[brbk]

Someone on FB posted this.

They were able to get torque to display gauges on the infotainment screen. I have not been able to get it to work for me.

Releases · agronick/aa-torque

Performance Monitor for cars with Android Auto. Contribute to agronick/aa-torque development by creating an account on GitHub.

github.com

Theres also this thread.

Hack for OBD2 data on Android Auto and Torque

I've been working on an app to get Torque working on Android Auto. The app has come a long way and should work on any car Torque works on that has Android Auto. You can find the app and the instructions to install it on Github. Here is the list of PIDs I've been playing with for Torque...

www.mazda3revolution.com

 

[brbk]

Do you have any plans on installing this piece?

AUTOEXE BRAKE PEDAL BRACE FOR MAZDA 3 BP MBP4950

Brand AUTOEXE Series Name BRAKE PEDAL BRACE Product Number MBP4950 Compatible Car MAZDA 3 BP Product Description Spec. : Two Piece Configuration. The "brake pedal brace" is a product that focuses on the rigidity of the bracket of the brake pedal mounting part, which causes slight distortion...

www.blackhawkjapan.com

I like the car but I really hate the deep pedal travel of the brakes in this car before they bite. Wondering if something like this would help improve that.

 

[brbk]

Highly recommend this piece.

It was recommended to me by Holgram and it had the single largest effect in handling on the car thus far. I have the autoexe torsion beam stiffeners, lower arm bar, trunk brace, blitz fstb, mevotech endlinks and cs rsb.

AUTOEXE CENTER FLOOR BAR FOR MAZDA 3 BP 4WD MBP4D10

Brand AUTOEXE Series Name CENTER FLOOR BAR Product Number MBP4D10 Compatible Car MAZDA 3 BP 4WD Product Description STRUCTURE: Steel 1-piece structure 4-point type Description: It suppresses distortion near the center of the body monocoque, which cannot be compensated by strut tower bars and...

www.blackhawkjapan.com

 

[louis110]

Someone on FB posted this.

They were able to get torque to display gauges on the infotainment screen. I have not been able to get it to work for me.

Releases · agronick/aa-torque

Performance Monitor for cars with Android Auto. Contribute to agronick/aa-torque development by creating an account on GitHub.

github.com

View attachment 291965

Theres also this thread.

Hack for OBD2 data on Android Auto and Torque

I've been working on an app to get Torque working on Android Auto. The app has come a long way and should work on any car Torque works on that has Android Auto. You can find the app and the instructions to install it on Github. Here is the list of PIDs I've been playing with for Torque...

www.mazda3revolution.com

Yep, was tracking this. I couldn't get it to work either so just gave up. I still have the obdlink+ to display gauges on my phone.

Do you have any plans on installing this piece?

AUTOEXE BRAKE PEDAL BRACE FOR MAZDA 3 BP MBP4950

Brand AUTOEXE Series Name BRAKE PEDAL BRACE Product Number MBP4950 Compatible Car MAZDA 3 BP Product Description Spec. : Two Piece Configuration. The "brake pedal brace" is a product that focuses on the rigidity of the bracket of the brake pedal mounting part, which causes slight distortion...

www.blackhawkjapan.com

I like the car but I really hate the deep pedal travel of the brakes in this car before they bite. Wondering if something like this would help improve that.

Looked interesting but decided against it since it wouldn't actually increase braking performance. Just a stiffer brake pedal.

Highly recommend this piece.

It was recommended to me by Holgram and it had the single largest effect in handling on the car thus far. I have the autoexe torsion beam stiffeners, lower arm bar, trunk brace, blitz fstb, mevotech endlinks and cs rsb.

AUTOEXE CENTER FLOOR BAR FOR MAZDA 3 BP 4WD MBP4D10

Brand AUTOEXE Series Name CENTER FLOOR BAR Product Number MBP4D10 Compatible Car MAZDA 3 BP 4WD Product Description STRUCTURE: Steel 1-piece structure 4-point type Description: It suppresses distortion near the center of the body monocoque, which cannot be compensated by strut tower bars and...

www.blackhawkjapan.com

It's pretty much the only autoexe bracing piece I don't have (and the motion control dampers). I use my back seat for passengers quite a bit so this would take up a lot of foot well space.

 

[louis110]

Fall dump. Ironically no pictures of autumn leaves to show an actual Fall dump.

My custom ordered NACA duct from Kazakhstan came in. VERY NICE 👍🏼👍🏼 I scoured the web, and this ebay retailer from Kazakhstan was the only one I could find that sold the exact spec I was looking for. Even then, they only sold it in "dry carbon" so I had to ask them to make one for me with a gloss epoxy coat. I installed an almost identical duct years ago for my R32 from the UK but that shop has since folded.

The goal is to provide more cooling air to the back part of the engine bay, more specifically where the turbo and downpipe mate to each other.

