What is the best year for the Mazda3 in terms of reliability?
I have owned 3 brand new Mazda 3’s and put a minimum of 25k miles a year on them. I have had a 2010 mid range Mazda3 2.0, a 2012 mid range Mazda3 2.0, and currently drive a 2014 sGT Mazds3 2.5, which is the fully loaded model with the tech package.I am a huge car fan. When comparing features to reliability to value, Mazda always came out on top.I have never have to pay for anything other than tires and oil changes. So in my opinion, anything 2nd or 3rd generation will be a good choice (2010 and up).Side note, m3’s are fun and relatively cheap to customize. I have a cold air intake, blue interior lighting, blue paddle shifter extenders, and blacked out windows all for less than 500.
What does the Mazda 3 and Ford Focus have in common?
I've been looking for a car, and I am currently considering the Mazda 3 and Honda Civic. Both cars seem to be well built and solid. The Mazda 3, however, does have an edge on looks and sportiness compared to the fuel efficient and reliable Civic. Both are decent in crash tests so thats not so much of a problem. I know that the Civic is 100% Honda, but I want to know what part of the Mazda's chassis/engine/body are actually Mazda's, and how much is Ford's. So far as I know, the Mazda uses a Ford Focus chassis and possibly the same suspension but with a more agressively tuned set up. Does the Mazda share the Focus' engine (2.0 or 2.3)? Does the Mazda share any electronic hardware or anything with corporate big brother Ford? Thanks in advance.
Is it okay to drive your car without thermostats?
If you take out the thermostat then the coolant will just flow 100% by the water pump. Assuming that your system is properly sized so that cutting off flow with the thermostat will result in the proper operating temperature being met then running without a thermostat will always result in a lower than intended operating temperature.Here are some things that will happen:Your engine will run cooler than the desired temperature most all of the time andit will pollute more since it is tuned to run at the designed temperatureYour heater will take longer to become effective since the coolant is used to warm the heater core heat exchanger so you may, on cold days take longer to warm the cabin andmore importantly, it will take much longer to defrost the windshield using the defroster function.Probably it won’t hurt short term to the car engine itself, I don’t think. But in the long term operating it significantly below the designed temperature could have a number of effects, perhaps on lube viscosity, various carbon buildups that lead to other engine performance problems and possibly permanent damage.I once had a mechanic shop replace the thermostat and flush the coolant. When I get it back the car took forever to warm up the heater and get the engine to the temperature. I eventually took off the thermostat housing and found he had placed it about half way off and clamped it down with the housing out of position- it didn’t leak but the gap on one side pretty much made it free flowing.
Will driving with a oil leak in the valve cover gasket hurt the engine? If so, how can this be prevented?
Is it an oil leak or an oil seep? Does oil run down the side of the engine leaving a clean trail as oil drips on the ground? Or does it just form a nasty, mucky oil-dirt combination that slowly builds?If it's actually a leak, get it fixed now. You can lose sufficient oil to starve the engine and cause premature wear or even failure. On top of that, you have an oil slick being left wherever you go, oil is probably dripping on the exhaust causing nasty fumes (not to mention a potential fire hazard) and you are having to spend money on oil that is just going to hit the ground. Not to mention it's not exactly good for those plants by your driveway to have oil washing into them.If it's a seep, don't ignore it. Get it fixed. If you have to wait a week or 2 for financial reasons, that's understandable, but don't push it out too far as it can develop into a leak. In addition, the dirt, cottonwood fluff, dandelion seeds, etc that can get stuck in the slime will do a few detrimental things. For one, it insulates your engine raising operating temperature a bit. Most cars engine oil relies on the side of the block and the oil pan to radiate heat away. Remember, oil functions as a lubricant, cleaner, and coolant! If the block and pan are caked over in grime, it is harder for the oil to transfer it's heat through the pan and into the air. This grime can also pose a serious fire hazard. Not fun.
How many cars have you owned? What kind and what age?
Just curious. I'm 24 now and here's my run down of vehicles owned since the age of 18. '96 Pontiac Grand Am SE '98 Chevy Malibu LS '00 Ford Taurus SE '99 Mitsubishi Mirage DE '99 Pontiac Grand Am GT '02 Chevy Impala LS '02 Chevy TrailBlazer LT '05 Pontiac Grand Prix GTP (still own) '06 Pontiac G6 GT (joint-buyer with girlfriend) '02 Mitsubishi Eclipse '04 Pontiac Grand AM GT (still own). What's your list?
What is a good beginner tuner car?
You're starting out backwards. Front wheel drive is the worst starting point for a performance car. Sure, if I had a ton of money I'd build up a FWD, but there's a lot of other projects I'd pick first. Best options: 1994+ Mazda Miata MX-5. 94-98 uses a 1.8L with 9:1 compression just begging for boost. 1991+ Nissan 240SX. Ready to swallow a V8 swap like an LS1 or Ford 5.0 1985+ RX-7. Same as the 240, loves V8 power in a light RWD chassis, and the V8 is far more reliable than the rotary. Plus parts are drastically cheaper for a Ford 5.0 or Chevy 350 than a rotary. Now, if you must do FWD: Honda Civic hatchbacks are some of the lightest and most common to swap. Want a sleeper car? 1991-1996 Ford Escort GT (and 92-93 Escort LX-e, Mercury Tracer LT-S). Why? It's a 90-94 Mazda Protege chassis and suspension so it actually is very tossable, the 4 door models weigh just over 2400lbs (I had an LX-e it weighed 2616lbs with me in it...I weighed 245 at the time). It also has the same 1.8L as the Miata, so there's tons of parts for it. Quaife makes a LSD for the manual trans, you can turbo them easily, and it's not impossible to get 600+hp out of that little 1.8 with very little work and big boost. Plus for $4500, you can get a clean Escort GT plus a BP-T swap (BP-T was a factory turbo version of the stock engine, bolt in swap but has 180-210hp stock). Turn up the boost and it's a solid 13 second car for under $2000 if you bargain right.
Is it safe to drive a vehicle without power steering fluid?
No it’s not. While you CAN drive without it, the potential failure could result in stranding you on the side of the road. Anything built in the last 15 years most likely has a serpentine belt system that powers all your accessories.When you run out of power steering fluid, the bearings in your power steering pump no longer have lubrication available to keep them cool. Those bearings will fail, the pump will seize and that will result in your serpentine belt to fight against one accessory that is no longer moving. The belt will fly off the engine and all other accessories, water pump, A/C, alternator etc will be powerless and your vehicle will shortly cease to run from overheating or dead battery.