have any of you guys driven the mazda mp3 or new mazdaspeed protege? i'm mostly interested in the handling and braking performance, i know the motor power is pretty weak. i'm considering getting one, but i haven't had the time to find one for a test drive. thanks!

 

Send a email to H-pimp. He owns the mazdaspeed and the MP3. I drove with him in the Mazdaspeed and I like the car. It handles very similarily to the ITR. Doesn't have the same power, but would probably match the ITR in a slalom.

 

Aaron, just keep your ITR.
'nuf said

 

I have the 03.5 Mazaspeed, and I have the R too. They are similar in handling, steering is better in the mazda, much quicker. The mazda is not nearly as stable as the ITR suspension and rolls more. The mazda engine doesnt even compare in terms of sounds and refinement. The mazda engine sounds like its hurting at redline, the ITR begs for more. The mazda isnt slow though. 170 turbo HP makes it feel MUCH quicker than the R around town. You can also do some slight upgrades for under $1000 and have a 13 second Mazdaspeed. The gear box isnt bad at all on the mazda, the brakes are great. Low end torque is very nice for daily driving. Has alot of potential in terms of power, but is very limited by nasty torque steer even though it has an LSD. THe stock stereo is amazing. The interior is nice and simple. No cheese, other than the neoprene seat inserts. Very attractive car when seen on the road.

My major dislikes: coarse untuned inconsistent engine and powerband. Unsettled suspension, probably due to use of struts. Lack of cruise control.

likes: AMAZING price for what you get.

Actually. if you are interested, I might be interested in selling mine. The color is titanium (gunmetalish), with 3k miles.




Modified by AamirCWITR at 9:06 PM 8/20/2004

 

i think the mazdaspeed will be out of my price range; it is new and probably doesn't go for less than $15k yet. i understand the mp3 is close in handling, but with alot LESS horsies however, the mp3 can be bought with less than 20k miles for <11k.

ed, it's either keep the R which i will no longer hpde OR get a decent car AND a new mountain bike AND have a few bucks to start saving for a dedicated hpde car.

 

The mazdaspeed protege was a really fun car to drive... All it needed in my opinion was a bit more Hp...

 

Good luck with whatever you finally decide to do.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by AamirCWITR &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I have the 03.5 Mazaspeed, and I have the R too. They are similar in handling, steering is better in the mazda, much quicker. The mazda is not nearly as stable as the ITR suspension and rolls more. The mazda engine doesnt even compare in terms of sounds and refinement. The mazda engine sounds like its hurting at redline, the ITR begs for more. The mazda isnt slow though. 170 turbo HP makes it feel MUCH quicker than the R around town. You can also do some slight upgrades for under $1000 and have a 13 second Mazdaspeed. The gear box isnt bad at all on the mazda, the brakes are great. Low end torque is very nice for daily driving. Has alot of potential in terms of power, but is very limited by nasty torque steer even though it has an LSD. THe stock stereo is amazing. The interior is nice and simple. No cheese, other than the neoprene seat inserts. Very attractive car when seen on the road.

My major dislikes: coarse untuned inconsistent engine and powerband. Unsettled suspension, probably due to use of struts. Lack of cruise control.

likes: AMAZING price for what you get.

Actually. if you are interested, I might be interested in selling mine. The color is titanium (gunmetalish), with 3k miles.

Modified by AamirCWITR at 9:06 PM 8/20/2004</TD></TR></TABLE>

although i don't own an ITR i, i owned the turbo speed protoge on 6psi in my relativley stock gs-r.. when i say owned i mean tore him apart by like 4+ car-lengths.. my gs-r would tear up a stock ITR suspension wise, but the stock ITR would have more power then me.. thus being stated i don't see how you even can compare the 2 cars.. IMO the ITR is a ****** GOD next to that car..

i am not arguing with you, just stateing my own general experience and opinion..

 

Aaron, keep your R. Or, the next best thing to do is sell your R, and get yourself an unmolested R. Once you drive an ITR, only $35k+ cars will satisfy your driving needs.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Cosworth &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Aaron, keep your R. Or, the next best thing to do is sell your R, and get yourself an unmolested R. Once you drive an ITR, only $35k+ cars will satisfy your driving needs. </TD></TR></TABLE>

hmmm, you haven't seen my car, it really is not in bad cosmetic shape. perhaps my description made it sound ugly, but if you saw it in a parking lot you wouldn't even notice the bumper damage. i plan to get a claybar and wax this weekend and show some pictures. i don't expect to sell it on h-t cause the lowballing and i sure as hell won't sell it for less than $16k. the only reason i'd sell is because i don't want to take it to hpde and, to me, that seems the reason to own an R.

btw, i have to drive the mp3 and/or protege5 wagon is see if they are acceptable. probably the only other decent option under $13,500 is a 98-01 subaru impreza rs but it will have 40+k miles.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Cosworth &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Aaron, keep your R. Or, the next best thing to do is sell your R, and get yourself an unmolested R. Once you drive an ITR, only $35k+ cars will satisfy your driving needs. </TD></TR></TABLE>

and used Z-06's.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by magic hat #9 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

the only reason i'd sell is because i don't want to take it to hpde and, to me, that seems the reason to own an R.
</TD></TR></TABLE>

Just drive it, since yours is black and low key (dirty) and you live in a good/nice area How much trouble could there be?
Besides if it were to get stolen (hopefully not) you might even get more then what you would be able to sell it for. the Ins Co does not know all about the head and how imperfect it is

Keep it.

