[brbk]

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.


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.


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.

This happened to me with my mazdaspeed 3 in which I put alot more money and time into.

Its a hard pill to swallow, especially when the other person that caused the accident doesnt give a shit.

Hopefully the insurance will pay out and total it because the car will never be the same with that much damage.

 

[WoodinvilleDan]

s

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!

THANK YOU FOR THIS!
Will be my next mod on my Super 6 ✊

 

[brbk]

s

THANK YOU FOR THIS!
Will be my next mod on my Super 6 ✊

Just be aware, I'm not 100% sure but i think you will probably need an alignment after doing the rigid collars. Just to be safe.

 

[louis110]

This happened to me with my mazdaspeed 3 in which I put alot more money and time into.

Its a hard pill to swallow, especially when the other person that caused the accident doesnt give a shit.

Hopefully the insurance will pay out and total it because the car will never be the same with that much damage.

TRUTH

s

THANK YOU FOR THIS!
Will be my next mod on my Super 6 ✊

Just be aware, I'm not 100% sure but i think you will probably need an alignment after doing the rigid collars. Just to be safe.

In all honesty I drove maybe 100km after the rigid collar install. Car drove great, tracked straight and true. An alignment is recommended, but it's not critical. I got feedback from someone else who installed it and they said the same thing.

 

[brbk]

@louis110 Any update on the car?

Did the insurance total it?

 

[louis110]

@louis110 Any update on the car?

Did the insurance total it?

No, the repair was estimated at $15K so my only option was to get it repaired 😑

Not sure when the car will be done, I'm out of town for the month of December so hopefully when I get home the car will be ready, and not possessed with gremlins.

 

[Holgram]

No, the repair was estimated at $15K so my only option was to get it repaired 😑

Not sure when the car will be done, I'm out of town for the month of December so hopefully when I get home the car will be ready, and not possessed with gremlins.

The legend lives on.

 

[kwinterrowdster]

No, the repair was estimated at $15K so my only option was to get it repaired 😑

Not sure when the car will be done, I'm out of town for the month of December so hopefully when I get home the car will be ready, and not possessed with gremlins.

Dams sorry to see that after all of the work you did. Glad you are OK but I know how much that sucks after you put so much time and effort into a project but I do thank you for sharing. I am still driving my 2020 MX-5 RF but test drove a 2023 Turbo hatch a few weeks ago and really enjoyed it which is how I found your build thread.

 

[louis110]

Dams sorry to see that after all of the work you did. Glad you are OK but I know how much that sucks after you put so much time and effort into a project but I do thank you for sharing. I am still driving my 2020 MX-5 RF but test drove a 2023 Turbo hatch a few weeks ago and really enjoyed it which is how I found your build thread.

Thank you. Happy to hear people are finding this build thread useful, that's exactly what is missing from mediums like FB or IG.

 

[brbk]

Thank you. Happy to hear people are finding this build thread useful, that's exactly what is missing from mediums like FB or IG.

Yeah I can't stand FB.

Literally, at least once a days someone asks if an intake will void their warranty.

I'm sure this thread has helped alot of people including me, appreciate all the descriptions and pictures. Thank you.

 

[louis110]

I was out of town for the entire month of December and received no updates on the car. Now that I'm back home I dropped by the body shop to see how things were progressing.

Basically all new quarter panel and stamped steel panels were welded in. Spot welds done as per Mazda specs (apparently) and frame straightened out. New hatch, new bumper/lower valence. They're in the middle of priming/prepping for paint. Should be released by the end of next week.

I'll have to get the PPF redone, and reinstall all the aftermarket parts I took off before the car was transferred to the body shop.

 

[brbk]

Looks like it'll be ready just in time for the big turbo release

 

[JoeMini]

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.
View attachment 292149

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.
View attachment 292147 View attachment 292150

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.

View attachment 292156
View attachment 292148

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.

View attachment 292153

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.

View attachment 292155 View attachment 292154 View attachment 292151 View attachment 292152

Interessting
Is there link for this duct ...

This might work for outside air inlet for the ITBs i plan install in 2024

 

[JoeMini]

Just be aware, I'm not 100% sure but i think you will probably need an alignment after doing the rigid collars. Just to be safe.

I am wondering if changing the camber setting may solve that

 

[brbk]

I am wondering if changing the camber setting may solve that

I was thinking it shouldn't affect it too much even if it was misaligned, the range of movement is very small so the difference would most likely be negligible.

But then again, an alignment is alot cheaper than tires for an awd car.

 

[JoeMini]

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 😂.

Wouldnt switching to poly bushing be more practical and more effective

 

[brbk]

Wouldnt switching to poly bushing be more practical and more effective

It does alot more than what bushings do.

Watch the vid, it's very informative.

Apparently all manufacturers make the sub frame bolt holes kind of loose to speed up manufacturing.

So basically sub frame bolts on all cars have some amount of play.

These collars center the sub frame bolts so theres no play.

From the reviews, it seems to translate into better handling and a more comfortable ride over bumps.

 

[louis110]

Interessting
Is there link for this duct ...

This might work for outside air inlet for the ITBs i plan install in 2024

Here you go
Carbon Fiber Universal Naca Duct | eBay

I am wondering if changing the camber setting may solve that

There's no camber adjustment front or back on these cars unless you get aftermarket front camber plates. In any case I drove 100km after the install with no alignment and it drove perfectly fine. An alignment is recommended, but I highly doubt you would notice a difference.

Wouldnt switching to poly bushing be more practical and more effective

Not really, poly bushings serve a different purpose. Plus they add NVH to the car. So really, for a daily driver, the rigid collars are more practical and effective. If you track your car, sure, pair it with polys and you're golden.

 

[louis110]

Well since I'm getting the car back, I might as well keep the modding going.

New (to me) coilovers incoming, and another obscure part that probably most people don't even know exists for the BP. Just secured a set of RSR Best-i coilovers from auctions that includes adjustable end links. 36-way adjustable, monotube dampers, titanium alloy springs, rubber upper bushing upper mounts. Should be a great improvement for street driving/occasional fun.

 

[JoeMini]

It does alot more than what bushings do.

Watch the vid, it's very informative.

Apparently all manufacturers make the sub frame bolt holes kind of loose to speed up manufacturing.

So basically sub frame bolts on all cars have some amount of play.

These collars center the sub frame bolts so theres no play.

From the reviews, it seems to translate into better handling and a more comfortable ride over bumps.

Well since I'm getting the car back, I might as well keep the modding going.

New (to me) coilovers incoming, and another obscure part that probably most people don't even know exists for the BP. Just secured a set of RSR Best-i coilovers from auctions that includes adjustable end links. 36-way adjustable, monotube dampers, titanium alloy springs, rubber upper bushing upper mounts. Should be a great improvement for street driving/occasional fun.

View attachment 293074
View attachment 293075
View attachment 293076
View attachment 293077

i see them available for the BL
and springs for BM
Where are these BP from?