Who plays in the dirt?

[brandin820]

With all my other vehicles being trucks I have a natural attraction to dirt roads and flingin gravel. After having my speed for a month it has been no different. It has been off road about 2-3 times a week at speeds up to 80 mph. That being said how many more MS3 owners are out there like me and how is the car holding up?

If I'm the only one out there then i'll keep everyone posted on how it goes

[Frenchy11]

You should lift it and put a bull bar on it. Turn it into a Mazdaspeed Raptor


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[emag remrofni]

Originally Posted by Frenchy11 You should lift it and put a bull bar on it. Turn it into a Mazdaspeed Raptor Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I'm just picturing a pu with a bull bar. That shit is gonna look like the faggiest moustache. Totally appropriate.

[brandin820]

Originally Posted by Frenchy11 You should lift it and put a bull bar on it. Turn it into a Mazdaspeed Raptor

I heard stock Mazda 3 springs lift it about 1/2 inch and mazda5 springs/struts give it 1.5-2" lift. An as far as a bull bar goes there's nothing on the market as far as a light bar or anything and you'd have to cut the bumper pretty good to get something to work. So if I want to be the laughing stock of the speed world I got it figured out

[MA_MS3]

Should have bought a wrx if you wanted to rally. Your just going to wreck a perfectly good car. Have fun.

[cshunter]

CorkSport Rally Bar (Any ideas or interest)

....

[brandin820]

Already looked through the corksport thread and that's a prime example of what I've been finding with the light bars, there's interest in them but no company has developed anything yet. The ones on a few of the rally cars I've seen are a little overboard for dual purpose use. I do like the idea of oversized fog light housings though.

Wrx's are too played out....

[MA_MS3]

Yeah too played out, who needs AWD off roading, let's just use a FWD MS3 that wasn't built for it. Good idea.

[brandin820]

Originally Posted by MA_MS3 Yeah too played out, who needs AWD off roading, let's just use a FWD MS3 that wasn't built for it. Good idea.

I'm guessing you have never taken your car off-road and therefore have no useful information for this topic? I didn't buy a wrx. I bought a speed3. Cars can be modified to suit your needs. My speed will be modified to suit mine.

[weakdog85]

I like the fact that you're doing that. I like the people that buy rally mud flaps for their daily street driven cars


"Tap tap tap it in"

[brandin820]

Haha some use em for looks some have a purpose. Sarcasm aside the niners better pull it out next year I'm tired of almost getting there

[weakdog85]

Okay fellow faithful!! I agree. It only makes sense. Super Bowl 49 is ours


"Tap tap tap it in"

[racingrayson]

I have massive mudflaps on my daily driven ms6. The undercoating on my car was getting destroyed by gravel and it's sure nice not getting mud/snow flung all over your car. Even after muddy rallycross events it's not terribly dirty. Didn't affect my gas mileage a bit, and I'm sure people following me appreciate not having rocks thrown at their windshield.

[DansSpace]

This thread is absolutely shocking; I read your signature and said "30k miles and still stock? Bullshit."


Keep 'ffroadin, brah.

[brandin820]

Racingrayson, thanks for getting the thread back on track. Mudflaps are gonna be one of the first things on the car I haven't looked underneath her yet but I hear all kinds of shit being flung by the tires and my wheels are gettin rock chipped bad.

[ChaunceyM]

Originally Posted by Frenchy11 You should lift it and put a bull bar on it. Turn it into a Mazdaspeed Raptor Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Mazdaspeed Raptor? Does that include a bent frame or not?

I want to see this nonsense happen. This is so much better than the people that heavily mod their cars yet never get them out on a dragstrip or track. At least you've got a functional purpose in mind and you're going for it.
That, and the sick desire for this to go horribly wrong and provide some entertaining stories/pictures for the rest of us. With any luck we'll see the sentence "...and that's when my rear wheel was ripped off and flung into the river."

[dbrier]

I have a buddy who is serious about rallyX and raced his brand new Focus ST at a RallyX.
His Subaru RS was down, so he took the ST with paper dealer plates and 600 miles on the odometer and ran it.

