[louis110]

The last few months has been an uphill battle with the body shop and insurance. Every other week was a different excuse and the car just sat there. Whether it be them ordering the wrong part, a bracket missing, discovering the exhaust was damaged months into the repair, having to order 2 exhausts, they didn't know the rear sensors had to be re-calibrated by the dealer, they discovered a broken sensor when they went to calibrate the car, they needed extra days to do the quality control check, etc.

4 months later they finally released the car to me this past Friday. From 10ft away the car looks ok, but as soon as I did my walk around it became clear that the shop really doesn't care about quality at all. Sending this pig back to them after the weekend. Running list of everything wrong:

• Loose side skirt
• scuffs on the bumper and door handle, imperfections in door
• Very rough seam in the trunk jam where they welded the new 1/4 panel
• scratches across hatch and top of rear bumper
• rear glass seal is popping out
• the license plate is screwed on wrong and off centered
• they didn't repair the wheel damage
• overspray on the chrome trim
• wheel well splash guard is on backorder
• the chrome trim and rubber seal around the window is loose
• exhaust tips are different lengths
• scratches and glue all over the trim in the hatch
• Rear latch for the hatch is painted white and looks like crap

Some examples of the items listed above

 

[louis110]

While I had the car back home for the weekend, I couldn't wait to re-install my mods. I had taken most of them off right after the accident since I was convinced that the car was going to be a write-off. I started with the trunk, cleaning all the body work gunk out, reinstalled the subwoofer, AutoExe trunk bar. I then worked my way to the hood, reinstalling my intake, oil catch can, hood dampers, and strut bar.

I also installed some of the new parts that I got over the last few months.

CX-30 stainless steel neo-chrome engine bay bolts ✅. Roughly 60% of the kit was transferrable from the CX-30 to the 3. I swapped as many bolts as I could visibly see, the nuts I didn't bother changing since the replacements didn't come in neo chrome, and the bolts for the hood hinges wouldn't fit with the hood damper brackets installed.

Aluminum pedals ✅ The double sided pad that came with the dead pedal was absolute trash, replaced it with some 3M strips instead. Gas and brake slid on easily.

AutoExe brake pedal brace ✅ It looked simple on paper but this was a HUGE PITA to install. I think it took me about 3 hours, lots of cursing, a twisted back, massive leg cramp, stiff hand joints, a nut that was impossible to reach, having to find hardware that I dropped behind the ventilation area, and a mild panic attack when my brake lights wouldn't turn on even with a new switch installed. I'll do a more fulsome review in an upcoming post on this after I've gotten some seat time with the brace, but man, I don't think I would recommend this piece unless you like to torture yourself.

 

[PFederighi]

Wow. Bummer about the body shop repairs. Really sorry to see all that.

Pedals look great! I did the oem ones for my wife's at the time. Not sure why the turbo's didn't come with them but it's a huge aesthetic upgrade imo.

 

[louis110]

Wow. Bummer about the body shop repairs. Really sorry to see all that.

Pedals look great! I did the oem ones for my wife's at the time. Not sure why the turbo's didn't come with them but it's a huge aesthetic upgrade imo.

Thank you, it's been a really long and infuriating situation.

Sucks to see you're leaving the Mazda 3 community!

 

[Superfly77]

Damn, what a hack job. Sorry to see this.

 

[PFederighi]

Thank you, it's been a really long and infuriating situation.

Sucks to see you're leaving the Mazda 3 community!

I can only imagine your frustrations. GL with getting it brought back to your standards. I really liked how your car was turning out.

My wife and I recently started a family and her Mazda3 hatch was just too small for our needs and my Speed3 is not appropriate in any way for a young child; plus I don't have 'extra' space to keep. In hind-sight I might have considered keeping her old turbo to replace my Speed but too late now. I've owned my Speed since '14 and I'm definitely going to miss it, we've been through a lot together.

On the positive, I'm going to get a Corolla GR Circuit as my new daily driver. But I promised that I won't do any engine or body modifications. It's going to be hard. Ha.

 

[louis110]

Damn, what a hack job. Sorry to see this.

Thanks brother 🤙 I kept a pretty good log of everything that's happened and fired that off to insurance and the body shop head office.

I can only imagine your frustrations. GL with getting it brought back to your standards. I really liked how your car was turning out.

My wife and I recently started a family and her Mazda3 hatch was just too small for our needs and my Speed3 is not appropriate in any way for a young child; plus I don't have 'extra' space to keep. In hind-sight I might have considered keeping her old turbo to replace my Speed but too late now. I've owned my Speed since '14 and I'm definitely going to miss it, we've been through a lot together.

On the positive, I'm going to get a Corolla GR Circuit as my new daily driver. But I promised that I won't do any engine or body modifications. It's going to be hard. Ha.

