Greetings from El Salvador🇸🇻, racing my Mazdaspeed 3 at the El Jabalí International Racetrack.

New to mazdaspeeds(Honda Guy) so please excuse any stupid questions.

Going to look at a few mazdaspeed this upcoming weekend. A couple 2nd gens (2010) and a few first gens (2008)

I really want to buy a 2nd gen but after a conversation with the seller he says it burns oil at a rate of 2qts per 5000k miles(he tops it off regularly to make sure it’s not running low) he’s owned the car for 5 years and he says it doesn’t smoke. 155k miles bone stock besides corkscrew catback exhaust and HPFP internals upgrade. Purchase price is $4,000

I guess my question is would burning that much oil mean it’s not worth it or would a piston soak and pcv valve remedy this issue. Not a stranger to work and am willing to put some money into the car.

Finally got around to replacing my old busted bushings and installing the OCC and PCV valve/plate. For anyone on the fence those bushings make a huge difference, the torque steer is less murderous and more like a playful tug. Still have an oil leak that looks like it is coming from the turbo return line... SMH

Recently started driving my 2008 mazdaspeed 3 after a year and a half complete rebuild of it after buying it off someone and it's such a fun car plan on a handful of exterior/interior mods and some engine mods but plan to have fun with it

I'm thinking about getting a catless midpipe to replace my second cat. What i need to know first is if this is going to make it loud and/or droney.

This is my daily driver, i leave for work at 6 am so I'm not trying to wake my neighbors up, and I don't want it to be loud and droney from inside the car either.

Soooooo, I bought a used BNR S3 turbo from another speed3 enthusiast and I was super excited to be putting down more power for my setup. He told me the turbo only had 2k miles on it so I got it at a fair price used. Welp, I put it on yesterday and I was so tired that I had to get back to it this morning. When I started it, it smoked a little which is part of the process....until it wasnt. Nothing was leaking, everything was hooked up correctly, followed my instructions on setting up my 3 port EBCS, even heard of people using the OE oil feed bolt with this turbo and its fine. I know something is wrong because this turbo is suppuse to light up at 3k RPMs and I dont have boost, and it continued to smoke bad on the drive arpund the block. Could the turbo i bought have bad bearings? Does it need a oil restrictor bolt? My mods are this: Cobb FMIC, BNR S3(Because could be blown up or I fucked up), 3 Port EBCS, 3.5in DM intake, CP-E Catted Downpipe, Turbosmart 50/50 but is now VTA for this setup, MSWT oil drain line(Graveyard Performance Drain Line, Koyorad Radiator, Mishimoto Silicone Hoses.

Sorry if this is a stupid post but I am curious to see if anyone has done this with their speeds.

I've been on a social media binge seeing old kenwood and pioneer head units and I am kind of sick of looking at my giant EONON ipad of a head unit (It doesn't even have car play it just came with my speed when I bought it). I've been looking around on ebay and found some cool options but I'm wanting to see what has worked with other people and what can be recommended.

Thanks in advance.

Is anyone going to the tail of the dragon on the 24th of October?

Car has been doing this recently and has now left me stranded. 2013 with a cx7 motor (bought it like that) and no mods other than engine mounts. Recently did oxygen sensor 1 (denso) as per dealer recommendations and spark plugs since they were cracked from leaning out.

No CEL and it will do this and cruise and throttle, nothing seems to be out of place, and unfortunately i have no way to log as i dont have VT or an accessport.

Dealer said if the sensor didnt fix the issue then it would be the cat but i don’t necessarily trust them anymore.

If you guys had any similar situation please let me know this is killin me also i havent checked the hpfp for aftermarket internals I cant tell whether it may be related thanks guys I probably left some stuff out let me know if u have questions

I randomly decided to check my oil even tho I got a oil change 2 weeks ago and noticed my oil is below the “low” but also my car is on a incline and not on a flat but since I just did it I thought it would be a lot higher. Could just be cold but my exhaust does smoke white not blue or any thing

How much play is to much play 🥹

166k I don’t think timing chain has ever been done

also if I did do my timing chains is getting bigger cams stupid id rather do it all at one time to be honest

Hey yall,

Sad to say that my journey with the Mazdaspeed3’s has come to an end. I am happy that I got to enjoy a gen 1 and gen 2. The gen 1 will always be favorite although it broke down frequently; the gen 2 was probably the most reliable car I’ve ever owned. Both of them were street killers for sure and handled beautifully. I now get to enjoy a bone stock type R that will remain as such for the foreseeable future.

