MazdaSpeed 2.3L DISI Turbo Blown Engine Resource Thread

[FreeFlyFreak]

Originally Posted by Driver72 This thread makes me REALLY nervous about getting a MazdaSpeed 3 How many engines have blown or whatever in these cars?

Just buy one and dont worry, be happy>

YouTube - Bobby McFerrin - Don't Worry Be Happy

YouTube - Bobby McFerrin - Don't Worry Be Happy

[Laloosh]

Originally Posted by Driver72 This thread makes me REALLY nervous about getting a MazdaSpeed 3 How many engines have blown or whatever in these cars?

did you think i was kidding. Just cause some asshole had the other thread basically locked doesnt mean i was lying. If you want a car in the price range to keep stock get a ms3. IF you want to mod it, dont even get within 100 yds of a mazda dealership

[FreeFlyFreak]

Originally Posted by Laloosh If you want a car in the price range to keep stock get a ms3. IF you want to mod it, dont even get within 100 yds of a mazda dealership

Yet!

[Driver72]

Originally Posted by Laloosh did you think i was kidding. Just cause some asshole had the other thread basically locked doesnt mean i was lying. If you want a car in the price range to keep stock get a ms3. IF you want to mod it, dont even get within 100 yds of a mazda dealership

Well I haven't decided if I'd mod it (tune) yet or not.
But with a stock psi of 15.5 and hearing that 18 psi is max on the MS3 without doing fuel pump and other work, it hardly seems worth tuning the car to get 2-2.5 psi more out of it (what's 2 psi more boost in the MS3 worth? 20 hp?)

I'm hearing an intake is worth 15-20 though, so that might be something I'd do.

But man there's quite a few blown engines apparently.
The N54 is bullet proof by comparison, it's only issue is the HPFP and even then a small percentage fail, and even then they covered under warranty.
And people are raising the boost twice the stock boost level on the N54 engine, plus race gas, plus meth.

I was kind of hoping the MS3 engine would be even 1/2 that robust.
Guess not. Bummer.

Well if I get one, guess I gotta keep in pretty stock.

[Laloosh]

if you really want a fwd cheap fun car, srt4 caliber (ugly as sin), cobalt ss/tc (rental car)
You can mod both without worring about leaving rods on the highway while you merge at part throttle. The memebers here are simply in denail. They have gone through so many theories about why this engine blows, ud think they made the car. However they keep blowing, and more excuses keep popping up. REality is, other platforms dont have these problems. The n54 shouldnt even be compared to this motor lol.

[ms3077]

Originally Posted by Driver72 Well I haven't decided if I'd mod it (tune) yet or not. But with a stock psi of 15.5 and hearing that 18 psi is max on the MS3 without doing fuel pump and other work, it hardly seems worth tuning the car to get 2-2.5 psi more out of it (what's 2 psi more boost in the MS3 worth? 20 hp?) I'm hearing an intake is worth 15-20 though, so that might be something I'd do. But man there's quite a few blown engines apparently. The N54 is bullet proof by comparison, it's only issue is the HPFP and even then a small percentage fail, and even then they covered under warranty. And people are raising the boost twice the stock boost level on the N54 engine, plus race gas, plus meth. I was kind of hoping the MS3 engine would be even 1/2 that robust. Guess not. Bummer. Well if I get one, guess I gotta keep in pretty stock.

A stock MS3 will spike up to 18psi but holds ~14.5psi in 3-6th

A intake MS3 will spike up to 20psi and holds ~16.5psi in 3-6th

The stock airbox is extremely restrictive and 2psi is probably real close to 20hp.

If you get a Cobb AP to go along with an intake I hear the gains are a lot higher because of the tune. Might be looking at close to 30-40whp over stock and make power to redline instead of shy of 6000rpms. Cost would be about 700-900bucks and you would have a 300hp speed3 or pretty close and reliable I think. Even if something happens you have a warranty and the MODS mentioned are very easy to switch back to stock. Not a big deal IMO unless you just got to have major hp which isn't really what this car is about.

