Long term ownership review and thoughts

[Revolv0]

Thanks to the Mazdaspeed forums for all the help!

[Krystorr]

Got my black 2012 speed on Halloween 2011 with 50 miles on it. I beat the shit out of it for the next 86,879 miles and still purrs every morning.

Blew the K04 at around 80k. It was my fault. I slowed down in the fast lane to let a lawn maintenance crew know that their trailer breaks were on and about to burst into flames. Some dickhead in Heeyunday behind me decided to fly up my ass and lay on his horn. I can still see him losing his mind at me in the rear view as we were still doing 10 over. I got the crew's attention, they pulled off and I hammered the gas without down shifting blowing thick, black smoke all over the hyundick and never saw him again. WOT in 6th at 65 mph was just too much for the turbo after years of fun.

Swapped to the CST 4 in Dec 2018 along with a ton of mods within the year
Including:
HPFP
COBB turbo-back
Fatter TMIC
OCC
TMM insert
RMM
JBR Short Shifter/shifter bushings
COBB 3" Intake and TIP
TRU Performance 4 point cross bar
JBR RSB
CS front and rear tower bars
CS adjustable shocks and struts
Stop Tech Sport drilled and slotted rotors/pads
Some other odds and ends
A, yes, shameful, OTS Stage 3 Map from the Access Port/21-25 lbs boost
Strict maintenance schedule, oiling things that need oiled, greasing things that will let me fluiding things requiring such things
...and she's still going strong.

She did leave me stranded once when I falsely remembered that I had gotten gas after my warning light came on. I hadn't but! I broke my personal best of 51 miles passed the light in my 1980-something Ford Taurus set in 2002 with 66 miles in the speed set in 2015. So, silver lining.

[smurugby12]

I miss my speed. I sold it with 143k miles in Oct. 2018. No issues, original clutch. Powertrain was stock, never boosted below 3k RPM, changed fluids etc etc and it never missed a beat. I bought the car new and brought it to a HPDE the first 5k miles and have been hooked ever since. I sold it when I was gifted a Silverado (w/ 210k miles on it, previous smoker owner, rust) and since I bought a house, I sold my Speed3 and kept the truck which has been really useful and pretty reliable, but kills my soul driving a pickup.

I picked up a mint '91 Miata this April to fill the itch which has been fun. But I still miss my Speed3. I just tried to locate it again on the off chance the new owner is selling, which led me back here to reminisce Enjoy the car!

[Revolv0]

Originally Posted by smurugby12 I miss my speed. I sold it with 143k miles in Oct. 2018. No issues, original clutch. Powertrain was stock, never boosted below 3k RPM, changed fluids etc etc and it never missed a beat. Brought it to a HPDE the first 5k miles and have been hooked ever since. I was gifted a Silverado (210k miles on it), some rust, and since I bought a house, I sold my Speed3 and kept the truck which has been really useful, but kills my soul driving. I picked up a mint '91 Miata this April to fill the itch which has been fun. But I still miss my Speed3. I just tried to locate it again on the off chance the new owner is selling, which led me back here to reminisce Enjoy the car!

Yeah, I purchased an 07 S6 dirt cheap. I’m learning the hard way their is no such thing as a cheap German car... you should buy my speed... just sayin.

[Vansquish]

Originally Posted by Krystorr Swapped to the CST 4 in Dec 2018 along with a ton of mods within the year Including: HPFP COBB turbo-back . . . COBB 3" Intake and TIP . . . A, yes, shameful, OTS Stage 3 Map from the Access Port/21-25 lbs boost

I did read that incorrectly, didn't I?

You cannot safely run a larger-than-stock aftermarket turbo like the CST4/BNRS3 without a custom tune. COBB OTS maps are categorically incapable of handling larger turbos. Without a customized map that accounts for your aftermarket turbo, your motor is a ticking time bomb. You're overboosting by between about 14% and 56% over what the OTS map can properly handle. It's not "shameful" that you're using an OTS map, it's scary that you think it's OK to do so, and incredibly stupid.

Seriously, spend a couple hundred bucks and get yourself a proper tune instead of the thousands you'll spend getting a new engine.