Well congrats on the growing family! A Circuit edition as a daily is not a bad replacement

My car will never be perfect now (and worthless to sell). I'll keep building it and keep having fun. I DM'd about some parts, have a look at your inbox.

 

[PFederighi]

Well congrats on the growing family! A Circuit edition as a daily is not a bad replacement

My car will never be perfect now (and worthless to sell). I'll keep building it and keep having fun. I DM'd about some parts, have a look at your inbox.

Thank you! Yeah it's a little bittersweet as I come to the conclusion of letting go of my old toys, but becoming a father has been an incredibly fulfilling experience and suppose that's just how life unfolds sometimes. So I've been searching what a fun dad car would look like and I've found a way to justify getting the Circuit. It was a no brainer for me to get another hot hatch once I thought about it.

In the past, my wife, our two 50+ pound dogs and I would load my Speed3 to the brim with a 10'x10' tent, a couple of lawn chairs, jack, tools, cooler, and more for what I used to call our "vacation track days" (I just drive HPDEs for fun). Then, after a full day of fun, we'd pack it all up and blow a few people's minds. Those were some unforgettable times and I hope that when my son is old enough we can all go out and enjoy similar adventures together.

Also like to say I'm truly blessed to have such a cool wife who supports my hobbies and enjoys a track day or two herself.

 

[louis110]

Thank you! Yeah it's a little bittersweet as I come to the conclusion of letting go of my old toys, but becoming a father has been an incredibly fulfilling experience and suppose that's just how life unfolds sometimes. So I've been searching what a fun dad car would look like and I've found a way to justify getting the Circuit. It was a no brainer for me to get another hot hatch once I thought about it.

In the past, my wife, our two 50+ pound dogs and I would load my Speed3 to the brim with a 10'x10' tent, a couple of lawn chairs, jack, tools, cooler, and more for what I used to call our "vacation track days" (I just drive HPDEs for fun). Then, after a full day of fun, we'd pack it all up and blow a few people's minds. Those were some unforgettable times and I hope that when my son is old enough we can all go out and enjoy similar adventures together.

Also like to say I'm truly blessed to have such a cool wife who supports my hobbies and enjoys a track day or two herself.

That's really incredible!! The stories you've made with the Speed is truly unforgettable. Aside from fast wagons, hot hatches are the cars that really do it all. Being able to share that with your better half is a real blessing.

 

[Cheetokps]

Wow. Bummer about the body shop repairs. Really sorry to see all that.

Pedals look great! I did the oem ones for my wife's at the time. Not sure why the turbo's didn't come with them but it's a huge aesthetic upgrade imo.

How is the grip on pedal covers vs. stock?

 

[louis110]

How is the grip on pedal covers vs. stock?

Pretty good! Softer rubber pads than the stock one that gets glazed over time.

 

[louis110]

Here's my install/review of the AutoExe brake pedal brace. I think a lot of people have been curious about this part. Since I had a big shipment coming in from Japan anyway, I decided to throw this part in the cart since it wasn't super expensive. I really didn't know what to expect in terms of improvements, but I was hoping that it would at least reduce the initial take up slack when you get on the brake pedal. Install seemed straight forward enough...💀

The package comes with 2 brackets (left and right sides) a bolt and an anchor nut to secure the 2 sides together. The existing 6 nuts that secure the OEM brake bracket are reused. In all of their installation guides, the brace is installed on a pedal assembly that's been removed from the car. That should've been my first red flag lol.

Firstly, working under the dashboard is never fun. My hands are still cramped and scratched, and my back was tweaked from laying across the door frame. The driver's leg vent gets in the way and gets very annoying to work around. There's a way to take it off, but I didn't bother.

Secondly, the upper right nut is damn near impossible to get to without the right length wrench. Perhaps a right angle electric ratchet would've helped immensely but I only had the good ol socket set. Removing the nut was step one. Getting it back on after you've installed the bracket was another ball game. Maybe it's because I'm ham fisted, but the threads are painted making the nuts very difficult to get started, especially in that upper right corner where you won't be able to get your hand on it. I lost the nut twice, which fell into the white plastic shielding for the HVAC system. You can't see where it goes while you're looking at it upside down, you'll just have to bust out your phone's camera and a flexible magnet, and fish around. I resorted to smearing the nut in Vaseline to keep it from falling out of the socket, and it worked like a charm.

Once the bracket is installed, the blue brake light switch gets reinstalled. There is a trick with it. Clockwise to remove, counterclockwise to install. Also, twist it hard enough until you feel a firm click. If you don't snap it in place, the mechanism inside the switch won't engage and your brake lights won't work, and your car won't turn on.

