but people tend to go overkill for their style of driving.

[Dubcee]

Not any 16s with a 60 sidewall. But there's plenty of 17" summers available in 205/50/17, many of which are cheaper than all seasons :)

[Default User]

Off the top of my head-
195-65-16 and 215-55-16 would be comparable sizes too.

[Kiewan]

It might be worth waiting till spring for Early bird sales + rebates.

I am very happy with the Bridgestone Potenza RE760 Sport (17" - 205/50R/17) I picked them up on sale from Simply tire (TM3 Sponsor) this past spring and also received a $70 mail in rebate prepaid VISA from Bridgestone. My second choice was the Continentals listed below.

Rims: I have had good experiences with the FAST wheels I picked up for my dad's car. Good quality, fair price and great selection.

Prokits are a safe drop, I have had them for 3 winters so far and have had no issues - driving from. TO to Huntsville

[Ryan042]

Are there any downsides to lowering? I'm very hesitant to do it as I don't want to really mess with the life of the shocks and I'm still under warranty. I'm definitely going to wait till spring, I want to get a set of black rims anyways as I have a black sedan and I really want to black out the car. I like the styling of the Rays TE rims but I've heard they're expensive, the fast hayaku rims are nice but they're apparently around 22 pounds each.

[Kiewan]

Are there any downsides to lowering? I'm very hesitant to do it as I don't want to really mess with the life of the shocks and I'm still under warranty. I'm definitely going to wait till spring, I want to get a set of black rims anyways as I have a black sedan and I really want to black out the car. I like the styling of the Rays TE rims but I've heard they're expensive, the fast hayaku rims are nice but they're apparently around 22 pounds each.

This is a good enough reason not to lower right now if you're worried.
Downsides: increased wear on shocks/struts but many will swear that they have used prokits + OEM shocks/struts without issue.

Most aftermarket rims give a look of increased wheel gap on stock suspensions. This may not be so bad if you're going with black.

[Ryan042]

I gave Next Mod a call and they just have Injen SRI for $280, they didn't have any axle back exhausts. Is it worth getting the James barone racing one for a bit less money? Also is the filter wrap worth getting or not really needed?

[Ante]

Don't lower it is my advice. Wheel gap on the 2014s is small and warranty work around the suspension will be problematic if that's a concern. Otherwise, the SRI and Magnaflow is a great start. The one guy who mentioned the 2.5 said that because mods are more common on the 2.5 engine. Nextmod is the place to go like you said. You made a good decision there!

[outofreach]

I gave Next Mod a call and they just have Injen SRI for $280, they didn't have any axle back exhausts. Is it worth getting the James barone racing one for a bit less money? Also is the filter wrap worth getting or not really needed?

I have the jbr sri with the waterproof jacket. And i dont have any problems with it, love the sound with magnaflow catback :) i would say if you get the jbr pair it with the wrap it will save you from changing the filter from time to time :))

[Ryan042]

I ended up going with the K&N intake, it gave it a bit more performance, but it ate alot more gas especially with city driving. I went back to stock and it seemed to have returned to normal fuel efficiency.

[Stewie]

The best mod you can do are the Tyres! Get some 18s

Look and performance, what more can you ask for!


Then Exhaust/SRI

[Funkybulletz]

Hey I got a 2014 M3 Sedan anyway I can change the rear bumper so the exhaust tips show? If it's possible can i get a link where to buy? (NextMod?)
I don't like the one it currently has :( and I don't want to trim it. Too much work and I don't know anyone with steady hands xD

[BMcC619]

Hey I got a 2014 M3 Sedan anyway I can change the rear bumper so the exhaust tips show? If it's possible can i get a link where to buy? (NextMod?)
I don't like the one it currently has :( and I don't want to trim it. Too much work and I don't know anyone with steady hands xD

Unless you really don't like the bumper why not just change or extend the tips would be much easier

[nnoble08]

Check out tdotperformance online. They offer free shipping to most of Canada I think. I picked up my k&n Sri, magna flow cat back and a few other goodies from there. Quick shipping as well. Other then I had to wait for magna flow to build my exhaust but tdot took care of it all.

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[Cichlid]

Install rear diffuser
https://scontent.fybz2-2.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/19149078_10210111525971750_4718223069986303793_n.j pg?oh=9db44fdd851fcfcf05bc7e7bf937f014&oe=5B02A5F1

Just curious where is that rear diffuser from I am pretty set on getting a 3rd gen at the end of the year and would skip the hatchback if I could find a diffuser that looked like that I don't like how the sedans look on the rear without the exhaust tips it looks odd other than that they look good.

[Cichlid]

Got it from aliexpress.

more questions :) what exhaust is that did you get tips fabricated?

[Cichlid]

I think i'm gonna end up trading in my 2011 2.5 only owned it since jan but its just too old and starting to have issues should of known better.. I want a 3rd gen they look so much better especially the sedan I like really like the way yours looks rockbottom esp the rear.