MX-3 Criticism

LooseChangeRacing · January 13th, 2006, 4:44 pm

STI 300 at the crank, with 30 grand I can turn an mx-3 into a 500whp machine and a show-car...hows that?

Legato626 · Post by **Legato626** » January 13th, 2006, 4:56 pm

500hp mx-3 ook thats going to be a wast of money right there... Because the time and the cost of you getting to that point would cost to much plus YOU WONT HIT 500HP with a KL-ZE (I think... that would be a question to babyblue there). That would be a lot of boost and a big shot of NOS. But then look at the STI it is already 300hp unlike the mx-3 the sti is AWD the mx-3 is FWD. A 500hp mx-3 if you even get a set up to make it the car is so light you wont huck up on the road. TO MUCH POWER it would sit there and spin!!! Thats what gives the STI its rain on the road its AWD. I no some one that has a STI right now that is pushing over 450hp. He races with me in auto cross.

Tunes67 · Post by **Tunes67** » January 13th, 2006, 5:57 pm

I can get a STI for less then $30 grand whats wrong with that.

I am not saying there is anything wrong with that... If you want to drop 30 grand on a car.. be my guest.. that is your right and as long as you are happy with a car that looks just like all the other $30 grand STI's out there.. then a Kudos to you.

For me.. if I had $30 grand to spend.. it wouldnt be on a factory car made today.. If I cant build it myself.. I would rather have something classic from days past. Everyone has their own tastes as to what is cool and what isnt. For me.. my biggest laugh comes from Yuppies and Preppies that dump tons of cash on BMW's and Mercedes cars because they think its cool.. its even funnier if daddy buys it for them.

As for the STI.. they are a fast car and pretty nice overall.. But even the cost of insurance for one would be enough for me to stick with my MX-3. When society stops judging value based on "Newest" and "Most Expensive" Thats when I would consider buying something made today

If any of you think the MX-3 was lacking from the factory brand new.. why not try driving a 1985 Subaru XT. I promise after you have done so.. you will see your MX-3 as being as great of a car if you had just gotten out of a 68 Bug and owned a Ferrari Testerosa. Me? I'll take my MX-3 anyday.. weakass ATX and all. Just my two cents..

Tunes67

Amma351 · Post by **Amma351** » January 13th, 2006, 5:59 pm

Well there is a guy on the forum that has made his mx-3 into awd and some other guy has 450 hp's and Im pretty sure it didint cost them 30g's.

With that being said STI is a sick car but comparing it with mx-3 doesnt really make sense.... totally different class.

Nd4SpdSe · Post by **Nd4SpdSe** » January 13th, 2006, 6:40 pm

Who cares...if I wanna spend $30'000 on my Mx-3, that's for me to decide. I've spend more than half that onmy Mx-3 s far, and I'll say one thing, the stuff I've learned and the fun I've had building her up, the anticipation of new parts and mods, driving it is only half the fun. I have a car that I can take credit for, that it's *my* car that was built to what *I* want.

On the subject of Subaru's, there's a local guy I know only online from an Initial D forum that has a 2.5RS that decided to follow an SUV thoughwater during the insane downpour we had over the summer that caused major flooding. He killed his engine. Well, he's looking at upgrading the engine and has a connection for a new 06 WRX engine for $6000 (Canadian). including harness, ECU, and an extra $1000 for the tranny

One thing too. Obviously people don't have $30'000 floating around. Say, as an example, you can only afford $30'000 on a car in 3 years. Well, you either take out a loan on the Subaru and drive it, can't afford any mods and drive it for those 3 years, or you spend $5000 on an Mx-3, and go nuts and spend $25'000 over those 3 years on modifying the Mx-3, if your short of cash one paycheck, it wont matter cause you dont need to worry about that car payment you can barely afford, you just push back the modification until you can afford to continue. Plus, remember, the more expensive the car, the more expensive the mods.

Legato626 · Post by **Legato626** » January 13th, 2006, 7:10 pm

Well if i am thinking babyblue has the most hp. If i am thinking right he has around 380hp. Baby is that right?

mitmaks · Post by **mitmaks** » January 13th, 2006, 7:13 pm

Legato626 wrote:ok in that case tell me the weak point in a STI!!

at 3,298lbs its quite heavy, average 18-19 mpg, interior is noisy due to lack on soundproofing to make car lighter (even though its still heavy)

Legato626 · Post by **Legato626** » January 13th, 2006, 7:30 pm

heavy but 300HP!!! AWD!!!! that covers it for the fact it hits 0-60 in 4.5sec. But 18 for intown and 24 on highway ya that sucks....

DJ · Post by DJ » January 13th, 2006, 11:07 pm

The engine offerings were fine for back in the day if you checked out reviews. The V6 was around par with it's competetion, and even though slower in a straight line than most it was faster on the track than all others and alot more fun to drive. Plus EVERY review mentions the nice sound the V6 gives off which is why I don't get why people put huge fart pipes on it. Their is sadly one in town now that has one, I saw it take off up a hill, it sounded so bad, and then it backfired like twice.... shamefull. Next time I see it I will be tempted to kick it off.

