ibanez78

hi everyone, I wanted to get a mazdaspeed muffler but apparently they are not available here, but the MP3 muffler is. My question, are they the same muffler? do they sound the same? any feedback will help

goldstar

If by Mazdaspeed muffler you mean the one sold as an accessory by Mazda dealers, they are not the same. The Mazdaspeed is smaller, lighter, louder and tends to drone at highway speeds compared with the MP3 muffler.

You can find the Mazdaspeed muffler at a good price at:
www.mazdastuff.com

ibanez78

yeah that's the one. I'm not going to order one from Mazdastuff.com cause I'm in canada and it would end up costing alot. Has anyone actually heard the MP3 muffler's sound? how different is it from the Mazdaspeed's? I like the Mazdaspeed one cause I heard another protege owner who installed one say that it has a nice growl and isn't loud till about 3500. I don't want a muffler that sounds ricey, want it to have a deep sound to it

rustychops41

I can confirm the "drone", but it's really only a pain on long freeway drives. It's definitely not "ricey." More of a mellow "healthy" sound. Hope this helps.

ibanez78

tell me more about this "drone". what rpm does it start? right now when i go any faster than about 110 i can heard the engine but i would call it sort of like a buzzing. It doesn't sound horrible but it's not something that is nice on the ears. How about under hard acceleration/idle? sorry for all the questions but a muffler isn't like choosing a radio, can't really go listen to it

rustychops41

I drive about 250 miles a day as a messenger in my own car. About half is freeway driving. The drone starts at about 60+, and I cruise at about 70-75 MPH. I try to keep my DMV record clean these days, no "110" for me. I save that for the weekends (Solo II). Since my Parada's are about half worn now, they will soon drown out the muffler drone anyway LOL.

ibanez78

i'm in canada so the 110 is kph not mph. I've never even had my car up to that speed. anyways back to that drone, at 60-70 is the muffler alot louder than the engine? for me around 3500 rpm the engine starts to get loud

rustychops41

Sorry, I didn't notice the locale! Oh dopey me. I was even wondering while typing last time about MPH/KPH but then I brain-farted. I'd say the muffler is louder than the engine at 70 MPH.

VagaBond-X

just put on one of ure favourite cds, or listen to your favourite radio station, and put the volume up

juddz

I have a Mazdaspeed muffler on my P5. It gives a sweet, deep mellow tone. It doesn't sound anything like the cheapo neon encrusted, JC Whitney-ified, weedeater Civics I see around town. It does drone at moderate throttle on the freeway, but not enough to drown out a conversation. I was surprised at how much louder it is; I guess I expected it to be pretty quiet (since it is from the OEM). I think that if you add an intake to your car as well (I have an AEM on mine), you'll really enjoy the sound that the car makes. Please remember that if you have a P5, you'll need a different Mazdaspeed muffler than the standard Protege, since the rear overhang length is different. A lot of Mazda dealers in the states sell parts via the internet. Do a google search, to see what you come up with.

rustychops41

Is that anything like "Zirchon Encrusted Tweezers?" And LOL about the "weed-eater" reference!

hi-perf

the mazdaspeed sport exhaust available at dealers are actually rebadged borla (or bosal maybe - i forget) axlebacks. nice exhausts, and give a nice tone.

the ones that came stock on the MSP and MP3 on the other hand, makes almost no sound difference whatsoever. remember they are stock mufflers, nobody exactly wants the tone on a new car they are buying.

if you are looking for the real deal mazdaspsed sport exhaust, i happen to have one i am willing to part with very soon, shoot me an email.

kargoboy

Apparently only some of them are. I have been trying to figure this out for months.
Mine is a Racing Beat. Bought directly from my dealer and sold as the Mazdaspeed Sport Exhaust.

Some of them are Borla. The Racing Beat has an angled tip, the Borla does not. I've heard the Borla is a lot louder, too.

hi-perf

did they sell you the catback?

sounds like you got an mp3 muffler, and not one of the protege performance parts, as classified by the dealer. afaik, all of the rebadged borlas were sold as mazdaspeed sport exhausts.

rustychops41

I wonder what I really got then? I wanted the one in the little blue brochure ("Protege Performance Accesories"), it was tasty looking, and not too flashy. The dealer had a hell of a time getting it. When they finally got it in and put it on (without my seeing it off the car unfortunately, all I saw was a big-*** box with a MazdaSpeed logo) it was a flashy-*** big tipped (straight-cut rolled 4"?) with a "MazdaSpeed" logo engraved in the right side. While I like the sound, I could do without the "hey look at me" size. I'm saving up for a RB cat back.