Focus Fanatics Forum banner

Focus vs. Mazda 3

14K views 95 replies 23 participants last post by  FriendlyFocus 
#1 ·
Has anyone raced a Mazda 3? Base or GT or Mazdaspeed3?
 
#3 ·
Ive raced a couple 2.0s and beat them all by about a car length off the line...never from a roll.
Another was a 2.0, but my friend sucks at driving a manual and i beat him by like an interection.

Didnt get to race a 2.3 yet...YET (my friend has one)
 
#5 ·
Have raced a 2.0 and won by a good bit, raced a 2.3 and won, but not by much. Course I have all the bolt-ons and a tune in a Zetec + LSD. Stock for Stock, and dura vs dura, I imagine the extra weight of the 3 would make it a step slower than a Zx3 or the new Coupes..
 
#7 ·
I have a friend with a automatic 2.0 mazda3. I believe its mostly stock or nothing that will increase his hp significantly. I think just a K&N filter. I've never raced him or anything but I would like to know if push comes to shove that I can kick his a$$. Or it would be nice if I could kick his butt anways. I just have an stock 03 zx3 5spd.
 
#8 ·
i have raced a few. the 2.0s seem to not able to keep up at all. i think all of them were automatics

the 2.3s, while they look beautiful, cant take me in a straight line either. i think its because they are heavier. one time a blue one kept up with me pretty good off the line, but once i pulled second i had him.

i played with one of the new mazdaspeeds on some backroads in my dads car, not really a race. that thing is an all around great machine, i had it in the twisties, but when the road straightened out, his 100hp advantage showed itself haha.
 
#17 ·
'sniff....it's getting really deep in here....i know this is a focus board, but c'mon !

the mazda 3 2.0L has about a 20 hp advantage over a 2.0 Focus, and the 2.3L has a 30hp advantage

do you really think 200lbs is going to make up for 20-30hp ??? and to even suggest a 2.0L ZX3 can keep up with a 2.3L Mazda3 is absolutely rediculous

and did I really read right that someone in a ZTS thinks they were outhandling a Mazdaspeed 3 ????? and only in a straight did the speed 3 overtake him ???[histerical]

only real race would be an SVT or ST Focus(2.3L) vs a Mazda 3 2.0 or 2.3L...a stock ZX3 is going to get smeared...you were either facing an absolutely horrible driver, or the person you thought was racing, didnt even see you !!!
 
#25 ·
Eh?

Again, from Edmunds :

2008 Focus S 2.0 (Cheapest) 140hp / 136tq

2008 Mazda 3 2.0 (Cheapest) 148hp / 135tq

:) Ooo! 8 HP difference, so impressive. 20-30hp, what? More like less than 10.

As far as 2.0 vs. 2.3, two things to consider, weight and tranny. 200lbs in a 4cyl car *does* make an undeniable difference. It's track proven. You toss 200lbs (or a big passenger) into a 2.0 *OR* 2.3, and take some passes down the track, and you'll see a longer time to reach every major benchmark.

The tranny also makes a huge difference. Having a 5spd means being able to choose your launch revs perfectly (depending on the driver experience), whereas the ATX makes that pretty difficult (outside of doing various things that aren't really recommended). ATX is also heavier than MTX. Further hurting it is the relatively unaggressive shift points usually employed by economy cars like the FoFo and 3.

Track times prove this too
 
#18 ·
nah i said in my dads car i was out handling a mazdaspeed. my ZTS would have been in the guard rail very quick.

as for some numbers, my 04 ZTS 2.3 is rated at 145hp stock, and 149 ft/lbs torque. the 04 2.3 mazda 3? rated at 160 and 150 respectivly. say my intake picked me up 5hp, that brings me to 150hp. givin that there is only a 10hp difference, and then the weight comes into play like no other haha. and if you look up some quarter mile times done by mazines and such, you will see times very close to each other. and autos lose advantage for motor v motor.

i believe the starter of this thread may not have an advantage, but it would be close. he has a manual, and less weight. the mazda has slightly more power, but more weight and an auto bringing it down.
 
#22 ·
The stock springs in the rear of the Speed 3 are too soft IMO, and under heavy braking from speed or those "oh crap" occasions where braking is required during a high speed corner the rear does get unsettled. Someone that has driven their Speed for some miles would be used to it and not let it get "sloppy" looking. I'm an experienced driver and know exactly where to put the car in the twisties, IMO it stays more stable and planted than my SVTF did, until you throw braking in there

Easy and cheap fix, no shortage of aftermarket springs and the available Mazdaspeed ones can be installed with stock dampers (bonus!).

Like macdaddyslomo said, the MS3 has a rep at the auto-x. I showed up for my first one and had all the local guru's asking for rides, lol.
 
#23 ·
this may have been the exact problem with the one i encountered, he was going all out on the straights, and then corners came up, and i think he doubted what it could do and braked heavily. i was taking the corners pretty easy, i also had the advantage of some pretty good tires, im not sure what the speed3 comes with stock.
 
#24 ·
Potenza RE 050A's which didn't stick nearly as well as the BFG KDW's I replaced them with. He may have had his DSC turned off too, a big time no go for a rookie driver because it works damned well when cornering.

But to stay on topic, I can only compare my SVTF against this MS3, haven't driven any of the others
 
#31 ·
aha no. I don't plan on challenging my buddy anytime soon. I don't want to risk crashing or being caught by the 5-0.

I've been in a cat n mouse chase race with a newer mercury cougar through a residential area way back when. It was stupid of me and I told myself that I would not drive like that again. [bash]

I just wanted to see if I had a chance against him........you know..just in case [clap]. We don't have a race track here so....

From the advice of a fellow FF member, I think I will look into an intake for the old zx3. Maybe new exhaust in the summer cuz my stock one is rusting [thumbd]
 
#32 ·
dude, the intake makes it feel alot different. i have a different motor then you, but it helped alot. and like i said earlier i put one (kinda a ghetto cone filter SRI thing) on a friends zetec, and it made a HUGE difference. response was amazing, and it sounded like a racing motor haha.
 
#33 ·
How about this, they're all slow except the MS3, which is miles above the rest. I have owned an SVTF for some time now, and I have driven the MS3 and there is absolutely no comparison between any Ford and the MS3, except the Mustang GT, and even then, I would venture a guess that the MS3 is probably still quicker through the twisties.

Focus vs. Mazda 3, my 2.3 duratec hatchback focus with 5 speed was just as fast as my friends 5 door Mazda 3 with 2.3 duratec and 5 speed. The only difference was he was stock and I had a CAI and exhaust. The extra ~200 pounds in the mazda3 was the kicker. My 2.3 hatch was stripped bare though with only cruise control as an option. The ST Focus is heavier too, and probably would be a great competitor for the mazda3 stock for stock.
 
#36 ·
well, we took a generic $30 cone filter, and stuck it on the end of the tube where the maf comes from. i liked it cause it was like a short ram, no real chance of water getting in the motor. and we left the bottom part of the box on there to kinda hold the filter in place. yes kinda ghetto, but if you dont wanna spend $300 on an intake.
 

Attachments

#58 ·
I was taking your advice and started to look into a CAI. I saw somewhere that says using an aftermarket air intake could put your engine at risk of damage cuz it might not filter out all the dirt particles. It lets in much more air so larger particles or more particles can get in. Whats the deal? [scratch]
 
#39 ·
wasn't there an article in one of the focus fanatics mags or something that the MS3 was considered the fastest "FWD" <-----(not AWD) production car.....i could be wrong.....if it is the case then the MS3 really isnt a match for the poster, but my ex has the 2.3 3 and it isn[t not bad, no wow factor though
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top