what are the differences? FAQ was not helping.

-on the sticker in the driver side does it say 205/55/16? for the GTUs... and is it a diferent wheel size for the GTU?

-and do any of the fc3s come with power steering?

how can you tell from a GTU and a GTUs... i'm freaked out the car i'm getting is going to be a GTU, with exterior parts to make it look like a GTUs, and end up paying more than needed. thx

 

GTU is a s4 car, and a GTU is a s5.
Run a VIN check, if its a 1986 or a 1987 then its a GTU with an open differential.
If its a 1988 GTU with an Limited Slip Differential.
If its 1989 or later then its a GTUs.

The GTU came with a 15 inch rim, like on the convertible.
I'm not sure about the GTUs.

 

Get the VIN and call the Mazda NA 800 number (number should be on their website). They can tell you what the car came with from the factory by the VIN.

Failing that, here are things to look for to tell if it's a factory GTUs:

Aluminum hood
four-piston front brakes and vented rears
No sunroof
Limited slip diff
Velocity sensing power steering

The GTUs did come with the 16" wheels.

 

what... power steering?? i thot they didn't have power steering. also i heard that if you look on the sticker on driver's side should say 205/55/16 for factory tires. the GTUs doesn't come with power anything too right?

 

The tantamount difference is the tranny and the differential ratio. Drive it and see what rpm you spin at a given speed and gear and cross reference with pretty much any other FC.

 

A GTUs has the same P/S rack as the GXL and Turbo (a 15:1 rack with speed-sensing assist). Pop the hood and look at the P/S pump. If the pump has two lines coming from the top it's the speed-sensing type. If it has one line from the top it's the RPM-sensing type and the car is likely a GTU and not a GTUs. Also check for the stuff I listed above.

 

Wow, I like how GTUs threads get filled up with wrong information everytime.

Off the top of my head the differences between an S5 GTU and a GTUs are this:

GTUs came with:
16" TII wheels(205/55/R16)
No sun roof
4.30 final drive viscous LSD
Different gear ration for 5th gear
It came with very few power options, power steering, door locks, mirrors, AC.
There were only 1100 of them made
Manual windows
Aluminum hood
Turbo II suspension
2802 curb weight
4 piston brakes up front

The S5 GTU was just the base model for the series 5's. Tiny little brakes, open diff(4.1), 15" wheels, sun roof.

The S4 GTU was the sporty model for the series 4's. I dont know much about the S4's, but I think it came with bigger brakes, clutch type lsd, not sure of anything else on it.

Also, good luck getting information about your car from Mazda, I've tried. I gave them my vin number to see if my car really was a GTUs and they could only tell me that my car came with AC and power mirrors, nothing else.

 

All 89-91 models came with power steering.

There are three models that you could be confusing. All came with power mirrors, however the factory power sunroof was optional on the 88 and 89-90 GTU models, but there was no factory sunroof option on the 89-90 GTUs model.

AS covered in the FAQ for FC:
88 GTU = Sport suspension, Sport seats, Limited Slip Differential (LSD) No power windows, 4 piston front brakes, vent rear brake rotors, 15" wheels with 205/60-15 tires often had the aluminum hood. Vehicle speed sensing power steering. 4.1 rear end gear. Tire tag on door jam will specify 205/60-15 size tire.

89-90 GTU = Base model for 89-90 cars. Single piston brakes with solid rear rotors, no LSD, standard suspension, 15" wheels with 205/60-15 tires, no power windows. Engine speed controlled power steering. 4.1 rear end gear. Tire tag on door jam will specify 205/60-15 size tire.

89-90 GTUs (note the small S) Sport seats, Limited Slip Differential (LSD) No power windows, 4 piston front brakes, vent rear brake rotors, 16" wheels with 205/55-16 tires, aluminum hood, 4.3 rear end gear. Vehicle speed sensing power steering. Tire tag on door jam will specify 205/55-16 size tire.

 

88 GTU = Sport suspension, Sport seats, Limited Slip Differential (LSD) No power windows, 4 piston front brakes, vent rear brake rotors, 15" wheels with 205/60-15 tires often had the aluminum hood. Vehicle speed sensing power steering. 4.1 rear end gear.

that is so tru , i dont have aluminum hood but i got Turbo seats ,LSD no power Windows, 4 piston brakes and vented rear rotors ..15in wheels i have the limited edition factory polished wheels .... 12/87

 

I have a 1990 GTU, yeah, sunroof and all the other oem stuff.

 

Somebody lied too you... all 88 wheels looked polished (except the 10thAE). There wasn't limited edition polished wheels.

From mazdamark.com:
I guess they could be considered limited if you think that 27,814 FCs that came with them in 88 where also limited...

 

hey thanks guys. a lot, really helped. i think imma just look at teh door tag.