"Jetstreamer" (jetstreamer)
07/01/2017 at 14:37 • Filed to: mazda, mazdaspeed, zoom zoom
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"Jetstreamer" (jetstreamer)
07/01/2017 at 14:37 • Filed to: mazda, mazdaspeed, zoom zoom | 2
| 4 |
...because I keep on driving way above the speed limit in it :D.
Earlier this week my summer tires arrived and I had them put on. They are a set of Michelin Pilot Sport 4 and with 225/45R18 the largest I can put on these wheels. I believe stock it came with 215/45R18 Bridgestone Potenzas but I figured tires have moved on a bit in 12 years so I sprung for something new that will hopefully last me plenty.
Since having them put on, I had only driven the car back home so I decided it was time for a weekend drive. Weather wasn’t great, but that’s Estonian summer... 12C and rainy. The good part is that this meant the backroads were pretty much empty. I set off to some backroads that go along the coast and through lots of forest and small towns. On the highway for the first 15-20 minutes, it’s so pleasant to put your foot down in 6th and just have that surge of power that the turbo provides.
The types of road on nicer days. Not my image.
Once on the backroads, the speed limit is generally up to 50mph (lots of 60/70 km/h parts) through amazing nature and nice twists and turns. I stuck to 4th gear mostly and often found myself blasting up to 120 km/h on empty straights... Good thing that it really was empty, no law enforcement for miles.
The new tires inspire way more confidence than what is probably good for me. I’m still new to the amount of power, the weight of the car and the braking characteristics. But they are so nice and grippy and I was cornering at speeds I would have never done before in other cars. So far, this Mazda has been a bulls eye in terms of finding myself a fun car.
I did find out some more things about the technical status of the car as well;
In a previous post I mentioned it looked like the main 120A fuse was missing, which seemed strange since I thought it would not have even run then but everything was working. Idiot that I am... The fuse is there but just missing it’s plastic cover that tells you the amperage and covers the fuse itself. So, me being an idiot but at least I don’t need to get a new fuse.
The car seems to idle a bit too low. It’s idling at ~600 rpm and I’m pretty sure it should do a bit more. Perhaps it’s tuned a bit rich, need to have it checked out.
The handling feels really, really nice to me. Especially for a 12 year old car. It does feel a bit ‘tired’ and it probably needs some bushings replaced all around. No rush though.
Anyway, I had a total blast and will probably visit that area some more. So far it has been a good purchase but I still need to bring it in to the local Mazda place or perhaps an independent shop to have the exhaust looked at and some other things that might end up costing money.
There are also some things that I’m looking into doing myself, like getting rid of the window tint on the rear windows and cleaning the massive air filter on top of the engine. Will update here again when there is progress.
I realize these posts are fairly long sometimes, bear with me. First time owning a car and basically first time any kind of maintenance myself. Hell, I barely know how to top up the tires for example, or check their pressure at one of those nice machines at a gas station, but I’ll figure it out as I go.
If you made it all the way through, here’s a Citroën CX I spotted along the way, one that may have done some pretty Jalop-worthy stuff if the stickers tell the truth.
Noah - Now with more boost.
> Jetstreamer
07/01/2017 at 14:44 |
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Remember: never round a bend or crest a hill more than 10mph over the limit! My golden rule
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Jetstreamer
> Noah - Now with more boost.
07/01/2017 at 15:00 |
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Hehe, yes :). I was being pretty responsible around bends I couldn’t see all the way through, both to avoid any possible oncoming traffic and also spot police early, haha. It’s still a public road so I didn’t treat it as my personal racetrack but the speedo went up into double the speed limit more than once when all was clear.
Shour, Aloof and Obnoxious
> Jetstreamer
07/01/2017 at 19:24 |
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Every Ford-era Mazda I’ve driven or owned idled at 6-700. Didn’t matter if it was an I4 or V6. I drove a brand new CX-5 last week, but didn’t take note because I was more focused on making it from the airport to the hotel safely.
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Jetstreamer
> Shour, Aloof and Obnoxious
07/02/2017 at 01:19 |
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Hmmm, OK. It still sounds a bit low (like literally the sound). Will see if I can find some details in the manuals, I found the workshop manuals online.