Japan8

Rich Rx-8... thanks for being an ***. Why am I supposed to do the search for you?

I offered the ballpark figure because I don't remember the exact number off-hand, nor do I normally browse the Mazda3 sites or have the site of the guys who make the turbo kit bookmarked. You got information. There is a turbo kit for the Mazda3 and it makes more than 200whp and you can find info on it on Mazda3 forums...

Hiboost.com makes a turbo kit for Protege's, Mazda3 )2.0L and 2.3L) and Mazda6 (2.3L). On the Mazda3 it is a bolt-on kit that puts out 235whp at 7psi. ECU is pre-programmed Haltech. One of their cars (with time slip) did 11.9 in the 1/4mi. On the 2.0L with 13psi and 93octane pump gas they got 330whp.

The Cosworth d-Power stage III is said to get you 235whp in NA form on the 2.3L Duratec engine... but the Mazda ECU may cause problems... get a Focus instead.

But... no links for you! since you decided to be an ***.

Japan8

BTW... there are S/C kits for the Protege/Protege5, but they require you to remove the a/c for space reasons. If there are any for the Mazda3 (i haven't heard of any), you are quite possibly looking at the small issues.

Rich Rx-8

I'm not trying to be an *** Japan, don't take me personally. I was trying to get a personal experience from someone not a search comment or some numbers from a site.

Rich Rx-8

By the way my dealer said the Mazdaspeed 3 is coming in July!

canaryrx8

iTrader: (3)

didn't say it was cheap, still if I had $ to throw away an HPa R32 made to look bone stock would be a fun sleeper, heck I'd even scrap the R32 badges whatever, and try it make it look like a GTI

Rich Rx-8

I agree 100% but speaking of GTi, my buddy's trying to push the new VW Gti on me and claims with a chip and exhaust you can get 300 hp.....He says that the new GTi is better than what the new Mazdaspeed 3 is going to be. I doubt it, but the VW is pretty easy to mod as well as the Audi.

canaryrx8

iTrader: (3)

first thing to mod on the new veedubs would be the fonrt end, wtf were they thinking? that things is awful, looks like some kind of good idea gone horribly wrong. I am impressed with the smg/auto/whatever though, the bmi vid I watched actually had the auto getting faster times in some categories than the stick, pretty sweet lol

Japan8

Ok. not to be an *** in return, but if that is what you really wanted, this wasn't the best place to ask. Going to Mazda3club.com or msprotege.com would have been yielded better results... both owners and the guys from hiboost post there.

Japan8

You should check out the GTI thread in this forum. I was checking out the new GTI on some VW forums. You can get some good power out of it from chipping and adding a turbo-back exhaust. Looks... I like it. Even better with some of the kits that are out for it. The only thign I'd worry about is reliability. On that note... the Mazdaspeed3 may not be such a bad deal.

Michael

A used SRT-4 would be cheaper and about as aesthetically pleasing.

djgiron

Well after I return home (6 weeks woohoo) if I can not afford an 8 like I want it then it will be between the GTI and the MS3 for me. I am liking some of the body kits for the GTI and the MS3 is great looking as well. I am sure it will be a hard choice, but alot of test drives will get it figured out

Japan8

and even less reliable than a VW.

Ike

I wouldn't be so quick to assume that. .

Japan8

A Chrysler? Give me a break Even their famous great-selling mini-van has been a POS. Mu Aunt had one... all kinds of engine and transmission problems. Not to mention how cheap the interior was. It was the same thing with the trucks. A college roommate had a Ram and always had drivetrain problems. Interior in those, durangos, etc has been subpar everytime I've looked at them in Auto shows. I doubt this car will be any different

Ike

The engine in the SRT-4 is amazingly strong, don't compare it to some mini-van engine. Engine and drivertrain wise they used some very high quality parts in the SRT-4. Rather than doing a bunch of R&D they just put in a bunch of parts that they knew were much stronger than they would need.

