Derrick, Ann Arbor, 07 Mazdaspeed3, 84 mercury capri

So I'm pretty new to all of this. After spending some time with gearheads in Osaka while I was studying hip-hop, I came back to the states and decided to learn how to wrench on cars. I also thought if I was going to buy nicer cars in the future, it'd be better to learn how to do my own maintenance so I wouldn't get constantly raped at the dealer (like my parents did). I ended up buying a '07 Mazdaspeed3 and learned how to change my oil... and now it's basically all modified minus exhaust manifold, turbo, and internals (I actually have a spare engine, a turbo, and an intake manifold lying around... but I'll probably leave it alone and sell the parts)

Unfortunately, the ms3 isn't the greatest platform to modify - so rather than putting more money into it for marginal gains - I decided to pick up a project car. This was kind of a random pick up - mercury capri's weren't on my radar and they certainly aren't at the top of my want list... but it is what it is and I'm excited to get it on the road soon!


Mazdaspeed 3:

Engine:
TurboXS FMIC
RPMC 2.5" Black Powder coated Turbo Inlet Pipe
CP-E Nano SRI
CP-E Downpipe w/Cat and Swaintech coating
CP-E 75 Duro Rear Motor Mount
SU Passenger Mount, Transmission Mount
PTP Kicker Mount
HKS HiPower 3" CBE
HKS SSQV Blow off valve
HKS Twin Power DLI II Ignition
Mrlilguy Cam driven fuel pump
Denso Iridium Spark plugs
Whoosh PnP IM in black chrome w/VTCS and EGR delete.
PTP Phenolic IM spacer
Whoosh Ported TB
Candy Red Valve Cover
Saiko Michi OCC
PTP Wastegate actuator
Bnoon banjo bolt

ECU tuning:
AP Tuned to 19psi
or
CP-E FullControl Flash / Fuel Cut Eliminator Flash

Suspension:
Hotchki Front and Rear Sway bars
Mazdaspeed Coilovers (KW Variant 3)
Mazdaspeed Rear camber links
KMac Camber plates with custom top hats
Custom Adjustable Front end links

Exterior:
AutoExe bumper with custom aluminum splitter (summer)
AutoExe replica badgeless CF grill/OEM bumper/Garage Vary replica lip (winter)
Auto-folding/LED/Courtesy light/Wide angle mirrors
JDM rain guards
Sharkfin
35/20 tint
Batman style flying M in flat black/clear coat

Interior:
Bride Gias Carbon Kevlar Racing Seat
Bride Lowmax Passenger Seat
Cobb Short Throw Shifter, Cobb shifter weight
Redline leather Shift & Ebrake boot and console covers
Autoexe CF shift knob
Prosport CF ebrake cover
TWM Shifter Bushings
Dashhawk v2
Custom 350z-style gauge pod.
Defi BF 60mm Gauges (Boost, Oil Temp, Oil Press)
Innovate XD-16 Wideband gauge
Sok7 acceleration pedal

Lights:
Stock HIDs
3000k HID fogs with yellow Lamin-X
Angel eyes
Stealth Auto Turn signals
Smoked Sidemarkers
Red and black tinted tails

Wheels:
Summer: Advan RG II Gold 18x8.5 +50 with Bridgetone RE01R 255/35-18
Winter: Advan Model T7 17x7 with Hankook Ice Bears
Ichiba 45mm extended studs on the fronts

Other:
Big 3 in 1/0 wire
POR-15 on underbody parts
lots of sound deadening, audio, custom ipod mount, etc...
Alarm/Remote Start/Turbo Timer
Redline Tuning Elite Hoodlifts
-----------------------------------------------

Old Mods:
PTP SST K04 (RIP)
Streetunit Motor Mount
Mazdaspeed CAI
Mazdaspeed CBE
Cobb SRI w/K&N filter
ETS 3.25" TMIC (black powdercoated)
Turbosmart Hybrid BOV
























































winter setup - advan model t7





old setup: (work emotion cr kai's 17x8)

I really like the works on a ms3, nice intro! Welcome

welcome, i had no idea you had KW V3's until now, love all the mods, and your seats those are hot

Sweeeeet!

O HAI!

welcome!

Undertaker4 wrote:

welcome, i had no idea you had KW V3's until now, love all the mods, and your seats those are hot

thanks. yep had them for several years now. should play with the settings a bit more but i must say my car handles pretty nice esp. for a FF!

just wondering is that real gold foil on the charge pipe?

ludedude13 wrote:

just wondering is that real gold foil on the charge pipe?

it's DEI Reflect-a-gold foil heat barrier tape. cut down on my intake temps at least ~10-15 deg if i recall correctly. it gets really hot over my engine.

If I ever went custom I'd clock the turbo down and route the pipes under the engine instead.

xcoldricex wrote:

Undertaker4 wrote:

welcome, i had no idea you had KW V3's until now, love all the mods, and your seats those are hot

thanks. yep had them for several years now. should play with the settings a bit more but i must say my car handles pretty nice esp. for a FF!

so hows the condition of the KW's any corrosion?

not that i'm aware of. one side might be seized though since i didn't know about antiseize before... but it's a plastic collar with a set screw, so maybe it's not, I haven't touched my height settings in a long time though.

so really you just wanted the adjustability of dampening, not the ride hight

no, i used to raise and lower my ride height for summer/winter but am just lazy now.

i also dropped it from stock height a coupe of inches.

also, i have them because i got them brand new for $700 with the rear camber links - cheaper than the cheap coilovers for my car

xcoldricex wrote:

i have them because i got them brand new for $700 with the rear camber links - cheaper than the cheap coilovers for my car

how did you get V3's for 700?

.

i'm good at finding deals. basically everything on my car was a deal.

bought them from a person who worked at a dealer, who bought them for himself. he ended up needing money and need to sell them quick. that situation plus my shameless lowballing = deal.

i rarely ever pay close to retail on anything, i've been buying and selling things on the internet since like '97, so i'm pretty well versed in the practices

so you want to find me a good as deal on some coils?

i waste enough time finding my own stuff i'm also not familiar with how much vw stuff goes for anyway so i won't be of much use.

um, the title says "07 Mazdaspeed3, 84 mercury capri"

WHERES THE CAPRI?!

this forum is already looking better than a2 simply because it seems more car fans here (derrick told me of the site alden and nick put up hehe)

derrick, my intro thread is super simple haha why do you have to be so professional with baller pix and things?

the capri is in the project section idiot

Race wrote:

um, the title says "07 Mazdaspeed3, 84 mercury capri"

WHERES THE CAPRI?!

this forum is already looking better than a2 simply because it seems more car fans here (derrick told me of the site alden and nick put up hehe)

derrick, my intro thread is super simple haha why do you have to be so professional with baller pix and things?

Yea, over here were "obsessed" with cars

yeah, annoying right?

haha whatever, I just enjoy our little corner of the internet. Let the haters hate I say

we need to inhance our little corner into a big corner