new performance mods, just starting out
 

hey new to the site and don't know much about what i should do, just bought a mazda3 2.3L and plan on doing some performance work such as a straight pipe exhaust, CAI, and possibly a chip. is this a good way to start out or what else should i consider?

no chip will work on the mazda 3... if they claim to.. its a lie, id go with i/h/e which stands for intake, header, exhaust.. those 3 will get the most power without going turbo... also a few companies have come out with intake manifolds for the 3.. i know of 2.. weapon r and cosworth.

sounds good ill look into the headers, i'm looking at a AEM intake right now and goin straightpipe for the exhaust, at least that's what i was told would be the best/cheapest way to get some power to it quickly. thanks for the help

do the easy ones first.low mount cold air,headers,catalytic converter delete and cat back exhaust will get you 163 at the wheel.

dumb question but...im actually looking at doing the same thing to mine. just bought it and need to make it a lil faster :) doe anyone know of a good setup? meaning manufacturer names so if i go out and buy something its not a piece of crap. what what do you do to the headers to make them fast? is it easy and cheap? im in college and need to keep it low cost if ya know what i mean. any help would be great. thanks.

get the low mount air intake from aem.they have a good filter on em.that'll set you back 249 maybe.headers are 500-600 depending on brand.i went with vibrant.the cat back works well with the intake.so for budget minded,you'll get the most out of the intake and cat back first.then save a little and get the header.i got better mielage after all of these mods.i average 28.2 in the city with the ac on.later on,find a muffler shop to do a straight pipe.you'll definitely notice the cold air and cat back exhaust.the header is the icing on the cake

what he said
 

I hear yah man. IM in the same boat picked up my mazda 3 sedan 2.0 bout a month and a half ago. ive done the after market mazda speed cold air intake as well as a 2.5 inch straight pipe from the resonator back with a 3 inch dnk tip. I also have 18's on it with yoko's to help with the handling but am lookin to remodel under my hood with minimal check engine problems as it stands ive topped it out at 170 prior to the intake... an yideas?

for intakes i recommend fujita f5.. they are cheap priced and high quality...... headers theres a few manufacturers, f2, vibrant, OBX, and thunder... a good cheap cat back exhaust is the stock cat back exhaust from a mazdaspeed 3.... its not over the top as far as sound goes and they are normally really cheap $100-$250... and as said before you can delete the cat with a straight pipe

See mods in my signature. Dyno results to come.

As promised. Dyno results:

168 whp
157 ft-lb torque

Much, much better than expected. Net gains per stock spec are 38 whp and 50 ft-lb torque. This is assuming an 18.75% loss through the powertrain. At the crank 207hp and 193 ft-lb. Not bad for bolt on parts and a stock motor.

just reading these and i actually have that similar setup. aem cai, vibrant headers(4-2-1) and the mazdaspeed cat-back exhaust...but the difference is my mileage is crap. i dropped to 17 to 18 mph even i i dont drive it hard. got the thought of not having enough back pressure so threw my stock headers in and the went up to like 23 to 24 mpg... but idk what else could be killing my gas

ryperedo,
Check out this thread. It might give you some direction on your MPG woes.

https://www.mazda3club.com/mazda3-mazdaspeed3-99/poor-mpg-51111/

I am in the same situation, stock 08 mazda3 2.3L, and I am looking for some basic upgrades to make a little more at the wheels. I have seen a lot of people saying the injen cai is a great intake and works well with o2 sensors and such. Anyone else know anything about the injen cai?

i did put on the AEM cai about a year ago. i did notice a small gain in hp as well as better mileage. i have done other things such as tinted windows and a sound system, but nothing else to the performance of the car. i am looking into exhaust systems now and would preferably choose a route that is not as costly. i found a couple brands (tsudo, pacesetter) that are cheaper than the popular borla, magnaflow, etc. Any opinions? Also, could i get away with a bolt-on exhaust, or would i be better off with welded.

i drive an 05 mazda3 gt 2.L sedan. i have pulleys, cai w/K&N filter, header with full, straight pipe exhaust, a stiffer rear motor mount and groundwire kit with voltage stabilizer. all that shit is bolt on, and its definately faster than stock. id say any or all of those are a good place to start. throw in performance plugs, run premium fuel with a octane booster, maintain the engine often and youre set. its definately not the fastest car ive driven, but one of the funnest to drive. youd be suprised how much faster a stage 1 weight redux feels too....all easy stuff to do, and any combo of those will produce results....