Jump to content
SAU Community

Recommended Posts

I was lucky enough to win a day at Oran park & got to test Drive the new Mazda Turbo range around the track including the MPS 3, MPS 6, RX8, & new MX5...then get taken by Dick Johnson in MPS 3 for a hot lap

First drove RX8...interior is awesome & handles beautifully but was disaappointed with the performance...i know its a rotary & you need to rev them but it feels like the diff gears are for the highway

Next i drove the MPS 6...Loved the throttle response & felt quicker than the RX8 & def handles well but not sure if i like the AWD feeling (used to Rear) & also found the gearstick positioning awkward as i felt like i had to reach forward & down to grab lever

Next was the MPS 3...first i will say i thought this much power in a front wheel drive was crazy & that it would just wheelspin & understeer...I WAS WRONG!!! This thing is nuts...as soon as you touch the pedal its throwing you back in your seat...although you can get it wheelspin it barely understeers & shat all over the RX8, MPS 6 AWD in handling & performance...This thing hits peak 380nm torque at 3000rpm & pulls all the way til redline then launches hard into the next gear. This car although nowhere near the quickest is prob one of the most fun cars i have ever driven...you could drive it out the showroom straight to the track no problems whatsoever!!!

I then got taken by Dick in MPS 3 for a hot lap...let me tell you when you are out there you think you are tha sh it & a good driver til you hop in with someone like Dick...its nuts...i loved every second of it as i was getting thrown left to right as he hammered this mazda around the track & this car def is a little rocket & i got to see its full potential this time around

next i drove the new MX5 which is quite diff to the 92 1.6L & 98 1.8L which i have driven...actually feels like it as some go but more a sports cruiser than anything

Overall was an awesome day & id say MPS 6 is good for a sports family, MX5 as i have said above, RX8 good for posing & the occasional straight line squirt & MPS 3 is just awesome all round although would not like to drive it in the wet with stability control off

Anyway look forward to others comments but this car is def the best FWD car i have ever driven & a def if your after a hot hatch in my opnion

Edited by Noel
Link to comment
https://www.sau.com.au/forums/topic/134438-mazda-3-mps/
Share on other sites

  • Replies 40
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

You comments are pretty much what I have experienced, the difficulty with the MPS3 is the lack of front wheel drive traction under power. To overcome it, Mazda have tuned the traction control to limit the power, so that it APPEARS not to power understeer. The problem is, this makes it slower than the quoted power figure would indicate whenever the traction control intervenes.

So when I jumped on the throttle to drive it out of a corner (and get some speed coming onto the straight) the ECU would cut the power by half and it would be slow until it gained some traction. This would then affect the speed all the way down the straight.

Personally, if I buy a car with 190 kw I want it to be able to use that 190 kw whenever I want. Not when the ECU thinks it’s OK for me to have 190 kw. The truth is 190 kw is too much for a front wheel drive, road car.

:O cheers :ban:

PS, it’s much, much worse in the rain, when repmobiles easily drag you off (very embarrassing).

Edited by Sydneykid
Link to comment
https://www.sau.com.au/forums/topic/134438-mazda-3-mps/#findComment-2498251
Share on other sites

Yes, they are awesome. My flatmate took delivery a couple of weeks ago and it's a lovely beast. Still yet to line it up against the R34 though... should be an interesting contest

i have a stock r33 manual & i reckon it would leave me for dead off the line although i would still rather my car ;-)

Link to comment
https://www.sau.com.au/forums/topic/134438-mazda-3-mps/#findComment-2499043
Share on other sites

I have driven all of them as i work for mazda..

and the Mazda 3 Mps is quick.. but the Mazda 6 MPS still OWNED IT as far as i'm concerned..

They should have made the M3 MPS an all wheel drive and the M6 MPS a CONSTANT all wheel drive.

The RX-8 is still by far the funnest to drive! :laugh:

Edited by RB_turbo_bitch
Link to comment
https://www.sau.com.au/forums/topic/134438-mazda-3-mps/#findComment-2499067
Share on other sites

how?!?!

Enquired about MPS 6 way before it came out then when 3 came out they sent me some brochures etc & there was this code & a link to site which was a car game where you had to race around track & they log your time & did not think anything of it then yea then a few weeks ago i recieved an email telling me i had won this & to choose a session...there were loads of people (were 3 sessions x 2 days) so guessing they chose top 50 or so times...not sure

Link to comment
https://www.sau.com.au/forums/topic/134438-mazda-3-mps/#findComment-2499125
Share on other sites

We have got a sp23 as a second car - great cars and they handle so well

I was looking into getting a mps3 but the price tag put me off as its going into wrx territory

A mate took me for a spin in his mps3 and i was very impressed at the overall package - the only gripe i have is i hate fwd turbo

Link to comment
https://www.sau.com.au/forums/topic/134438-mazda-3-mps/#findComment-2504354
Share on other sites

i cant wait to see one of those maxda 3 turbo's worked too 250-300kw

It wouldn't be driveable at that power level.. Most FWD struggle to be too driveable once you exceed the power levels for the chasis and get power to the ground.