The 135/335i bimmers are a lot more expensive than the MS3 so I would hope they'd perform a bit better. When you consider the MS3 is around 24k and it's 2.3L DISI 4cyl motor pumps out 263hp/280ft-lb TQ and the Bimmer is around 36-40k and its 3.0l turbo straight 6cyl pumps out 300hp/300ft-lb TQ it sort of puts things into perspective.

The bimmer has + 2 cyl and +.7L of displacement on the MS3's motor. 300hp with gobs of low/midrange torque isn't too bad for a 2.3L 4cyl motor IMO, its appearantly no EVO/ STI but those have been around a lot longer as well and don't have DISI which is relatively new tech.

Apples and Oranges.

[Driver72]

Originally Posted by Laloosh if you really want a fwd cheap fun car, srt4 caliber (ugly as sin), cobalt ss/tc (rental car) You can mod both without worring about leaving rods on the highway while you merge at part throttle. The memebers here are simply in denail. They have gone through so many theories about why this engine blows, ud think they made the car. However they keep blowing, and more excuses keep popping up. REality is, other platforms dont have these problems. The n54 shouldnt even be compared to this motor lol.

Oh don't get me wrong I wasn't comparing the N54 to this engine.
The N54 is a beaut and basically the 6 cylinder engine of choice to tune.
100 whp gains on that engine is no problem and only about $1500.
Or $600 and race gas.
all this of course you know now.

Again, I'd have another of BMW would of made the 2010 e92 the LCI and given it the DCT of the M3 like they did in Europe for the 335i.


Again, guess if I get an MS3 I'll keep in pretty stock.
Would never get the SRT4
If the Cobalt SS was not so crappy inside, I'd consider.
That 2.0 is stout too and can take ALL KINDS of modding.
Heck there's full on drag race cars with that engine.

I'm considering a VW GTI too.
But the 2.0T is not as smooth as the MS3's 2.3T
And the VW is a bit more expensive for really no more of a car.

What happened to have numerous choices in the pocket rocket category?
Argh.

Originally Posted by ms3077 The 135/335i bimmers are a lot more expensive than the MS3 so I would hope they'd perform a bit better. When you consider the MS3 is around 24k and it's 2.3L DISI motor pumps out 263hp/280ft-lb TQ and the Bimmer is around 36-40k and its 3.0l inline turbo six pumps out 300hp/300ft-lb TQ it sort of puts things into perspective. Apples and Oranges.

Too be fair, of course not.
The BMW's engine alone cost $17k
But also keep in mind the BMW's 300 hp and 300 tq is WAY underrated.
They dyno at:
275 rwhp
285 rwtq
as "average"
It's probably closer to 325 hp and 335 tq at the crank stock.

And it's on 8.8 psi boost, not 15+ like the MS3 engine.
At 15 psi the N54 is making 390-400 hp
with 340-350 rwhp and 360-370 rwtq
It's a stout engine.

But you pay for it. There's a reason the BMW cost $40-50k.

Not to knock the $25k MS3
For the money you can't really get better performance.
But I would of hoped the engine was a bit more stout to basic tuning or modding.
It would make me really nervous to even add 2 psi boost to the engine though.
May not stop me from getting one, but if I do, I probably wouldn't tune it, maybe just add an intake and maybe exhaust if they make a good quiet, lightweight one.

[Target:STi]

Car; 2006 Mazdaspeed6 23k miles
Cylinder; #4
Damage; #4 bearing damaged, #4 rod "twisted", oil on top of 2 pistons, crankshaft endplay
RPM; 3500-4500 part throttle (shocker)
Mods; MS CAI, TS BOV, 3 inch turbo back, ETS TMIC,
Situation; just finished putting on my downpipe. warmed the car up, checked for leaks, drove 2.2 miles down the street, 3rd gear ~4k rpms slowly rolling on throttle sputter sputter KR KR and fork in a blender sound.
Warranty; no. car was put completely back to stock. dealership claimed to have found evidence that things were tampered with (they went through the car with a fine tooth comb)
Oil; oil was changed every 3k miles at the dealership, so they would have the records. although it didnt help at all.

no, i never beat on the car. adult owned and garage kept.

