[louis110]

I had already installed the AutoExe front strut bar and some interior goodies prior to taking delivery.

For the first night I decided to knock out some easy ones: BMS air intake and AutoExe trunk bar.

Out comes the battery

Here you can see the inside of the stock turbo intake tube from the turbo inlet side. Even for a brand new car, you can see the darker areas on the inside of the tube, which was actually blow by oil making its way into the intake tract. I'll be surely getting the BMS oil catch can next.

looking towards the turbo compressor, that dark ring on the inside of the rubber coupler is more oil.

Bit of an annoyance - they sent me the wrong heat shield. with everything fitted up, the heat shield wasn't fitting to any of the mounting points and as you can see the MAF is completely misaligned.

Instead of reversing all the work I did already, I got rid of the heat shield and finished the install. I've emailed the company to try to get this rectified.

The MAF sensor wire dangles freely after the mod, so I made sure to secure it with a zip-tie.

Haven't had a chance to really wring it out, but the car seems to come on stronger after 2500 RPM, and doesn't have that power/torque dip higher in the rev range. The whoosh whoosh noises are also very welcome.

 

[louis110]

Next was the trunk bar. It gets mounted underneath the foam in the trunk. You actually have to cut away at the back of the foam to make it sit back flush so this pic gives you an idea of how much foam needs to be removed.

mocked up in the mounting position

The left and right side mounting locations use existing holes in the body work, but adding AutoExe supplied anchors into these holes. Cut away at the tape covering the two holes.

The supplied anchors were super flimsy and can't take a lot of torque. after inserting them, they kind of just dangle there and feel like they'll fall into the hole. I recommend taping them down after you've secured them to make sure they don't slip into the hole.

All bolted up.

Now the messy part. All you need is a good exacto knife or work knife, and some trial and error .

Everything laying back down nice and flat.

Haven't hit any corners with anger yet to see how the car feels, but from my commute, the front strut bar has made the front axle feel more solid, kind of like when you puff up your chest and walk around like a gym rat. The rear end of the car also feels more in line with the front end's movement, meaning when you turn in, it no longer feels like the back end is trying to catch up with the front, it's all turning together in one beautiful rigid hull.

 

[MazdaGT_E]

Awesome! I need to get one of those trunk braces!

 

[PFederighi]

Looking good! I have an AE trunk brace on my BL Speed3. Wasn't originally aware they offered one for the BP and suppose I"ll now have to pick one up as well.

Also, make sure to post when you install the rear subframe brace!

 

[louis110]

Looking good! I have an AE trunk brace on my BL Speed3. Wasn't originally aware they offered one for the BP and suppose I"ll now have to pick one up as well.

Also, make sure to post when you install the rear subframe brace!

Did you get around to installing your under chassis braces? What were your driving impressions?

Also you're the only person I've seen outside of Japan with the LEG front lip. Any pics? I'm dying to get my hands on one, but the shipping cost is so insane.

 

[PFederighi]

Just the front for now. I have a professional shop service all my vehicles and my tech said he wasn't comfortable dropping the rear subframe because he didn't want to trigger a bunch of sensors or something to that effect.

LEG lip is cool and I'm still waiting to install their TCR wing in carbon. It's been clear coated, test fitted and my shop put together serviceable mounting kit, so hopefully not too much longer for the install.

And unfortunately I'm not a big picture person but here's a few photos from a recent track day. Vehicle dynamics were very predicable at speed. It's a fun car imo.

bp-series-mazda3-turbo-sonoma-hpde.246973

 

[louis110]

Just the front for now. I have a professional shop service all my vehicles and my tech said he wasn't comfortable dropping the rear subframe because he didn't want to trigger a bunch of sensors or something to that effect.

LEG lip is cool and I'm still waiting to install their TCR wing in carbon. It's been clear coated, test fitted and my shop put together serviceable mounting kit, so hopefully not too much longer for the install.

