I bought a Mazda 3

Pics will be posted in short order after work. So I nabbed a 2008 3i touring w. the 2.0 and 5 speed, 37,000 miles for 12,500 out the door. I love it to death, I have questions though

1. Is it the Ford Focus' stable mate? same chassis?

2. Goodwin racing has full exhaust for 2.3, will that bolt on the 2.0?

3. Black is the fastest color

Black is fast, yes, but my black Focus is faster! :)

(enjoy the 3 - it is the same chassis as the latest Focus, I believe)

More so a stable mate with the US version of the Volvo S40 which shares platform with the Euro Focus but not the US Focus.

My guess is 2.3L exhaust will not match to the 2.0L and if it does it will not provide the same benefits which were tuned for the 2.3L

Black is nice!

If I remember, the touring model is loaded and therefore likely includes leather and climate control. I point this out because in the US luxury items, manual trans and high mpg are typically not combined. I really like these 2.0L Mazda 3's because to me they are the highest mpg car with a manual trans and luxury appointments that you can buy.

Edit: Whoops, seems that it is the Grand Touring model that gets leather and Climate control. It also can only be had with the bigger 2.3L engine. There again, proof that in the US it is hard to get the best mpg and the nicest features.
Still, the regular touring is well outfitted and in my opinion better outfitted than similar Corolla/Civic/Sentra in the same class.

The current focus is still on the C170 platform. The Mazda 3 is on the C1 platform.

They reskinned the focus in 08 but left it on the old C170 platform.

The 2012 North America Focus will finally be on the C1 platform IIRC.

Welcome to the family.

I have a 2004 3s hatch. I've had it for about 17k miles and 1 year. It's got 147k on the clock now. No problems and I still really like it (I have a short attention span with cars).

I've seen people get 40+ mpg tanks out of the 2.0 5-speed. In fact, I often wish I had a Canadian Mazda 3 where you can get a hatchback with the 2.0. Oh well.

We had a 2004 3s sedan for 3 years (wife's). It was (based on the VIN) one of the first-built US market cars. And even being such an early build, it had ZERO problems in those 3 years except for a child seat LATCH recall. We actually sold it in 2009 with 30k miles or so on it, and we sold it for $1200 less than we had bought it for 5 years earlier, lol!

Fun car to drive and great handling out of the box. Always wished it had more pep in midrange (5MT, 2.3L), but then again I'm used to V6s and turbo cars so I'm a bit jaded.

Another thing....they are fast around autocross courses in stock form, even the 2.0L cars, with the right tires.

http://racingbeat.com/FRmazda_3.htm

http://www.streetunit.com/Default.asp?Redirected=Y

http://tripointengineering.com/index.php?cPath=572&osCsid=ec88e463494a95a5267c8621dbf2184c

Some good mazda aftermarket sites, 1st thing i suggest is a rear motor mount being as mazda does not know how to make a good one in stock from and shifter bushings to take some slop out of the stock shifter. It is a great car and really the 2 mods i suggested are only to help the experience more (as well as they had a recall for the RMM's in the older 3's) good luck and have fun with the car!

Zoom Zoom!

I loved ours that we sold in the spring.. It was an 04 2.0/4spd auto. I got a high of 42 mpg over about 200 miles going straight and flat in the Texas panhandle.

I loved the platform to death but i inherited this one in the relationship with my fiancee and it had been beat to hell imo so i wasnt particularly attached to it in spite of its good points. I still look at nice ones lustfully but i wont pay what they go for. I sold ours for $4350 which was only a bit less than what i thought it was worth. However a few months before i shamelessly sold an 01 Integra GS for $6200 because some idiot out there thinks thats what it's worth!!

Anyway, i compared the underhood area of the 04 mazda to a 05 focus and they are CLEARLY extremely similar, if not the same thing but since i never had to do anything to it as of 130k, i dont even know what the bottom looked like!

Great cars! I love mine

Great car. We had an '04 2.3 5-Door.

Good luck with yours. There are some screaming deals on new '10s out there.

We just sold our '07 Speed 3. Actually, we traded it in on a new 2011 Mazda 2 (it's always nice to trade in a used car with so much "equity" that it's new replacement is close to free). You'll enjoy your 3. They are nice, bulletproof cars with the traditional Mazda penchant for self destructing motor mounts - replaced all three on the MS3 under warranty, and have replaced every one on both Miatae in the house at least once, and I expect the ones on the new 2 are deteriorating as it sits on my driveway right now.

Welcome to the Zoom-Zoom Team! I liked the 2010 Mazda3 2.0L loaner I got while my MS3's wheel bearing got replaced, though it really needed a stick (it had an autostick feature, though).

I agree 100% with JtspellS- upgrade the rear motor mount. It will take some slop out of the shifter, the steering will feel a little more direct, and wheel hop will be reduced. I use this one on my MS3 in 75-durometer flavor:

http://cp-e.com/content/mazda3-mazdaspeed3-engine-mount

The only vibrations I get from it (after breaking it in) are very faint and only when the A/C kicks in.

Use a synthetic gear oil like Red Line or Motorcraft XT-M5-QS to smooth out the shifting even more. The RMM + the Motorcraft gear oil has transformed my MS3's shifter from vague and mushy to smooth like buttah!

You may also want to look into grounding your throttle body. Supposedly it enhances the throttle-by-wire's response a little. You can cobble the grounding wire together from scrap or McParts store items:

http://www.flex-innovations.com/mz3_tb.htm

Awesome info on the motor mounts and grounding the DBW, Can I use a motor mount intended for the MS3 on the little 2.0?

AFAIK the mounts are the same.

In fact, dont they make inserts for that mount? I never really looked into that stuff while i had mine.

I'm looking for a new car, it's on my list. I had one for a week in Arizona, I liked it. The spouse is digging a Soul Sport stick in Titanium color.

We're talking......

Dan

Most aftermarket RMMs for the 1st gen. Mazda3s work on all three engine types (2.0L, 2.3L, 2.3L turbo). Corksport makes inserts for the RMM:

http://www.corksport.com/corksport-rear-motor-mount-insert.html

From what I've read on Mazda3-specific forums they tend to go soft after a period of time, whereas aftermarket engine mounts with a solid bushing last much longer. Aside from slight vibes when the A/C kicks in, the CP-E 75-duro RMM feels stock in terms of vibration and that's with the harder bushing. They also sell a RMM with a softer 60-duro bushing. The CP-E mounts are a hot-ticket item so if you don't like it you can sell it on a Mazda3-specific forum for not much of a loss.

TB ground, at least in my case, did nothing. Maybe some placebo effect at most. I don't know. I'm happy with the car other than the damn fly by wire. '05 3S. Believe it or not, on the interstate @ 70-73 mph I get damn near 37.5mpg.

P.S. clean your TB every other oil change.

I've had my '07 3 since new and never realized that it was a throttle by wire.

I'll have to get myself the CPE mount. I've been wondering about the wheel hop for a long time.