Past, Present, and Future

  • Thread starter Thread starter TVC
  • 76 comments
  • 2,835 views
Azuremen
Umm they did. It is called the Mazdaspeed6, AWD, all that goodness.
Click to expand...
And it was available in limited quantities for ONE model year.

I can put on my coat right now, roll down to Tumminia Mazda in Olathe, KS with my X-Plan discount and pick one of four or five that are sitting on the lot.

The huge saving grace of the 2009 Mazda6, besides that fact that it's a better car than the '08, is that the V-6 has more power and torque than the Renesis in the RX-8.
Nothing like a grocery getter than can hold 4 guys over 6'3" in comfort, but it can run with an RX 8 in the process.
And it won't draw nearly the unwanted (read that: Police) attention, that can/will be drawn by an RX-8 running above 5,000 RPM.
 
Gil
And it was available in limited quantities for ONE model year.

I can put on my coat right now, roll down to Tumminia Mazda in Olathe, KS with my X-Plan discount and pick one of four or five that are sitting on the lot.

The huge saving grace of the 2009 Mazda6, besides that fact that it's a better car than the '08, is that the V-6 has more power and torque than the Renesis in the RX-8.
Nothing like a grocery getter than can hold 4 guys over 6'3" in comfort, but it can run with an RX 8 in the process.
And it won't draw nearly the unwanted (read that: Police) attention, that can/will be drawn by an RX-8 running above 5,000 RPM.
Click to expand...

Crazy, I've several Mazdaspeed6s around here. Didn't realize they only sold them for a model year. Just get a Legacy 2.5GT then :p

Toronado
Whale tail FTW!
Click to expand...

Fail to see what thongs have to do with this thread...
 
I enjoy simplicity. I think it's all gone in new cars. No, not needing a key to start your car is not simple--think about all the hidden technology that nobody actually knows how it works.

The amount of electronics in my car is enough--it's got an OBD2 safety and emissions system, power locks, power this and that, a radio, cruise control, etc. And it's all still quite simple. It's easily understood, easily worked on, easily rebuilt, and easily modified. In fact, my car can also be stolen quite easily.

New cars make that impossible. If someone tried to steal my mom's Pontiac G6's radio, they would render the car and the radio completely useless. New cars within the last few years simply cannot be "hotwired" unless the robber has access to multitudes of passwords and codes, which must be gathered from a real person on the other end of the phone line.

How about making it simple again? Simple is cheap. Simple is easy. I enjoy it when I turn a key, activate a switch, complete and electrical circuit, and it just works. But that's not the case anymore. I would gladly sacrifice some security for simplicity, because I already am. Performance and quality characteristics aside, I hate the complex underpinnings of new cars, and I have a desire to own none. It'll be a cold day in hell when I get something more complex than my Civic! :lol:
 
Sadly, I think new inventions make people slower.. A dude from the AAA kept stalling my KE70 on idle (i.e it was dying out), he couldn't figure out that choke would be a clever thing in minus five degrees :rolleyes:
 
RE: Mazda3 and Mazda6... the Mazda3 is a better chassis, but it's a less involving car to drive than the Protege. The first generation mazda6 was a perfect example of having your cake and eating it, too... More modern than the 626, bigger, more powerful, and more nimble and more involving to drive. The new 6 loses very little of the relative lightness of the old 6, loses some steering feel with the new electric steering rack, but the handling is still pin sharp, and a perfect antidote to the humdrum sameness that is the Camry-Accord class.

TheCracker
Sacrilege! - you could have at least offered to swap it for a Toyota 4A-GE, which was a copy of the Kent-based Cosworth BDA as used in the Mk1 Escort RS1600.
Click to expand...

Ah... but the SR20 is more modern, and it's a 2.0 with an aluminum block, available with a (relatively) more robust RWD transmission. While you could, conceivably, find a way to attach a 4AGE 20V to a RWD Corolla tranny (indeed, I've seen a 4AGZE in a 70's Celica), I enjoy the extra torque of the SR more.

The Escort club boys nearly lynched me when I made this particular suggestion to a guy with a blown engine. Forget authenticity... I may like vintage looks, but I want it to drive like new. In other words, I don't want to fiddle with chokes... I want at least 5 speeds (6 if I can get them) and I want EFI fuel economy and emissions friendliness.
 
niky
Ah... but the SR20 is more modern, and it's a 2.0 with an aluminum block, available with a (relatively) more robust RWD transmission. While you could, conceivably, find a way to attach a 4AGE 20V to a RWD Corolla tranny (indeed, I've seen a 4AGZE in a 70's Celica), I enjoy the extra torque of the SR more.
Click to expand...

The 4A-GE's all have the same mounts and bolt ups for the tranny. The 20V will bolt straight to several Toyota transmissions, from the C series to K52 in the AE86. I've known several people running 20Valves in AE86s with minimal modification.
 
I still like the torque of the SR more. I've driven a DE and a 20V back to back (admittedly, both in FWD form, but we used to have an S12 (my brother's, Ken, the photo-guy who used to hang around in the GT4 galleries) with an Sr20 (whew, double parentheticals!))... errh, I've driven an SR20 back to back with a 20V, and while the top-end of the 20V was nice, it wasn't that much better, and the SR had more low-down grunt. Besides, I'm more comfortable working with something I'm familiar with... and we've had two, already.
 
