Smartest Order of Mods
 

Ok so I've been reading a lot of varying opinions on which mods should come first. If you had to do it all over again and buy one mod at a time, which mods would you get and in what order? I'm asking to see everyone's opinion and how they justify their list. I understand that some people prefer handling over power, so feel free to include suspension and shifter upgrades as well. Oh and if you think that several mods should go together, make sure to say so.

Here is my list (based off of what I've read, but I am a noobie):

1. RMM
2. Intake & Inlet Hose
3. Access Port & Fuel Pump
4. Downpipe
5. Spark Plugs
6. Intercooler
7. Meth Injection
8. Exhaust
9. And all handling stuff (RSB, Springs, SSP/STS,)
10. Big Turbo Build

To clarify my signature, I went with the smaller and handling oriented things first because it was cheaper and I figured it couldnt fuck anything up lol. Anyways, what do you guys think?

edit: Updated the List

first mod should be: SEARCH

there are tons of threads that ask the same question and tons of answers that tell you the proper path.

yes i know. ive read most of them but as i said, there are varying opinions. im about to buy some mods and digging through 20 different threads for reference is a pain in the ass.

in the time you wrote that, you couldve easily said something constructive... just saying

List is fine except I would get the fuel pump internals at the same time as your AP. The last thing you should get is the catback exhaust.

.

Hey dumbass he is already a vip member meaning he donated, if you werent such a fucking noob yourself you would know that vip is 25 now

Why get the fuel pump with the AP?

Edit: Nevermind. Thanks for the suggestion

I think you're misunderstanding. I'm not saying that I want the short and sweet answer rather than understanding how it all works. I have done a lot of reading to prevent the asking of dumb/already answered questions. The point of this thread is have 1 place to reference the different build orders.

your local guys are retarded. The stock pump is crap, but people have had luck lately with some of the new stage 1 maps cause they dont raise the boost much. With the AP you will be able to monitor your fp so you will know when you need them. Thats just my opinion cause if you throw a testpipe and/or dp then you will be ready for stage 2

.

Fuel pump at the same time as Ap, before DP install as others have said. You do that, you shouldn't run into many problems. But fuel pump upgrade should come BEFORE the downpipe goes on!

oh no not the mr-lots-of-post burn shit you got me.

Or testpipe, gen2 s can run stage 2 with any of the 2 cats deleted

Ok, I'll edit the list. Good thing I asked because I would've gotten the fuel pump after the downpipe.

Where should the BPV and Intercooler fall on the list? Forgot to include those.

when ever you want, but the bpv gives you no power gains if your stock one is not leaking. Ic whenever, I would say after your dp or before

List looks good now, personally, I would toss the IC (tmic or fmic, whichever) in before a BT...so I'd put it as #5.

Don't forget HIDs... I would suggest 10000k for optimum visibility.
Also make sure to get an extra set for the fog lights.


















j/k

Good to see someone who has done at least a little research and donated before making this kind of thread.

I would bump B/T down after meth and exhaust. Some decide that K04 fully bolted is enough.
Plus, it is always nice to have a little more rumble out of the pipes. You have to satisfy your inner ricer.

Don't forget the IC upgrade as well. Cobb says our stocker does well, but I love my ETS!

I'd say IC just after AP because if you're anywhere hot, the stocker get's heat soaked like a motherfucker. My car turns into a limp dick piece of shit in this heat.

*Edit. forgot the rest of the mounts

the order id go if i did all over again

1. RMM, 5500-6kHIDs(if you dont have them) & Intake
2. Springs & RSB
3. DP
4. Access Port(etune from one of the Gurus of here, DJ's the man) & Fuel Pump
5. FMIC, Inlet & Spark Plugs
6. Meth Injection & other two engine mounts
7. Exhaust
8. Big Turbo (if you go that route)

haha on the 10k hids

i would do test pipe n res delete instead of the inlet pipe.. about the same money but the power gain from the test pipe and the audio gain from doing the res delete in conjunction with the test pipe will keep you from getting a cbe for a good long while.. but if i had to do it all over again id go:

1. SRI/tp/res delete
2. JBR stg2 ssp
3. koni yellows/springs/rsb/lighter wheels (17x9 rpf1s are 15.x lbs.. stock genpu wheels are 25.x lbs)
4. fp internals/ap
5. fmic/dp

Make sure to fill up teh intercooler with freon

Now do it

I think you should leave the BT until you're fully bolted. And don't forget the FMIC.

I like you list I just think that you need to do suspension before you go BT. No reason on having alot of power if you cant use it.