And unfortunately I'm not a big picture person but here's a few photos from a recent track day. Vehicle dynamics were very predicable at speed. It's a fun car imo.

bp-series-mazda3-turbo-sonoma-hpde.246973

You don't need to drop the subframe to install the AE rear brace. I recall you had subframe rigid collars, so perhaps your tech was referring to that, which would require the subframe to be dropped a little.

The LEG rear wing didn't come with mounting equipment? Seems like an oversight.

 

[louis110]

Speaking of rear spoilers, I spent my Friday evening mounting my CS rear spoiler (in regular carbon fibre), and debadged the back end.

The supplied install instructions were excellent, and the hardware kit came with everything you needed, including the 3M tape. Only thing not included was thread locker

Off comes the centre trim panel on the inside of the hatch. Undo 5 nuts, unplug the brake light, apply some heat to the underside of the OEM spoiler, and pop it right off.

The prep of the OEM spoiler was the longest part of the install. It involves cutting away at the inner layer of the OEM spoiler to reveal the 3 mounting locations, then drilling out the holes. Not difficult, just make sure you have a Dremel, painters tape, and take your time to align things properly.

The CS spoiler, though beautiful, came with flaws from the factory. I don't know how much of their stuff they make in house in Seattle, but I know this rear spoiler came from a factory in China (there was literally a Chinese QC sticker on the box). It came with a 3 inch long split in the clear coat along the seam where the carbon fibre sheet wraps around on itself. Not a huge deal, but still a bit of a nuisance. When it warms up, I'll just put a layer of epoxy over it and call it a day.

There were also a bunch of palm prints/grease marks on the underside of the spoiler that would not rub off, so I did a quick spot polish and it did the trick.

I gotta say though, it's a BEAUTIFUL piece <3

I'll get some better pictures once the weather warms up and I hit up the car wash. So for now, enjoy my tiny little garage.

 

[BennyGR]

Looking great, man!

 

[MazdaGT_E]

Speaking of rear spoilers, I spent my Friday evening mounting my CS rear spoiler (in regular carbon fibre), and debadged the back end.

the wing looks SO GOOD! I want a wing so bad but all the ones they offer for the third gen 3's are cheap looking in my opinion, I dont get why CS doesn't make a wing like this for the 3rd gens.

 

[louis110]

the wing looks SO GOOD! I want a wing so bad but all the ones they offer for the third gen 3's are cheap looking in my opinion, I dont get why CS doesn't make a wing like this for the 3rd gens.

It really looks so much better in person than in pictures too. A bit of a missed opportunity not having a spoiler for the 3rd gen, but at least there are lots of alternatives out there!

 

[MazdaGT_E]

I bet it looks great in person, all the options ive seen for the gen 3 wings are garbage and cheap looking. Especially that Obnoxious Bayson R Mazdaspeed style one everyone has

 

[PFederighi]

CS spoiler is looking good and bummer about quality control or lack thereof.

Yeah the LEG spoiler came as a basic piece of carbon; nothing substantial included. And in all honesty, most of their parts arrived like this. I have their WTAC se3p wide-body which left a lot to be desired as well but LEG is really on trend rn so I figure they (as well as tuner enthusiasts) could care less.

 

[louis110]

CS spoiler is looking good and bummer about quality control or lack thereof.

Yeah the LEG spoiler came as a basic piece of carbon; nothing substantial included. And in all honesty, most of their parts arrived like this. I have their WTAC se3p wide-body which left a lot to be desired as well but LEG is really on trend rn so I figure they (as well as tuner enthusiasts) could care less.

I'm seriously surprised that a well known JDM tuner house would cut corners like that.

 

[louis110]

As I mentioned, the CS spoiler came with a flaw/crack in the clear coat along the seam where the carbon fibre sheet ends. I called customer support and they set me up with a replacement spoiler right away, but the second one had the same issue, but to an even worser degree. I sent the second one back and kept the first.

