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Thread: My 2 cents worth on the 5sp GT

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    Default My 2 cents worth on the 5sp GT

    Got the car. Wow. I love it. Sitting in traffic I had many knobs and widgets to play with. Too bad I couldn\'t find ANYTHING on the radio and didn\'t have any CDs yet. I really wish that Satallite radio was available up here-- the big button really taunts me. Heck, if they don\'t install a temp sensor, couldn\'t they make a smaller change of not printing SAT on a button? Why not leave it as AM the way it used to be (I think thats what it used to be?). All the same, I\'d really like that.

    It got a tad bit chilly, so I turned on the heat. Maybe I\'ll eat my words when its minus 20 outside, but for now I think whoever complained about the poor heat output needs a serious flogging. The thing has the heat output of what seems like a blast furnace! Maybe they tweaked this for the \'05? Who knows. I tried the AC, but its sort of hard to test when its chilly out anyway.

    Also, as for the head-light output, I was amazed. I really don\'t see why HIDs are necessary. Quite honestly, I\'d say that it has about the same light output as my buddies stock Acura TL (w/HIDs). When I flipped on the high beams, all the signs and bumpers for at least half a kilometre shined back at me. Maybe its just because my old car didn\'t hold a candle to this (pun intended), but I\'m thoroughly impressed. The cut off is also very crisp.

    Radio tuning is quick, as is loading a CD and flipping tracks. Sound isn\'t really the best I\'ve ever heard (hate to say it, but I think even a loaded Ford Focus may trump it), but I can live with it. Maybe better speakers would help.

    I noticed that there was a fair bit of road noise, though I\'ll have to compare it carefully to other cars I\'m in to see how relative it is. Maybe I\'m just spoilt or confused.

    I popped the gas tank, and it sort of concerned me seeing how thin the sheet metal door is. I hope that the rest of the body isn\'t that flimsy (I\'m not going to test it though). It also strikes me as odd that it seems that the whole fuel system is pressurized. While on that note, when I turn the car to the \'on\' position, I hear a very audiable 2 second hum coming from the back-- I guess its the fuel pump. Rather odd how noticeable it is.

    Speaking of the ignition, no complaints aside from the enormous size of the key. I compared it to the size of the old P5 key and it is about 3/4\" larger. I took my key and my dads key off my keychain (both were OEMs with the black plastic blob), and still the Mazda3 key didn\'t fit comfortably on the ring. I\'ll have to upgrade to a larger ring :p

    The black button you have to push to get the car to let go of your key (5sp only I think) required effort the first time or two I removed the key, but I\'ve become used to it very quickly. Not a big deal at all and I initially thought it was going to be much worse.

    The rearview mirror when stared at seems a bit small, but when you look into it, the reflection of the back seems ample. The side mirrors I think are sort of at the wrong angle. When I set them up as described by firstmazda here, it seems like the mirrors are at quite the angle relative to the \'shell\'. It would also be sort of nice if there was an anti-glare coating on them all-- I mean how much could that possible cost Mazda-- maybe a buck or two per car?

    Now for the fun part, driving. All I can say is that this car is a drivers car and begs to be driven. The gears are like butter, and the feeling of the accellerator disappearing toward the floor is fantastic. Braking is also very responsive and not mushy at all. Clutch is very smooth, though it catches a bit high (surpised me for a new car). Steering is spot on. I absolutely have to find some nice curvey roads. My only beef is that I noticed a bit of a vibration while idling, especially in the brake pedal. I didn\'t really notice anything when driving. It could be that the idle is just a bit low at the moment, or that the engine isn\'t broken in. This is the 2.3 btw.

    My final complaint is really trivial, but I\'m sure many feel the same way. There are too many 3\'s on the road, and I have no doubt that there are going to be many many more. Granted I\'m not helping things by getting a Titanium Grey one, but count and you\'ll see that we\'re not really all that much of a majority (on the road at least; on here is a different story <-- as others have noted, check out the TiGrey happy faces). On a friends street around the corner I counted 3. At least I can say that mine is the first on my street that I\'ve seen.

