'08 Galaxy Grey Sport GT!

Hey All,

Got my 2008 Mazda 3 Sport GT used about a month ago, been modding it here and there, decided it was time for a thread!

The day I got her (notice the RX8 rims already on! ;))
http://img825.imageshack.us/img825/7443/photoyjm.jpg

After a visit to Joe at MoT (for a valence and stubby!)
http://img849.imageshack.us/img849/4483/img01701.jpg

http://img268.imageshack.us/img268/3331/img0169gn.jpg


What I've done so far (pics coming soon!):
Exterior:
RX8's on Falken ZE912's
Eibach Prokits (thanks Jimmy & Nextmod!)
SPC Camber Kit
30% Formula1 Pinnacle all around (thanks Autolinks!)
Magnaflow exhaust tip
CX7 stubby antenna
MS3 Rear valence

Interior:
Weathertech Digitalfit front+rears (thanks Nextmod!)
Leather seats + door panels
Caska 3635 DVD/GPS
Aluminum pedals
LED's everywhere!

More to come ;)

looks good :)
rx-8's are always good

Looking great! You've done quite a bit already. Can't wait to see what you do to your ride.

Thanks! One thing I dislike is the amount of red lighting in the interior... Since I'm an electrical engineer, its only natural that some tinkering shall ensue!

Looking good so far! I have the same ride, looking forward to seeing you spin on it.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by k13

Thanks! One thing I dislike is the amount of red lighting in the interior... Since I'm an electrical engineer, its only natural that some tinkering shall ensue!

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I don't really like the red lighting either, but it makes sense since red doesn't mess with your night vision

More goodies today:
Aluminum HVAC knobs
Mazda 6 leather shift knob

Crappy pictures this time... iPhone...
http://img808.imageshack.us/img808/3982/img0232gu.jpg

http://img806.imageshack.us/img806/2227/img0233t.jpg

And a pic of the exterior as she sits!
http://img805.imageshack.us/img805/7376/img0234a.jpg

Nice ride...keep it up! :)

Nice! I have the same ride too, one year older and no lux package. looking sharp!

What deck is that? and what did you use to black out your reflectors?

Really nice ride! :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by hgmahaha

Nice! I have the same ride too, one year older and no lux package. looking sharp!

What deck is that? and what did you use to black out your reflectors?

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Its a Caska 3635, and they are smoked with vinyl, however I might sell them and go a different route soon...

Is that in mississauga?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by k13

After a visit to Joe at MoT (for a valence and stubby!)
http://img849.imageshack.us/img849/4483/img01701.jpg

http://img268.imageshack.us/img268/3331/img0169gn.jpg

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by hgmahaha

Is that in mississauga?

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Yes sir! (ugly condos, btw...)

:DVery nice. Any plans on whats next?

I too do not understand architecture like that. Wow it was a challenge to build it differently like that.. Its still an eyesore.
KW has quite a few ugly buildings too. Google Kitchener's rubik's cube er i mean townhall. Its the prettiest of the at least 3 other god awful buildings that come to mind as well lol

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Mitchell3

:DVery nice. Any plans on whats next?

I too do not understand architecture like that. Wow it was a challenge to build it differently like that.. Its still an eyesore.
KW has quite a few ugly buildings too. Google Kitchener's rubik's cube er i mean townhall. Its the prettiest of the at least 3 other god awful buildings that come to mind as well lol

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Downtown Kitchener is an eye sore lol

Although the rubix cube is a lot nicer than OCAD's building in downtown toronto...

Quote:

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Originally Posted by chris.joh

Downtown Kitchener is an eye sore lol

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lol Im content with the other buildings downtown other than the one @ King and Victoria :bang

Quote:

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Originally Posted by k13

Although the rubix cube is a lot nicer than OCAD's building in downtown toronto...

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LOL wth. Its almost like our perimeter institute inverted and jacked up in the sky.

The red purge begins...

White backlit LCD (unlike the M3F how-to, I didn't have to file, sand or destroy anything to do this mod. Just patience and precision!)
http://img689.imageshack.us/img689/57/img0240de.jpg

Shifter LED mod (easiest mod ever! it wasn't even a red bulb... just a red rubber cap...)
http://img854.imageshack.us/img854/4443/img0241et.jpg

looks good :)

Modified the AUX jack to run my iPod cable (Caska doesn't have an AUX anyway)
http://img52.imageshack.us/img52/5717/img0250bw.jpg

Modded the Caska to rid it of the red lighting...
http://img851.imageshack.us/img851/8198/img0282nq.jpg

Cluster, HVAC (so hard to remove!), steering wheel controls (such unique LEDs...) and other misc red lighting to be changed over soon!

would you mind explaining how you did it with out destroying anything? car looks very good btw

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Kappa

would you mind explaining how you did it with out destroying anything? car looks very good btw

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I should have taken pictures while I was doing it... Basically the reason why they file everything down is to get the casing off so that there is enough room to work with. I just bent the pins slightly to create enough room to work with (I'm an Electrical Engineer, so I'm professionally trained to solder AND i do a ton of soldering, so minimal working room is good enough for me). Afterwards I just bent it back. Took an hour or so.

i like the pictures!

looks bright as hell! But :like

Quote:

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Originally Posted by k13

I should have taken pictures while I was doing it... Basically the reason why they file everything down is to get the casing off so that there is enough room to work with. I just bent the pins slightly to create enough room to work with (I'm an Electrical Engineer, so I'm professionally trained to solder AND i do a ton of soldering, so minimal working room is good enough for me). Afterwards I just bent it back. Took an hour or so.

