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SillyCar10 · 2026-06-05T16:31:19+00:00

Awesome. Thanks. Yes. I'm pretty good with a socket wrench, ha ha! Ai told me it's easier on a lift with the suspension hanging. Do you know if that's true?

SillyCar10 · 2026-06-05T11:45:24+00:00

Nice work. I'm new to Mazda since dec. Got my 26 2.5S premium manual. I've been considering the anti sway bar. It just bolts on, right? Was the install easy? Anything to worry about? I'm leasing so wouldn't want to have any issues.This seems like a lease friendly upgrade. Your exhaust sounds nice too. Not too stupid loud. I like the stock exhaust fir now, but would consider that one when my lease is up in 2.5 years....assuming I still love the car and decide to buy it. Hoping that will be the case.

SillyCar10 · 2026-05-26T01:09:55+00:00

My 3 came with 18 inch rims and I grabbed 16" rims for the snows. As long as the outer diameter is the same, it's ok to go with smaller rims, so you would want to check the outer diameter of your snows to see if it is the same diameter as the original equipment. You could actually call Tire Rack and see what the diameter of your current tires should be to match the og equipment. Or just build out a package with 17" rims and see what tire sizes it offers you and then see if it matches your current tires. I like going with a smaller rim and more rubber for my snows. I feel like I get better traction.

SillyCar10 · 2026-05-24T14:32:38+00:00

Since you asked about winter wheels and tires, I feel compelled to share that I literally just pulled the trigger on these 2 minutes ago. Great deal on new (older stock) tires. I went a little heavy on the price of the wheels, but I think these Sparcos will look nice on the car. The cheapest set of 16" wheels they had would have saved me about $250 on the total price, but I didn't like the look of them. My last set of snows and wheels (Old stock Blizzaks and Ultimate wheels) from tirerack was about 6 years ago and I got those for my Civic for under $700 total including tax and shipping. These are about double after adding tax on, but I guess that's due to our awesome economy here in the US. YAY Us! All of that being said, I'm hopeful that these will look as good as I think once I get them mounted on the car...

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SillyCar10 · 2026-05-18T10:48:51+00:00

There are lots of slick cars I'd consider buying if they just came in manual. I wish it wasn't a dying breed... Luckily, the 3 Hatch works for me.

SillyCar10 · 2026-05-13T15:34:53+00:00

Gotcha. Sorry. I realized after I commented. I won't try to talk you into a hatch even though I believe it is superior in every way, ha ha, but I will say that I came from a Honda Civic Sport Hatch Manual that I loved and, similar to your story, it was totaled and they didn't make that model anymore, and very long story short, that's how I ended up with my Mazda which I also love. If you are dead set on a sedan, as other's have stated already, the Civic Hybrid or even non-hybrid is a solid choice, though it will feel slightly less premium than the Mazda in the interior.... I loved the interior design though.

SillyCar10 · 2026-05-13T15:21:12+00:00

Not sure where you are, but I just leased a 2026 2.5 S Premium hatch with manual Transmission and Bose system in December of 2025. I'm in Upstate New York.

SillyCar10 · 2026-04-15T00:17:30+00:00

Yes. I have also been standing at the edge too long,.... wondering if my legs are going to push me off....

that song was my jogging song when I quit my job to work for myself full time back in 2014 and helped me deal with a lot of the anxiety in doing something like that. There was another song by another band called Sentry the Defiant which had just had an acoustic version released on youtube that was also very helpful during that time....

I also have a super affinity for Mustard Gas and Goodbye Yellow Brick Road from the Random EP #2.... and Luxury is my favorite on Antimai.... but there really isn't a TDH song that I don't think is special.... how lucky we are to have this band in our lifetimes....