[DCLXVI]

i hope no oil got in that intercooler i just bought from you.

i asked you why you were parting out, you said

"no, theres nothing wrong with any of the stuff. i have a baby on the way and need the money! "

i hope its at least been cleaned and you cleaned up all the other parts you sold. intercoolers can be soaked in solution anyone? to ensure cleanliness?

[yang_jackson]

pwnd

[Target:STi]

Originally Posted by DCLXVI i hope no oil got in that intercooler i just bought from you. i asked you why you were parting out, you said "no, theres nothing wrong with any of the stuff. i have a baby on the way and need the money! " i hope its at least been cleaned and you cleaned up all the other parts you sold. intercoolers can be soaked in solution anyone? to ensure cleanliness?

the oil was on top of the pistons because the rings were also damaged. i inspected the tmic for oil and found none. my turbo wasnt blown, nor had it ever smoked, but on these cars oil in the intake tract should be no surprise anymore. all the parts i sold were in perfect working order. the only damage to the engine was internal, it wasnt some fantastic explosion that covered all the parts in oil/coolant. the reason i sold them is because of the baby on the way, otherwise i would have kept them and rebuilt it.

[Nitr0EngiE]

How many of these blown engines had oil catch cans, theres theory the pcv valve dumping oil into cyl and hydrooil locking rods

[evo2ms3]

Just wanted to update the list a little, since a few have blown just this week:

Realgib3
Darksun280
boosted3
Smoke_31
MS3BOOSTIN
Speed I
flyrevs
Target: STI
SLS MS3
AFcadet
tburton101

That's 10 more in just a couple months.

[itzl0l]

this shits fucked up

[badams118]

I seriously feel bad for you guys, but I am so glad I dumped my MS3 before the same thing happened to me. It seems more & more like it is just a matter of time with these cars. Ten people in a couple months? Good god...

[dphm]

Is the original post being updated anymore? It feels like a lot posts to sift through to get the pertinent info.

[Smoke_31]

It's so funny how down on this car everyone is. I'm done with mine but can't offload it lol.

Laloosh is right. Rock it stock or watch it blow.

edit**

Has anyone managed to wreck an engine with forged internals yet? I would go read, but don't feel like it at 4AM.

[badams118]

Originally Posted by Smoke_31 It's so funny how down on this car everyone is. I'm done with mine but can't offload it lol. Laloosh is right. Rock it stock or watch it blow. edit** Has anyone managed to wreck an engine with forged internals yet? I would go read, but don't feel like it at 4AM.

Closest I've seen is this:

dun dun dun... its cursed

[Driver72]

Originally Posted by evo2ms3 Just wanted to update the list a little, since a few have blown just this week: Realgib3 Darksun280 boosted3 Smoke_31 MS3BOOSTIN Speed I flyrevs Target: STI SLS MS3 AFcadet tburton101 That's 10 more in just a couple months.

Hate to say it guys, but I'm damn glad I got a new WRX instead of the MS3 I was minutes away from buying (driving to the dealership when I decided to stop at the Subaru dealer again on the way over).

That's just messed up how many MS3 engines are blowing and it seems for almost no reasons at all. I'd understand if these were almost all happening while moderately or heavily modded and were being track driven all the time. But damn, even lightly modded DD's are blowing. That is f-ed up.
And again, Laloosh was right. Thanks for the heads up on that too bro.

[802MS3]

laloosh hasn't offered this forum shit since he left, except his own arrogance. fuck his advice.

[Driver72]

I disagree there. He advised me to look around here and in doing so, I found the amount of blown engines the MS3 has gotten from simple basic modding. He very well could of saved me thousands, as without that tip I probably would of gotten the MS3 and knowing me would of flash tuned it and very well could of ended up being a victim of a blown engine.

Sure that can happen if/when modding any car, but it seems to be an very unusually high percentage of MS3 engines doing so. I wasn't willing to take that chance on a very basically modded car (especially how few MS3's there are on the road).
Makes you wonder how many have blown that the owners aren't even on these boards so nobody knows about them??

