6SpeedTA95

Hey guys I've narrowed my search for my next vehicle down considerably. At this point I'm leaning towards a 2010 Mazdaspeed3 or a used 09 SI or perhaps a new 09 or 10 SI.

Both cars have good aspects and bad aspects. The hatchback thing is huge for me, I love hatchbacks and the mazda's are built very well. They have gobs of torque and midrange power. The downside is their mpg isn't that great, insurance is more expensive and the motors don't seem to be as durable as I would expect.

The civic on the other hand has no torque but has a great shifter and fantastic motor. The car is built pretty well, though there is more road noise, but its got a sunroof and far better stereo which are both positives. The Mazda offers better steering feedback but the SI has higher absolute grip limits.

Also I see comments about these new civics not being built well? Sunvisor issues, shifter boot issues and 3rd gear issues seem to be the bulk of the complaints. Sunvisor/shift boot arent' a big deal and Honda seems to have addressed the 3rd gear issue on the newer cars?

How are these motors holding up? I want something I can put 100k+ on easily and have it still take a beating at an occassional autocross/track day.

I like the fact that the aftermarket is huge and my options are basically limitless for extracting more performance out of the Honda while maintaining daily driveability and super gas mileage.

Thoughts? recommendations?

ajpturbopittsburgh

The civic's fuel economy is mediocre at best when compared to my prelude which was 12 years older and had a larger displacement with more torque.

100K is not an achievement for a motor. You will get that out of any car nowadays.

The aftermarket is huge for the Honda, hower unless you are gonna go forced induction, your power gains will be minimal for the honda with just bolt ons. You will get 5 here and 7 there. You will get 20 to 30 hp max. So if that is limitless to you, have at it.

I'm not a huge fan of the mazda 3 but if you want power, the Mazda has the ground work laid from the factory to get big power gains. All you need is a 120 dollar boost controller and someone to tune and map out the fuel delivery for extra boost and you are golden.

$1000 and you can have an added 100 hp with safety and reliability.

6SpeedTA95

A lot of the power heavy cars are puking rods.

AJPVtecPanda

Im not sure about all the technicalities of the Mazda, however i test drove on a few weeks back, and yeah it was a fun car, but I dont think i would trade it for my Civic si sedan no matter what. To me it seems more to have " chich car look" even though its boosted, and steriotypically chics dont drive boosted cars or at least im not used to seeing that. But in the end its going to be your decision on which to go with, either vechicle is going to have its pro/cons. Maybe im just partial to honda since ive had my car for awhile now, that and I know hondas resell is amazaing along with toyotas not sure how mazda is on resale but ive never heard anyone ever saying " wow I want a Mazda they have good resale value down the road", have only ever heard that about hondas and toyotas, and considering ive KBB'd and BlackBook my vechicle and its worth more then I have left to pay off I have the proof the resale value is good. But hey gud luck in deciding on which .

P.S. Ive always been one who perfers to build power instead of buying it..

6SpeedTA95

Thanks for the responses guys, yeah I like building power, there's numerous cam options available + hondata for the SI which I would think I could make 215 to 225whp and maintain daily drivability and reasonable MPG. 215ish hp in a car as light as the civic would be pretty fun...

How has the reliabiilty been on these 06+'s?

AJPVtecPanda

The only issue I had since purchasing my 07 was my 3rd gear and they replaced the cluster and I havent had a single problem since( knock on wood), so Id say they are very reliable imo. And yes from those mods Id assume you could definately maintain good MPG, I atm have an AEM SRI and Comptech shorty header and EVO 2 Catback and uncorrected hp on a DYNO PACK dyno U put down a 209 @ 150, so im thinking on a dyno jet im at about 195whp which is fine with me due to my non race header. But im also running rich on my car due to my SRI, which the AFR showed on the dyno i was dropping to 10 afr. But that will be fixed in a month or so when U purchase F-pro.

ajpturbopittsburgh

Well to get you 225 to the wheels would be pretty good. Assuming you only lose 12 percent of power through the drive line, which would be good, would mean you have about 255 to the flywheel. So adding 58hp to the car in N/A form from bolt ons is a stretch. I don't care if you have cams and fpro that's pushing it. And with cams and fpro and tuning and installation of cams would prolly run you 2 grand. For less than 1000 you could get 100 hp on the mazda

Fpro= 695
cams=600
cam install=500
dyno tuning=400

total=2195


225 whp in a civic would yield low to mid 14's in the 1/4mi. I guess you could call that fun. I ran a 14.5 in a bone stock 2007 maxima so..... still gonna have mustang gt's walking all over you.