[SparkySparks]

If I still lived back in Ohio I would probably had my car off road a few times but here in Texas I'm stuck in the city and no dirt roads to play on (at least ones I would take my car on, plenty for the truck).

My first vehicle was a Ford Ranger and it sucked at playing off road. My second vehicle was a Toyota Supra and that thing was a blast to take off road. It was full on Dukes of Hazard with that car including the CB and PA system.

Looking forward to seeing what all you end up doing with your speed to allow for off road fun.

[racingrayson]

Originally Posted by ChaunceyM Mazdaspeed Raptor? Does that include a bent frame or not?

If you hit kickers designed for mountain bikes, yes it will probably bend your frame.

My ms6 has been legitimately airborne off-road probably about 10 times and hasn't had any issues.

Edit: except the time I buried the nose after hitting a dirt bike kicker and popped the bumper out a bit on the left side. Pushed it back in and I was good to go!

[ChaunceyM]

That was more of a jab at all of the Raptors that ended up with bent frames after people assumed they had rally trucks and really thrashed them.
You'd have to really hammer away at the MS3 to bend the frame. I'm guessing suspension parts would fail before the frame.

[brandin820]

I'm not as excited for an epic fail but yes it would make a great story with pics. That's awesome about the st with 600 miles on it I'm guessing there was no issues? And damn it'd have to be a nice easy jump for me to wanna get the speed airborne but I ain't scared haha. Nice to know it might still be driving after 10 tries at flying.

[moonrider_99]

Originally Posted by brandin820 With all my other vehicles being trucks I have a natural attraction to dirt roads and flingin gravel. After having my speed for a month it has been no different. It has been off road about 2-3 times a week at speeds up to 80 mph. That being said how many more MS3 owners are out there like me and how is the car holding up? If I'm the only one out there then i'll keep everyone posted on how it goes

I'm sure someone is rallying a speed3 somewhere and that's great but your stock speed3 is not meant to be driven off road with 18 inch wheels, low clearance and short suspension travel. You are ruining a perfectly good road car... the retard is strong with this one...

There's a reason why most rallycross cars are 10+ years old. I don't see how it makes anyone a hero to ruin a new road car by off roading it.

[JMEngineer]

My GPS sent me through a 20 mile jeep trail in west virginia on my way to go white water rafting...

[brandin820]

Originally Posted by moonrider_99 I'm sure someone is rallying a speed3 somewhere and that's great but your stock speed3 is not meant to be driven off road with 18 inch wheels, low clearance and short suspension travel. You are ruining a perfectly good road car... the retard is strong with this one... There's a reason why most rallycross cars are 10+ years old. I don't see how it makes anyone a hero to ruin a new road car by off roading it.

No hero here, just into something different from the usual spirited driving on the forum I guess.
It's not ruining a perfectly good car it's doing what I want with it, some people say modifying a car at all ruins it. I think slamming a car to the ground and putting stretched tires on it ruins it. It's all in the eye of the beholder in the end all that matters is that the car is what I want it to be

[brandin820]

Originally Posted by JMEngineer My GPS sent me through a 20 mile jeep trail in west virginia on my way to go white water rafting...

Damn looks like it's time for a new GPS man! It hurts less when you fuck shit up while knowing it might happen vs getting caught off guard and having to rough it out. Unless of course you meant to go through a 20 mile jeep trail then it's all in good fun

[JMEngineer]

Originally Posted by brandin820 Damn looks like it's time for a new GPS man! It hurts less when you fuck shit up while knowing it might happen vs getting caught off guard and having to rough it out. Unless of course you meant to go through a 20 mile jeep trail then it's all in good fun

I could have turned around and I could have gone a lot slower but I was having too much fun... I kept going faster even after I ripped off the bottom of the bumper.

[jack_hammer]

Did anyone mention the aluminum cork sport under tray?

Sent from my LG-MS770 using Tapatalk

[brandin820]

Originally Posted by JMEngineer I could have turned around and I could have gone a lot slower but I was having too much fun... I kept going faster even after I ripped off the bottom of the bumper.

I like your style my friend!

