Mazda3
 

Hello,

I know this is RX-7 forum, but I am looking at replacing my daily driver and considering this for autocrossing as well in addition to the FD.

Anyone has test drive, autocross, other experience?
What class would it be? H stock? Perhaps good honda killer in auto-x stock class.

http://www.mazdausa.com/MusaWeb/mazd...door_lrg_1.jpg
http://www.mazdausa.com/MusaWeb/mazd...door_lrg_3.jpg
http://www.mazdausa.com/MusaWeb/mazd...oor_lrg_14.jpg
http://www.mazdausa.com/MusaWeb/mazd...door_lrg_8.jpg
http://www.mazdausa.com/MusaWeb/mazd...door_lrg_7.jpg
http://www.mazdausa.com/MusaWeb/mazd...oor_lrg_19.jpg

i'd say go 4 it. I love the lights and the smooth shape.

since it is basicly the same car as the Protoge-5 it most likely falls into the same classes

Hopefully it doesn't share the same platform/undercarraige with the Protege 5. Thats one car that even great teams in World Challenge and Grand Am Cup could not sort out to be competitive.

I hate to diagree but I always thought they were
very competitive. The last time I was at VIR the mazda's
ran up front.

sorry, that should be disagree.

Well... I can speak on behalf of any entrant in World Challenge on this topic as I'm an official with the series and know the cars and drivers intimately. Roger Foo for one remarked often the car was just unmanagable, untunable. Perhaps you're thinking of the Protege's but not the 5's :D

You are right I was talking about the protege's. Foo
did finish near the top ten I think. What type of difference (chassis) is there in the P5 and the Protege?
I just purchased a Mazdaspeed protege for my son
and we both really like it. It is one of the most fun
cars I have driven.

now all u need to do is add this and u'll fly

https://www.rx7club.com/attachment.p...ostid=2442747.

lol

if u can somehow strangley mannage to fit it. lol.
if u do pm me and tell me how.

can you imagine that motor in any car. Mazda needs to come out with a 200,000+ dollar supercar with something along the lines of 8+ rotors. insane i tell you. I guess i should just keep dreaming and figure out how to make a motor like that myself. can you imagine a car like the cadilac sixteen w/ a motor like that. I bet it would fit.

The Protege can't run up front? The grabbed the pole in several races in WCT last year, and one at least one race.

I'd buy a 3, but damn that Mazdaspeed protege looks sweet too :)

No they don't share platforms - the MZ3 is all new and shares it's platform with the soon to be released Volvo S40. This car is built totally in Japan is is not comparable to the P5 (BTW, I just bought one:) )

It's a fun car. I specced one out for a friend (19,000 for the hatchback with airbag and moonroof packages). I have a Protege 2003 and I have to say the grip in the 3 is better. Going around high speed turns, the 3 can be pushed at a higher speed than my Protege. It doesn't compare to my FD, but they are easy to drive, fit well (roomier than the Protege), look awesome--especially the interior.

My buddy doesn't drive stick, so I tested an Auto /w "manual" shift. It's not bad at all and the gear # is in the speedo. The 3 shares many parts with the 6 and is a cross platform (many shared non-drivetrain parts) with Volvo and Ford. Well built, stick version should be much better than auto.

You probably can buy the 2.3 Hatch for a good deal since most americans aren't as into hatches as sedans :( ... but I think Mazda drivers may be different :)

Racing wise, the 3 should be a better contender than the Protege. Tripoint really had to modify the engine to keep up with the competition. I read somewhere that their engines really didn't last longer than a race or two. That's far from the old hay days of the rotary IMSA champions or today's Star Mazda series. Those Star engines usually last a season or two w/o rebuild. I'm excited to see what happens in the future /w them.

I've owned both the Mazdaspeed Protege and the P5 protege. If you're looking for something for local Auto-x competition then you should buy the Mazdaspeed. The suspension is amazing out of the box and requires nothing to be a SERIOUS competitor. (slalom speed matching that of the Posche 911 turbo). Also, a few small power adders would go a long way to helping the car breathe better. Make sure the dealer preforms the "flash" to bump timing, get a free-er flowing exhaust with 1 cat and replace the intake. this should give you at least 2psi extra boost and allow for a more robust power band.

Back on topic though. The P5 is a much better car for auto-x than the new 3. The 3 has much softer suspension and will require serious work to stay as flat as the P5. Also, the P5 weighs almost 300lbs less I believe. That goes a long way to negating the 30hp difference in stock engines. Also, a lot of new 3 owners are compalining about the delay in acceleration with the drive-by-wire throttle. That's certainly not something you'll want when racing. You can buy a set of lowering springs and some very low profile for the P5 and it will surprise you.

It HOT! just wait till mazdaspeed gives it a dosage of good ol boost!