Steiner

That hasn't been my experience. I've owned a few MOPARS and the engine/tranny was always the most reliable part of the car. In fact my old SRT-4 never had a single problem in 25k miles. It was pretty well modified and driven aggresively quite often. Unfortunately for Chrysler, for a while there everything but the engine/tranny was poorly made and failing prematurely. The resale value isn't much of an indication, but they seem to be making quality cars right now. I know the Highway Patrol is all over the new hemi Charger because of how well it's done in their testing. They don't just drive the car to Walmart and back either. They beat the **** out of their test cars before awarding a contract. Also my brother works for Enterprise and the new Durango is the most reliable SUV in their rental fleet.

Japan8

Strong and reliability aren't necessarily related Ike. A Wednesday car may run great and have no problems no matter the mods and flogging, but a Friday car can't even seem to stay out of the shop. The parts may be good, but if the design itself sucks, assembly sucks, or the rest of the design outside of this one area sucks... it's going to make for a "fun" time.

And your comments still don't address the fact that no matter what anyone has to say about an Imprezza/WRX/STi, it's interior is MUCH better than Neons, and just about all Chryslers. Even GM interiors are better!

Ike

Forgot to metnion that even the regular Neon was usually above average in reliability ratings in its class, many Chrysler cars are now. In fact Chrysler outranks Mazda in a lot of recent dependability studies. Not that I put a lot of trust in J.D. Power, but it at the very least shows Chrysler isn't as bad as a lot of people seem to think.

Japan8

And the police have consistently used Ford Mustangs, Crown Vics, Contours and probably Fusion now in Florida. Hertz rental car uses Ford. So what?

Everyone I have known has had nothing but the most ridiculous problems with Chrysler cars... past... like back in the OLD DAYS past... and present. Not one person I know (well one exception and only for trucks/JEEP) would ever buy a Chrysler... and it's not just because of perception! It was almost all based upon personal experience.

Even if their reliability has gotten better, their cars still generally look like ****. The Magnum is ok on the outside until you get to the front... OMG... WTF! The Neon has always looked like ***. The Ram pickup never appealed to me. The Caliber... so so. The interiors? They STILL are ****! WTF is with the damn K-Mart cheap *** black plastic being used extensively?!

Japan8

Who's talking about Mazda? Did I ever comare the two? Nope. Although Chrysler still can't design a decent looking interior to save their lives, nor can they figure out the meaning of quality materials when if comes to interiors either. As I said... even worse than a STi or even an Evo. I'd pass on them just because of that alone. Not when there are plenty of other cars that I like the interior and exterior styling without the worry if it is reliable or not. If I wanted that concern, I'd just get a VW.

Steiner

I don't think it's as bad you think Japan8. Aside from the horrible resale value, I know I wouldn't have any reservations about picking up another Chrysler product. I owned an '04 Dodge too so I'm not just blowing smoke up your ***. The interior is on the Neon is what you'd expect from a $10k rental car. In fact Ike and I probably think it's damn near luxurious compared to the Evo's interior.

Japan8

Plain and simple... I didn't like the cheap black plastic used extensively on the dash. I've seen it in person across just about every Chrysler model and I can still see it in current and upcoming models. I'd never buy a car with an interior like that. As bad as getting a rental Kia.

Let's not forget the severe lack of manual transmissions across the entire Chrysler lineup. The SRT-4 is one of the few you can count on one hand that Chrysler gifted enthusiasts with a MT.

RotoRocket

iTrader: (1)

Mazda is hellbent on ruining their flagship RX-8. That's for damn sure.

When a manufacturer gives more horsepower to their lowliest car than to their "flagship," there is something wrong with their very business model.

Edit - Fixed improper use of word 'their' instead of 'there.'

Ike

Well, you drive a Mazda and you're bashing Chrysler for their reliability. Honestly, it's all plastic and I don't really care if my car has better plastic or my plastic is molded in a prettier manner. Quality plastic is an oxy moron if you ask me.

rotarygod

Mazda did give their flagship car more horsepower. It's the MS6. The 8 isn't the flagship car.