 

The new Mazda 3`s can be made to handle pretty well. Since it shares the chassis with the Focus, there will be an abundance of parts.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Bbasso &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
Besides if it were to get stolen (hopefully not) you might even get more then what you would be able to sell it for. the Ins Co does not know all about the head and how imperfect it is

Keep it. </TD></TR></TABLE>

haha, the head is BRAND NEW which i should think adds value to the car. anyway, this is a financial decision and not really based on theft.

the mazda 3's look nice but they are new cars and i'm only interested in used cars &lt;$13k.

 

No experience with the Protege or MP3, but the new Mazda 3s are pretty nice for the money; far better brakes and suspension setup than an equivalently priced Civic. I had a rental out in LA for 10 days, it really started to grow on me

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by kengs &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">No experience with the Protege or MP3, but the new Mazda 3s are pretty nice for the money; far better brakes and suspension setup than an equivalently priced Civic. I had a rental out in LA for 10 days, it really started to grow on me </TD></TR></TABLE>

yes, edmunds and the magazines say they like the handling of the 3s, but they've lost some of the sharpness of the mp3 and msp which makes me so interested in a $11k mp3

 

The ITR has more of a race car feel, as where the MSP is more versitale. The steering is also quicker in the Mazda. Overall the ITR has more power and top end. But I've gotten .6 tenth improvement in acceleration with $300 worth of mods on my MSP so it now feels a little closer to the R in the power dept. ITR Brakes are also much better and less prone to fade. Both nice cars, just different.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by magic hat #9 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

yes, edmunds and the magazines say they like the handling of the 3s, but they've lost some of the sharpness of the mp3 and msp which makes me so interested in a $11k mp3 </TD></TR></TABLE>

During my time at the Mazda Revitup, my experience with the Mazda 3 is not too positive. Brake is good, but not easily modulated, over sensative is what I meant.
Power is consistent but not as torquey as advertised. Interior is bulky and cheap feeling while the car rolls and steering input not as pricise.

Maybe I am too used to the ITR for autox duty and I just hate to fact to use the Mazda3 going around pylons.

Keep the R, you will regret &lt;or sell it and go CW y0!&gt;

btw, looked into the Scion tC yet? I would also recommend going for a E36 M3. Which is quite easy to maintain if you do as much homework as you do on HT. It cost the same as much as you sell your ITR and classy enough for you to haul chicks and goto work and make your receptionist drop her panty.

 

Keep the ITR... I had a 2003.5 MSP for auto-xing and track days. I sold it a month and a half ago and bought an ITR. I am very happy that I bit the bullet and went back to honda. The ITR feels like everything matches while the MSP feels like a tuner car, a well put together, but a tuner car none the less.

Also, when auto-x'ing, the MSP is known for having wheel hop issues. The low end torque and tight turns do not work well in that car. I had issues putting the power down. I cannot tell you how frustrating it was to have to concentrate on that and not actually driving the course. The ITR does not have that issue.

Here is how they compare:
Street: MSP - it is more comfortable, has a good stock stereo (that is a pain to adjust) and the torque is fun.
Auto-X: ITR - by a little margin because of power. The MSP is awesome and rock solid in the slalom.
Track: ITR - no contest, the MSP fell flat on its face on the straights. In bone stock configuration, the MSP lap times could not beat the times 00 Civic SI (only with AGX's and brake pads) with the same driver.

 

thanks for the experienced opinions!

however, i'm not looking for a car to replace or improve on the R for autox/hpde. i really just want to know if the mp3's handling/braking is as good as the magazines say. example: i've read c&d and r&t and they say the focus has a sporty suspension, but the focus in reality is just a flying couch and not for stout road driving. the magazines rave about the mp3's handling, but.......

i guess i just want to know if the mp3 is a fun car despite the 8.2s 0-60

 

Yes, the car is a fun car on the street (where the limits are lower than auto-x and track). It is a comfortable street car, too.

But, if you are thinking of modding one with anything (except probably a cat back and drop in air filter), you should pass on the car because dealers are a pain in the a** with voiding warranties if you do anything to the car. I got tired of that and that was one of the reasons that I dumped the car.

I also drove a friends MSP and that had an intake, cat-less down pipe, 3" exhaust and manual boost controller (set to about 9-10lbs). This car was faster than the stock one, but was not as fun to rev as the ITR.

As you asked about the brakes and handling, they are both good, if not excellent. The brakes are very good and absolutely awesome with the correct pads. I was running Carbotech Panther Pluses front and rear. If you get the car, go with the Panther Pluses in the front and the Bobcats in the rear. There is too much rear brake bias with the Panther Pluses in the rear. The handling is good, no body roll, but you can have trouble spinning the inside tire when powering out of turns. There were times (mostly auto-xing but also on the street) that I thought I didn't have an LSD because it was so bad.

The best suggestion that I can make is to get on the MSP forums (www.msprotege.com), meet with some of the guys in your area and take one for a ride/drive. Or, see if you can co-drive with someone at an auto-x. There are a good group of guys on that board and should be helpful.

Hope this helps... Cheers!

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by mem &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote"> I was running Carbotech Panther Pluses front and rear. If you get the car, go with the Panther Pluses in the front and the Bobcats in the rear. There is too much rear brake bias with the Panther Pluses in the rear.
</TD></TR></TABLE>

I am surprised to hear that you run Panther Plus on a MSP street car. I also use the Panther+ 1108 on my ITR strickly for HPDE duties. I don't understand how you can run such aggressive pads on the street...don't you have issues with rotor life and temperture range with these pads?

On the other band, Bob cat is good in terms of brake dust and noise, but not great in stopping power.

 

I guess it would help to mention that I took the train to work and only drove the car on the weekends (only twice during the winter).

Yeah, the pads are pretty aggressive. They actually aren't too bad for daily driving / when they are cold, but they do dust like mad (which is corrosive to the wheel finish), make some noise (not too bad), and I don't know about the rotor life. I sold the car with less than 10,000 miles and only had the pads on for less than four thousand.