New to mazda, and to mx-3's

Tunes67 · Post by **Tunes67** » March 21st, 2006, 7:38 pm

Nice car.. cant believe your luck.. even your cargo cover is in good condition. And yeah Pat.. the RS did have the options for the PDL & PW. But it was a lot more rare to find them. So not only do you have a great little car.. but as far as the RS version goes.. a fairly rare one as well. Have fun tuning her up and remember.. nothing beats Clean & Mean

Tunes67

getready · Post by **getready** » March 21st, 2006, 7:44 pm

yeah the car will remain clean, and will hopefully be mean someday

Thanks for all the nice comments guys, i'll take more pics when i get it!
Its a 5speed 4cyl, 93, with power windows, power locks, and a cassette player. Cloth seats, and apparently a rare cargo cover

Pics soon!

4gotn · Post by **4gotn** » March 22nd, 2006, 1:14 am

i think your crazy...that hondas perfectly fine
you could fix that easy

hell it probly runs better now then ever

getready · Post by **getready** » March 22nd, 2006, 11:24 am

yeah i thought the same thing, lets just fix the accord. We went and got an estimate, the estimate was 3-4 times the amount the car is worth, we're like...no, i think we'll just fix it ourselves. So then about a week later, i'm driving, and all the sudden i cant shift, and all these terrible grinding noises start coming from my transmission, so i pull over, get her towed home. Then my insurance tows it somewhere else, thats the last i saw of her

They totaled the accord, without giving us the option of keeping it/buying it back, which i personally think it just crazy. Its my car.

So yeah, i totally agree, i would have kept the accord, until my transmission sealed the deal.

getready · Post by **getready** » March 22nd, 2006, 1:14 pm

Has anyone converted to 4ws, or awd? How hard would it be? What cars did you pull the assembly from?

Tunes67 · Post by **Tunes67** » March 22nd, 2006, 1:30 pm

One guy has done a 4cyl AWD conversion.. I believe he got the parts from a 323 GTX AWD. As for how it was done.. he did a LOT of custom fabrication.. its not gonna be a bolt in project. But can be done if you want to invest that kind of time and cash into your project. A search might turn up a bit more info... and you can check in the suspension forum to. Cheers

Tunes67

4gotn · Post by **4gotn** » March 22nd, 2006, 1:40 pm

getready wrote:yeah i thought the same thing, lets just fix the accord. We went and got an estimate, the estimate was 3-4 times the amount the car is worth, we're like...no, i think we'll just fix it ourselves. So then about a week later, i'm driving, and all the sudden i cant shift, and all these terrible grinding noises start coming from my transmission, so i pull over, get her towed home. Then my insurance tows it somewhere else, thats the last i saw of her

They totaled the accord, without giving us the option of keeping it/buying it back, which i personally think it just crazy. Its my car.

So yeah, i totally agree, i would have kept the accord, until my transmission sealed the deal.

from the looks of it all youd need is
1 new tranny (given)
2 new fender(s)
3 new bumper
4 new hood
5 new headlamps
6 POSSIBLY some framwork
7 maby a new radiator + surrounding hose

if you know how to do work on your car it probly wouldnt cost that much but older hondas tend to have a low resale value so im not suprised if they did total it but it would more of even out not be 3-4 x more then the car
oh
i forgot one
possibly new shocks/springs n stuff
but im sure you were gona get arround to that eventualy..most people do

getready · Post by **getready** » March 22nd, 2006, 2:19 pm

Yeah, i had so many part ready to start making that thing fast. I was going to take the car to school with me and just work on it as a project, but they stole it from me

Whatever, the aftermarket support for that particular honda was close to nothing. Everything would have to be custom anyway, unless i swapped another motor, which would be a b----.

The site i used to be on was 3geez.com , it was a really cool community, i'm sad to see it go

But you guys seem alright

i was going to convert to 4ws using the suspension of a 1991 4ws prelude, it shouldnt have been that hard, especially since i'm studying chassis/suspension stuff. Customization wont be a problem for my school project, in fact, its probably better for me to learn

Thanks for all the input/ideas guys, keep 'em comin! I want to go all out on this project, considering there is an actual aftermarket for this car, and more readily-available motor options.