Edit:

Here, direct from Cobb, are the map notes for both Stage 3 OTS maps for the 2012 MS3.
Stage3:

Stage3 91 OCT or 95 RON

Intake Requirements:
COBB SF Intake required
COBB Turbo Inlet Hose (TIH) required
Intercooler Requirements:
COBB Intercooler required
Fuel Requirements: 91/92 OCT or 95 RON fuel
Cam Driven Fuel Pump:
Autotech High Volume Fuel Pump (CDFP) required
Exhaust Requirements:
COBB Catback exhaust required
COBB High Flow Downpipe required
Boost Targets: 18.5psi peak tapering down to 17.5psi by redline +/- 1.5psi
All other intake, exhaust, engine related components: Stock


Stage3 93 OCT or 98 RON

Intake Requirements:
COBB SF Intake required
COBB Turbo Inlet Hose (TIH) required
Intercooler Requirements:
COBB Intercooler required
Fuel Requirements: 93/94 OCT or 98 RON fuel
Cam Driven Fuel Pump:
Autotech High Volume Fuel Pump (CDFP) required
Exhaust Requirements:
COBB Catback exhaust required
COBB High Flow Downpipe required
Boost Targets: 18.5psi peak tapering down to 17.5psi by redline +/- 1.5psi
All other intake, exhaust, engine related components: Stock

[Krystorr]

Originally Posted by Vansquish I did read that incorrectly, didn't I? You cannot safely run a larger-than-stock aftermarket turbo like the CST4/BNRS3 without a custom tune. COBB OTS maps are categorically incapable of handling larger turbos. Without a customized map that accounts for your aftermarket turbo, your motor is a ticking time bomb. You're overboosting by between about 14% and 56% over what the OTS map can properly handle. It's not "shameful" that you're using an OTS map, it's scary that you think it's OK to do so, and incredibly stupid. Seriously, spend a couple hundred bucks and get yourself a proper tune instead of the thousands you'll spend getting a new engine. Edit: Here, direct from Cobb, are the map notes for both Stage 3 OTS maps for the 2012 MS3. Stage3: Stage3 91 OCT or 95 RON Intake Requirements: COBB SF Intake required COBB Turbo Inlet Hose (TIH) required Intercooler Requirements: COBB Intercooler required Fuel Requirements: 91/92 OCT or 95 RON fuel Cam Driven Fuel Pump: Autotech High Volume Fuel Pump (CDFP) required Exhaust Requirements: COBB Catback exhaust required COBB High Flow Downpipe required Boost Targets: 18.5psi peak tapering down to 17.5psi by redline +/- 1.5psi All other intake, exhaust, engine related components: Stock Stage3 93 OCT or 98 RON Intake Requirements: COBB SF Intake required COBB Turbo Inlet Hose (TIH) required Intercooler Requirements: COBB Intercooler required Fuel Requirements: 93/94 OCT or 98 RON fuel Cam Driven Fuel Pump: Autotech High Volume Fuel Pump (CDFP) required Exhaust Requirements: COBB Catback exhaust required COBB High Flow Downpipe required Boost Targets: 18.5psi peak tapering down to 17.5psi by redline +/- 1.5psi All other intake, exhaust, engine related components: Stock

I'm retarded. It's why I'm glad this place exists. I have no problem spending the money for a proper tune. I spent 7 or 8k in mods the last 2 years and don't want it to be all for nothing especially since I didn't have a shop do any of the work. It took me 2 weeks just to do the exhaust system seeing as how the DP seemed to be welded on there by Etri with the heat of a fucking dying star.

So, we're leaning more towards stupid than scary. Or both. In my defense, I know shit isn't safe so for nearly a year, I haven't beat on it hard at all, 4k to 5k RPMs when I'm getting frustrated in traffic. I haven't found the time to strictly follow the requirements of logging for e-tunes...12 hour work days, new dad...apparent crippling crack addiction

I'm in Maryland. My experience the last 2 years I've been stationed here has shown me that trusting anyone in this area with my Speed would be dumber still than running an upgraded turbo without the correct tune. Which is why I'm the granny out there with thousands in mods.

Honestly, thanks for the spank man, I know I'm fucking up.