This took me way longer than it needed to because I couldn't remember which direction to turn and lock the switch and I was worried about setting off the tumblers inside by accident. It's a one time use item apparently. The manual recommends that you replace the switch with a brand new one anytime it's removed, as the plunger is keyed to the position of your pedal when you lock it in place. I did buy a brand new switch, but I actually just reused my original switch with no issues. It's always good to have a back-up though. If you're wondering where to buy a new switch, you can find it from Rock Auto under 2021 Mazda 3 > electrical switch & relay > brake light switch (Rock Auto Link). I went with the Rostra branded item as someone in the community recommended that as the reputable brand his company uses.

Before (sorry about the switch obscuring the picture)

After

So after a really shitty installation process, I took the car out for a drive the next day. I was hugely disappointed! It largely felt like the stock pedal stiffness and none of the slack had improved. Maybe under moderate to heavy braking there was a very subtle difference, but it also could have been in my head. Aside from being JDM cool, learn from my mistakes and don't waste your time or money on this item. It really wasn't worth the ass pain to install the thing.

 

[Loud3]

I was looking at the brake pedal brace, so it is disappointing to see your experience - but thank you for saving me the money and headache!

 

[brbk]

Appreciate the feedback, I was dissappointed as well hearing your feedback but thanks for all the info.

I did hear from someone on FB that it improved the braking on the track. Maybe it needs to be pushed to the limits to notice the difference.

 

[louis110]

I was looking at the brake pedal brace, so it is disappointing to see your experience - but thank you for saving me the money and headache!

Appreciate the feedback, I was dissappointed as well hearing your feedback but thanks for all the info.

I did hear from someone on FB that it improved the braking on the track. Maybe it needs to be pushed to the limits to notice the difference.

The FB comment points out that a brake brace is to improve the durability of the oem brake pedal bracket under heavy track use by distributing the stress better to prevent any stress failures in the firewall, rather than an improvement in brake pedal feel. In my case, and probably 97% of owners, definitely won't be getting close to those limits.

 

[arathol]

Reducing pedal play due to firewall flex what this is supposed to do. If you don't have any to begin with, you won't see a difference unless you spend a lot of time standing on the brakes.
I have a pedal brace on my Miata, in that car it does make a difference because of a lot of firewall flex.

 

[louis110]

Reducing pedal play due to firewall flex what this is supposed to do. If you don't have any to begin with, you won't see a difference unless you spend a lot of time standing on the brakes.
I have a pedal brace on my Miata, in that car it does make a difference because of a lot of firewall flex.

I guess I'll reap the benefits in 10 years when the chassis is old and tired lol

 

[brbk]

The FB comment points out that a brake brace is to improve the durability of the oem brake pedal bracket under heavy track use by distributing the stress better to prevent any stress failures in the firewall, rather than an improvement in brake pedal feel. In my case, and probably 97% of owners, definitely won't be getting close to those limits.

The person I spoke to was in one of the chats, he said the install wasn't difficult.

But maybe he's a tech.

 

[louis110]

FINALLY!! After almost 5 months of my car being in a shop, everything has finally been sorted and the body shop resolved all the quality control issues. It's good to have the car back, but I'm a little anxious to drive around in it to be honest. I'm sure that will go away after some time.

As soon as I brought the car home, I couldn't help myself but had to install some stuff I had laying around. First I slapped on these fender badges. I drew inspiration from the badges on the Skyline GTRs, and I think it's quite sharp.

Then I reinstalled my Corksport rear spoiler and also put in the F1 brake light module from Mikstore. Hopefully my brake lights will be obvious enough now so I won't get rear ended again lol.

I was actually really excited to see how this one would turn out. I replaced my black mirror caps with OEM Crystal Soul Red Metallic mirror caps that I ordered from the dealership. Super happy with the colour combo on white.

 

[brbk]

FINALLY!! After almost 5 months of my car being in a shop, everything has finally been sorted and the body shop resolved all the quality control issues. It's good to have the car back, but I'm a little anxious to drive around in it to be honest. I'm sure that will go away after some time.

View attachment 294013

As soon as I brought the car home, I couldn't help myself but had to install some stuff I had laying around. First I slapped on these fender badges. I drew inspiration from the badges on the Skyline GTRs, and I think it's quite sharp.
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Then I reinstalled my Corksport rear spoiler and also put in the F1 brake light module from Mikstore. Hopefully my brake lights will be obvious enough now so I won't get rear ended again lol.
View attachment 294005

I was actually really excited to see how this one would turn out. I replaced my black mirror caps with OEM Crystal Soul Red Metallic mirror caps that I ordered from the dealership. Super happy with the colour combo on white.
View attachment 294003
View attachment 294006
View attachment 294010
View attachment 294004 View attachment 294009

How difficult it is to remove that sideview mirror cover?

I was thinking to vinyl wrap mine with something like this.

I like gold.