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i have a 92 mx3 and my car has about 194,000 miles on it. i work in chicago but i live in wisconsin so my car mostly has highway miles on it. i havent had any problems with my car. and the engine runs fine and well. im just a little worried that it might break done one of theses days. how many miles does a 4 cycle mx3 engine usually get to before it deceases? does anyone know. does anyone have advice to what i should do. im thinking about just getting a new engine but im not sure. should i add a intake or work on my exhaust? thanks

4 cyl should last a long time, i had '88 crappy civic, only thing that was still good was engine with over 150,000k miles still getting me to work/school, no oil burning.

my 4 cyc mx just hit 200,000 miles and still runs great, as long as the car is well taken care of (regular maintenance, and not cheaping out on parts) it should last for a good long time.

Big difference between hondas and mazdas. Different company, different quality. Plus how it has been driven; ie babied or over used. Then you have mateinance, synthetic oil, air filter, etc. The best way to tell is get a compression test done, and check for any oil buring. If both come up good, then you have a few miles left on your engine. If you have low compression, or going through oil like gasoline, I would be a little weary.

my boi got a 4 cyl. civic w/ over 300,000 miles on it. its crazy and still runs... looks like crap... but runs...

wow thats a lot of freakin miles!..ive heard that imports last longer than most other cars, but i dont know..would adding a intake do anything else besides improve hp?

CAI will slightly increase HP (although I swear I was driving a new car after I did mine), and give you a few more mpg. It will also make it sound different; meaner. Mine has a loud "winding" sound in 2nd and 3rd gears now. other then that, it wont do much...

A friend of mine had a 88 accord carbed and it had over 600,000km,375,000miles and in the last month the tranny has just started to go a little screwey him and his uncle used it for pizza delivering but the engine and tranny fluid and filters and all others important aspects were always taken very good care of so goes to show anything can happen with proper maintenance.

so i can just continue to drive the car and it should be fine. i mean after i keep it well maintance still with the oil chance ever 3,000 miles? shud i not put a CAI system in, or will it be ok if i do?

Well, if you didn't notice, the majority of longevity stories posted were from hondas, not mazdas. Not to knock mazda, which do make decent durable engines, but honda has always been known to never die. Like I said, if you want to be safe, get a compression test. If everything turns up fine, your engine is good to go. If you have really low compression... you might want to start getting ready for a new/rebuilt engine or car.

Oh yea, you don't need to change your oil so often. Mazda recomends 7,500 miles, but I do 5,000 with synthetic. Just make sure your using synthetic oil. That can give an old engine a few miles right there.

As for the CAI, if you want more power, and a few more mpg, then do it. Its also gives a nice sound, and more power in lower rpm band (which is nice for hills)

<small>[ March 13, 2004, 09:54 AM: Message edited by: MX3-Freak ]</small>

thanks..where can i get a compression test done at? at any auto shop? or like a jiffy lube..car x..etc?

I've seen people take old beat *** VW's over 500K miles, one dude had a million!! A modern Mazda should be able to do better.

It's all about HOW you drive it. Highway miles aren't too hard on an engine so long as you keep up on the regular servicing. I'm pretty meticulous about keeping up my older cars. Oil every 3K (less if I've been hard on it), tranny service every third oil change (REAL important on automatics). New plugs, cap & rotor every 3rd oil change as well.
Once a year change the brake fluid & if you have a manual tranny, the fluid in the hyd. clutch. Also have the fuel injection system cleaned PROFESSSIONALY once a year, the stuff you pour in your tank only does so much.

As for the intake,... Depends, you can get a decent amount of air by pulling the snorkel off the stock air box & using a K&N filter. If you drive primarily on the highway, an exaust system upgrade can make a LOT of difference in your top end power & MPG.
I had the whole system replaced in my '95, from the head pipe down. 2.25" all the way. Downpipe, 3" flex joint (very very VERY important piece unless you like having things crack & break alot), high flow cat, 2.5"x24" glasspack for a resonator under the car, to a Magnaflow dual tip stainless muffler out back (looked almost like the stock muff, just alot nicer).
The biggest improvement was on the highway, MUCH better top end for passing & taking hills, & my milage on trips went up about 10-15%.

It's still all about how hard you drive it & how well you take care of it. There are cars out there with several hundred K miles on the stock engines,...

You can't compare a VW deisel motor to a gasoline motor with regards to longevity.

<small>[ March 13, 2004, 11:19 AM: Message edited by: jpwmx3 ]</small>

you can get a compression test done at almost any mechanic. You can even do it yourself if you buy the tool at a auto parts store. Pretty simple task really.