    Thats all that I really have to say for now. As I drive and get to know the car more, I\'ll probably add to this. In the meantime I\'m off to dream of the car :p -- night.

    Dan - Thornhill
    Nov 15/04 - Got it! TiGrey \\\'05 Mazda 3 Sedan GT / GFX 5sp
    Dec 1/04 - Winterized: KW17 tires, silver steels

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    Default Replying to Topic \'My 2 cents worth on the 5sp GT\'

    Congratulations on taking delivery and initiating the car.

    I know exactly what you mean by the car begging to be driven. I haven\'t had a good number for mileage in a long while... the car just GOes!!!!

    As for a lot of other Mazda3\'s on the streets... they\'ll eventually find their way here. Otherwise they are just a driver and not an enthusiast. :p

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    Default Replying to Topic \'My 2 cents worth on the 5sp GT\'

    congrats dan,

    sounds like you are blinded by the excitement of getting a new car (i was there once)

    you will notice things as you drive the car....seeing as how i\'ve driven mine 25,000kms in 6 months i will comment on the following:

    headlights - stock suck compared to real HIDs. 90% of my driving is at night and the light output from halogen bulbs don\'t hold a candle to HIDs. what year is your buddy\'s TL? before the redesign in the headlight cluster on the TL (99-2000, iirc), their HID housing was terrible - it relied on the lens to direct the light. after the redesign, the jeweled reflector helped a bit, but still not as ideal as a projector setup.

    fuel system - don\'t tell me you\'ve never driven a fuel injected car before :p all fuel injected cars have a pressurized fuel system (which is why you remove the gas cap before doing any work on the fuel system..to relieve the pressure). the fuel pump priming noise is noticeable because it is situated under the back seat, something that happens in my 92 integra and also happened in my 01 maxima.

    and, you\'re right...it is a car that begs to be driven

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    Default Replying to Topic \'My 2 cents worth on the 5sp GT\'

    Originally posted by MajesticBlueN
    you will notice things as you drive the car....seeing as how i\'ve driven mine 25,000kms in 6 months i will comment on the following:
    25000km in 6 months? wow...I thought I was driving a lot with 20000 in 6.

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    Default Replying to Topic \'My 2 cents worth on the 5sp GT\'

    tee hee hee, only 4000KM in 3months, LMFAO...i have to book my 4 month oil change before 8000km, lol
    Adam - Kitchener, Ontario.
    Far Far West O'l G! Proud Owner of the Whop-Toboggan Rice Bomb!


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    Sr Member MAZDA Kitten's Avatar
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    Default Replying to Topic \'My 2 cents worth on the 5sp GT\'

    Originally posted by Melenium

    My only beef is that I noticed a bit of a vibration while idling, especially in the brake pedal. I didn\'t really notice anything when driving. It could be that the idle is just a bit low at the moment, or that the engine isn\'t broken in. This is the 2.3 btw.
    Im glad to see Im not the only who is experiencing the vibration at idle. However my cat is at 6000km and Im still noticing it. Im gonna put in 94 gas.. maybe thats what it is?
    I\'ll mention it when I get my oil changed and see what the tech guys say.
    Anyways... great review!

    Congrats on the car...!

    2004 Mazda3 GT { BLACK MICA / 5MT / GFX pkg / BLACK, RED & GOLD BEEBS }

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    Default Replying to Topic \'My 2 cents worth on the 5sp GT\'

    Originally posted by MAZDA Kitten


    Originally posted by Melenium

    My only beef is that I noticed a bit of a vibration while idling, especially in the brake pedal. I didn\'t really notice anything when driving. It could be that the idle is just a bit low at the moment, or that the engine isn\'t broken in. This is the 2.3 btw.
    Im glad to see Im not the only who is experiencing the vibration at idle. However my cat is at 6000km and Im still noticing it. Im gonna put in 94 gas.. maybe thats what it is?
    I\'ll mention it when I get my oil changed and see what the tech guys say.
    Anyways... great review!

    Congrats on the car...!
    try the electronic throttle body grounding.

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