Link to comment
https://www.sau.com.au/forums/topic/134438-mazda-3-mps/#findComment-2504493
Share on other sites

i had a 2000 magna 5spd and it had a bit over 170hp at the front wheels (so a bit over 170kw at the fly- rough gestamite) and it was borderline for fwd traction. in the wet even with good tyres if you hit a bump at full noise in second or 3rd it would just start spinning. i could take off from a stop sign in 2nd and still spin the wheels.

barely understeered though. if you punched it out of a corner it would mostly just spin the inside wheel but off the line it would do both.

of the line in 1st you had to be delicate if you were trying to launch hard.

did the mps 3 torque steer much? my missus has a sss pulsar (natro sr20 with 112hp atw) and it torque steers in 1st and 2nd at full noise like nothing else on rough roads. on smooth roads its not so bad, but can be a bit unpredictable.

Link to comment
https://www.sau.com.au/forums/topic/134438-mazda-3-mps/#findComment-2505048
Share on other sites

did the mps 3 torque steer much? my missus has a sss pulsar (natro sr20 with 112hp atw) and it torque steers in 1st and 2nd at full noise like nothing else on rough roads. on smooth roads its not so bad, but can be a bit unpredictable.

well suprisingly no...not even when Dick was driving it....they have put alot of effort & technology behind this to make it as good as possible with a FWD setup

Link to comment
https://www.sau.com.au/forums/topic/134438-mazda-3-mps/#findComment-2505195
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now



  • Similar Content

  • Latest Posts

    • GTSBoy on your suggestion on another thread I had a look at those injectors and ended up getting them because of the quality.  Got the expensive ones.  
    • Hey guys been looking everywhere to try and find the correct gtr hood latch support part number but only found the first half and when I search with that number it sends me to an r34. The first part I found was 62515. If anyone could help me with the rest then I’d really appreciate it. Or if there’s some alternative hood latch support that would work even better cause I can’t find any for sale. (Searched on upgarage, partsouq,buyee,rhdjapan) 
    • If you've only done the upper control arms on the rear, AND you have changed their length (by more than about 1mm) to set the camber you want, then you will definitely need/want to install traction arms also. Adjusting the camber arms on their own WILL introduce bump steer and make the car unpleasant to drive. Most owners have no idea that their car could behave infinitely better than what they put up with. I'm not entirely sure what the Stageas need, but I am thinking that unless you have massive front spring rates and pretty soft rear springs, you have waaaay too much rear bar. Oversteer city, in my estimation. Combined with possible excessive bump steer from maladjusted arms, that could be a recipe for nastiness. ATR43SS2 is not a highflow. It is an outright replacement turbo. It's a little bit bigger than the largest highflow profile that Tao does. Probably a solid 300rwkW turbo where the bigger highflows will be about 30-40rwkW less. Nevertheless, we're only talking about ~300 rwkW, which is well within the abilities of the stock ECu to run with a Nistune on board. I would do so without hesitation - and I will be doing so when I get my finger out and actually get the injectors and AFM installed. But, if you would prefer to drop a whole lot more money on the ECU side, then I suspect you're looking at Haltech. The Haltech fanbois here will all spout on about all the available engine protection you can have, that you can't have with the Nistune option. And they're right. But it doesn't really come for free either. You will spend more money on extra sensors and the like, plus the work to install them. If the engine was built and therefore represented a big investment to protect, then I'd say definitely do it. If you view the current (and forever into the future) shortage of replacement engines as something to prompt similar protection, then also, do it. If you see a destroyed RB25 as an opportunity to put in a Mercedes or other V12 (like I kinda do)... then your perception of the risk/reward might differ. These are good injectors. You can also get a "better" set of the same with more flow matching, for more $$. 1000cc is where you will want to be. You will need an R35 AFM and adapter tube if you want to stay with Nistuned stock ECU. Otherwise, if going Haltech, you can ignore. As for intercooler. Just about anything will do. You're only talking about ~300rwkW. Just put a big core in there. Be aware that return flows do add significant pressure drop and will cost power and will make the turbo work harder to achieve the same goals. If you can manage a proper crossflow, do it. I'm keeping my very good return flow because I'm only expecting to be in the ~250rwkW range, and will live with whatever outcome I get.
    • I have a heap that i have collected if you want some authentic ones still. Pm me if your interested!
×
×
  • Create New...