I also loaded up the latest revision of my DRTuned map, which was mapped with the CS downpipe installed. Daniel was able to advance the timing a bit more across the powerband. The car has a bit more in-cabin rumble at idle now, whereas before the re-map you couldn't even tell there was a bigger downpipe installed (but mind you I'm still running the stock catback). By what I can tell from the seat of my pants, there's a slight bit more turbo lag down low but in the mid to high range there's way more power available. Most importantly though, the P0421 code and associated CEL introduced by the downpipe is now gone.

After the re-flash, I took the car out for some testing and clocked a bunch of test runs with the latest mods using my OBDLink+. My best 0-60mph time was 5.54 sec, down from a previous best of 5.87 when the car only had the BMS intake installed.

It doesn't sound like a huge improvement, but the 0-60 doesn't tell the whole story I suppose. The times are let down by the TCU and the shift logic. I tried in both auto and manual shift modes, and in any scenario the shift from 1st to 2nd is very lethargic. The car pulls hard all the way to redline, and really shines in the mid-range where the torque keeps building up. Looking back at the times, I'll also add that the 0-60 is now more consistent.

I'll end off this post with some Fall parking lot shots with a nice little Honda Beat, and a similarly panda-styled NC Miata.

 

[louis110]

I've been keeping this one a bit of a secret as I'm pretty certain that I'm the first person outside of Japan (or in the West for that matter) to order a set of Spoon Rigid Collars for the 4th gen Mazda 3. If you don't know what they are I suggest a quick YouTube search. I'll be installing these shortly and will post up a review when I do.

I confirmed the part numbers and translated the Japanese webpages before ordering from blackhawkjapan.com. While I was at it, I picked up a Spoon magnetic oil drain plug as well. Part numbers pictured below for anyone who wants to buy them.

Spoon will probably start seeing a flood of orders now that I've shared it to the Mazda socials 😂.

 

[brbk]

I've been keeping this one a bit of a secret as I'm pretty certain that I'm the first person outside of Japan (or in the West for that matter) to order a set of Spoon Rigid Collars for the 4th gen Mazda 3. If you don't know what they are I suggest a quick YouTube search. I'll be installing these shortly and will post up a review when I do.

I confirmed the part numbers and translated the Japanese webpages before ordering from blackhawkjapan.com. While I was at it, I picked up a Spoon magnetic oil drain plug as well. Part numbers pictured below for anyone who wants to buy them.

View attachment 292229
View attachment 292228

Spoon will probably start seeing a flood of orders now that I've shared it to the Mazda socials 😂.

Thats awesome. I saw them on blackhawkjapan, I was wondering what those were.

Would you be able to post a picture of the instructions?

 

[louis110]

Thats awesome. I saw them on blackhawkjapan, I was wondering what those were.

Would you be able to post a picture of the instructions?

Why of course:
The instructions are pretty light, just some model specific pictures to locate the holes and collar orientation (front and rear) + a generic info sheet. Exact instructions with torque specs will come from the Mazda tech manual.

Spoon website: マツダ3ファストバック 新規検証 | リジカラ

 

[brbk]

Why of course:
The instructions are pretty light, just some model specific pictures to locate the holes and collar orientation (front and rear) + a generic info sheet. Exact instructions with torque specs will come from the Mazda tech manual.

Spoon website: マツダ3ファストバック 新規検証 | リジカラ

View attachment 292237
View attachment 292235 View attachment 292236

Thank you sir.

Man I want these so bad but this is not a job I can do at home. Even the thought of dropping the subframes makes me cringe.

Let us know the results and how the install goes, I may take it to a shop to do this.

 

[louis110]

Thank you sir.

Man I want these so bad but this is not a job I can do at home. Even the thought of dropping the subframes makes me cringe.

Let us know the results and how the install goes, I may take it to a shop to do this.

It shouldn't be too bad. You don't have to drop the whole subframe, just lower it half an inch. I booked some hoist time to do it myself tomorrow. Will report back. Lots of people want to know how it goes.

 

[louis110]

Productive day today, and one I was looking forward to. I installed the Spoon Rigid Collars and while I had the car up on the hoist, I figured I would do some preventative maintenance and swap out the rear diff fluid with the good stuff.

Took care of the rear diff fluid first. I have about 11.5K kms on the car now, and the OEM fluid that poured out was still fresh and gold.

Just a tiny bit of particulate on the drain plug.

Now onto the good part, the rigid collar install. I wanted to get over the hard part first so I started with the front subframe install. First was to remove all the stuff in the way: AutoExe brace, front under trays, and unbolt the underbody exhaust heat shield from the subframe so that it hangs down.

The Corksport downpipe just taking a peek to say, "hello!"

This next step is very important, as the front exhaust hangar is attached to the subframe. Make sure to disconnect the hangar, otherwise the subframe won't drop enough for you to slip in the F-3 collar. Not pictured, there's also a pop clip that connects the rear corner of the fender liner to the subframe, remove that too.