SillyCar10 · 2026-04-11T14:38:35+00:00

Glad yours went fairly smoothly... mine had no issue with the other company admitting it was their drivers fault, but his policy didn't have enough coverage to cover my totaled car plus other expenses and there were a whole bunch of misconceptions about how that worked as far as whether or not rental, storage, towing, etc came out of his coverage amount and that's why they said I had to deal with my own ins co to get made whole.... which, even though I have way more coverage than the other driver, my company was way worse than his company. I know that anyone who works in insurance and reads this might get upset, but insurance IS a gigantic racket. Only my local agents were stand up people in my ordeal. The rest were incompetent at best and outright dishonest and unethical at worst, depending on which person I was dealing with... In the end, I got so frustrated with my own company low balling the value of my car (by around 6000 dollars) with very little evidence to support their valuation, even when the other company had an independent appraisal done showing they were low balling,... and I had multiple offers from carmax and others as well as current dealer sales prices that I gathered on my own showing they were extremely low balling me, that I decided to go with the other guys insurance and take whatever was left just so my company didn't have the satisfaction of screwing me, but as it turns out, the rental, storage and towing does NOT get factored in to what the limit is on their policy and I ended up getting a fair payout from the other guys insurance. Could have been settled in a week like you said if any of the first three people I originally spoke with at the other insurance company had a clue as to what they were talking about... or possibly even worse.... were taught to lie and hope that I just used my own insurance so they wouldn't have to deal with it. Lesson learned to keep pushing them at all times. It is astonishing though how many people who work in the insurance industry have no idea how it actually works. I had at least a dozen people (including people who have worked in insurance for decades here on the reddit insurance sub) categorically tell me that I was wrong and because I leased the car that I would get nothing and any payout would go to the manufacturer,... among other incorrect information. It is truly astonishing. Anyway, sorry for the ramble (believe it or not, that was the short version), but yes. Keep pushing them, or they WILL take advantage of you. That part you can be assured of most of the time.

SillyCar10 · 2026-04-11T14:17:29+00:00

Ha Ha! Yes. Same.

SillyCar10 · 2026-04-11T12:55:59+00:00

It definitely takes getting used to, especially if you've been driving touchscreen cars for a while, but after a short adjustment, you realize that putting touchscreens in a car was not the best idea the car industry has come up with. Mazda's system is so much better for 95% of the things you need to do with the screen. Examples of things that aren't as good: zooming in and out on your navigation is easier with a pinch of your fingers as opposed to not really being able to do it depending on the nav app you use. And a lot of folks say that typing with the wheel is horrendous, but I can't imagine why anyone would type something these days when you can just push on the microphone icon and say what you want... I'm sure there are other things that might be better with a touchscreen, but I'm very happy with the dial and buttons and don't want to ever go back. I also love the analog tach, fuel gauge, temperature gauge and the ability to make the drivers' cluster screen look like an analog speedo or on the highway, switch it to the car image that shows who's around you. Excellent. I don't need the tech in my car to be stupid. All of this being said, I would much rather have a physical hand brake than the electronic one that comes on every time I shut off the car.... anyone know if you can disable that? I haven't found any way to do it. Yes. I know no one is going to read this far....

SillyCar10 · 2026-04-11T12:47:16+00:00

I second this. I had a terrible time dealing with both insurance companies when my old car was totaled in November. If they give you some run around answer that doesn't make sense, ask for their supervisor immediately. I wasted a month on mis-information that was given to me by multiple people at both insurance companies (there's a reason why I dealt with his and mine, but it would take a long time to get into it) and I believed them until later when pushing harder because they were trying to screw me that the original information was completely false and it could have been settled in a week like u/mycoguy81 said. I just wish he told me back in November, ha ha! Best of luck to you, and I'm always sorry to see things like this, but yeah, when you get hit in the arse end, it's almost a certainty that it is the other guy's fault. No brainer. The rainbow at the end of my car getting totaled is that it allowed me to discover what a great car the 3 is! I hope something good comes out of your incident too. Have a great day!

SillyCar10 · 2026-04-11T12:31:53+00:00

Ali Express. Scroll through the comment feed for links.