Here are some before shots, you can see the spider cracks originating from the seam. What you can't see is the clear coat actually chipping away along that line, and it was a rough edge that would eventually get worse over time.

After the install I wanted to repair the crack, or at least coat it so that the crack wouldn't get worse. This was my first time doing a clear coat repair and it was pretty fun to be honest.

I masked off the area, and wet sanded it down, starting with 200 grit, then 800 grit, then 1000 grit, 1200, and finally 3000 grit. There's probably a more progressive combo of sandpaper to work up to but I worked with what I had.

I cleaned off the area with isopropyl/water mix each time before moving to the next grade of sandpaper. Once the area was smoothed out and cleaned, I polished it with a Meguire's power ball, then sprayed 3 coats of automotive clear coat. Took all the masking off, and let it cure for 24 hours.

Once it was cured, I had to sand it back down with 3000 grit to smooth out the hard edge left over from the masking. Once smooth, I polished it again, then topped it off with Turtle Graphene Max Wax.

Here are the after photos. You can still see the spider cracks under direct light (I didn't sand down to the bare carbon) but I assure you that spot is now silky smooth with no hard edges that could lead to future delamination/chipping.

 

[MazdaGT_E]

I would have sent both of them back, F fixing their products...

 

[louis110]

I would have sent both of them back, F fixing their products...

Yeah the customer should never have to do that, but I waited a long time to get the spoiler and it was something I was eyeing for a while. All good! CS's customer service made up for it

 

[MazdaGT_E]

Yeah the customer should never have to do that, but I waited a long time to get the spoiler and it was something I was eyeing for a while. All good! CS's customer service made up for it

well thats good at least, Ive talked with a few people that have worked for CS or have been Sponsored by them, haven't heard the greatest things about them and some of their products but that can be said about most companies now ah days, I have heard the customer service is really good. Im just at the age where i dont want to mess with things that shouldn't need messin' with.
Looks like you fixed it up nice so a win is a win!
Loving your build thread thus far 🤙

 

[JoeMini]

Sexy !!

 

[louis110]

When I installed the intake, I noticed a film of oil in the turbo intake pipe. This was on a car with less than 40km on it, and with the exhaust side oil consumption issues on the 2.5(T) motors, I figured it can't hurt to have this OCC installed. I ordered the Burger Motorsports oil catch can, and it arrived in about a week. Installed on my car at 180km. Note, it doesn't connect to the PCV valve on the intake manifold side, but rather the valve cover breather on the back of the motor.

Oil in the intake tract:

Out of the box I'm very impressed with the build quality of it. Everything is hefty and feels well made. They advertise it as dual baffled, but I couldn't find any pics online to confirm this, so here's the proof. When you open the can and look at the underside of the "lid", the baffle is held on by 2 hex screws. Undoing these, reveals the 2nd baffle stacked right underneath it.

Install was very straightforward. First was to remove the tower strut bar to gain access. The OCC mounts to the firewall cowl in existing holes, and tucks very neatly between the brake fluid reservoir and the battery.

Here you can see the clearance between the OCC and the BMS intake pipe. There is no way to empty the can without dismounting it from the firewall.

This part was the most difficult part - cutting the metal bands securing the valve cover breather hose. I wasn't able to cut them with metal cutters, so I ended up using a Dremel. Using a rotary cutter in such a small and enclosed space was anxiety inducing. Be careful not to cut all the way through the hose, because you'll damage the plastic fitting it's attached to. In the first picture, you can see the film of oil by the end of the hose (dark spot around the orange dot) that would typically travel from the head to the turbo intake.

With the one OEM hose removed, it's replaced by 2 silicone hoses to form a closed loop system with the OCC. I was worried about the hoses not coming with clamps, but everything slipped on very snugly, and the opposing forces of the "S" shape in the hose applies compression to both ends of the hoses

Voila. Strut bar back on, and a little bit of peace of mind.