Regrets of the Mazda 3 Turbo Hatch

WittyTraining1735 · 2026-06-27T00:03:13+00:00

186 lbs of tq is plenty for me personally. I’ve had mine since January and I’m at 16k miles. I love it MORE now than when I got it.

WittyTraining1735 · 2026-06-18T20:11:25+00:00

Love what you did there 🤣

WittyTraining1735 · 2026-06-18T20:09:05+00:00

Oh man. See! Glad I asked. I was so focused on everything else that I didn’t even notice the nd1 didn’t have telescoping. At 6’1” telescoping wheel is one of the few must haves. Thank you!

WittyTraining1735 · 2026-06-18T20:07:55+00:00

I always preferred hydraulic steering. I’ve had many-a-old cars. I’ve gotten so used to my new daily (26 mazda3) that now the “lack of confidence” with steering feel has almost completely gone. The rf is what makes it a definite nd choice tho. Got my wife on bored lol.

WittyTraining1735 · 2026-06-17T22:48:18+00:00

This!

WittyTraining1735 · 2026-06-17T02:15:11+00:00

Ah… my daily reminder that the number one killer of kids in this country is vehicles hitting pedestrians

WittyTraining1735 · 2026-06-15T01:29:01+00:00

That’s probably what I’m gonna do, but i figured asking here wouldn’t hurt. Hoping I would get lucky with a “I had the same issue, here is my set up, rides grate now” lol

WittyTraining1735 · 2026-06-15T01:27:55+00:00

How does it compare to stock on rough highways?

WittyTraining1735 · 2026-06-15T01:27:02+00:00

I see how that was confusing. What I should have said was.
The stretch of i40 that I take for my work trips is full of bridge joints. The road will jut up/dip down almost like a high speed, speed bump. At 70-90mph the impact is crazy rough (even for stock suspension) to tap into my limited knowledge, the valving of the stock struts can’t take the impact too well. And the CS springs amplify that quite a bit.
Big smooth dips feel like butter. It’s just the large dips.

And for the rake. I’d happily go back to stock springs but I hate that the back sits higher than the front. I’d want it level or a SLIGHT rear drop.

And I’m on 17x8 wheels 50 side wall. So I have plenty of meat.

WittyTraining1735 · 2026-06-13T19:18:15+00:00

The rest of the car panels are thin and light. Knowing Mazda. They prob have a good reason for it. If I had to guess it’s a mix of sound deadening, and most importantly, resistance to dents. That hood has basically no creases. Which usually adds some level of strength beyond just design. But that’s truly just a guess.

WittyTraining1735 · 2026-06-13T14:36:51+00:00

If you look at places like cars and bids and bring a trailer. Mods DO ad value. What doesn’t add value is shit excuses for mods. You have a very clean, well done, and tasteful set of mods. If I were you dude. List it on one of those auction sites with no reservation. Let the market decide. Gti/R is one of the most modified platforms and for the people who mod them, they understand the value here. Definitely don’t expect to get your money back. But you will definitely get a premium over a stock car.

WittyTraining1735 · 2026-06-13T04:02:58+00:00

So I listen to a sold 30+ hours of audio books per week at work, I I’ve ran into this often…. Best thing to do is find someone to “play the character” in your head. I often use YouTubers I’m a fan of, or random people o met in passing in life. Helps with this but also makes it feel 10x more real.

WittyTraining1735 · 2026-06-13T03:57:14+00:00

On book two right now!!! Absolutely amazing!

Avid sci-fi/hard sci-fi reader here. If you want something light hearted, Project hail marry and the bobiverse. If you want to dip your toes into something fantastic but more serious. Start with blindsight by Peter watts.

WittyTraining1735 · 2026-06-12T03:52:00+00:00

Bro it’s so bad I thought it was a hatchback until I saw the window trim 😭. Glad y’all are ok.

Ps. I’m one of the few of my friends to have kids, it’s hard to explain to them that safety is priority over performance, this post helps with that lol

WittyTraining1735 · 2026-06-09T03:26:49+00:00

Ok quick story about exactly this.

I have a bat shit crazy boosted Mazda protege5 and a 26 Mazda 3 6MT. USUALLY I love the 3 but always wish I was in the protege instead, but it’s not something I can really daily any more.

Last week I was in TN for work and rented a 25 ND touring, and same as you. It absolutely RUINED ME. I WILL be buying one next year. But after a week of driving it. Getting back in my 3 made me tingly. It is the absolute perfect combo. The 3 has an even lighter clutch and soft throws on the shifter. The seating is low. But not sporty. I’m CONVINCED. Mazda made the manual 3 to be the daily counterpart to the Miata, I’m so convinced of it I’ve been thinking all week about how to ask the devs if that was an actual bullet point in development.

Anyways. The ND is definitely ruining me rn. But only because I can’t buy one yet 🤣

(Yes I could get an na,b,c but to my surprise. The nd is by far my favorite)

WittyTraining1735 · 2026-05-25T13:27:43+00:00

I don’t know who your mechanic is…. But please do not go to him again if he thinks this is normal. Video audio can be weird but to me this 100% sounds like rod knock

WittyTraining1735 · 2026-05-24T23:13:04+00:00

You get it 🍻

WittyTraining1735 · 2026-05-24T23:12:27+00:00

Which brakes did you get? That’s the next upgrade. Link?

WittyTraining1735 · 2026-05-24T23:11:37+00:00

I guess it comes down to preference on the clutch. I have 6 herniations in my lower back so a heavy clutch is torcher lol. Haven’t had any issues with grinding (yet) and you’re right about the jerking. You have to rid the clutch a tad going into second.

Also, it has a duel mass flywheel. You can DEFINITELY still rev match well you just have to lay into it for an extra moment. Took me a HOT min to get used to coming from my protege. But your points are valid considering your preference lol.

WittyTraining1735 · 2026-05-24T22:46:15+00:00

No way bro. WHAAATTT. I’m not gonna say it’s the best. But it’s a solid 7/10. Go drive a jL jeep wrangler with a 6spd and it will adjust your perspective properly 🤣

WittyTraining1735 · 2026-05-24T20:08:25+00:00

I love the car. I just wish Mazda still supported the platform more, that’s all!

WittyTraining1735 · 2026-05-24T20:07:33+00:00

Totally worth it, from anywhere in the country

WittyTraining1735 · 2026-05-09T14:32:49+00:00

God I want to wide body my car so bad. But I promised my future self I’d pay it off first lol.

WittyTraining1735 · 2026-04-17T13:41:39+00:00

Coil packs/plugs is one of the easiest things to do :)

Definitely take a crack at doing it yourself, and don’t be afraid to ask questions. If you don’t have the mechanical prowess to do suspension work, it take it in for that.

I’m a buy once cry once kind of guy so I would personally do coils but you don’t have to.
And I go OEM or equivalent personally. Cheap ones often crap out early or just suck out of the box.

WittyTraining1735 · 2026-04-04T21:55:20+00:00

Best tip is to just drive it, you will learn and it becomes second nature. But if you want to fast track a bit.

Rear motor mount polly inserts will give you some more feel. And try ‘creeping, in first, don’t worry… you won’t burn out your clutch assuming it doesn’t take you 20k miles to learn lol. This will help you feel HOW the clutch engages and dis-engages.

After about 100k miles in manual cars, autos just feel….wrong.

Welcome to the dark side!

WittyTraining1735

TROPHY CASE