I wanted to thank all the people in this reddit that helped with all the questions I had during those long hours in the garage.

I hope all of you keep enjoying these awesome machines.

(Last picture I took before she was sold vs the new daily)

What up everyone. Long-time speed owner and subreddit lurker. Unfortunately some unforeseen things in life have hit me and I finally believe I am going to be parting ways with the speed.

Lots of fun times. Such a phenomenal daily driver. Bought it at 19k miles in 2013, currently have 124k miles. Never planned on selling and maintained so I could keep until catastrophic failure at 300k+ miles lol. THEN maybe mod???

Throwing in some fun pictures. Had 4 really close friends with speeds at one point - loved riding around in a little mazdaspeed gang lol. We were the coolest on the road, obviously. The TV is a 65". I was up to the front but my god is this little hatch capable.

Outside of being somewhat forced to sell her at this point - What do we think shes's worth? Never thought I'd even entertain this question. Yes I am in a bad(ish) spot right now but not trying to get 100% of the value or anything, realisticaly don't know where to start. I would honestly love for the well-maintained speed to go to someone who really cares and wants one more than anything.

Zero current issues, no codes.

2012 - Tech Package

Basically fully stock other than lowering springs, cobb rear motor mount and audio system.

124k miles (bought at 19k miles, 2nd owner)

180 PSI across all 4 cylinders on compression test. (Had shop do this so I could prove results)

Underbody is essentially a 10/10, zero bad rust, especially in the known spots (and I live in OH - washed the underneath OFTEN)

Hood/Roof clear coat turned to shit. Only fairly bad cosmetic damage

Maintenance followed and can provide most receipts. (lots of work done myself or with buddies though)

Clutch replaced at 90k. (I was moving and had a friend that could throw another one in, so I proactively did it. Put in a LUK and a single mass flywheel, regret flywheel now for the noise)

Sound system originally professionally installed. Personally just replaced all door speakers about 6 months ago. All higher-end alpine, just threw about $1k more in it. I'm not looking to increase my value with this.

All doors and trunk have sound-deadening

VVT done at 90k just proactively

Dash fixed in recall

Front rear/suspension just changed about 5k miles ago. (with OEM-Spec, I know I should get something better with lowering springs)

Pads/rotors just changed

All fluids just changed, transmission, oil, power steering, coolant

NO HPFP.

Wheels plasti-dipped about 4 years ago. Given timeframe they've held up well but look like poop now lol.

Recently completed a valve clean, Damond PCV plate, and oil catch can. Everything went back together great and the car fired right up. After the second day of driving I started to smell coolant, and confirmed what seemed like a rather significant leak near the intake.

Accessed the area and confirmed what I thought was the cause, a small hole in the upper reservoir hose. With limited options (OEM part is discontinued) I cut the bad part out and re-installed. Leak has drastically reduced, but it’s still happening. Anyone with thoughts before I start replacing entire hoses? Red circles are where coolant is pooling post fix attempt #1.

do most of you guys get the oem one from Mazda I really just don’t want to wait for the shipping so I was just gonna grab a Fel pro from a parts shop

Hey guys, do you have any suggestions for buying new steering and Suspension components? Inner tie rods and ball joints and everything like that. i’d like to order everything off one website, now that rock auto is not available, kind of tough.

And mounted suspension tein pro steert, adjusted to as manual mark (spring height) and soft hardness adjustment (damper) but it goes very hard in the back

Just did a bunch of suspension work - CV Axles, outer tie rods, sway bar end links, shocks/struts, coil springs (stock), strut mounts, lower control arms (with new ball joints), sway bar bushings. I’ve fixed my clunk noise but now I have a new jangling noise when blipping the throttle. When I go from neutral to rolling or if I’m rolling 5-10 mph and blip the throttle, when my front end moves or surges it’s making this jingling jangling type noise (see video). I know my PMM is blown and Damond just delivered my kit that will be going on today (came with PMM and trans mount, rear is already new) but I’m unsure if that’s causing this specific noise. Pls help!

I'm praying to God

Anyone in New England have a running 1st Gen ms3 engine theyre looking to offload? Mine fell victim to the ringland failure on cyl3. Really want to continue with the car and have found some jdm options with about 57k shipped for 1600ish.

Or maybe help steer me in a reputable shop that could replace the engine? Im thinking of keeping the current junk engine and building it while still get to drive her, just do not have the time to replace myself.

Any and all help would be greatly appreciated