Today I did correspond with my friend who is helping me out to get a new car. Tomorrow it looks like I will be getting a sliver 2010 Mazda 3 i Sport with a Manual Transmission. It has great reviews and should be a 10 year car as long as I take care of it. I plan on installing an aftermarket cold air intake system and air filter to help out the fuel consumption and performance a bit. Not right away, but something I want to do soon.

Sorry to if I disappointed the muscle car fans. I just wanted something more practical and functional.

The Subaru is a great car, all wheel drive and a flat boxer engine like Porsche has. Very reliable and it drives great. The Mazda 3 is a hot seller and I see them all over the road, very sporty from older models in that line and probably the best overall buy in that class.

I myself decided on an RX-8, I wanted something fun to drive, was quick, but also had four seats and four doors. The only car as fun to drive around the twisties would be a 911 and that's out of my price range haha. Not a lot of torque, but watching the engine spin up to 10k rpm is wild and there's not a lot of them on the road so it's kind of unique.

American muscle cars are fun and have gobs of power, but they're cruisers so they're not really designed for being fast around corners or quite as fun to drive as some of the smaller cars unless you're looking at a Vette, but then you have a two seater which you may not want. You also tend to feel every single rock in the road on your butt in a Vette as well since the suspension is so tight. Unfortunately Mustangs, Cameros, Chargers, etc tend to lose the most resale value the quickest if you buy new. Reliability can sometimes come into play as well.

You could also get yourself a motorcycle, just don't be stingy and make sure you're marked as an organ donor.

Is upgrading the spark plugs, spark plug wires, air intake system, and exaust system on a Mazda 3 i Sport a waste of money. It appears that it would cost about $1500 to get it done and it from reading up it is saposed to improve my fuel consumption and add a little horsepower. On a new car would this void the 5yr warranty?

If you change out anything more than the tailpipe (exhaust) or the air filter (intake) it probably will. Changing the plugs and wires is no big deal.

I purchased a 2010 Mazda 3 i Sport today. I put a $9K down payment and was able to get the $500 rebate and the fixed rate 0% interest 60 month loan for the remainder of the price of the car which was $8K. I have crappy credit because I have purchased in cash for just about everything else and this is a great opportunity to build credit without losing money on interest. So far I am pleased with my purchase. It is a fun ride as I had wanted. I would have to install a turbo kit to get some major improvement to the horsepower and torque but I do not think it is very practical. I will put a K&N Air Filter at the very least. I do not intend to race my car at all. If I do put any dramatic modifications to my car it will be after the waranty expires.

I forgot to mention my Mazda 3 has a 5 speed manual transmission.

congrats on the purchase of a new car mate

Thanks!

I'm just trying to read your mind..it sounds like you like the car as it is..but you are not satisfied with the power it has. I advise you not to touch anything on it for now ..even that K&N filter is something that is certainly great, since you can always re-oil and so on..but I think most people over exagarrates by having a high-flow filter and a free flow muffler (if you'd do that). Don't throw away the old filter (if it's still good) and don't throw away the stock exhaust when you decide to replace it.

What you really do when you get a filter like that and an exhaust is that you are somewhat "relocating" the power curve of the car, that was set in the factory for optimal conditions.

You may notice a lack of power on the low end, while your car happily zooms better at the upper RPM range than ever before. It really comes down to your driving style.

I have driven a car with those modifications (and more) and sure it can be a lot of fun..until you get to the point, where you just want more comfort and less noise and less gas pedal thumping and just to "roll around".

I'm just such a person, who got out of the racecar-like driving style..and actually I always liked low-end torque better than high-end zoom zoom.

I had a mustang 5.0 LX 10 years ago (5speed), which was my favorite of all times (unfortunately totalled), and I also had RPM hungry small cars, that would really start going only beyond 5k rpm, but would just get annoying in traffic at 1000-2000rpm range in a stop/go traffic.

Right now I'm driving a 93 benz..and this car can't even be modified much, even though this car has power all across the the whole RPM range, it just drives "nice" around 1500-2000 rpm and I hardly ever race it, unless I feel like passing an old lady going way too slow.

But hey..everyone has different flavors so good luck!

No way. I've been riding cycles since I was like 13.

Shweet. Pics?

And if you're unsatisfied with the performance there are a lot of small things you can do that will free up a few ponies. Just do some research.

It sure did not take long to get pulled over for the first time. I got a warning for accelerating too fast from a light. That first gear is so sensitive. I'd hate to imagine how senstive it would be with the engine supercharged!

Your welcome.

On a matter that more serious, I went on a first date with a lady I came accross on Mingle. I really liked her and we talked for about two hours in the restaurant and one hour or so in my new car. We both indicated interst in meeting again. I e-mailed her early today to tell her that I was glad to meet her and to wish her a good week. It might have been too soon. The only thing I can do now is wait. New car and a date makes for one wild roller coaster for moi.

Still having issues with getting out of 1st or reverse against a grade. I hate the feeling of rolling in the oppisite direction and would want to know some tricks to deal with my problem.

I've never practiced this but I've heard of using the e-brake at like half position to help hold the car in place.

I just practiced at a stop at a more than average steep grade using my emergency brake. I had to get the rpms to 3K and the clutch right at the point of releasing before releasing the emergency brake, but it worked well. One thing I do need to work on is backing up against a hill. I used the same emergency brake procedures, but I think I have to have it at a slightly lower rpm so I do not accelerate into another parked vehicle. I will keep practicing.

Glad to hear it worked out, just try to avoid slipping the clutch too much. ;)

take it to 1000 rpm below redline and shift

That is guaranteed to work!