Finally, Zs_3's Build!! (Pic Heavy)

This build thread is now completed. The 3 will be returned entirely to it's stock form and will be traded in for a different vehicle within the coming months. Thanks for a hell of a ride with all you guys, I've had a blast!

April 10th, 2017 (The day I brought it home):



So now let's go a little further. Once I got it home I decided to do a few cosmetic mods. Wasn't a big fan of the stock front license plate location so I ordered a relocator from Corksport, and also decided to get some stickers for the back as well (No, I'm not in high school still, just love me some stickers :grin2: ) Not pictured but I used the Corksport LED kit and my interior/plate lights are amazing. 10/10 on that one.




July 12th, 2017:

I decided to get some window visors partly for cosmetics but mostly because of how easily window washer fluid gets on my window when I use it. :tongue_smilie 1:



The same day, I also got new badges for the rear of my car as well. I was able to cover the stock holes with the Evil M and the 3M tape behind it, and most of the former Mazda logo as well by using the same method. I plan to pull the bottom part of the hatch plastics out and seal all the holes though just to be safe.



September 8th, 2017:

Finally got the 17's installed! Plan is to knock out the front lip, rally flaps, and spoiler install all tomorrow morning as well. Hoping for the best and of course, will update when finished.



September 14th, 2017:

Finally got around to installing my front lip and rally flaps. Here's some pictures of it all on. Really makes me realize how much I need more low.






September 18th, 2017:

Spoiler is test fitted and coated in the temporary "go-fast stickers" while I take the next two weeks to look at it and decide if I wanna run it permanently and get it paint matched or ditch it and look for another style spoiler. Don't worry, the stickers aren't permanent. I just didn't like the idea of an ugly ass primer grey on the back but also wanted to take this oppurtunity to mess around with $20 worth of stickers



October 14th, 2017:

Well, it was a long night. We actually missed a car meet we were going to head out to and ended up staying in to finish the mods. But here's the rally light idea come to full fruition. We ended up running a separate harness for the lights instead of going with my plan to incorporate them into the car's wiring harness using the factory fog light harnesses due to the amount of power they pull. So they're ran to a switch that's installed in the blank area beside my traction control and TPMS buttons. The control box behind it actually has a PCB board on it so we had to run the wires out of the side of the box. It was pretty complex but I had the guys at High Low Customs fix me up.



So, here's how it sits as of October 14th, 2017:



November 3rd, 2017:

Finally got around to getting my custom exhaust installed. This is a bit of a "dry run" as I'm trying to tinker with the sound. However, this attempt is basically using some no name eBay muffler/tip and it came out great. Aside from a low-end rumble and a more defined tone, there's not much difference from stock and I love it. Not only does it give me the exact look I wanted (dual to single exit), it gives me a sound that isn't obnoxiously loud or raspy. Going to buy an actual brand name muffler/tip and run that sometime after Thanksgiving. So next two mods (hopefully) will be my new window tint and revisiting the exhaust.

Here's an exhaust clip:




November 18th, 2017:

Finally got the James Barone Racing Rear Wiper Delete kit on today, was really easy, had more trouble pulling my plastics than putting this thing on.

Here's the before:


And here's the after:


December 1st, 2017:

Got the 5mm spacers on the front and rear wheels. Pretty happy with the front wheel spacers, the rear could probably use an 8mm-10mm with extended lug nuts so may look into that in the future but for now it works great.



January 24th, 2018:

The mod bug is biting me hard so I decided to go ahead and tinker with the one thing that's cheap, easy and always fun to do which is stickers. I went back to the drawing board and planned it out (I know, sounds lame for stickers) and decided to run it with a single vertical row down the middle, but also decided to keep a couple stickers on the driver's side as well. I might strip the stickers off my spoiler this weekend and paint it flat black in another attempt to quell my need to mod my car.



March 15th, 2018:

One of my experimental ideas is coming to fruition. I'm currently waiting to get some time to get the gauges installed correctly so it may take a few weeks to get them in, but I'll definitely update when I do. It's an Ortiz Custom Pods gauge pod made specifically for my vehicle. The pods were fabricated on an OEM pillar, allowing it to retain it's safety aspects of being able to fold away from the driver in the event of a crash. I'm very happy with the design and finish of this product. Well worth the money. However, if I had a chance to buy again I'd check out the block8 gauge pods as well. The gauges going in the gauge pod are ProSport gauges. Oil pressure and water temperature will finally be reliably monitored instead of waiting for a dummy light to tell me it's too late. Since I have a third spot, I opted for a voltmeter temporarily. In the future, this may change (Corksport get that turbo kit out soon please).



March 21st, 2018:

RIP stickers 2017-2018, waiting for a more financially responsible moment to buy my new MS-Style spoiler and send it straight to the paint booth.



July 9th, 2018:

Oh man, it finally happened. Could Zs_3 finally be growing up from his hot hatch wannabe ways and start building a reasonable hatchback that everyone loves? Nah, I just got rid of the rally lights and stickers. I will say that working on the Mazda proved to be a pain compared to my truck. Granted, everything on the truck is wide open compared to the tight spaces of working on the Mazda. But I do miss giving the Mazda love. I really need to get back into the modding spirit and revisit my plans for it. Anyways, here's some pictures after being gone for over four months.





October 11th, 2018:

Man, I've been gone for awhile haven't I? Well, it finally happened. The stickerbomb spoiler was paintmatched, and now I hate it. Okay, maybe hate's the wrong word for it. But Mazda's paint is so thin that before it's even been test fitted, the thing's already got a couple of nicks in the paint. Not happy about that, but I'll live. I did live up to what I said before about revisiting my plans, and they were pretty....outlandish. Since then, I've changed a ton of stuff up and thought about exactly where I want this car to be and how much I want to spend. That was also brought on by having a major project (the truck) and finally doing something about the Jimmy laying to waste in my front yard. But with the Mazda as my dedicated daily driver, it's still getting the love and attention it deserves. This winter should be a good season to get a lot of stuff done to it, so hopefully I'll be revisiting this forum more often than I have lately.

Not seen in the pic is me fitting the 2nd Gen MS3 spoiler extension onto my spoiler. As expected, it's almost a perfect fit, but the adhesive sucks and I don't see it staying on the spoiler that long. I'm also slightly afraid as fragile as this paint is, trying to strip the adhesive off may take some of the new paint off with it. Who knows, maybe I'll just hit up one of these local wrap shops and do something different (but not stickerbomb different) with it.



October 25th, 2018:

IT. HAS. HAPPENED.

The spoiler is finally painted. It's been a long time coming and there were so many obstacles but it's finally over. I guess the build is over. This is the climax of all effort on this vehicle. I can't go on. I have peaked. Thanks for playing!



October 29th, 2018:

FINAL UPDATE: Well, it appears as if the Mazda's spoiler is no more. Apparently, the spoiler was made by the manufacturer molding a low grade metal nut into the plastic of the spoiler, and that nut spun in place and completely destroyed the hole where it goes. The other side of the spoiler has also suffered a crack as well and seeing as it was a $110 spoiler without paint I really don't feel like having it fixed and then repainted AGAIN. So with that being said, I'm taking it as a sign that my time is coming to an end with my 3 and that we'll be parting ways soon. I'm going to begin reverting it back to stock (still going to need to find a stock blue spoiler at some point) and probably trade it in on something more fun to play with and mod. I've been enjoying this car for over a year and a half but this spoiler is my edge and I've been shoved off it.


Thanks for all the fun I've had on this board, it's been a blast to get to meet you all and share some great input as well. I hope you guys' modding adventures take you further than mine did, and may you have much better luck than myself!