Originally Posted by jack_hammer Did anyone mention the aluminum cork sport under tray? Sent from my LG-MS770 using Tapatalk

One of the first things on my list!

[racingrayson]

Originally Posted by jack_hammer Did anyone mention the aluminum cork sport under tray? Sent from my LG-MS770 using Tapatalk

While it's certainly on my list, the plastic piece is actually quite durable. I know I've hit it pretty good on some rocks and there's only one small bit that's broken.

[Dizzy Turbo]

Ice piles have no problem ripping off that plastic tray along with the bottom of the bumper haha.

Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk

[ghostrider]

Obviously, I would invest in better tires; I am on the stock Dunlops.
Late last Friday night I was on a narrow 2 lane road to nowhere and I went for a 3 point turn. I got the front wheels off on the grass, and when I went to reverse, I quickly realized that the grass was only hiding the mud underneath. I tried various ways to move, but there was no way I was going anywhere in reverse (just slinging mud). I then decided, if I was going to get stuck, I might as well go for it (traction control off of course). I went forward with the wheel turned left, and as the car started to slide in to a turn and the rear wheels came off of the pavement, the back end started to slide around. Once I came in to line and realized that I was pointed sort of toward the pavement, I just went for it. Luckily I made it out of the mud and back on the road. No damage done, just a dirty car. I took a picture of all 4 wheels after I was back on the road.
I will say this, it was actually pretty fun . Also, I left a bit of a mess.

[El_Diablo]

Originally Posted by ChaunceyM That was more of a jab at all of the Raptors that ended up with bent frames after people assumed they had rally trucks and really thrashed them. You'd have to really hammer away at the MS3 to bend the frame. I'm guessing suspension parts would fail before the frame.

The only trucks that have had bent frames are those travelling at excessive speeds over rough terrain with the speed limiters removed. A small handful of them all happened at one section of the texas raptor run on a washboard that kicked the back end up extremely hard. Had the frame not given I have a feeling the guys that walked away feeling sore after the run would have instead been in some serious back pain with possible compressions, yes, thats how serious of an impact it takes from the rear axle bottoming out on the bump stops to bend the frame.

[Gr33ntumb]

Used to go fishing all the time. Hit a rock at night.

Never fixed it



Sent from my SGH-I317M using Tapatalk 2

[bioevolve]

Police push/bull bars are nice looking.
You can watch DeathRace and get some ideas lol.

[brandin820]

Originally Posted by racingrayson While it's certainly on my list, the plastic piece is actually quite durable. I know I've hit it pretty good on some rocks and there's only one small bit that's broken.

Originally Posted by Dizzy Turbo Ice piles have no problem ripping off that plastic tray along with the bottom of the bumper haha. Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk

I guess some people have different experiences with it but if I rip mine off before the cs gets on there then it's all good it's getting replaced anyways

Originally Posted by Gr33ntumb Used to go fishing all the time. Hit a rock at night. Never fixed it Sent from my SGH-I317M using Tapatalk 2

Hell man no worries it just adds character. Could've been a lot worse!

And yes better/slightly larger tires and 17s are in store for the near future once funds allow. Playin in the mud is always fun no matter what you're in!

[2k4_8]

A 1g eclipse or an 80s Subaru are great for this...but a new ms3?

[Natey]

We bought a 4runner last year and have been having all kinds of fun in it. It's a trip NOT looking out for steep driveways and parking blocks.

Hollister Hills:

[brandin820]

Originally Posted by 2k4_8 A 1g eclipse or an 80s Subaru are great for this...but a new ms3?

Agreed. I know my MS3 isn't the best for offroad fun but that's not the reason I bought it. I bought it for my girl and I to commute to work in and have something comfortable to drive vs our older trucks. It just so happens there's many dirt roads next to my house so why not have some fun?

[Misfit_S3]

They are adding rally cross to the local circuit this year but no way in hell I'm gonna take the car out there. I'll stick to the pavement. Lol

[El_Diablo]

I've always wanted to set mine up with a Mazda 5 strut/spring package for winter with some RA flaps and maybe a slightly larger diameter snow/AT tire than I already run. These cars are already quite capable in the snow, that would make it a freakin tank, lol.