6SpeedTA95

Its definately cheaper to build big power on the mazda, no doubt about it.

I was pretty set on the mazda until a buddy of mine (huge honda sackrider) talked me into driving an SI again and I really quite enjoyed it so its back in the mix. And lots of guys reporting 30+mpg (considering I drive 35 miles a day all highway thats pretty good).

My 02 maxima SE 6MT (what I drive now) ran a 14.2 at 98.6 mph and its bone stock.

edit: I dont think the mazda would take daily hard driving as well as a honda simply because it does make so much more power...

Buddy of mine had an SI and another buddy had an RSX-S and he beat those cars so bad it was almost disturbing. He put 200k on his SI drove it for almost 10 years with zero motor problems. His RSX he had less time but also beat the ccrap out of it.

I will not be beating the **** out of my car but it will see VTEC probably every day as i get onto the interstate.

AJPVtecPanda

Lol mine always see's Vtec when getting onto the freeway, and yes if your DD is 35miles freeway my opionion would be the Civic. Ive put about 1200 into mine but granted if I could go back I would have bought a race header instead of the Comptech shorty I bought and a CAI inplace of my SRI , and would be at 200whp at least, but atm am glad I didnt cause eiher way Ive decided to go Fi, mainly jut waiting a good 6 months for two reasons, 1. to save up the money to afford the turbo, and 2. To wait on some reviews of the SRT kit and maybe even the Full Race kit see how they compare to the AJ Performance kit which is pretty much the one Im set on getting. And guaruntee id be blowing any speed3's away with that. but then again thats with spending about 6k in the least so meh, but within the next 2-3 years i plan havign my civic paid off and have purcased a new vechile, to replace my Si as my DD and turn it into a project car for track only hehe! ( pursue that 10sec car dream! lol). But ive always been a fan of hondas and Vtek so Im prolly a bit biased, mazdas are cool but meh i dont think Id spend my money on em. but like i said before gudluck in making the decision.

ajpturbopittsburgh

I just put down a 12.91 @ 115.7 mph yesterday

AJPVtecPanda

Very nice, godddd I cant wait till im boosted!!!! what psi u running pittsburgh 10?

i-VTEC_DOHC

the 06+ civics are not light. fyi

6SpeedTA95

Its all relative, compared with older civics no, compared with the 87 Z28, the Trans Am and my Nissan maxima they are

AJPVtecPanda

I believe curb weight is something like 2960lbz i think thats what I remember reading

6SpeedTA95

I think the sedan is just over 3000lbs and the coupe is like 2868 or so...either way its lighter than anythign I've had since my 626 and on par with my wife's mazda3.

ajpturbopittsburgh

something like that...10 or 11

AJPVtecPanda

U have it at the psi for a dd? if so any problems at all?

i-VTEC_DOHC

i didnt know that 2868+60= 3000+
cuz the sedan weighs 60 lbs more than a coupe.

i-VTEC_DOHC

smart quirks like that get you gangbanged on here.
just a heads up. so next time dont drop the soap.
we let you slide on that one.

2008fijibluesi

If the new MS3 didn't look like a grinning whale, I'd say go for it. But I couldn't DD a car that made me puke everytime I looked at it, no matter how much power it had.

Mazda's redesign makes the older MS3 look beautiful, and those are ugly too...lol.

Also, it's a wagon...not a hatchback.

6SpeedTA95

I read two articles last night, one on KBB I think said it was 175lbs heavier, another from C&D or MT said it was about 110lbs heavier.

6SpeedTA95

There are plenty of fun to drive cars out htere that aren't honda's, my IROC and my TA were great fun to drive though not overly responsive at the autox...

xkrntamax

MS3 is very nice car. I was considering MS3 or Si. I ended up buying Si.
FI = $$$$. Oil change every 3000miles with syn oil.(Which I use royal purple every 4000miles.) MS3 is very fun to drive. Get the previous model, new model looks ugly but more better options like smart key...etc

6SpeedTA95

New model is FAR nicer/more refined, if I did a speed3 it would be a 2010, no doubt about it...go drive a 2010 and you'll quickly see why.

K5^