new guy needs help...
 

hey yall, my name is sean, i just bought my 04 mazda 3, so far i am in love.... it had about 40,000 miles on it when i got it, and ive already put over a thousand on it, i cant stop driving it.... this is my first 4 cylinder car... i finally gave up on trying to feed my V-8 powered vehicles of the past (Dodge Dakota, 72 Chevelle)
my little Mazda has a lot more get up and go than i expected... but its obviouse that it would have a lot more punch if it could actually breath.... i have very little experience with these small motors, so if yall have any "do's and Dont's" for me, that would be great.... I am currently in the US ARMY so i move around a lot, and i definatly don't want to do something stupid to blow my car up or something.... I'm really interested in getting some sort of new intake and exhaust, any help on this would be great, i have read the 4000 other threads about the subjects but i guess it cant hurt to ask one more time....

thanks yall

oh yeah, and i have NO IDEA what "package" my car is, a little help figuring that out would be nice to... thanks

if you get us some detailed pictures of the car we can tell you what kind it is.

The main question is this:

2.0L or 2.3L?
Auto or Stick?

you should take a look in our vendor section. Reputible vendors like Ken @Protege Garage and Gary (Kargoboy) are the first places to check. They both have an excellent reputation for service and price.

Intake, header, exhaust will provide marginal gains but mazdas really shine in the turns. When you get rid of that old V8 mentality you'll start to REALLY appreciate mazdas and you'll realize why no other car is raced more on any level than a mazda.

Thank you for your service to our country. I don't support your boss but I appreciate your sacrifice.

thank you for your help, my family lives in Birmingham... and thats where i am from, live there long?
and its a 2.3 with a 5 spd. its definatly not the base model... it has to many toys....

Welcome to the forum...we'll help in any way we can...maybe even sell you stuff...

I've lived in B'ham for the past 24 years or so. Most of my life. Next time you're home call me up and I'll buy you lunch.

I mentioned this in another thread but if you're interested in being a guinnea pig for some new parts I'll volunteer to do the installs for free. I'm trying to find someone willing to buy the Cosworth Focus 2.3L performance parts and let me install them. Their intake manifold makes me crap my pants. They have an NA engine package on the 2.3L that makes 230bhp...about 200whp.

Intake manifold, exhaust header, cams, windage tray, balance shaft removal kit, etc...They are nice but HiBoost's turbo kit is proven and would cost about the same as the NA set-up....just personal preference I guess.

i should be home around x-mas time... id love to be your guinnea pig, as long as my car dosnt explode.... ive strangly had that happen to me before....