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see its times like this i wish i lived in toronto so i could just pay you to do this hahaha

the hvac is a pain to remove. just dont lose the C Clip like i did haha. got another one, just have to put the new one in.

as for the steering wheel. thats simple. i just used the smaller LED's that are used for the cluster. noone seemed to have found the right size led's but i just used those and no issues. been in all summer now.

im going to assume you found the writeups for all of these. if not let me know. i have them bookmarked at home.

bit blurry, taken with iphone hah
http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r...r/f9462ba9.jpg
http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r...r/492b6e4c.jpg
http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r...r/c97085e6.jpg

The steering wheel LEDs seem to be 1206 SMD Bottom Emitting LEDs (which are SUPER UNCOMMON). I'm thinking of just finding the right 1206 LED and mounting it upside down.

Yep, all the soldering and stuff is simple (especially with the right soldering iron/tips/tools), its just the taking apart stuff that takes long...

Hook me up with the how-to's! It would help me identify parts so that I can order them... Can't seem to figure out the power window LED size and the little light intensity knob on the left side of the steering wheel...

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Kappa

see its times like this i wish i lived in toronto so i could just pay you to do this hahaha

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Haha, just let me know if you're ever in town ;)

Beautiful car. I absolutely love what you've done with it, and so quickly. I sorta like the OEM red lighting in the Mazda3, but the white is a pleasant change.

Mine's a soft orange, with ambient LED lighting throughout the door handles, door pockets, cupholders, etc. I absolutely LOVE that color.
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/162/4...e1108aed9d.jpg


Oh, and I grew up in Mississauga. I just moved downtown Toronto about 2 months ago...and I may be the only Mississaugan who absolutely LOVES the design of the Marilyn Monroes.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Kappa

see its times like this i wish i lived in toronto so i could just pay you to do this hahaha

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Except, i live in Toronto.. soo what do you say? lol :P jk

Car is looking good! and clean! I love your headunit and the redless backlight. lol :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by k13

The steering wheel LEDs seem to be 1206 SMD Bottom Emitting LEDs (which are SUPER UNCOMMON). I'm thinking of just finding the right 1206 LED and mounting it upside down.

Yep, all the soldering and stuff is simple (especially with the right soldering iron/tips/tools), its just the taking apart stuff that takes long...

Hook me up with the how-to's! It would help me identify parts so that I can order them... Can't seem to figure out the power window LED size and the little light intensity knob on the left side of the steering wheel...

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thats exactly what i did. i used the 1206 leds. they are a bit bigger then the ones that are in there but they work fine. you can still solder them on with no isses. there is 4 per side.

here is the how to for the cluster. http://www.mazda3forums.com/index.php?topic=26798.0

for the cruise control here is how to take it off, or add it to cars that dont have it. http://www.mazda3forums.com/index.php?topic=45816.0
i used this one to take the steering controls off and once off, its just 2 simple clips that hold the circuit boards in place. take them out and then just 4 per side.

for the power window sw. im not sure about that one. havent bothered taking the whole thing apart yet to see what led is in there. although i think about it when i look at it haha. same with the light intensity one. i bet they are simple as well. just a pain to take everything apart.

here is the how to for the temp controls. http://www.mazda3forums.com/index.php?topic=114760.0

Quote:

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Originally Posted by angelaTRICIA

Except, i live in Toronto.. soo what do you say? lol :P jk

Car is looking good! and clean! I love your headunit and the redless backlight. lol :)

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i dont understand lol

Lol, i meant that for the OP if he would do mine since i live in Toronto.. lol sorry, i realize now that, that was confusing. haha :blush

lol i see

Had a spare half hour today so I swapped this out.

Before:
http://img42.imageshack.us/img42/734/img0351uz.jpg

After:
http://img6.imageshack.us/img6/2655/img0360tr.jpg

how dyou get to the LED and what kind of LED is it?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by gabbygenier

how dyou get to the LED and what kind of LED is it?

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I'll post a how to soon! Its actually just a single PLCC-2 LED

Where did you find those aluminum knobs? I've been lookin for them on and off for about a month!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by k13

I'll post a how to soon! Its actually just a single PLCC-2 LED

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awesome. i guess its simple to take apart if it took you 30 mins. maybe ill do that next week or something.

Did many mods, but not enough time to take/upload photos!

Here's a peak at something I did!
http://img412.imageshack.us/img412/2810/img0610q.jpg