How long have you owned your MX3?

[Polonius]

I've had mine since 2009. It's a great car and runs pretty good on 3.5 cylinders.

For those who tout the greatness of the RS, what makes it so great? Mine's an RS, but I keep thinking about switching for the GS.... From what I could tell it costs 100 lbs for about 50 HP. Seems like an easy win, to me.....

[stepchyld]

haha! Just saw my error. Should've said my first mod to my GS was converting to MTX. It's fried atx budged it an inch, once, right after I bought it. I didn't think of it as a mod, it was an intense fix.

What makes the RS great? It's an MX3!
I drove many happy miles over several years in my RS (and will again soon!) before I got my GS, and still love them both. Yeah, the GS is faster, but I think the RS's rear drum brakes are just a bit better than the GS rear disc (admittedly, not in looks, love those rear discs in that regard). That 100 lb difference does make a lighter front end, which helps balance weight distribution.
But, my RS is DOHC, and I've never driven an SOHC, so I can't relate to the roaring power of 88 horses, especially with 3.5 cylinders. I bet you are yearning for more power!

Gotta admit, RS are easier to work on. There's extra room in that bay. Any GS owner can relate to the surprise on people's faces when you lift the hood of your GS and they see only engine Then, you tell them you intend to put a bigger engine in there

[kakarot135]

I got my rs in the early part of 03, I currently have my eye on a gs se. Hopefully I can pick it up as well

[Josh]

I am not going to lie I am in love with my GS, the sound the raw N/A power, but the RS has more options for motor swaps right off the bat. Easier and more readily available engine swaps. B6T, Turbo N/A B6DE which makes more power than a KLZE on stock boost. N/A BP which makes more than the K8, the BPT, GTR, N/A Turbo BP the list just goes on and on we have not even touched the F2T or FE motors yet. Forged crank allows you to boost the hell out of them. Now the GS has the chassis upgrades like the rack and pinion and 4 wheel disk and a larger master cylinder. I swapped most to my RS and then some with the AWD. Oh yeah plug and play ECU's for boost application too. The 100 to 150 lbs shaved off makes a lot of difference when on the track when you are producing the same power. I made 232WHP on my B6DE motor at its best point on 14psi, ZE's with direct port NOS were not keeping up. The raw sound and power of the KLZE makes you fall in love though. IMO its really a toss up but I am just more partial to the I4. My BP now is built to withstand upwards of 700 HP. 300 to 350 will be my limit though.

[MrMazda92]

Alright, I'll give you a ZE swapped MX-3 for your AWD BP-T Josh!

[Ohsnapsitsbri]

I’m just going to start off with a story about how I came to owning an mx-3. (I have highligted the origonal answer to the question, and the most important point of the story. lol)