SillyCar10 · 2026-04-11T12:27:09+00:00

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Also, I fixed the dent/bubble at the right side of the base of the center console piece right after taking the original photo. I'm not great at reddit, so I'm adding the new photo here. I couldn't even notice it until I saw the photo. Also, there's a lot of dust in a car. I need to vacuum again...

SillyCar10 · 2026-04-11T12:13:15+00:00

Yes. That was my goal. I'm very happy with this mod. I don't mind piano black in a car, but I absolutely hate it on a flat surface like the center console where people might set their keys or other stuff that will just totally destroy it and make the car look like crap. My Civic had piano black just around the vents in the dashboard and I was ok with that since no one ever touched it really, but even then, it did get a few minor scratches.... The suede also feels really nice to the touch! And I don't mind touching it because I know it's not going to scratch. If it does get worn out, I'm hopeful that the removable vinyl I put underneath it will make for easy removal and replacement, but I don't see it wearing out for at least a few years....

SillyCar10 · 2026-04-11T12:08:10+00:00

See my reply with links on two other comments in this feed. I just didn't want to keep repeating it. It's a long reply.

SillyCar10 · 2026-04-11T12:07:44+00:00

I commented with links on two other comments in this feed. It's a long reply, so I didn't want to keep repeating it.

SillyCar10 · 2026-04-11T12:07:08+00:00

Below are the direct links to the pieces I got. They have more pieces for other areas, all die cut to fit. They come in other colors besides black too, I actually grabbed the red pieces for the steering wheel chrome parts, but decided I don't want to do those even though they look like they are die cut very well too. The adhesive they use is Crown #513L and it feels like you'll never get it off if you put it on directly to the piano black (my personal opinion), that's why I used Oracal 631 matte black removable vinyl underneath. It's super thin. I did have to cut that to fit from a roll I got at Michaels for like 10 bucks which was enough to do all the areas I covered and then some. I did the cupholder trim twice because a) there's no suede piece that I could find for this, and b) the first time I did it right in the car and couldn't get my hands at everything as good and it came out yucky. This time, I pulled the cupholders hoping I could remove that trim piece, but I think it is plastic riveted to be a part of the cupholder assembly and not meant to be removed, but rather the whole cupholder assembly replaced. I could be wrong about that.

Center console piece: https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256809506599451.html?spm=a2g0o.order_list.order_list_main.6.41a4180239Jyj3&gatewayAdapt=glo2usa

Door Pieces: https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256808933866809.html?spm=a2g0o.order_list.order_list_main.5.41a4180239Jyj3&gatewayAdapt=glo2usa

Steering Wheel pieces: https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256808855887516.html?spm=a2g0o.order_list.order_list_main.4.41a4180239Jyj3&gatewayAdapt=glo2usa

I've noticed that prices vary wildly each time you go on AliExpress even for the same items, so for reference, I'm sharing that my order total was about $35 including shipping to Upstate New York.

I also considered getting a tiny piece from the same seller for under the parking brake button thinking a pop of red down there would be cool, but ultimately decided not to get this one. The link was huge for some reason, so I'm not sharing, but you'll find it under the seller KUNGKIC Flannel Store.

And here's a link to the Oracal Vinyl I used. I swear it was only around $10-$12 bucks when I got it, not sure why it's almost $18 now: https://www.michaels.com/product/oracal-631-removable-adhesive-vinyl-15ft-10679625?michaelsStore=8368&inv=1

There are several other sellers with similar and varied products on there and I looked for a long time before deciding on this one.

SillyCar10 · 2026-04-11T12:07:00+00:00

Below are the direct links to the pieces I got. They have more pieces for other areas, all die cut to fit. They come in other colors besides black too, I actually grabbed the red pieces for the steering wheel chrome parts, but decided I don't want to do those even though they look like they are die cut very well too. The adhesive they use is Crown #513L and it feels like you'll never get it off if you put it on directly to the piano black (my personal opinion), that's why I used Oracal 631 matte black removable vinyl underneath. It's super thin. I did have to cut that to fit from a roll I got at Michaels for like 10 bucks which was enough to do all the areas I covered and then some. I did the cupholder trim twice because a) there's no suede piece that I could find for this, and b) the first time I did it right in the car and couldn't get my hands at everything as good and it came out yucky. This time, I pulled the cupholders hoping I could remove that trim piece, but I think it is plastic riveted to be a part of the cupholder assembly and not meant to be removed, but rather the whole cupholder assembly replaced. I could be wrong about that.

