Damn, Steve was right

BAC5.2 · Post by **BAC5.2** » Tue Jan 30, 2007 1:49 am

I went to the Washington International Auto Show, and after having fun flipping the child locks and watching people get locked in the back of cars, I checked out the Mazdaspeed3.

That car is the tits. It's unbelievable how nice the shifter feels and how nice the seats feel.

I must test drive one.

I would DEFINATELY get a MS3 over a WRX, and I'd be torn on whether the STi is worth the extra 5k.

dwreck30 · Post by **dwreck30** » Tue Jan 30, 2007 2:14 am

It's unbelievable how nice the shiter feels and how nice the seats feel.

The shiter does feel good!

I went and saw the first one we got here and they do look nice. I wish they came in the sedan version though. Too bad all that power goes to the front wheels!

BAC5.2 · Post by **BAC5.2** » Tue Jan 30, 2007 2:24 am

Lol, whoops!

The traction control seems pretty advanced. I'm looking forward to test driving it!

If there was an AWD MS3, I'd probably get it in a heartbeat.

I want to go look at all the stupid nerdy car-geek details that I think about. How wide a tire can I fit, check out the suspension setup and overall geometry of things. Just make sure it's got enough room for growth if I wante to go bigger.

I have a feeling I'm going to be torn between the MS3 and the STi. I'm glad it's the 5-door though. Room for 4 R-compound shod wheels, and it's not the ugly sedan.

Of course, I'd drop both of them for a CTS-V. I don't like American cars, but the CTS-V is one of my all time favorite cars. It GROSSLY outhandles all of the M3's I've driven, and you can make 400whp like it's stock. Plus, the driving aids are easily 100% disabled, and when they are, full lock WOT 3rd gear drifts are buttery smooth and easily controlled (GM Autoshow In Motion, I drove the C6 Vette back to back with the CTS-V. The Vette sucked. The V was butter. Big, smokey, full-tilt drift on the last turn.) Oh yes, I'd definately roll deep in a CTSV.

entirelyturbo · Post by **entirelyturbo** » Tue Jan 30, 2007 3:04 am

http://www.autoblog.com/2006/12/29/vide ... ath-nsfw/2

Change your mind?

kills · Post by **kills** » Tue Jan 30, 2007 4:01 am

Can't say much for the MS3 since my dealer wont let me test drive one, but I own a MS6 and its fantastic. Sleeper for sure.

206er · Post by **206er** » Tue Jan 30, 2007 4:09 am

cts-v's are the SHIT!
a friend's brother has a 2003(i think thats what it is) with the T56 and he took me on a highway run. man, 140mph comes up quick.
such a smooth, pimp ass car. cadillac really brought their a-game on that one.

BAC5.2 · Post by **BAC5.2** » Tue Jan 30, 2007 4:12 am

No.

I'm not afraid to have GM buy back a car and give me a new, zero mile car. At that point, you are almost guarantee'd zero warranty issues from then on. I'd pitch a fit about every single, minor issue. With a CTSV you've got a $50,000 leverage to deal with.

I gotta piss like a 9-dicked dog.

I gotta piss like a diabetic pregnant race horse.

Classy lines.... I'll probably use them.

206er · Post by **206er** » Tue Jan 30, 2007 4:22 am

Carbix · Post by **Carbix** » Tue Jan 30, 2007 4:52 am

well if u want the MS3 in allwheel its called the CVX or somthing like that the small SUV they made is that.

The MS3 engine is a tune down of the MS6... i know for a strong fact that the STi kills the MS6 in any race. I read up on it and magz tend to say its close... no STi killz the MS6

But the MS3 smoke an SRT-4 any day. and the MS3 looks way nicer hint hint NOT a NEON

jnorion · Post by **jnorion** » Tue Jan 30, 2007 5:54 am

With a decent tune the MS3 will be faster than the MS6... it's lighter and has less drivetrain drag.

Imprezive · Post by **Imprezive** » Tue Jan 30, 2007 5:59 am

the MS3 is frickin' badass. But it is still FWD. Granted they did put a lot of effort into getting rid of a lot of the torque steer, its still there.

entirelyturbo · Post by **entirelyturbo** » Tue Jan 30, 2007 6:19 am

Second gripe about the CTS-V is that it just might have the worst shifter of any car I've ever sat it. To this day, I have yet to find 5th gear on any CTS-V.

I'm actually thinking about staying late Friday night after work and bugging the Mazda salespeople to give me keys to an MS3, MS6, and CX7. I've yet to drive any of them.

206er · Post by **206er** » Tue Jan 30, 2007 7:11 am

so you sat in it and played with the shifter huh
must be EXACTLY the same as driving it.

BAC5.2 · Post by **BAC5.2** » Tue Jan 30, 2007 1:44 pm

Well, the one I've driven is TurboXS's. But that's not a test drive, it's a series of WOT pulls in the 1/2 mile between their shop and ours. Don't be a dick.