List looks okay with me except for the FMIC as mentioned a few times. Definitely goes before BT. Meth will do great with the stock turbo too.

1) Full engine mounts from JBR
2) Accessport
3) Fuel pump internals
4) downpipe
5) Fmic/Tmic
6) Sri/Tip

If i would do it over...this is what i would have done.

Sprinkle in all the cheap shit in between. Like shifter bushings and shit like that.

AP should be your first power mod on this car. even a stage zero tune will change the way the car drives significantly, plus add lc/ffs and give you the ability to monitor. from there, you add power mods like intake and see how it affects your car.

fuel pump is not always necessary for intake/tip, but youll never know if you cant monitor. with just intake/tip my car felt and drove great, but when i got an AP my first logs in 40* weather showed my FP was dipping under 1000 at WOT. that's when i bought a pump.

handling - lets not forget this cars pulls .92 on the skidpad stock. for almost everyone this is plenty. if youre content with stock ride height, sway bars are a nice upgrade without upsetting ride. if you want to lower for looks, theres lots of options and opinions. my advice is dont be a cheap ass.

lastly, a RMM is almost required, as with any spirited driving the motor can contact the firewall. for me it stopped that from happening, plus cleaned up my shifting, particularly on the 2-3 upshift.

I would do it in this order...

RMM
AP
Pump internals
Intake

At 17-18psi, I am starting to get fp drops into the high 1500's at max load, so I will definitely need internals soon/before winter.

I think this "mod list" should be renamed "motor mod list". If you are auto-crossing, doing track days, or any other events similar to this, hp is the least of your concern.

Also the number one mod, cheapest and most effective in my book, would be disconnecting SWAS.

Although RMM is not listed, this is a pretty good read:

(2nd page is Cobb's recommended upgrage path)

http://accessecu.com/support/docs/su...%20Support.pdf

One of the wisest members on this forum said that if he had to do it all over, big turbo would have been his first mod. His reason was simple, you never realize the full potential of your other power mods, because the ko4 is your biggest restriction.

Please don't post logical shit like that, because i'm so ready to pull the trigger.

That's a pretty good read. One more reason why I support Cobb, they really put their time into research.

Here's their advice:

Stage 0 map is same as stock

100% agreed. List looks fine, Exhaust should be the least of your concerns and the HPFP internals are more important than you think.

I updated the list again. I put BT last and added intercooler before meth. I also bumped exhaust down from what people have been saying. I guess I was wrong about there being a performance gain from 3" exhaust rather than the stock 2.5"


RMM is listed as first. It was my first mod and I'm happy with the results.


Why do you have the SRI and TIP last? Its supposed to be one of the largest gains

Would you say that an intake is better or more important than any of the prior selections?



Save it for later on when the other installs piss you off. As far as the bigger picture...all the other items will do more for performance and drivability.

I might be the only dude here that doesn't mind people starting new threads. I can't comment on your list but I'll list mine and my challenges so far.

I did this:

-KN intake: just awesome and made an immediate difference is response and sound.
-CS TIP: increased responsiveness and made the spool more reliable. I could bring the boost at will instead of it just attacking me in traffic.
-RMM: The best mod ever, easiest to install and made driving more fun immediately. Also....it was the prettiest mod nobody will ever see
-Side motor mounts: increased vibrations from A/C. Probably could have gone without them
-CS TIP: Seemed to reduce low end...BUT...also think I started getting used to the power curve and it may just be me getting used to the spool. Allows engine to spool before it really should (I can spool up at 2k rpms...that's not always a good thing, especially in gears 3 and up.)
-CPe CBE: Awesome sound paired with the TIP. Looks much better. Also, less soot on the back of the speed3.

My challenges now are very expensive mods to move forward. I must get an AP and a Fuel pump to do anything more. But, my car sounds AWESOME, handles well, and the spool has become more manageable than before.

So, take it for what its worth.

Intake after AP becuz fuel cut.

derf. that is correct. what i should have said is that there are stage 1 maps for 100% stock cars that, alone, would seriously improve the driving experience.

COBB Tuning, v101.00 -- Stage1 91 BTv101 - Intended for otherwise stock 2010 MAZDASPEED3 vehicles with a stock or cat-back exhaust, a STOCK INTAKE SYSTEM, and a stock CDFP only. 91 or 92 octane fuel. Boost Targets: ~16psi peak boost pressure tapering down to ~16psi by the 6700 RPM redline, +/- 1.5psi. Pressure-Based Boost Tuning enabled.

AP first nubs!