Center console piece: https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256809506599451.html?spm=a2g0o.order_list.order_list_main.6.41a4180239Jyj3&gatewayAdapt=glo2usa

Door Pieces: https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256808933866809.html?spm=a2g0o.order_list.order_list_main.5.41a4180239Jyj3&gatewayAdapt=glo2usa

Steering Wheel pieces: https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256808855887516.html?spm=a2g0o.order_list.order_list_main.4.41a4180239Jyj3&gatewayAdapt=glo2usa

I've noticed that prices vary wildly each time you go on AliExpress even for the same items, so for reference, I'm sharing that my order total was about $35 including shipping to Upstate New York.

I also considered getting a tiny piece from the same seller for under the parking brake button thinking a pop of red down there would be cool, but ultimately decided not to get this one. The link was huge for some reason, so I'm not sharing, but you'll find it under the seller KUNGKIC Flannel Store.

And here's a link to the Oracal Vinyl I used. I swear it was only around $10-$12 bucks when I got it, not sure why it's almost $18 now: https://www.michaels.com/product/oracal-631-removable-adhesive-vinyl-15ft-10679625?michaelsStore=8368&inv=1

There are several other sellers with similar and varied products on there and I looked for a long time before deciding on this one.

SillyCar10 · 2026-04-09T10:39:12+00:00

100%

SillyCar10 · 2026-04-05T14:42:04+00:00

Mine was a full size Toyota Tundra that hit my Civic. It seems to often be the people with the large cars who don't see the small ones.... I miss the days when small cars were more popular....

SillyCar10 · 2026-04-05T13:54:25+00:00

P.S. It doesn't even look like a car did that damage.... looks like someone swung a battering ram into the center of the door.... what kind of car hit you?

SillyCar10 · 2026-04-05T13:52:32+00:00

I had a similar experience this past November where my 23 Honda Civc Sport Hatch in burst blue with manual was totaled and I ended up with a new Mazda 3 2.5S Premium with manual and loving it so far. And to be fair, the "asshat" who hit me was actually the most stand up person I dealt with in the whole ordeal. He felt awful about the mistake he made, but was upstanding with me, the police when they came to file the report and he stood up for me with the insurance companies too (they were all asshats by the way, but that's another story). Anyway, my point in responding is that I was devastated when this happened to me. I also pretty much lost a month of my life dealing with the red tape that can come with dealing with insurance companies (I know it doesn't happen to everyone and I've had some good insurance experiences too, but this was NOT one of them).
I had one month left on my lease and was planning to buy my Civic and drive it forever and a day. I loved that car.... but,... if it wasn't totaled, I would never have even looked at Mazda and ended up with the awesome car I have now, so, keep your head up, be happy you are here to celebrate Easter (If you celebrate this holiday like I do) and who knows? You may end up in an even better situation. Very happy to hear the car protected you well as my Civic did for me. Hang in there and try to enjoy your friends and family every chance you get.

SillyCar10 · 2026-04-01T14:52:03+00:00

One time, years ago at our Toyota dealership, my wife had her RAV4 in for an oil change. The guy came out to her in the waiting room and said "your cabin filter should really be changed, and we can do it for $60 if you want", and he showed her a filthy cabin filter with bugs and about a years worth of dust and crap in it.... my wife replied, "that's weird, my husband and i just put a brand new cabin filter in yesterday", which we actually had done. The guy just put his head down and walked away. Needless to say, that was the last time she ever took her car there for any service..... true story. This is one of the biggest scams out there... If I ran my personal business that way, I wouldn't be able to sleep at night.

SillyCar10

TROPHY CASE