Family Bus - Mazda 6 MPS
Discussion
fozluvscars said:
You never know..... http://carsreleasedate2015.com/2016-mazda3-mps-hat...
Oooooo I like the look of this. I hope it doesnt look as sporty as the MK II MPS, the MK Is far more discreet.Edited by fozluvscars on Monday 6th October 15:19
First major purchase on Friday for it..... In the form of 4 new tyres. I decided to change size slightly from 215/45/18 to 225/45/18, mainly because the choice and price was far better! Apparently this is fairly tried and tested, I decided to go for the 45 profile over the 40 as it was closer to the original rolling radius and the additional "comfort" they may offer although I expect handling to suffer a little. Plus the 40's don't come in the correct load rating either....
Apparently the only slight downside of the wider tyre over the originals is a smidgen less steering feel :s
Anyway... Four new conti sport contact 5's are rolling their way over to me, so will see how it goes!
Apparently the only slight downside of the wider tyre over the originals is a smidgen less steering feel :s
Anyway... Four new conti sport contact 5's are rolling their way over to me, so will see how it goes!
Quick update - new tyres on and scrubbed in nicely. The slight increase in sidewall has softened the ride a little. Turn in is no different so very happy 
Couple of things - had to top up the oil for the first time, works out about a litre per 5000 miles.
Couple of niggly things have popped up - feels like the front ARB drop links are shot so will get it up on the ramps and have a look. I also have a suspicion the rear N/S drive shaft may be on its last legs.
I also have a decision coming up.... its next service is due in 1000 miles (81,000 total) do I continue with FMSH or go it alone hmmmmm.
Finally; yesterday the wife managed to badly curb one of the wheels
oh well they were probably due a refurb soon anyway as the lacquer is lifting in places. Lepsons in Swindon have quoted £204+ VAT for all 4 to be done so may just bit ethe bullet
Couple of things - had to top up the oil for the first time, works out about a litre per 5000 miles.
Couple of niggly things have popped up - feels like the front ARB drop links are shot so will get it up on the ramps and have a look. I also have a suspicion the rear N/S drive shaft may be on its last legs.
I also have a decision coming up.... its next service is due in 1000 miles (81,000 total) do I continue with FMSH or go it alone hmmmmm.
Finally; yesterday the wife managed to badly curb one of the wheels
oh well they were probably due a refurb soon anyway as the lacquer is lifting in places. Lepsons in Swindon have quoted £204+ VAT for all 4 to be done so may just bit ethe bulleta7x88 said:
......... feels like the front ARB drop links are shot so will get it up on the ramps and have a look.....
Mine has had that familiar drop-link knock for a few weeks now. Actually, I heard it for the first time a year ago but couldnt find anything obviously wrong so carried on. Since then its obviously worn a little and now does it when bumping down into the gulley off our driveway and over speed humps etc.I did read a thread on one of the Mazda forums where a guy is the US had spent $2000 trying to fix a similar knock and after replacing almost every suspension component it was still there!
a7x88 said:
Quick update - new tyres on and scrubbed in nicely. The slight increase in sidewall has softened the ride a little. Turn in is no different so very happy
Couple of things - had to top up the oil for the first time, works out about a litre per 5000 miles.
Couple of niggly things have popped up - feels like the front ARB drop links are shot so will get it up on the ramps and have a look. I also have a suspicion the rear N/S drive shaft may be on its last legs.
I also have a decision coming up.... its next service is due in 1000 miles (81,000 total) do I continue with FMSH or go it alone hmmmmm.
Finally; yesterday the wife managed to badly curb one of the wheels oh well they were probably due a refurb soon anyway as the lacquer is lifting in places. Lepsons in Swindon have quoted £204+ VAT for all 4 to be done so may just bit ethe bullet
Probably the lower arm bushes too , they require a press to insert although they are cheap at £40 for the pair Couple of things - had to top up the oil for the first time, works out about a litre per 5000 miles.
Couple of niggly things have popped up - feels like the front ARB drop links are shot so will get it up on the ramps and have a look. I also have a suspicion the rear N/S drive shaft may be on its last legs.
I also have a decision coming up.... its next service is due in 1000 miles (81,000 total) do I continue with FMSH or go it alone hmmmmm.
