MS3 to WRX/EVO... natural evolution?

[zrob88]

Originally Posted by needsmospeed I'm a newbie around here, been grateful to be able to pick up on all the happenings of Mazda lifestyle.... the "toy" is my 2005 Pontiac GTO.... Most of the GTO guys seem to have a natural evolution in which they seem to mostly grow out of the GTO and eventually either get a C6 Vette or a newer Mustang 5.0..... As I have been reading through these forums... it kinda feels familiar in that people who have MS3's seem to move onto either WRX/STI or EVO's.... Is this accurate? Thoughts on why this may be? I am selling my current daily driver to get into a GenPu MS3, but am wondering if most would advise skipping straight to a Mitsu/Suby? I need it to be a hatchback, and don't fit well in the EVO anyways... So i'd be looking at the MS3 vs an 2008-09 WRX wagon..... Thanks for your opinions... Flame suit on.

Not reading through 3+ pages but I had an 06 GTO and i absolutely loved it, it was an upgrade from sr20 powered 240sx. I only had a SLP exhaust, volant intake and a flash tune and the car brought me way more smiles than the 240 and still got about the same gas mileage. I only traded it becuase I was moving and needed something with good mileage... Enter the speed3 I absolutely love my genpu i have your general bolt ons and im just awaiting a tune to hopefully make in the 300whp range. That being said the car is a helluva lot of fun and a great DD and grocery getter. It attracts far less attention than the goat or my 240 did and i can still hang with most of the other performance cars running around town. My only gripe with the speed is the fact its FWD but it still provides a trhill when you have to fight for traction.

The 08 and 09 WRX/STI were a consideration for me, but their not good daily drivers, the suspension SUCKS on the WRX, the STI is a little hardcore for a daily driver and it will definitely attract A LOT of attention. I never like EVOs unless they were the MR version and thats a hardcore street legal track machine. If your not looking to make huge power and have a fun DD the MS3 cant be beat. AWD is an acquired taste IMO, i would go drive an MS6, EV0 and WRX and see if you like it first. I like the lack of traction and fun factor 2wd brings.

If you do end up selling that gto though let me know, maybe we can trade haha. I miss mine.

[BooSTed_Hatch]

Originally Posted by Budwise Its more reliable because: 1) No Direct Injection 2) No forced induction Its just a simple V8 that makes good power. This is probably also my personal opinion showing as well due to having lots of issues with my MS3 and virtually none with my 5.0. But having talked to lots of gearheads and mechanics at the track days etc im hearing a lot of the same things from them. Im not dissing the DISI motor at all either, its fricking awesome when they're running right but I apparently got a bad one. The thread was just involving what peoples taste evolved to after the MS3, was just sharing my experience. Yea I've heard of some people getting gear whine and transmission whine. Luckily its a small %. The MT82 transmissions are good up til around 600HP ive heard and after that its a crap shoot.

What exactly did you have done to your car that you had a "bad motor"?

[Budwise]

Originally Posted by BooSTed_Hatch What exactly did you have done to your car that you had a "bad motor"?

Nothing extravagant. Corksport intake and TIP, test pipe, upgraded IC, ITV22's, internals, and a tune. The turbo always made a strange noise during heavy boost, it was asthmatic or something. My tuner and I spent a lot of time trying to get the car to run right but always has KR issues and the turbo noise. Took it to the track and it blew on the 3rd session. Got a new K04 from Mazda and reinstalled all my mods again, same weird turbo noise/flutter even with a brand new Turbo. I was so annoyed and didnt feel i could trust the car any longer so I traded it in.

[BooSTed_Hatch]

Originally Posted by Budwise Nothing extravagant. Corksport intake and TIP, test pipe, upgraded IC, ITV22's, internals, and a tune. The turbo always made a strange noise during heavy boost, it was asthmatic or something. My tuner and I spent a lot of time trying to get the car to run right but always has KR issues and the turbo noise. Took it to the track and it blew on the 3rd session. Got a new K04 from Mazda and reinstalled all my mods again, same weird turbo noise/flutter even with a brand new Turbo. I was so annoyed and didnt feel i could trust the car any longer so I traded it in.

That is extremely odd/strange!! The fact you replaced the turbo and still heard the same noises is rather puzzling. Was going to say could have been a bad turbo, but if you replaced it and still heard the same sounds you heard before you blew it something else was up.

I had an 02 1.8T GTI and we had about a crew of 4-5 of us with similar setups (for the most part) on stock turbos (until I went BT) and 1 2 of them blew through their stock turbo's with less the 10k miles on them. Mostly due to over spooling, pushing the limits etc. But those were issues with the Turbos themselves and pushing them past their max.

[speedsun]

I guess this odd for a first post but this is a thread that interested me. I don't own a MS3 yet but I'm considering them as a new dd. I'm a former owner of a 03 Cobra that made 449/453. It was the most fun for buck I have ever paid but at last the cost to own it took its toll and getting under 15 mpg sucked as well.

I'm debating on this car and the Evo... sorry wrx is out of the question. The owners are usually homos and the group is way too large here.

[Cevaes_64]

Its all down to what you want/need... Ms3 is a great and fun DD, I love Evos/STI but as my DD i would take the MS3 any day of the week

[Jpspeedthree]

Originally Posted by speedsun I guess this odd for a first post but this is a thread that interested me. I don't own a MS3 yet but I'm considering them as a new dd. I'm a former owner of a 03 Cobra that made 449/453. It was the most fun for buck I have ever paid but at last the cost to own it took its toll and getting under 15 mpg sucked as well. I'm debating on this car and the Evo... sorry wrx is out of the question. The owners are usually homos and the group is way too large here.

It's just a choice between fwd/awd and power. What's your goal? Just a fun DD? Go ms3. If you want a track car and want to get crazy power, go Evo. I've had both cars. Loved my Evo but the ms3 works better for me as both a family car + hobby car right now. Still pulls hard and it's pretty fun overall. I'd only buy an Evo over an ms3 for the track and power benefits. It looks bad ass too.. But the ms3 isn't too shabby.