[Lex]

Those WRXs have a laundry list of issues as well.

[Driver72]

Originally Posted by Lex Those WRXs have a laundry list of issues as well.

Not really.
The first month or two of production the 09 WRX's had an ECU glitch that caused some issues, but that was immediately sorted out by Subaru. Which is somewhat understandable since after the 08 WRX was a big mistake, they pretty much quickly stuck the STI's turbo into the regular WRX to rectify their 08 mistake. No issues since the first couple months 09 production now that they've had time to sort it all out. They also beefed up the 09 tranny as well. Even though the STI's is bulletproof and the pre 09 WRX's 5MT was quite strong. Many stage 2+ WRX's on stock trannys still.
And considering there are probably 10x the amount of WRX's running around, of which 20x more are modded well beyond what most MS3 drivers do, relatively speaking there's no comparison.
I don't know if I've ever seen a MS3 at the drag strip. Every time you go you see up to 10 WRX's of various levels of mods, dragging the cars like crazy and I've never seen one blow.
The WRX is super stout by comparison. Short of a few cars over the years (Supra, some Honda's, etc) being able to take a beating no matter what you throw at it, all will have some short comings with modifying, but I don't know if there is a car that's been more often modified than the WRX and EVO over the past 5-6 years. Sure the EVO's engine/drivetrain was even stronger, but the WRX's 2.5 has taken a beating. If it didn't stand up well, people surely wouldn't keep buying them and modding them.
But this thread isn't about what the WRX can take.
I think the countless Subaru tuning shops around the country can verify and validate what the 2.5 is able to take.
Maybe Mazda will eventually beef up the 2.3 engine and these issues will go away.

[FreeFlyFreak]

Driver72, take your WRX and FUCK OFF! to a Subaru forum.

I call for BAN Hammer, the guy is obviously trolling at this point.

[sp33dy6]

i dun give a fuk i have a mazdaspeed6, u can take ur subaru boy toy racer and shove it up ur asss!!!!!... speed3 still won the comparison vs the wrx =)-

[GoSpeed3Go]

theres two guys that live near me in another building each owns a sti. i saw them kissing yesterday when i got home from work, always wondered what the pink badges were for on WRXs freind told me it was some jdm shit. to me its more like
J-erking D-udes M-eats. bet you got some pink jdm badges on the way driver72. way to be a trendy fag. GTFO

[cld12pk2go]

Originally Posted by Driver72 Hate to say it guys, but I'm damn glad I got a new WRX instead of the MS3 I was minutes away from buying (driving to the dealership when I decided to stop at the Subaru dealer again on the way over). That's just messed up how many MS3 engines are blowing and it seems for almost no reasons at all. I'd understand if these were almost all happening while moderately or heavily modded and were being track driven all the time. But damn, even lightly modded DD's are blowing. That is f-ed up. And again, Laloosh was right. Thanks for the heads up on that too bro.

Enjoy the car. I almost got one of those back in late 07. The glass tranny and higher price pushed me to the MS3. Nice to hear they improved the 5M.

[phantom3]

Originally Posted by Driver72 I disagree there. He advised me to look around here and in doing so, I found the amount of blown engines the MS3 has gotten from simple basic modding. He very well could of saved me thousands, as without that tip I probably would of gotten the MS3 and knowing me would of flash tuned it and very well could of ended up being a victim of a blown engine. Sure that can happen if/when modding any car, but it seems to be an very unusually high percentage of MS3 engines doing so. I wasn't willing to take that chance on a very basically modded car (especially how few MS3's there are on the road). Makes you wonder how many have blown that the owners aren't even on these boards so nobody knows about them??