Finally; yesterday the wife managed to badly curb one of the wheels
oh well they were probably due a refurb soon anyway as the lacquer is lifting in places. Lepsons in Swindon have quoted £204+ VAT for all 4 to be done so may just bit ethe bulletIs the knock felt through the steering wheel when going over small bumps? I have a 2.0 57 plate Mazda 6 and felt this and looked into it. Some research turned up a theory on the adjustable steering column if don't use it for a while this happens. Simply extending and retracting the steering wheel a few times solved the knocking on mine so worth a try for nothing!
Run of bad luck I think. Those lovely new tyre's...... Nail through the rear! Luckily the emergency spare was ok, so a quick trip to my brother in law later and it all repaired.
Had to lift the handbrake slightly on the way to disengage the central clutch - where the tyres were different sizes the LSD was making some funky noises.
Seem to have cured the "worn suspension" - one of either adjusting the steering wheel or topping up the pressure in the front (they were at 34 as opposed to 39 - ooops) seems to have worked. Thanks for the steering wheel tip cuz3003!
Been thinking of painting the calipers whilst the wheels are away for a refurb - yellow with black MPS decals, black with silver or blue with black. Any opinions? I think I'm erring towards the first
Had to lift the handbrake slightly on the way to disengage the central clutch - where the tyres were different sizes the LSD was making some funky noises.
Seem to have cured the "worn suspension" - one of either adjusting the steering wheel or topping up the pressure in the front (they were at 34 as opposed to 39 - ooops) seems to have worked. Thanks for the steering wheel tip cuz3003!
Been thinking of painting the calipers whilst the wheels are away for a refurb - yellow with black MPS decals, black with silver or blue with black. Any opinions? I think I'm erring towards the first
Edited by a7x88 on Saturday 31st January 18:29
a7x88 said:
I'll do you a swap 
Seriously - I would have loved an e39 M5 but only tired examples were available in my budget and I just knew they would have required a lot of investment
What makes you want to change?
Hahaha, my car isn't nice enough mate, needs some work doing to it. Seriously - I would have loved an e39 M5 but only tired examples were available in my budget and I just knew they would have required a lot of investment
What makes you want to change?
I like turbo-charged cars and miss having one
Update time.
So - had the VVT done, new Turbo inlet and intake setup + rear engine mount. Car drives much better and pulls much harder (I think mostly down to the timing being ever so slightly out). It was a good job I had the VVT done as when we removed the rocker cover there were score marks on the top of it from the chain
I then took the car to Le Mans. It was my first time there and I loved it! to anyone considering it, just do it.
I did hit a slight issue on the way down though..... just passed Rouen we noticed that the A/C seemed to no longer be blowing cold. Slightly starnge as it had beenb working perfectly. A quick pitstop revealed what I thought to be a seized compressor - the pulley was stopping and causing the aux belt to slip over it. So we turned off the AC and proceeded onwards (in 30 degree heat
)
Just outside of Le Mans we hit the Peage noticed a hideous noise and smell. It turns out that the bearing had collapsed and the heat generated by the additional friction melted the magnetic clutch wiring and friction material......
The car was now sounding horrendous but not wanting to deal with the French recovery people we waited until Monday and took a gentle drive back. I think we all breathed a sigh of relief when we got onto the eurotunnel! Eventually home I took to the task of stripping the car apart. Not knowing wether the original compressor had been damaged (plus the fact it was cheaper to buy a whole compressor including clutch than buy just a clutch from Mazda) I decided to replace it.
The compressor could just about be removed from underneath the car. Having worked in industrial refrigeration for a while I couldn't bring myself to stick a new compressor in without changing the drier..... this meant a whole new condenser was also fitted. Luckily this new one has a separate drier than can be replaced independently of the condenser. It did however mean that the whole front end had to be removed as above.
Some pictures of what was left of the clutch and its wiring.
Here is what was left of the bearing - just the race! all the ball bearings had escaped
All back together now though and just waiting for the AC man to come and charge the system up tomorrow
So - had the VVT done, new Turbo inlet and intake setup + rear engine mount. Car drives much better and pulls much harder (I think mostly down to the timing being ever so slightly out). It was a good job I had the VVT done as when we removed the rocker cover there were score marks on the top of it from the chain
I then took the car to Le Mans. It was my first time there and I loved it! to anyone considering it, just do it.