After all the removals locate the 6 subframe bolts (F-1/2/3) that will need to be backed off then subsequently removed one at a time to install the collars.

Pictured here are F-3 and F-2 (from left to right)

And pictured here is F-1.

 

[louis110]

Out of an abundance of caution, I used a transmission jack to take up the weight of the subframe. Really this wasn't necessary if you're just backing out the 6 bolts by about 1/2"- 3/4".

After lowering the subframe, remove each bolt one by one to insert the collars. Remember, the orientation is very important and the instructions are pretty clear on that. I also labeled the collars before installation so make sure I had them in the right spot as the dimensions ARE different. Use copious amounts of the supplied copper grease to cover all the collars and threads on the bolts.

Showing the F-2 bolt as an example. Upon removal, you can clearly see the enormous space around the bolt where it gets inserted into the frame of the car. The collars take up that gap, realign the subframe, and create tighter tolerances for the bolts.

Looking up at a collar wedged in between the frame and the subframe.

Collars in (top and bottom) and bolt ready to be tightened back up. Make sure to leave to leave the bolts backed off until you're ready to torque them down.

Once the collars are installed on all 6 locations, go around and tighten the bolts equally to ensure that the subframe is torqued back up straight and with equal load across it. Torque specs from the manual.

The rears were shit simple. Remove the rear wheels and pull back the liner to reveal the torsion beam bolt. Use a jack to take up the weight of the hub assembly, remove the bolt, add the collar, tighten it all back up.

Rear torque specs.

Driving Impressions:

I believe I'm the first person outside of Japan to order these for the 4th gen Mazda 3, and I know of only one other person who bought these based off my recommendation and he did a partial installation today.

So the moment everyone has been waiting for: how does it feel?

Impressive. Most impressive. I don't know what kind of voodoo magic is happening here, but the difference from these little things is VERY noticeable:

1. The car feels more supple/compliant over uneven road surfaces without sacrificing handling. Almost "luxurious" in feeling, the car feels way more put together. After the installation, even with no alignment, the car drove great.

2. Previously when in mid-corner and hitting a bump, the car became very unsettled as is the nature of the rear torsion beam. The collars have improved the car's stability in this regard and feels more planted when recovering back to the neutral position.

3. The weight of the steering wheel is a tad heavier and improves upon that on-center vagueness in the steering.

4. There was no increase in NVH! I was most worried about this aspect due to the fact that I also have the CS RMM installed. I have mentioned previously that the CS RMM added a bunch of new NVH to the car. Surprisingly my ECU tune smoothed that out a lot, but adding these collars has almost completely eliminated the NVH from the CS RMM. There is still that harmonic vibration at 1000-1100 RPM under part throttle, but in all other regions the car has really mellowed out.

Overall, this is a huge bang for the buck mod!

 

[Holgram]

Amazing work man, great job. Thank you so much.
I will also definitely do this.

 

[Mazda2023]

Very interesting, thank you for your post and time Sir.

 

[brbk]

Did you have to do an alignment after the collar install?

 

[louis110]

Did you have to do an alignment after the collar install?

Well I didn't need one, because a 90 year old behind the wheel of a Kia Forte (parked next to mine in the 2nd pic) decided to give me a free alignment last week.

I'm still waiting for a decision from insurance, but pretty sure it'll be written off. C-pillar crumpled from the impact, frame bent, rear hatch doesn't close, hell the privacy shelf for the trunk doesn't even slot in anymore because of the damage.

It was fun while it lasted. I'm only dead on the inside so bless 🙏🏼

 

[Holgram]

Man, sad times, I’m so glad you are doing OK. A friend of mine just died in a crash on Monday. I’m actually attending the religious service tonight.

So what’s the plan now?

 

[Jct268]

Part it out and start over?

 

[brbk]

Man that sucks dude. Sorry to hear that.

You put in so much work and time into this hobby and it just takes an asshole a moment to ruin it all.

 

[louis110]

Man, sad times, I’m so glad you are doing OK. A friend of mine just died in a crash on Monday. I’m actually attending the religious service tonight.

So what’s the plan now?

Omg condolences, I'm very sorry to hear that. In all honesty myself and the other driver were very lucky to come out unharmed.

Plan now is to wait for insurance to tell me what to do next lol. Still no word on the estimate.

Part it out and start over?

It will depend on what they decide to do with the car (e.g. go to a junk yard/auction). I don't think there's any point in me trying to buy the car back. I was able to salvage some of the mods, but a lot of other things are still on the car.

Man that sucks dude. Sorry to hear that.

You put in so much work and time into this hobby and it just takes an asshole a moment to ruin it all.

This is the part that stings the most I suppose (aside from it being basically brand new). I was just starting to enjoy all the mods and looked forward to future plans. Such is life I suppose, you swallow it and move on.