New Member could use help
 

Hey guys I am new to the club. I recently sold my 2003 Nissan Xterra and bought a 2006 Mazda 3i 5speed for the MPG because I am going to university next year. When I had my X I got bored and modded it for off-roading. Now that I left the truck world and I am in the car world I have no idea what to do. If anyone has any suggestions please throw them out there. The only real mod I have done is 15% tint all the way around and a Pioneer touch screen head unit. Less pricey mods would be nice but I am up for anything.
Thank you,
James Michael Wood

The suggestions I make for everyone are retrofit heated side glass and get a third key. Also consider an AC resistor mod along with HIDs w/ projector mods.

For the heated side glass the easy way kind of depends on if you have power mirrors. IIRC in '06 some 3i models had manual mirrors. I'm sure it's still possible, but it would likely be more difficult since all of the heated glass had connections for the power mirror motors which the manual mirrors don't have. In any case you can add the heated glass and just have to run about 12" of wiring to the wiring in the door (again, not present in the manual mirror models) and then they come on with the rear defroster. Even if you're not getting snow/ice they're still really useful for fog/rain.

For the key if you have two working keys you can program in additional keys (up to eight) by yourself for only the cost of the new key. If you only have one key then you have to have the dealer program in additional keys for the cost of the key and programming. If you have two working keys then buying an extra one is cheap insurance against having to pay the dealer to program in a new one should you lose one of the two. If you lose one of your three keys you can just get a new one to replace it and the lost key will become unprogrammed in the process.

For the AC if you wire a resistor into the AC thermistor you can fool the system into thinking the interior is about five degrees hotter than it actually is which will make it blow a little cooler a little longer. Mazda AC tends to run a bit warmer in the 3 as they simply broadened the "normal" range of the system vs. making it work better. It's a handy mod to have run for the first 10 minutes or so to help cool everything down, but not something you want running all the time as it can cause the evaporator to freeze up. I have mine wired to a simple switch and turn it on/off manually. Other people have wired in a timer to have it cut off automatically.

For the headlights changing to HIDs will make your night driving much more awesome. The "best" way to switch would be to either change the entire headlight housings over to OEM HIDs, or to retrofit OEM or other real HID projectors into your existing housings. If you don't have the time/money to put into that then you can install a HID kit into your halogen projectors. It still looks pretty good, but not nearly as good as actual HID projectors. Either way you can swap in a clear lens to clean up the cutoff, provide pretty color, and give the beam a more even distribution.

I'd start with suspension. It'd give u the most noticeable feel right away. Lowering springs, sway bars, even a stickier tire is immediately noticeable. These cars are fuel efficient but most of all they are fun to drive. Springs should run you from $150-280. Sway bars are more expensive but stiffen the car so much for turns that it'll feel like it'll handle like an Indy car.

Will changing the springs and sway bars help with the bounciness I get when going over rough spots? I have a 2009 hatchback and I love it. My fuel consumption is not the greatest though, even when I drive smart. 30 is about the best average I have gotten thus far.