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Post by MikeMusic on Aug 6, 2023 19:09:48 GMT
Such a pleasure meeting up with good people
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Post by MartinT on Aug 7, 2023 4:33:48 GMT
Another member's shot of my car yesterday.  |
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Post by MartinT on Aug 21, 2023 21:02:28 GMT
Want to see how fast a Subaru BRZ can go? Just watch this bit (no, mine isn't this fast)...
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Post by rfan8312 on Sept 19, 2023 20:37:31 GMT
Recently I've had a bit of an eye opening experience. I've been driving a standard transmission Mazda 3 from 2007 for a while now and recently realized that I love it. I don't know if I can go back to automatic transmission.
What blows my mind is the lack of sound. I don't hear the engine laboring whether at 40mph or 60 or 80mph. I get the RPM's to where I need them and switch to 4th or 5th gear and the car just sounds like wheels on the ground and air blowing past the car. There's no engine sound.
To find out what the next step up is in this regard would be quite an experience.
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Post by MartinT on Sept 19, 2023 21:11:58 GMT
What blows my mind is the lack of sound. I don't hear the engine laboring wether at 40mph or 60 or 80mph. I get the RPM's to where I need them and switch to 4th or 4th gear and the car just sounds like wheels on the ground and air blowing past the car. There's no engine sound. To find out what the next step up is in this regard would be quite an experience. It's the absolute control over what the car is doing. I've driven many, many automatics and you are never in complete control, with the bloody things changing gear just when you don't want them to. You go up a hill and it changes up, meaning you have to prod it to change back down, all the while losing momentum. As for sound, you're right, it's only as noisy as the gear you choose. If I'm taking it easy, I can put it in 6th from 60mph and I've got all the torque I need to overtake and reach <cough> speeds without it being noisy. Or drop it to 5th and fly past (or to 4th and blink past, with a 7500rpm red line it can do that). Control! |
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Post by rfan8312 on Sept 20, 2023 2:20:53 GMT
Thanks, Martin, Yes its unreal. Agreed about the control. If getting onto an on-ramp at 2am and nobody's around and you want to be at full speed in seconds you can be. This past weekend I was at one location outside of Boston then needed to get to a grocery store about 30 minutes away before 10pm.
I set the GPS which had me going from one highway to another to another.
Windows down, I'm in a 2007 car FFS thinking this thing MOVES and it does it quietly. It's bizarre.
The only sound im hearing aside from what is mentioned above is the semi high pitched very satisfying occasional intake of air into the turbo. It's a 2.3 liter 150 HP (probably not great but this bugger has chutzpah) Mazda 3 Turbo. I joined the Mazda3 forum to try to learn more and have seen some killer design mods.
With this car I've learned that the combined effect of the sound, slightly increased rigidity of slightly larger rims than on a Toyota, and the cold pleasant feel of this particular steering wheel and interior materials all combines for quite an intoxicating effect.
I will treat this thing like gold I dont ever want to hear anything coming from this car that doesn't sound right.
Wooden gear shift knob that has a piece of it missing so I could upgrade that hopefully to the same size. Though, now I'm considering making a custom threaded knob for it at the CNC shop if I can think of a cool idea.
That BRZ btw Martin has to be like a spiritual experience if it's better than this (I'm guessing it is). Damn, is that thing above 200 HP?
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Post by MartinT on Sept 20, 2023 4:35:11 GMT
With the supercharger, it's 300bhp now. With the new exhaust it has a good tone but is quiet, which I really like.
Those Mazda engines are really good, by the way. One of my team has just bought a used Mazda 3, he loves it.
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Post by julesd68 on Sept 20, 2023 8:42:48 GMT
Yep, I love my Mazda 3.
Looks like Sunak is pushing back petrol car ban by five years. This won't go down well. Part of a package of stalling environmental change. He is determined to be a loser.
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Post by julesd68 on Sept 20, 2023 8:46:41 GMT
I'm in a 2007 car FFS thinking this thing MOVES and it does it quietly. It's It's a 2.3 liter 150 HP (probably not great but this bugger has chutzpah) Mazda 3 Turbo. Damn that must be nice! Don't think it's available here but could be wrong. I have a 2 litre naturally aspirated which is plenty quick for family use and gives me 52mpg. |
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Post by rfan8312 on Sept 21, 2023 4:00:39 GMT
52 mpg! Now I'm angry!