It all started when I was 15 researching for cars that fulfilled my requirements for my first car, new, sunroof, leather interior, wood trim, heated seats, white, lots of power, coupe, cute, and most importantly younger than I was! As you can tell I was very picky but I knew exactly what I wanted, or I thought I did.
The first car I came across was a 03 Lexus. It had everything I wanted except it was a sedan, and a little bigger than I would like. But cosmetically this car was beautiful! It drove well too, but I had a weird feeling about the seller, and that something just wasn’t right. So we walked away from that car and I then followed up with some research on a few forums and found out that specific model and year were just loaded with problems. So I was relieved, but devastated I didn’t find “my” car yet. Note I still have at least 5 months before I even turned 16!
My mom had just bought an 05 stratus from a government auction and let’s just say she got a little addicted to auctions for a while, and thought we could find the perfect car for me at one. So we spend a Saturday view the cars. I wasn’t too pleased with anything I saw there really. But there was 07 blue cobalt that had minor scratches to the paint that I felt I wouldn’t mind driving that. So we stayed to see how much we could get it for. I had never been to an auction before and was blown away by how fun it actually was bidding up people. My mom and I were close to winning, an 98 Audi, a couple mopeds, a boat, and few other unusual things. But back to the cobalt, it was down to me and this 45 year old male. I was very anxious to get a car and the adrenaline with the auction was overwhelming we bid the cobalt all the way up until 4300 and it was over my mom said it’s not worth it, they won and the auctioneer could tell by my face how disappointed I was and made a really funny comment about how the guy had just stolen my 16th birthday present, but anyways to get to the point…
The clock was ticking it was August and I would be 16 in just two months, I NEEDED a car… and as I was browsing through craigslist ads I came across an mx-3, I had never heard of an mx-3, Never seen one, But from seeing the picture of the backseat. I fell in love. I thought it was the coolest looking backseat ever, it looked like a couch to me! I called and made an appointment with the seller to check out the car. However, the only time we could go was in the dark, but even in the dark I could tell that this car had been taken care of! I couldn’t believe that it was a 1993, I had a really weird thing about how my car WOULD NOT be older than me. But after I saw this car in person I didn’t care anymore!
The car had been sitting for so many years that the tires were completely weathered but that was the only flaw the car had. It was completely spotless, so the next day we took it into a shop and had it lifted to check out the underside to see what was really there, and the guys there were completely flabbergasted at how clean the car was too, they were getting ready to start bidding me up with the seller. Anyways to end this long story, we bought the car with 96,000 miles for 3500 taxes included and I couldn’t have been happier. Not only did I get a great car that has for been a pleasure to drive the past two years but I also got introduced to an amazing community of people who share the same outrageous love for their mx-3. I am a forever, an mx3 enthusiast.

[MrMazda92]

Hell yeah!

Now you just need the KL swap her, and you'll love her all that much more!

[mymx.3]

I got my 1993 mx-3 GS in 2004 as it was a 50th birthday gift to myself

Had it for 5 years, sold it. She is still going stong to what I have heard

DEB

[stepchyld]

kakarot135 - Good luck on that GS, you'll love it!

Josh - I wish I'd known about all the swap options before tearing into my RS years ago. Just swapped another B6ZE into it I pulled from a 95 parts car I picked up for 350 a couple years ago. Figured I should put the engine to use, with under 120k on it, it still has plenty life.

Ohsnapitsbri - Love that story! Checked out your worklog, good score on a clean car. Wish my gs had looked that nice when I found it slumbering in a driveway. Keep up the good work!

an amazing community of people who share the same outrageous love for their mx-3. I am a forever, an mx3 enthusiast. [/color]

welcome to the fold!

Had it for 5 years, sold it. She is still going stong to what I have heard :mrgreen:DEB

Just 5? You were just getting started!

Mrmazda92: I don't know if Josh would go for that trade I wouldn't, lol

[mymx.3]

Well the last 3 years up until last summer I was looking for one in Alberta and BC....no luck. I wanted Daninski's but he decided not to sell. So now I have decided I am not going to get another..of all the cars I have had..I know that the MX was my best car!
At this stage of my life being semi-retired and living in Canmore..I cannot afford 2 cars...the Tiburon is it! I still hang out on this site and keep in touch with the guys that have/had an mx. So I haven't let go yet!

DEB

[MrMazda92]

For what it's worth, the Tiby reminds me of an MX-3 in a lot of ways. I like them...

[BornSticky]

bought my 93 montego blue in 2004 with 165,000 kms drove it down to california 2 times in one summer and all over the place just over a year i had 306 km's burning oil like crazy about to swap and someone cut me off and she was dead bought my one i have now 2 days later and still drive it today. so 7 years for my black ze

[mazdaspeed23]

Bought mine in January of 2008. Did a KLZE swap with tons of hard work, blood sweat, tears and money into her. Still going strong. Bought my engine when it had 75k's on it:)

[Nd4SpdSe]

How do you know the motor had 75k on it?

[mazdaspeed23]

it was imported from japan, when their engines hit 75k's its a emissions problem and they no longer allowed to have the engines in the cars. So i have a rough idea it was around 75k