Azuremen
The 4A-GE's all have the same mounts and bolt ups for the tranny. The 20V will bolt straight to several Toyota transmissions, from the C series to K52 in the AE86. I've known several people running 20Valves in AE86s with minimal modification.
Click to expand...

Donate me your 4A-GE :)
 
Azuremen
///M-Spec, just get something pure like an Elise or NSX to replace the M-Roady. You don't need all those luxury features at all, take away from the purity of the car. Though an NSX will be vastly more comfortable for longer drives.
Click to expand...

I have nothing but respect and admiration for how focused and pure a car the Elise is. But that's not really what I want.

A car performs four basic jobs: all out sports car, GT, commuter and passenger/stuff hauler. The Elise is rubbish at three of those jobs in order to be brilliant at one. I'm just not willing to give up all the comfort aspects of an automobile so I can eek out that last little bit of sports car goodness --which, let's face it, I can only use a tiny portion of the time I'm on the road.

Besides. I don't know what sort of impression you have of the Z4 M, but from where I sit, it's pretty raw and basic. Yeah, it has Bluetooth and heated/power seats, a power top, Carver designed sound system, etc. But as far as sports cars go, it's not especially complex. And none of those features get in the way of driving it.

I hadn't really considered the NSX and it's an intriguing idea. It was my dream car for a while before I was sucked in by the folks at Garching. But looking at the prices, I see the 993 guys took whatever they were smoking and passed it onto the NSX guys, who promptly vaporized it for max effect.

But there is a nice '97 Targa in Baltimore that is priced realistically...

Not sure I agree with your about the purity of the NSX, though.

Azuremen
An E36 would be a solid choice for a 4 seater... my room mate keeps trying to get me to look at them. I just don't want to see someone that actually thinks and drives become a Porsche guy, because I generally find them to be jerks that have no clue how to drive :p
Click to expand...

Hey, people have the same impression of BMW drivers, so I'm used to that kind of stigmatizing :) I stopped caring a long time ago.


M
 
Last edited:
niky
I still like the torque of the SR more. I've driven a DE and a 20V back to back (admittedly, both in FWD form, but we used to have an S12 (my brother's, Ken, the photo-guy who used to hang around in the GT4 galleries) with an Sr20 (whew, double parentheticals!))... errh, I've driven an SR20 back to back with a 20V, and while the top-end of the 20V was nice, it wasn't that much better, and the SR had more low-down grunt. Besides, I'm more comfortable working with something I'm familiar with... and we've had two, already.
Click to expand...

Well, of course. You're comparing a normal-aspirated 1.6 against a 2.0L (that can be had with supercharging). No replacement for displacement.

Now, I assume from the nature of your argument that you're talking about putting an SR into a Corolla...in which case, I point you to the 3S-GE, which is more of an SR competitor in the first place. I don't like cross-make engine swaps much.

EDIT: An Escort? gods, man, consider the Zetec or turbo Pinto motor first, at least! Or, if really insane, a 302 Windsor.
 
Jim Prower
Well, of course. You're comparing a normal-aspirated 1.6 against a 2.0L (that can be had with supercharging). No replacement for displacement.

Now, I assume from the nature of your argument that you're talking about putting an SR into a Corolla...in which case, I point you to the 3S-GE, which is more of an SR competitor in the first place. I don't like cross-make engine swaps much.

EDIT: An Escort? gods, man, consider the Zetec or turbo Pinto motor first, at least! Or, if really insane, a 302 Windsor.
Click to expand...

We don't have the Pinto here, and the Zetec is pretty rare, as well (for a time, Ford only sold re-badged Mazdas here.) I'm not bothered by cross-swapping. With cars this old, the stock wiring doesn't matter one whit.

As for 3SGE versus SR20DE... the SR20 is cheap... really cheap... it's an aluminum block (versus the iron-blocks most 2.0s of the time had), so the weight isn't much more than an iron-block 1.6, and it has a timing chain, so maintenance is easy, and I've personally worked on them and consider them near-indestructible in non-track use. Perfect for a daily-driven toy. I'd rate the SR just behind the K20 (for natural aspiration) and 4G63 (for turbo) in terms of power-potential. We've seen them do up to 200 whp (220 bhp) on the dyno (in VE form) and the block is good for up to 1000 hp in race-cars (500-600 hp, all stock SR20DET bottom end)... it's a crazy little motor.

I may have been turned off by the drop in Nissan quality over the past ten years, but I'm still a big fan of their engines. :D

Hmmm... now if there was a rear-drive tranny that would mate up to the K20... droooool...
 
niky
We don't have the Pinto here, and the Zetec is pretty rare, as well (for a time, Ford only sold re-badged Mazdas here.) I'm not bothered by cross-swapping. With cars this old, the stock wiring doesn't matter one whit.
Click to expand...

Ford calls the 2.3L SOHC motor they put in EVERYTHING the "Pinto engine" as that's what it was designed for. Basically every 198X-199X 2.3L SOHC can be taken to quite nutty power levels very easily.
 
Rotary Junkie
Ford calls the 2.3L SOHC motor they put in EVERYTHING the "Pinto engine" as that's what it was designed for. Basically every 198X-199X 2.3L SOHC can be taken to quite nutty power levels very easily.
Click to expand...

Yeah, but again, during that time, all the Fords we got in Asia were Mazda rebadges... Laser (Demio), Lynx (323), Telstar (626)... no local source for the 2.3, sadly. :( I know some guys who've been looking pretty hard (for their Escorts).
 

Latest Posts

Back