I've never had a problem finding 5th on any of the Tremec equipped cars. I am nearly positive that it's got the same shifter as the GTO, and while it feels like you are stirring a pot of mashed potatos, it's just a learning curve. But the shifter would be ditched immediately upon purchase. There's a few out there that seem to be really nice, and really reduce the amount of mashedpotatoness of the stock linkage. My ONLY gripe is the foot-mount-emergency-brake, but I'm sure I'll live. It's got room for huge tires, a driveline proven for way more than 500 wheel, torque that never stops, and some 28mpg on the highway!

entirelyturbo · Post by **entirelyturbo** » Wed Jan 31, 2007 5:07 am

206er wrote:so you sat in it and played with the shifter huh
must be EXACTLY the same as driving it.

Oh yeah, I forgot that they had those new shifters that immediately change their shift pattern and smoothen out once the engine is started. I've heard of those. My bad.

evolutionmovement · Post by **evolutionmovement** » Wed Jan 31, 2007 6:53 pm

I thought the regular M3 shifts better than the MS3 6-speed, but it's still better than any Subaru and I kind of like notchy. I really didn't notice torque steer in the car and I planted it with the wheels hard right at a stop sign. With the regular M3 I can run rings around stuff I can't believe, it just lacks power (torque). It's a different drive than the Subaru. With the Subaru it likes to attack stuff and be thrown about, but the Mazda doesn't like that as much. It's more like a sports car where it likes to be driven smoothly and the electronic brake control is actually pretty cool because it lets the back come out in corners with a little left foot brake if you need it. More so when you replace the stock tires with cheaper ones (the stock ones are expensive). It's even better in the snow than my fwd Legacy since it has no bottom end.

The MS3 is pretty much the same thing, but better in all performance aspects and with a noticeably stiffer chassis which unfortunately eliminates the sunroof option.

BAC5.2 · Post by **BAC5.2** » Wed Jan 31, 2007 9:00 pm

Yea, I wish the MS3 had a sunroof option. That's a bummer.

Have you looked anymore into upgrading to the MS3, Steve?

CTSV has a sunroof option... And this video sounds badass (though it's a GTO, it's still the LS2 with a nearly identical setup)...
http://videos.streetfire.net/video/89CB ... 1A4BD4.htm

evolutionmovement · Post by **evolutionmovement** » Wed Jan 31, 2007 11:25 pm

There's a brace across the roof in the MS3 that precludes the sunroof option. I'll take the stiffer chassis. Not sure if I want to upgrade since I'll be getting an Elise. It won't cost me much more (the dealer here doesn't do markups so sticker or less is what it goes for), but I'd rather get the few extra mpg and I do like the sunroof. I drive over 35k a year so it adds up. I think it's a better idea to be investing money than throwing it at cars. I won't let myself get the Lotus until I've paid everything but the house off, saved a bunch, and start an investment fund. So maybe next year since I won't bother this year if it's autumn before I get that accomplished. They're only getting cheaper anyway.

I do think the Mazda3s and speeds are the best deals on the market. I like the Type-R Civic they get in Europe (I also like that they aren't escalating the HP wars), but that doesn't help here.

BAC5.2 · Post by **BAC5.2** » Fri Feb 02, 2007 4:03 am

Your going to daily drive the Elise, right? Gas mileage should be killer. Keep the 3 for winter, bad weather, and when you gotta haul shit around.

93forestpearl · Post by **93forestpearl** » Mon Feb 05, 2007 7:40 am

Nothing like the sound of a small block with a nice cam

206er · Post by **206er** » Mon Feb 05, 2007 7:59 am

93forestpearl wrote:Nothing like the sound of a big block with a nice cam

fixed

555BCTurbo · Post by **555BCTurbo** » Mon Feb 05, 2007 8:07 am

I think pushrod V8's sound like ass...

Now...Cosworth V8's spinning 18,000 rpm...BRING IT ON!!!

206er · Post by **206er** » Mon Feb 05, 2007 8:24 am

up, there it is. the ever pointless import fan's pushrod hatred. equally as bad as domestic fans hating on small displacement foreign cars IMHO. theyve both got their place. really, Ive never understood why some people appreciate only a certain kind of car. different strokes for different folks, I guess. literally.

and you've never heard the sound of a B1 with a huge cam, 15:1 and scott coffel heads on open headers have you?

93forestpearl · Post by **93forestpearl** » Mon Feb 05, 2007 8:34 am

Nothin quite that crazy. I've worked on some dirt trackers running small blaocks at about 14.5:1 compression. When they start those things, it shakes the ground

BAC5.2 · Post by **BAC5.2** » Mon Feb 05, 2007 3:39 pm

I love the Subaru Burble above all else, but the lumpy idle of a fat cammed V8 is pretty sweet. Not to mention the ridiculous torque at the first tip-in of throttle.

Plus, PPG makes a dogbox for the Tremec box, if I so get the fancy.

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Damn, Steve was right

Damn, Steve was right