I'm guessing turbo would be the best idea for forced induction, but i'm also going to toy with the supercharging idea for a while, too, until i figure out the best route

opinions and input are always welcome

getready · Post by **getready** » March 23rd, 2006, 12:36 pm

getready wrote:Has anyone converted to 4ws, or awd? How hard would it be? What cars did you pull the assembly from?

i was reading on wikipedia that our cars actually DO have 4ws..sorta:

"The MX-3 used Mazda's proprietary Twin-Trapezoidal Link (TTL) for the rear suspension. It passively allowed the rear wheels to turn slightly in order to enhance handling. It has been used on a range of Mazda vehicles, providing a smooth ride, yet delivering responsive handling while minimizing body lean."

So yeah, i guess that's good enough for me

Pics today after i get it back from the shop (brakes, oil, CV-joint, rotate tires) and i wash it

!!

Stay tuned

getready · Post by **getready** » March 23rd, 2006, 8:14 pm

there she is in all her fixed and washed glory, tell me what you guys think!

Legato626 · Post by **Legato626** » March 23rd, 2006, 9:00 pm

very nice!!

LOOK AT THE FORD AHAHAHA!!! =)

getready · Post by **getready** » March 23rd, 2006, 10:32 pm

yeah its my girlfriend's '03 focus zts. Its fun for what it is

I notice you said nothing about the RSX Type S

getready · Post by **getready** » April 29th, 2006, 6:19 pm

Ok so after tons of studying and scouring this site and others, i think i have a general idea for what i want to do, but i want you guys with mazda knowledge to look it over first.

i've sourced an engine at a local yard for rebuild. Its a 1993 escort gt with 50K miles on the engine.

My questions (if they're stupid, bear with me)
1. Will the miata bp's parts transfer right over to the escort?
--if so, will the miata stroker kit work for this engine?
2.Best transmission for this swap?
3.Best ecu, and best tuning software for mazda?
4.Could a better cylinder head be fitted on this block, or would it just be a waste of money?
5.I plan on converting to RWD when i'm in chassis fab (right now i'm still in engine theory), can i still convert to RWD with this engine, or is that only achievable with an mx5 engine?

There are probably more, thats just the ones off the top of my head. Thanks for any help or advice, i greatly appreciate it!

Bochek · Post by **Bochek** » April 30th, 2006, 6:36 pm

getready wrote:Ok so after tons of studying and scouring this site and others, i think i have a general idea for what i want to do, but i want you guys with mazda knowledge to look it over first.

i've sourced an engine at a local yard for rebuild. Its a 1993 escort gt with 50K miles on the engine.

My questions (if they're stupid, bear with me)
1. Will the miata bp's parts transfer right over to the escort?
--if so, will the miata stroker kit work for this engine?
2.Best transmission for this swap?
3.Best ecu, and best tuning software for mazda?
4.Could a better cylinder head be fitted on this block, or would it just be a waste of money?
5.I plan on converting to RWD when i'm in chassis fab (right now i'm still in engine theory), can i still convert to RWD with this engine, or is that only achievable with an mx5 engine?

There are probably more, thats just the ones off the top of my head. Thanks for any help or advice, i greatly appreciate it!

1. Most of them, i believe the stroker kit will work
2. a really beefy one, deffently not the stock one as it sucks hardcore.
3. you have many options, you can go full standalown (MSnS, Big3Stuff, Emanage exct. or a piggyback, not sure who makes them tho.
4. waste of money, the 1.6L engine is a piece, i plan on boosting mine till she blows then swap in a bp.
5. way way way way too much work. you would have to cut out a tranny tunnel and all sorts of things, the awd swap would be easier then the rwd.

Bochek

getready · Post by **getready** » May 1st, 2006, 5:43 am

thanks man, i really appreciate the response!

That sucks about rwd...maybe i should get a miata engine?

What specific car should i swipe the tranny from?

Do a lot of people that build these use standalone ems?

By better cylinder head, i meant a better head for the escort/miata

Is there mazda-specific tuning software for ecus? (i'm used to hondas and hondata)

Thanks guys