The V6 still holds up well against the generic crap most people buy now, like non-SI model civics, cavaliers/sunfire/cobalt (same s---), neons and stuff like that which most kids around here put a fart pipe, intake, rims and wing on and call a sports car. Even though a few of those have a decent amount of HP over the K8 they still never win even though I am laughing at their car that sounds like someone is letting a wet far go. Most kids around here also only have gray primer on their civics and integras as well. Is this the new thing or something???

One thing I don't like about the car is that it is impossible to take stuff in and out of the trunk without destroying your pants if your car is dirty at all. The back bumper sticks out way to much. Also, the little flap things rattle unless you find a better way to make them snap down.

The headlight thing is also a pain in the a--. I have to clean them up like every month or two. They must of used cheap plastic from ford or something.

I found the speakers good compared to most stock speakers... I have now blown my rear speakers though and need to get them replaced, I just have them turned off for now. Driving with all the windows down, sunroof open and going really fast on a windy day...while trying to listen to the cd player...so i cranked it. I think I had it a bit too loud.

JWMX3 · Post by **JWMX3** » January 13th, 2006, 11:28 pm

DJ wrote: They must of used cheap plastic from ford or something.

I found the speakers good compared to most stock speakers... I have now blown my rear speakers though and need to get them replaced, I just have them turned off for now. .

if something is cheap it musta come from Ford, i love it

I agree with you about the stock speakers, they are ok within their limits, but i blew the rear ones and replaced them with blaupunkts and blew those even quicker

Juans_93_MX3 · Post by **Juans_93_MX3** » January 14th, 2006, 12:25 am

JWMX3 wrote:I dont classify the K8 as being a weak point in the mid 90s when it was for sale..... slightly low on power yes, but look at its competition a crx and nissan NX, both 4 bangers while the GS comes with an All- aluminum 60 degree V6 that has a really nice sound - thats pretty cool

of course i think an mx3 with a DE from the factory woulda been a beast, but it would of been more expensive and out of the class of a crx and nx

And yet, the 4 banger CRX SI was still able to beat our V6 MX3s

I think a major reason why it wasnt so successful was because, when people went to test drive it, they were disappointed by the lack of power

mr1in6billion · Post by **mr1in6billion** » January 14th, 2006, 4:01 am

JWMX3 wrote:I dont classify the K8 as being a weak point in the mid 90s when it was for sale.....

Exactly. Things need to be taken in context. The mx gets compared to new cars far too often.

And back on topic. The stock speakers were nice considering they were stock. They played my cd's very nicely. No booming bass, but no one expects that from stock speakers made in the early 90's. Now if your boosting the power thats another issue... I was just lucky that when I bought my parts car it came with a set of polk 6.5s all the way around. now those make some sweet sounding music.

LooseChangeRacing · January 14th, 2006, 4:44 am

lol, heres a nice way to do it...

Josh had the hookups, but spent, remind me josh, $1500 to convert to AWD?
so even for the normal person...$4000 to convert to awd with some decent hookups. Now you need to custimize that and get forged parts and everything able to hold 500hp, so maybe another $6000 just for the awd ness lol.
$20000
Now swap KLZE and get everything and I mean everything custom made, forged Titanium lol, but you know what I mean, forged everything to the max.
MAYBE $8000
$12000
Now, since everything is to the max...spend $7500 on a turbo setup, with a nice turbo pushing 20psi+
I still got $4500 to do suspension and all that fun stuff, none-the-less, you now have a 400WHP MINIMUM AWD MX-3, for less than $30k...and your telling me an STI is gonna stand a chance, even with a few k put into it.

Anyone think my numbers seem off, whether it be high or low?

Grants · Post by **Grants** » January 14th, 2006, 4:59 am

Wow, a thread critiizing a car not made for the last 10 years. That you also happen to own.

You bought a mx3 knowing EXACTLY what you get. Its no secret after all these years. I mean, come on you don't need to put down 10 YEAR OLD speakers do you? Compare it to a STI? Where are the 10 year old STIs? What were their speakers like?

Just try to keep things a bit relevant eh? This is just silly.

Famine · Post by **Famine** » January 14th, 2006, 8:24 am

Legato626 wrote:ok in that case tell me the weak point in a STI!!

Insurance (and image).

Me, MX-3 V6, 7 years no claims bonus, parked on an open driveway = £300 insurance per year.
My brother, Impreza WR1, 15 years no claims bonus, parked in a locked, alarmed garage = £1,200 insurance per year.

Of course, you're comparing apples with anvils here.

The MX-3 couldn't have been any more powerful, otherwise it would have taken sales from the MX-6. This is the problem Aston Martin are now encountering - the Vanquish S is so very powerful, but so very fat that they had to detune the lighter DB9 so it wasn't faster than the flagship car. The even lighter V8 Vantage suffers similarly (though manages to soundly tonk both of its bigger sisters around the Nurburgring).

I don't doubt for a moment that a 2.5 litre MX-3 from the factory - possibly even a ZE - would have taken sales from the Corrado and CR-X, but also the MX-6.

It was also unseemingly expensive (at least in the UK, though our car prices are ridiculous - keep the numbers, but change the US$ symbol into a GB£ symbol and you're there) when new.

But this is how I like it. My car is unusual and has a talking point in the rarity value of the engine (and the 1998 year of manufacture). It also drives well and sounds great. As such it has managed to not only retain its value but has also slightly increased since I bought it.

Sure it's not perfect, but no car is - no, not even the "holy grail" of the Impreza.