Fuck you !! I want this car !! Actually fuck the credit card companies I'm in debt with which causes me to not be able to purchase the MS3... Nice video BTW ^_^
While I love going fast and curvy roads I would say that what you were doing was very dangerous!
337 is full of bikers and it looks like you were in the opposing lane many times going into some of those blind curves. Had a group of bikes been coming the other direction ...
That and the cows I have ridden those roads and found cows in the middle of the switchbacks!
I've gotten a lot of criticism about this, but no one seems to consider that the video may differ from the actual event. (Hollywood intentionally uses this concept to great advantage...) The camera was mounted several inches lower and to the right and a few inches back relative to eye position, so more of the road is hidden in the video than what you would have seen from the driving position, especially on the left side. When it looks like I'm over the line, I'm really just right up to it.
(Continued) You can see me make small adjustments when I see a car coming around a bend, but it is just to get centered in my lane, not to get out of the opposite lane. My speed was also such that it allowed such adjustments without risk of losing control.
It is also worth noting that I drove the road in the opposite direction just before taking this video, so I had some knowledge of the traffic level and road conditions.
Thanks for the vid. I acquired an MS3 this past week and am still in the "I can't believe this little car can do this" reactionary phase. I was just on 337 2 days ago, great backroads to take from Fredericksburg to Camp Wood. We took 16-337-336-41-335. I couldn't believe how great this car works in stock form.
I'm in Austin - and occasionally in Houston. Maybe I'll see ya around - I'm in a TR sport.
Thanks! I was actually taking it a little easy. I had just flown in from Europe the evening before, and was a bit jet-lagged, and then the drive from Houston to where the video was taken was 4-1/2 hours. It was a strange feeling, like I was a passenger sometimes, not the driver. Hadn't driven the road in a year, either.
I had the GTI and Si on my list when I decided on the mazda speed 3. One of my deciding factors was that I need the torque here where I live, lots of hills. I didn't want to be downshifting 3 gears just to get up a hill. What does the stock Type R do at the Nurburgring? The Mazdaspeed3 has recorded a 8:39. Watching that 'ring video was also one of the factors that swayed my decision towards the Mazda.
is this real? i have a speed3 and every time i turn mine theres no way for me to turn off the dash, and this dudes never turned on, not to mention that he got awfully too close to the side rail to get away so clean, and even a stock mazda makes a loud ass engine noise.
Oh, and thanks. YouTube's compression really kills the video quality, unfortunately. The video was taken with just a point and shoot camera, but the quality is still much better than seen here.
If you turn on the headlights and hit the dash dimmer button (opposite the trip odo next to the speedo) they will be so dim the camers could not pick them up.
I talked with a guy who said he got 7.5MPG racing on a road course track, so you should be 10 or a little better. You're right about tire and brake wear -- that amounts to much more than fuel cost in hard driving.
I checked it at the track once and thought I was getting 9 mpg, but then realized that that included driving out to lunch and to the hotel, both of which were freeway driving, so that number was probably highly skewed. But yeah, the point is, if you're worried about a few dollars in gas, this isn't a good hobby choice. Hey, where's some VIR video?
That will come after the run the first weekend of September. Have not put much thought to setting up a camera in the car, or what camera to use. I have a digital video cam, but its size may make it tougher to install securely.
I went to a Mazda Drivers event at VIR in June. A guy there from NY had the only MS3. He also has a Lotus Elise, but prefers the MS3 because it's more fun. Told me that MS3 is a great beginner's track car because understeer keeps you safer, and you can use trail braking to pitch the tail out some once you have some experience.
BTW, he drove the piss out of that MS3, totally stock, and passed lots of cars including some that you would expect to be MUCH faster like 911 and NZX.
Apples and oranges, though the Elise is a bear to get in and out of. NOT at all practical like the MS3 is. The Elise is quicker, though I doubt many could take that kind of pounding as a daily driver like the MS3 is for 20K less on average.
I hear you fett22- I was a little skeptical myself, but he was running mid pack among some seriously fast sports cars. Not having driven an Elise myself, I was in no position to refute him.
My mount is homemade. There is a bar that goes across the headrest posts and has a mounting block clamped onto the bar. Originally made it for a 325i, then it also fit the tC, and now the same holes match up on the MS3. However, because of the shape of the seat, the headrest has to be higher to accomodate the bar and it isn't that stable. I need to work on it.
Looks like fun. I'm looking to get one of these in the next couple months. Probably gonna wait for the '08 models to show up. Hopefully they'll have more colors available then. =) How's the fuel economy when driving like this?
Fuel economy? You're joking, right? There is fuel consumption, but the word "economy" is really a misnomer here. Maybe 5 mpg. Plus the larger costs of tire and brake wear.
I hear you on the colors. Mazda has some great blues and reds that would make the car look less like a toy. I don't know why they don't offer them on the MS3. Good luck and enjoy!