I did hit a slight issue on the way down though..... just passed Rouen we noticed that the A/C seemed to no longer be blowing cold. Slightly starnge as it had beenb working perfectly. A quick pitstop revealed what I thought to be a seized compressor - the pulley was stopping and causing the aux belt to slip over it. So we turned off the AC and proceeded onwards (in 30 degree heat
)Just outside of Le Mans we hit the Peage noticed a hideous noise and smell. It turns out that the bearing had collapsed and the heat generated by the additional friction melted the magnetic clutch wiring and friction material......
The car was now sounding horrendous but not wanting to deal with the French recovery people we waited until Monday and took a gentle drive back. I think we all breathed a sigh of relief when we got onto the eurotunnel! Eventually home I took to the task of stripping the car apart. Not knowing wether the original compressor had been damaged (plus the fact it was cheaper to buy a whole compressor including clutch than buy just a clutch from Mazda) I decided to replace it.
The compressor could just about be removed from underneath the car. Having worked in industrial refrigeration for a while I couldn't bring myself to stick a new compressor in without changing the drier..... this meant a whole new condenser was also fitted. Luckily this new one has a separate drier than can be replaced independently of the condenser. It did however mean that the whole front end had to be removed as above.
Some pictures of what was left of the clutch and its wiring.
Here is what was left of the bearing - just the race! all the ball bearings had escaped
All back together now though and just waiting for the AC man to come and charge the system up tomorrow
Thought it was about time for another update!
Thermostat failed a couple of weeks back and the car was taking ages to get up to temperature. £80 :s later I had purchased a replacement from Mazda and then set about replacing it. What a PITA. Aux belt back off so the power steering pump could be shifted out of the way. A lot of wiggling pipes later and it was finally sorted.
So, what else has happened - it's nearly a year since my original post. I have purchased a couple of bits for it. Namely a set of Thule Aerobars and two pro bike carriers so we could go out on a ride as a family. The bars pretty much live on the roof now as they are silent and I actually think it looks kinda cool
plus that way it only takes 5mins to put the bike carriers on and then we can head out.
Performance wise - the intake and turbo inlet were done a while back, plus a second cat delete. I've now also added a new top mount intercooler (that still sits under the factory shroud even though it's nearly twice as thick), some high pressure fuel pump internals and an off the shelf map on the versatuner software. I'm currently going through the stages of having a custom map made and expect to see around 300 - 320bhp when we're finished.
Also just order a rear anti roll bar to tighten up the back end a little bit plus upgraded rear differential mounts which are a known weak spot.
The cars not been without its issues (ac compressor and thermostat) but on the whole it's been great. I still get a huge grin when I get the opportunity to stretch its legs on a nice B road and it makes for a great family car. Plus - I won a competition with Shell "Fill up and Go" which gives me a years worth of free fuel. Certainly makes the 20mpg more palatable!! Maybe the right time for a V8 though?
Thermostat failed a couple of weeks back and the car was taking ages to get up to temperature. £80 :s later I had purchased a replacement from Mazda and then set about replacing it. What a PITA. Aux belt back off so the power steering pump could be shifted out of the way. A lot of wiggling pipes later and it was finally sorted.
So, what else has happened - it's nearly a year since my original post. I have purchased a couple of bits for it. Namely a set of Thule Aerobars and two pro bike carriers so we could go out on a ride as a family. The bars pretty much live on the roof now as they are silent and I actually think it looks kinda cool
plus that way it only takes 5mins to put the bike carriers on and then we can head out.Performance wise - the intake and turbo inlet were done a while back, plus a second cat delete. I've now also added a new top mount intercooler (that still sits under the factory shroud even though it's nearly twice as thick), some high pressure fuel pump internals and an off the shelf map on the versatuner software. I'm currently going through the stages of having a custom map made and expect to see around 300 - 320bhp when we're finished.
Also just order a rear anti roll bar to tighten up the back end a little bit plus upgraded rear differential mounts which are a known weak spot.
The cars not been without its issues (ac compressor and thermostat) but on the whole it's been great. I still get a huge grin when I get the opportunity to stretch its legs on a nice B road and it makes for a great family car. Plus - I won a competition with Shell "Fill up and Go" which gives me a years worth of free fuel. Certainly makes the 20mpg more palatable!! Maybe the right time for a V8 though?
