The GRM Mazdaspeed 3 project car?

I was just checking on my project car "watched" list and saw the GRM Mazdaspeed3 project car hasn't had any new updates. What up? Can we get the low down on a motor mount insert or some of the promised suspension tuning?

+1

We just tested it on Monday. We were waiting for our favorite test track to have cured asphalt. Should have an online update soon.

Per

Sweet. Glad to see the MS3 getting some love.

As a witness to the testing, I must say JG's MS3 is the gnarliest sounding motor I've heard in a long time. Not loud, but full of the popping/wheezing/snorting noises that make me love turbochargers.

I've had a pair of swaybars sitting around for some time, but the impending resurfacing of our test track pushed that project to the back burner. Now that the new asphalt is down, I have fresh "before" times and I can set about turning a wrench on those bars. Man that thing needs some help with weight transfer. On a tighter course, you really feel the front weight bias. It just doesn't feel like the rear end is doing much of anything.

And I really want to do a motor mount at some point. Anyone used one they like, or would recommend?

jg

I have a Custom Performance Engineering (CP-E) 75-durometer rear engine mount on my MS3, and it is awesome:

http://www.cp-e.com/2049.html

It's a quality piece and took only a half-hour to install- you don't even need to support the engine. The mount does a good job at reducing wheel hop and it also reduces torque steer a little. The steering feels a little crisper and it helps smooth out the stock shifter's vagueness. The only penalty I've seen is slightly increased vibrations when the A/C kicks in, but it's not bothersome at all. This is after it has been broken in for about 500-750mi. My MS3 at idle shook like a paint mixer while it was breaking in, but the vibes would go away while moving. CP-E's customer service rocks, too. They are currently helping me out with a front license plate holder that won't fit my car.

EDIT: Don't bother with the 60-duro. The 75-duro is the harder mount, but aside form the very slight vibes when the A/C kicks in, it feels almost stock.

YES! More MS3 tips!

I'm eagerly awaiting the web update. I'd also love to read a longer term test of the motor mount insert. Any brand.

So sways are next? Will this bring the rear tires more into the party on track? I would think with so much weight on the front tires that it might be hopeless case.

JG- have fun with that sway install. The front one is a BEAST. Took me, a buddy, 6 hours, two breaker bars, a couple of snatch straps, and all the swears ever invented to get it done. Granted, we didn't have a lift.....

and now I want to know what a snatch strap is.

What ever it is, it sounds hot.

I don't know exactly what it is, but I am pretty sure my wife's 5pt harness has one and mine doesn't.

I want to see more about this car. Destiny insists that I eventually add one to my fleet.

mndsm wrote: JG- have fun with that sway install. The front one is a BEAST. Took me, a buddy, 6 hours, two breaker bars, a couple of snatch straps, and all the swears ever invented to get it done. Granted, we didn't have a lift.....

I was worried someone would say this. I was just looking at the instructions, and while they sound simple enough, I think a lot of pain is hidden behind those words. "Installation is the reverse of removal" is right up there with "The check is in the mail" and other well-known phrases when it it comes to being misleading.

jg

Snatch strap=tow strap, ratchet strap, whatever.

The trick is actually getting it back together. The subframe cradle likes to twist sideways a little, making it getting realigned akin with teaching a cat calculus. Mazda was kind enough to leave "alignment holes" in the car, which is where the breaker bar came in. Basically you stick the bar into the A-arm/cradle hole, and up into the floorpan of the car. Then you yank the piss out of it until the upper subframe mount lines up, and then you have someone with a frankenstien extension (Seriously, we had like 22" of extensions on an 18" bar to get that pig back in there) stick the bolt in and ratchet it up. The straps came in because it actually made it easier to align the subframe by cranking the frame as far as it would go with the bar, and then wrapping the strap around the front A-arm, tying it to the rear, and ratcheting it down, and then cranking the subframe more, ratcheting, and so on. One other tip, the front drivers side a/m mount is kind of a paint to get the bolt closest to the car locked in, you need to have the kung fu grip on a ratcheting box end, because nothing else will fit in there.

At least the rear was done in less than 20 minutes.....

I think I have pics somewhere of the trainwreck that was my install if you're interested. Not sure if they're informative, but they're definitely laugh worthy.

Pictures would be sweet, actually. The more info I have going in the better I can tell how much I need to drink before getting started.

When I did the comber correctors on the rear, I found the rear subframe surprisingly easy to lower and raise, and I was alone for that one. The rear frame has long, conical alignment pins that guide the subframe back into place when you raise it up against the body. So I guess you're saying the front subframe doesn't have such an easy alignment method?

jg

I hate comber correctors, my hair never feels right afterward.

JG Pasterjak wrote: Pictures would be sweet, actually. The more info I have going in the better I can tell how much I need to drink before getting started. When I did the comber correctors on the rear, I found the rear subframe surprisingly easy to lower and raise, and I was alone for that one. The rear frame has long, conical alignment pins that guide the subframe back into place when you raise it up against the body. So I guess you're saying the front subframe doesn't have such an easy alignment method? jg

No pins. Couple of guide holes and a prayer is all you get. Oh, and a subframe 3 inches from your face when you drop it, and the car is already on a set of ramps. I'll see what I can do about digging up those pics for ya.

Oh and one other thing... for the love of god do this while the front suspension is under load. If you do it on a frame lift, you're REALLY screwed. One thing I actually just thought of..... stick space savers on the front if you can, that will give you a lot more room to work from the side of the car. I had this stuffed under the car for my adventure... (shoe is a size 11, no one believed I had what I had under the car.)

With the MM another to look at is the TRZ http://www.therpmstore.com/product_info.php?products_id=751&osCsid=7p8csmv8uucm6f6d7knnr4sq51 Im thinking of this myself as next, im sick of the feel of the motor bouncing around and my shifts suffering for it.

Couple of other things I remembered. The subframe doesn't quite go low enough to get the swaybar in, so you're gonna have to pull it down some. Also, on the ORIGINAL topic- Street Unit's motor mounts are excellent.

mndsm wrote: Also, on the ORIGINAL topic- Street Unit's motor mounts are excellent.

But are currently backordred @streetunit.com.

About a month ago, I asked when they would be back in stock. Here's the response:

Hopefully within the next few weeks. We're awaiting the arrival of urethane inserts for the mounts. If no setbacks arise, we expect to have them ready to ship sometime next month.

This was on the 21 of April.

mndsm wrote: Oh and one other thing... for the love of god do this while the front suspension is under load. If you do it on a frame lift, you're REALLY screwed.

Please elaborate.

So you're saying use ramps and keep the suspension compressed? What about doing it on a lift, but disconnecting the upper strut mounts or something?

jg

Do it on ramps. With the suspension unloaded, it gives the a-arms places to go, and the subframe twists even further out of position. Doing it on a rack like they have at the jiffy lube that just lifts the car is ideal. I did mine on ramps. The nice thing is, leaving the suspension loaded pretty much negates the need to align it afterwards, because the tie rods and everything else holds it all in place.... you're basically just swinging the entire assembly down.

Here is a pretty good walk through on an MZ3 which is very simaler to the MS3.

http://www.mazda3forums.com/index.php?topic=126600.0

I figured they were waiting for the aftermarket to de-Joker the front end. They should.