Originally Posted by Driver72 Not really. The first month or two of production the 09 WRX's had an ECU glitch that caused some issues, but that was immediately sorted out by Subaru. Which is somewhat understandable since after the 08 WRX was a big mistake, they pretty much quickly stuck the STI's turbo into the regular WRX to rectify their 08 mistake. No issues since the first couple months 09 production now that they've had time to sort it all out. They also beefed up the 09 tranny as well. Even though the STI's is bulletproof and the pre 09 WRX's 5MT was quite strong. Many stage 2+ WRX's on stock trannys still. And considering there are probably 10x the amount of WRX's running around, of which 20x more are modded well beyond what most MS3 drivers do, relatively speaking there's no comparison. I don't know if I've ever seen a MS3 at the drag strip. Every time you go you see up to 10 WRX's of various levels of mods, dragging the cars like crazy and I've never seen one blow. The WRX is super stout by comparison. Short of a few cars over the years (Supra, some Honda's, etc) being able to take a beating no matter what you throw at it, all will have some short comings with modifying, but I don't know if there is a car that's been more often modified than the WRX and EVO over the past 5-6 years. Sure the EVO's engine/drivetrain was even stronger, but the WRX's 2.5 has taken a beating. If it didn't stand up well, people surely wouldn't keep buying them and modding them. But this thread isn't about what the WRX can take. I think the countless Subaru tuning shops around the country can verify and validate what the 2.5 is able to take. Maybe Mazda will eventually beef up the 2.3 engine and these issues will go away.

I'm still faster from a roll... And if your so sure you saved money, how come I could blow my engine twice and still not be paying what I would have for a STI... sounds like LaDouche COST you an extra 15K... Bitch.

[Driver72]

Originally Posted by phantom3 I'm still faster from a roll... And if your so sure you saved money, how come I could blow my engine twice and still not be paying what I would have for a STI... sounds like LaDouche COST you an extra 15K... Bitch.

I paid $25,341 for my WRX. that's $499 less than MSRP for a 2010 MS3
How does that cost me $15k?

I wouldn't pay $38-40k for an STI either, I'd get a 135i way before that.

Boy lots of defensive people on these Mazda forums. Easily upset and argumentative. Lots of childish name calling, aggression and very unfriendly towards others. Maybe that's what Cobb meant in their post about Mazda owners that caused Cobb to stop further development to Mazda cars....hmmm.

That's too bad, I actually still like the MS3 very much and feel with a more robust engine could be an even better car. As a car enthusiast, I like all cars, and often meet up at meets with many people in various types of cars. You guys seem to be all about the MS3 and say "F off" to anybody who owns anything else. I'd hope theres at least a few MS3 owners who are cool enough to want to meet up and compare cars.
I'd look forward to seeing how the MS3 does (and see it beat me from a 40-120 mph roll).

Oh and your car is faster from a roll in the dry at higher speeds only

Sorry guys, didn't mean to take this thread OT.
Back to talk of blown MS3 engines only please.
Cheers.

[smakdown61]

Originally Posted by Driver72 Not really. The first month or two of production the 09 WRX's had an ECU glitch that caused some issues, but that was immediately sorted out by Subaru. Which is somewhat understandable since after the 08 WRX was a big mistake, they pretty much quickly stuck the STI's turbo into the regular WRX to rectify their 08 mistake. No issues since the first couple months 09 production now that they've had time to sort it all out. They also beefed up the 09 tranny as well. Even though the STI's is bulletproof and the pre 09 WRX's 5MT was quite strong. Many stage 2+ WRX's on stock trannys still. And considering there are probably 10x the amount of WRX's running around, of which 20x more are modded well beyond what most MS3 drivers do, relatively speaking there's no comparison. I don't know if I've ever seen a MS3 at the drag strip. Every time you go you see up to 10 WRX's of various levels of mods, dragging the cars like crazy and I've never seen one blow. The WRX is super stout by comparison. Short of a few cars over the years (Supra, some Honda's, etc) being able to take a beating no matter what you throw at it, all will have some short comings with modifying, but I don't know if there is a car that's been more often modified than the WRX and EVO over the past 5-6 years. Sure the EVO's engine/drivetrain was even stronger, but the WRX's 2.5 has taken a beating. If it didn't stand up well, people surely wouldn't keep buying them and modding them. But this thread isn't about what the WRX can take. I think the countless Subaru tuning shops around the country can verify and validate what the 2.5 is able to take. Maybe Mazda will eventually beef up the 2.3 engine and these issues will go away.