So about time for an update....
Car has been plodding along nicely - the completed e-tune made a massive difference to the car and really helped the top end where on the stock tune it runs out of puff.
Conti's were on their wear strips so a new set of tyres were ordered - Michelin Pilot Super Sports. The best tyre i've currently had fitted to a car, they are very hard to fault + I got a fantastic deal due to a garage f up.
Brake pads were also in need of a change and the discs had seen better days so a full set of grooved and dimpled MTec disc and mintex pads were put on for around £200 iirc
No idea what the dimples do but I liked the look of them and they are not supposed to crack like some drilled discs.
Job didnt go quite as planned. Turned out that the master cylinder seals were letting by so that had to be swapped. Luckily a low mileage car was being broken so I picked one up for £40 as opposed to the £300 Mazda want
Next on the list is the biggy the K04 has started smoking on extended idle - this is a sure fire indicator that the seals are failing. Very common on the MZR engine and with the car having done 90k not unexpected at all. I also think the extra stress from the map helped it along the way. Choices were to replace with the same again (with improved seal design) or for a bit more go down the rather well established BNR route.
BNR custom make turbo's for mainly Mazda's - RX7's,8's and the Mazdaspeeds. They are very popular in the US and are well proven. They currently make 2 for the Mazdaspeeds - the stage 3 (based on Garret GT2X CHRA) or the Stage 4 which has just been released (Garret GT30). The lag between the two apparently is unnoticable with the only difference being the stage 4's boost threshold is 1-200rpm later.
Common consensus is that the S3 isnt worth bothering with now that the S4 is out. The S4 is much more efficient; being capable of flowing enough 500 Wheel Horsepower which is beyond what the stock engine and fueling can realistically cope with. An order is in with some US suppliers for the following;
BNRS4 turbo
3.5" Intake
3" downpipe with high flow cat
Electronic Boost Control Solenoid
3bar MAP sensor
Also ordering a 3" Jetex exhaust which shouldn't be too much louder than stock (I don't like stupid droney/noisy exhausts on a daily driver). Waiting to be fitted at the same time are a rear anti roll bar, and both diff mounts for the rear lsd (they tend to shear with higher power outputs)
Plan is to get it all fitted and get a conservative map to what is considered the safe limits on a stock block for a daily driver ~ 400hp and 400tq.
What kills these cars are the relatively weak conrods - they hate too much torque below 3-3.5krpm. Even the stock turbo/map is well known for venting the block when booting it too much in the low rpm range. Plan for the map is to keep the targeted load down in the lower ranges and wind it out up the top where it is much safer.
Should all be fitted within the next couple of months (depending on customs etc) so I will be reporting back soon with impressions.....and hopefully not pictures of a hole in my block
Car has been plodding along nicely - the completed e-tune made a massive difference to the car and really helped the top end where on the stock tune it runs out of puff.
Conti's were on their wear strips so a new set of tyres were ordered - Michelin Pilot Super Sports. The best tyre i've currently had fitted to a car, they are very hard to fault + I got a fantastic deal due to a garage f up.
Brake pads were also in need of a change and the discs had seen better days so a full set of grooved and dimpled MTec disc and mintex pads were put on for around £200 iirc
No idea what the dimples do but I liked the look of them and they are not supposed to crack like some drilled discs.
Job didnt go quite as planned. Turned out that the master cylinder seals were letting by so that had to be swapped. Luckily a low mileage car was being broken so I picked one up for £40 as opposed to the £300 Mazda want
Next on the list is the biggy
the K04 has started smoking on extended idle - this is a sure fire indicator that the seals are failing. Very common on the MZR engine and with the car having done 90k not unexpected at all. I also think the extra stress from the map helped it along the way. Choices were to replace with the same again (with improved seal design) or for a bit more go down the rather well established BNR route.BNR custom make turbo's for mainly Mazda's - RX7's,8's and the Mazdaspeeds. They are very popular in the US and are well proven. They currently make 2 for the Mazdaspeeds - the stage 3 (based on Garret GT2X CHRA) or the Stage 4 which has just been released (Garret GT30). The lag between the two apparently is unnoticable with the only difference being the stage 4's boost threshold is 1-200rpm later.