28 city/35 highway here lol.
Wow at Martin's 300bhp
Wow at Jules' Mazda3.
Can you mention which year yours is Jules so I can see it?
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Post by MartinT on Sept 21, 2023 4:45:19 GMT
UK and US gallons are different, so mpg cannot be directly compared.
I get 33mpg of mostly high-speed commuting, which is pretty good considering.
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Post by jandl100 on Sept 21, 2023 5:50:25 GMT
Interesting about automatical transmission vs manual.
I recently changed cars after my previous approached 100,000 miles and the maintenance bills were going up.
I've had automatic for years and just wanted another.
But my local dealer only had a manual transmission in one car I wanted to try, suggested I try it just to get a feel for how the car handled.
It also just happened to have the top of the range 155bhp engine.
Whoops.
Zooming along the country lanes outside Hereford my grin was so big the top of my head nearly fell off.
Sold!
There's definitely something about stirring the gears yourself that is SO much more satisfying. I'd forgotten how much fun driving could be.
Ford Fiesta Vignale.
The humble Fiesta has changed a lot over the years.
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Post by MartinT on Sept 21, 2023 6:11:01 GMT
Whoops. Zooming along the country lanes outside Hereford my grin was so big the top of my head nearly fell off. Sold! There's definitely something about stirring the gears yourself that is SO much more satisfying. I'd forgotten how much fun driving could be. There definitely is  That's quite a powerful Fiesta considing I was driving 120bhp company saloon cars back in the 1980s that were reasonably swift. |
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Post by jandl100 on Sept 21, 2023 6:24:39 GMT
Yes, it's a fun car to drive.
It's got noticeably good handling as well as acceleration.
I tried a midrange manual 125bhp Fiesta as well, and it kind of wallowed around sluggishly. Tres boring in comparison.
I think the performance spec on the 155bhp Vignale is a bit misleading.
8.9 seconds 0 to 62mph.
But 2nd gear rev limits at 59mph, so the overall feel of the car is quite a lot faster after you allow time for the gear change up to 3rd.
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Post by julesd68 on Sept 21, 2023 9:25:36 GMT
Wow at Jules' Mazda3. Can you mention which year yours is Jules so I can see it? It's a 2016 reg. |
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Post by MartinT on Oct 1, 2023 19:03:51 GMT
Another great turnout at Blackbushe Airport today. These cars never seem to diminish in popularity, despite there being so few of them.  |
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Post by MartinT on Oct 7, 2023 13:26:03 GMT
I took the car in to TK Detailing in Basingstoke yesterday for a full restoration quote. Tom, the proprietor, gave it a full inspection and recommended that the front bumper be sent off for a respray whereas the rest of the car would get chip repairs, colour correction, polishing and PPF protection for the front of the car. The engine bay would be cleaned, wheels restored and the interior fully restored, too. The work would take 3-4 days and is booked in for November. I would have to rent a car for the interim. I should receive the quote on Monday. It's not going to be cheap, but he was quick to admire the car, acknowledge its rarity and agree that it would be well worth taking it back to showroom quality again. The other cars in his showroom, awaiting return to the customer, were simply stunning. www.tkdetailingcars.co.uk/ |
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Post by nicholas on Oct 7, 2023 15:25:26 GMT
^^^ Before and after photos would be very nice to see... ^^^
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Post by MartinT on Oct 7, 2023 17:11:47 GMT
^^^ Before and after photos would be very nice to see... ^^^ I will try, but there is no camera that could adequately capture the sheer lustre of those cars he had just worked on. If he achieves half of that with my car I will be very pleased. |
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Post by julesd68 on Oct 16, 2023 20:49:56 GMT
Good grief.
I haven't had to spend any money on my Mazda 3 in the 3.5 years I have owned it, beyond the yearly service. Today though the front brake pads and discs needed changing, as did rear shock coils. Ouch - just as well I was sitting down, I felt a bit queasy for a while ...
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