Quote:Track Test: Mazdaspeeding with Mazdaspeed performance accessories

Dunnville, Ontario - A sunny, spring day; a challenging race track; eight sporty cars to drive and compare: life is good.

The "Autodrome" in Dunville was the venue, and Mazda Canada the host for this simple but informative (and, to be sure, fun) event. The task was to drive four of Mazda's most performance oriented cars - the Mazdaspeed3, Mazdaspeed6, MX-5 and RX-8 -- and compare them with the same cars fitted with Mazdaspeed Performance Accessories.


Mazdaspeed, if you don't already know, is Mazda's in-house race and street car tuning division. It's divided into three channels, focusing on the development of high-performance road cars (like the Mazdaspeed3 and Mazdaspeed6), the creation of aftermarket performance-boosting accessories, and the global promotion of Mazda Motorsports activities.

The Mazdaspeed accessories fitted to cars in this event were "bolt-on" items, like wheels, cold air intakes, sport springs and sport exhausts. Prices for these items ranged from $382.80 for a sport spring kit for the MX-5 to $2797.48 for a set of forged aluminum wheels for the Mazdaspeed6. A typical cold air intake system sells for $451.89 (MX-5) and a sport exhaust hovers around $1,000 ($842.57 for the MX-5; $1111.31 for the Mazdaspeed3). These prices don't include installation.

But note the reasonable pricing for these items. Leave the wheels stock and you'll likely spend less than $2,000 in parts for a cold air intake for improved engine breathing; a sport spring kit that on the MX-5, for instance, lowers the ride height by 34 millimeters and increases spring rate by 26%; and a sport exhaust designed to reduce back pressure, increase flow, and provide an aggressive exhaust note.

Additionally, these accessories are designed, tested and warranted by Mazda, which ensures that they fit properly and work as described. When installed by a Mazda dealer, most Mazdaspeed parts carry a 12-month/20,000 kilometre warranty.

However, all of the cars driven in this event were genuine performers, accessories or not. For instance, the "stock" all-wheel drive Mazdaspeed6 makes 270 horsepower and 280 foot-pounds of torque from its turbocharged, direct injected four-cylinder engine. At $35,995 ($38,795 as tested with leather package and moonroof) the Mazdaspeed6 is, as automotive writers know, an absolute bargain for this type of car.

You can fling the stock Mazdaspeed6 around a track, and delight at its acceleration, cornering and braking. With $3,597.60 in Mazdaspeed performance accessories (including $2,797.48 for those forged wheels), the 30 mm reduction in ride height and 30% increase in spring rate from the sport spring kit enhances the already capable suspension, reducing dive under braking and improving turn-in. The car also looked that much meaner with the lowered ride height and special wheels.

If you haven't driven a Mazdaspeed3 - any Mazdaspeed3 - you'd find it a memorable experience. Do the math: a 1,432 kilogram compact hatchback, 263 hp, 280 lb.-ft torque. It adds up to an earthbound missile that claws and squirms its way from 0-100 km/h in 6.1 seconds, without additional performance accessories. And its 80-120 km/h time is 5.4 seconds, so if you want to pass somebody in a hurry, you'd be in the right car.

Base price for the Mazdaspeed3 is $30,995, and in this form it's already "excessive," meaning that if you're the kind of person who wants (or owns) one, you probably want more. Modified with sport springs, cold air intake and sport exhaust from Mazdaspeed Performance Accessories, the price rises to a still manageable $33,140.

What's the result? The turbo snorts and bellows with every gear change, the sport exhaust crackles and pops, and the stiffer sport springs lower the car by 15 mm, and give you more stability in the corners and under acceleration. The Mazdaspeed3 is a car that's on permanent fast-forward as soon as you start the engine. The accessories just add to the fun.

While lacking the down-low poke of the Mazdaspeed3, the RX-8 excels in balance and control. Always something of a go-cart when taking corners, the $40,395 RX-8 ($42,500 as tested, with moonroof and optional paint) really shines on a twisty track, where body lean is almost undetectable. It scoots around corners as if it was magnetically attached to the track surface.
Modified Mazda RX-8. Click image to enlarge
With 232 hp and 159 lb.-ft torque, the rotary powerplant of the RX-8 screams up to 8,000 rpm, and operates happily at these extreme engine speeds. The trick is to keep it there in order to retain the performance edge. The modified RX-8 used at Dunnville included a special performance package with rear spoiler, aluminum crests, cold air intake and 18" wheels. It was priced at $41,368.

Perhaps the most surprising performer at the event was the MX-5. At $34,195 ($35,655 as tested, with performance package that includes a limited slip differential, stability control, sport suspension, exterior paint charge), the MX-5 GT is such a well-balanced car that drivers were able to wring unexpected levels of performance from it. The modified car added a front air dam, rear under skirt, side sill extensions, rear spoiler, cold air intake, sport spring kit and sport exhaust to the performance package, for a final price of $39,077.

With "only" 166 hp and 140 lb.-ft torque from the base car (somewhat more in modified form) the MX-5 achieved thrilling speeds through the corners and impressive acceleration on the straights.
Modified Mazda MX-5. Click image to enlarge
Quebec race-car driver Bertrand Godin commented that the MX-5 was the most satisfying to drive of all the cars at the event. "So well balanced, perfect matching of power, braking, transmission, suspension, control - it's like making music as you go up and down through the gears," was his summation.

Mazda didn't officially discuss power increases for cars fitted with Mazdaspeed performance accessories, but somewhere "up to 10%" was heard in casual conversation. However, pumping up the horsepower kind of misses the point when considering Mazdaspeed Performance Accessories: the throttle response is different, the handling sharper, and in the right conditions, the cars feel nimbler and more athletic. These accessories amplify the performance characteristics of what are already balanced and capable machines. They further refine and define the "zoom zoom" nature of the Mazda brand.

Mazdaspeed Performance Accessories are available at Mazda dealers. A brochure is available at Mazda Canada's website.

NOS2Go4Me,May 15 2007, 09:12 AM Wrote:So it's a paid advertisement for Mazdaspeed and Mazda itself?

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NefCanuck,May 15 2007, 04:29 PM Wrote:I too like the MX-5 and the hardtop version is certainly on my lust list (Esp. if it comes available with an autostick)

It might be hard as hell for me to get in and out of... But I don't think I'd ever want to get out of it ;)
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