Congrats on the car, I did those two mods on my GF's car. They were both fairly easy to do but the motor mount took the longest.

She has the TWM shifter also, though not a true short shifter, it does improve feel.
I went to a dyno day with that car and the cars equipped with the MS kit performed a little better then others.

The good thing is, you still keep your warranty..

Volks FTW!!

 

TWM makes a short shifter kit. I think its a bit too short and some people complain of clunkyness and such, so i will be waiting for the one from cobb tuning myself.


CAI is fine if you go with CPE as the filter is just below the headlight. The mazdaspeed one can be harsh since it sits very low.

as for a boost controller, stay away from them, its not worth it IMO. The few people who have had them blew their engines because the ecu safety is not there any longer. Either get something to tune or leave it alone. So many people are trying to go cheap on mods without tuning and having issues and some are blowing engines.. so beware on that...

enjoy... same name here is same on mazda3forums, mazdas247

 

The TWM kit does nothing to shorten the length of the throw. The shift **** sits lower so I suppose you could say that it is a "short" shifter If you want to decrease the length of the throw as it stands today, you must pull the shifter and drill a new hole for the cable.

Here is the DIY - http://www.mazdas247.com/forum/showt...hp?t=123661188

 

I'm not dissing anybody's car in particular.......I'm just speaking in general....so don't get upset.....

People talk about these speed 3s......how fast they are...how well they handle..blah blah..yada yada............... but you guys are forgetting one big thing....... it's a WAGON! ..no matter how fast it is......it's still a WAGON!

wagons, vans = not cool You should only drive a wagon or van, if you're a soccer mum. lol.... sorry i just had to get it out of my chest.........it's been building up for a while. haha..... so don't take it personally. :D

 

As far as the CAI is concerned, I haven't really made my decision on which way I will go. I hear that there are better options than the Mazdaspeed because of hydrolocking. But then again the Mazdaspeed Intake is the only one that will not mess with my warranty if something goes wrong.

I probably won't go the boost control route. I'm sure this car can make 300 whp without one, and that's plenty for me. I'm sure there is a good reflash, intake, catted downpipe, combo out there that will give me plenty of gains.

 

I was convinced of that too until I actually got in and took it for a test drive. Your opening sentence didn't make a lot of sense to me either. How do you lump "how fast they are" and "how well they handle" with "yada yada yada"? Those actually happen to be kind of important to me.

 

The MS3 is one "wagon" I don't mind being seen in. Cars can't be everything to everybody. You're obviously not the targeted car enthusiast, just like the 8 is not meant for the torque loving enthusiasts.

I just hope your not as shallow in other aspects of your life.

 

I have loved every minute of it so far. Every bit as fun to drive as the 8, just in different ways. Of course the MS3 will put you back in your seat. It handles much better than people give it credit for. But the 8 of course is RWD which frees you up a little when driving fast. And although the MS3 is a good handler, it falls just a bit short of the 8 in that department, which I was expecting.

The one funny thing is mountain drives. I have a mountain road 5 minutes from my house where I would take the 8 all the time. I would always leave it in 2nd gear around the twisties and sometimes shift to 3rd in the straights. But the MS3 pulls so friggin hard from every gear, you really don't know which gear you should be in.

 

^^^lol...i knew it would tick a lot of people off. Guys...lighten up. I wasn't targeting anyone in particular
To me "look" is as important as "performance". I won't sacrifice one for another.. I can't. But that's just me. I'm not speaking for others. I know everyone has different taste in life. If we were all the same, the world would be a very boring place to live in, right? So things that I'm crazy about might not interest the others in abit. That's the reality...... So what I said above ....i was just voicing my opinion....not meaning to diss your ride or anyonelse's ride... I actually made it clear before I started saying what I felt about the 3s.....
So I guess I am as shallow in Every aspects of MY LIFE. Sorry to disappoint you Hernandez. haha

 

Nah man, your opinion is your opinion and I can respect that. You're right though, if everyone liked the same things the world would be a very boring place.

Sorry, I wasn't trying to call you out..peace.

 

cobb access port will be out soon enough along with their downpipe and they have a short ram intake out now.

people are making 300 whp with boltons and minor tuning so yep its possible...

 

DAMN! that is CLEAN!!! i want one now lol

 

I actually watched a review on the internet yesterday...I believe it was on youtube...but the 07 MS3 was better than the 08 STI-even in handling, believe it or not!

 

It was the 08 wrx not the sti, but the speed 3 does look a lot better then them both IMO

 

Nice catch! Sorry for the mis-information!

 

2nd favorite car! nice 3 now its time to mod it!