Um, lets not forget about the 1000 page thread on nasioc about the blown motors the 09's are having. Their engine problem was 1000x worse than ours and many are still blowing. The only upside is that they know exactly what the problem is and probably fixed it by now.

[badams118]

You're probably referring to this:

2009 WRX engine failure VIN/build date owner list - NASIOC

It was an mfg problem that was fixed after a couple months of production. All motors were covered by warranty.

[Dash08]

Fucking hell man, I can't believe driver72 is still posting on this forum.

Seriously, do us all a favor and go jerk off all over your new wrx.

This fucking guy, he thinks we're out of line. Just because you say something in a calm and collective way doesn't mean you aren't being a disrespectful asshole.

You and Loosh should fuck, sounds like a perfect match.

I move for ban hammer on this ass clown.

[FunkyMonkey]

Car; 2006 Mazda Mps 6
Cylinder; 3
Damage; Blown engine. Hole in block #3 cylinder.

[Driver72]

Originally Posted by Dash08 Fucking hell man, I can't believe driver72 is still posting on this forum. Seriously, do us all a favor and go jerk off all over your new wrx. This fucking guy, he thinks we're out of line. Just because you say something in a calm and collective way doesn't mean you aren't being a disrespectful asshole. You and Loosh should fuck, sounds like a perfect match. I move for ban hammer on this ass clown.

LOL, kids, when they want to act all tough and feel good about themselves, they just cuss and swear and insult others over the internet. LOL

Freshman year being a bit tough for you?
Wanting a "favor" of me by jerking off on my car? Wanting me and Laloosh to have sex. Sorry not into dudes and would only jerk off for my wife and some hot chicks. No "favors" for you.
If you haven't come out of the closet yet, you might as well now.
No can you at least stay on topic of blown MS3 engines. PM me if you feel the need to send insults and use 6th grade language.

[Target:STi]

Originally Posted by FunkyMonkey Car; 2006 Mazda Mps 6 Cylinder; 3 Damage; Blown engine. Hole in block #3 cylinder.

mods? miles? events leading up to it?

[Blink]

I guess ill finally post my blow. Engine went earlier this year, spring/summer 09.

Blink
Car; 2007 Mazdaspeed 6 19,xxx miles.
Cylinder; #1?
Damage; none visible
RPM; 4500rpm, accelerating under WOT.
Mods; CBE, cobb SRI, turbosmart BPV, stock boost
Situation; accelerating in 2nd gear under WOT, heard a lound "pop" like all the boost blowing off at once. popping sound followed by screwdriver in a blender noise.
Warranty; returned car to stock minus the CBE, new engine covered under warranty.
Oil; full synthetic, changed at dealer.

[Target:STi]

Originally Posted by Blink I guess ill finally post my blow. Engine went earlier this year, spring/summer 09. Blink Car; 2007 Mazdaspeed 6 19,xxx miles. Cylinder; #1? Damage; none visible RPM; 4500rpm, accelerating under WOT. Mods; CBE, cobb SRI, turbosmart BPV, stock boost Situation; accelerating in 2nd gear under WOT, heard a lound "pop" like all the boost blowing off at once. popping sound followed by screwdriver in a blender noise. Warranty; returned car to stock minus the CBE, new engine covered under warranty. Oil; full synthetic, changed at dealer.

intake, cat back, and bypass valve. those are pretty minimal mods for a bent rod. at least they covered you though.

[kwsmithphoto]

Originally Posted by Target:STi mods? miles? events leading up to it?

He edited his post...

[evidence]

Originally Posted by Target:STi intake, cat back, and bypass valve. those are pretty minimal mods for a bent rod. at least they covered you though.

Yea.. that sounds like a lemon to me if thats all you had done to it (and hide the pizza intake mod from us). Glad they covered.

[bast525]

Laloosh is saying 'rock it stock'... I was under the impression that a few people had blown stock as well?

I know I did have some funny issues when I was stock... odd stutter/backfire, and some bad KR a couple times accelerating on the freeway...