Common consensus is that the S3 isnt worth bothering with now that the S4 is out. The S4 is much more efficient; being capable of flowing enough 500 Wheel Horsepower which is beyond what the stock engine and fueling can realistically cope with. An order is in with some US suppliers for the following;
BNRS4 turbo
3.5" Intake
3" downpipe with high flow cat
Electronic Boost Control Solenoid
3bar MAP sensor
Also ordering a 3" Jetex exhaust which shouldn't be too much louder than stock (I don't like stupid droney/noisy exhausts on a daily driver). Waiting to be fitted at the same time are a rear anti roll bar, and both diff mounts for the rear lsd (they tend to shear with higher power outputs)
Plan is to get it all fitted and get a conservative map to what is considered the safe limits on a stock block for a daily driver ~ 400hp and 400tq.
What kills these cars are the relatively weak conrods - they hate too much torque below 3-3.5krpm. Even the stock turbo/map is well known for venting the block when booting it too much in the low rpm range. Plan for the map is to keep the targeted load down in the lower ranges and wind it out up the top where it is much safer.
Should all be fitted within the next couple of months (depending on customs etc) so I will be reporting back soon with impressions.....and hopefully not pictures of a hole in my block
Small update - ordered all the parts from the US.
Due to niggling worries about engine longevity I have bitten the bullet - ordered everything for the engine to be "forged"
Spoken with a guy oop north who handles these engines day in day out and as soon as the parts arrive it will be booked in
Ordered list
BNRS4 Turbo (Garrett 3076 internals)
3 Bar Map sensor
Manley H Beam Rods
Wiseco Forged Pistons
ARP Head and main studs
Downpipe with High flow cat
Full 3.5" intake
Uprated Recirc valve
Electronic Boost Control Solenoid
New OEM bearings, seals, friction washers, timing chain etc etc
Balance Shaft removal kit and Oil pan baffle
EGR deletion kit
Oil Catch Can kit with new PCV valve
Upgraded injector seals
Should net somewhere in the region of 400/400 - the advantage of going forged is that although peak power will be no higher, we can target high load levels earlier in the rev range without having to worry about bending any rods. This should make for a much more driveable "street" car what with the performance being more accessible. I also then have options to add 5th/6th port injection as well as water mathanol injection. This should finish the engine work in one big hit and mean I dont have to worry.
All this leave's one item left that I want to change - suspension. I like the stock set up, my main complaint is that it sits a little high, also the dampers are getting a little old so due for a change anyway. I'm looking at going for the Bilstein B12 Pro kit which gives it a modest drop (either 25 or 30 mm from memory) and comes with matched Bilstein dampers. They get good reviews but ideally I plan on getting a ride/go in another MPS with them fitted so I can make sure its not going to make it to crashy and horrible.
Due to niggling worries about engine longevity I have bitten the bullet - ordered everything for the engine to be "forged"
Spoken with a guy oop north who handles these engines day in day out and as soon as the parts arrive it will be booked in
Ordered list
BNRS4 Turbo (Garrett 3076 internals)
3 Bar Map sensor
Manley H Beam Rods
Wiseco Forged Pistons
ARP Head and main studs
Downpipe with High flow cat
Full 3.5" intake
Uprated Recirc valve
Electronic Boost Control Solenoid
New OEM bearings, seals, friction washers, timing chain etc etc
Balance Shaft removal kit and Oil pan baffle
EGR deletion kit
Oil Catch Can kit with new PCV valve
Upgraded injector seals
Should net somewhere in the region of 400/400 - the advantage of going forged is that although peak power will be no higher, we can target high load levels earlier in the rev range without having to worry about bending any rods. This should make for a much more driveable "street" car what with the performance being more accessible. I also then have options to add 5th/6th port injection as well as water mathanol injection. This should finish the engine work in one big hit and mean I dont have to worry.
All this leave's one item left that I want to change - suspension. I like the stock set up, my main complaint is that it sits a little high, also the dampers are getting a little old so due for a change anyway. I'm looking at going for the Bilstein B12 Pro kit which gives it a modest drop (either 25 or 30 mm from memory) and comes with matched Bilstein dampers. They get good reviews but ideally I plan on getting a ride/go in another MPS with them fitted so I can make sure its not going to make it to crashy and horrible.
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