Kind of reminds me of Pacific Coast Highway 1 from Santa Barbara to Mt. Carmel.
kc2zxl 4 months ago
Nice video. I have the 2008 MS3 Grand Touring in black. I LOVE IT!!!
Better than my 06 GTO and 06 Charger SRT8
shad65 3 years ago
Fuck you !! I want this car !! Actually fuck the credit card companies I'm in debt with which causes me to not be able to purchase the MS3... Nice video BTW ^_^
mixwell1983 3 years ago
I hope we don't run into each other out there. You were clearly over the double yellow many, many times.
whitebread92coupe 3 years ago
love this car
mittenmantotheman88 3 years ago 2
While I love going fast and curvy roads I would say that what you were doing was very dangerous!
337 is full of bikers and it looks like you were in the opposing lane many times going into some of those blind curves. Had a group of bikes been coming the other direction ...
That and the cows I have ridden those roads and found cows in the middle of the switchbacks!
PopeyeOG 3 years ago
I've gotten a lot of criticism about this, but no one seems to consider that the video may differ from the actual event. (Hollywood intentionally uses this concept to great advantage...) The camera was mounted several inches lower and to the right and a few inches back relative to eye position, so more of the road is hidden in the video than what you would have seen from the driving position, especially on the left side. When it looks like I'm over the line, I'm really just right up to it.
sdparksMS3 3 years ago
(Continued) You can see me make small adjustments when I see a car coming around a bend, but it is just to get centered in my lane, not to get out of the opposite lane. My speed was also such that it allowed such adjustments without risk of losing control.
It is also worth noting that I drove the road in the opposite direction just before taking this video, so I had some knowledge of the traffic level and road conditions.
sdparksMS3 3 years ago
Thanks for the vid. I acquired an MS3 this past week and am still in the "I can't believe this little car can do this" reactionary phase. I was just on 337 2 days ago, great backroads to take from Fredericksburg to Camp Wood. We took 16-337-336-41-335. I couldn't believe how great this car works in stock form.
I'm in Austin - and occasionally in Houston. Maybe I'll see ya around - I'm in a TR sport.
fastdreams 4 years ago
This is the first Mazdaspeed 3 video that I have seen that does the car any amount of justice. Awesome job.
Forshbr04 4 years ago 2
Thanks! I was actually taking it a little easy. I had just flown in from Europe the evening before, and was a bit jet-lagged, and then the drive from Houston to where the video was taken was 4-1/2 hours. It was a strange feeling, like I was a passenger sometimes, not the driver. Hadn't driven the road in a year, either.
sdparksMS3 4 years ago
One thing is for sure, MazdaSpeed3 is good for country road driving. Not for racing.
Bring on the Type R and the 3 would get ruined!!!!
civictypeR2007 4 years ago
Too bad the Type R is not in the US.
I had the GTI and Si on my list when I decided on the mazda speed 3. One of my deciding factors was that I need the torque here where I live, lots of hills. I didn't want to be downshifting 3 gears just to get up a hill. What does the stock Type R do at the Nurburgring? The Mazdaspeed3 has recorded a 8:39. Watching that 'ring video was also one of the factors that swayed my decision towards the Mazda.
I'm sure the Type R is a great car.
fastdreams 4 years ago
is this real? i have a speed3 and every time i turn mine theres no way for me to turn off the dash, and this dudes never turned on, not to mention that he got awfully too close to the side rail to get away so clean, and even a stock mazda makes a loud ass engine noise.
lvgary203949 4 years ago
I can't fucking wait to get my MS3. I wish they didn't have such a gay looking blue. Only 3 more months.
fenderbass3 4 years ago
Great video! How much did you pay for the car? I'm hoping to get MSRP on a MS3 Sport by paying in full...
dectk06 4 years ago
Got it back in November. $500 off MSRP, and a $250 rebate from the Mazda zoom-zoom event. Financed through my credit union.
sdparksMS3 4 years ago
Oh, and thanks. YouTube's compression really kills the video quality, unfortunately. The video was taken with just a point and shoot camera, but the quality is still much better than seen here.
sdparksMS3 4 years ago
Thanks so much for the reply! This is by far the best driving video of Mazdaspeed3 on youtube:D
dectk06 4 years ago
If you turn on the headlights and hit the dash dimmer button (opposite the trip odo next to the speedo) they will be so dim the camers could not pick them up.
VAspeed3 4 years ago
I talked with a guy who said he got 7.5MPG racing on a road course track, so you should be 10 or a little better. You're right about tire and brake wear -- that amounts to much more than fuel cost in hard driving.
VAspeed3 4 years ago
I checked it at the track once and thought I was getting 9 mpg, but then realized that that included driving out to lunch and to the hotel, both of which were freeway driving, so that number was probably highly skewed. But yeah, the point is, if you're worried about a few dollars in gas, this isn't a good hobby choice. Hey, where's some VIR video?
sdparksMS3 4 years ago
That will come after the run the first weekend of September. Have not put much thought to setting up a camera in the car, or what camera to use. I have a digital video cam, but its size may make it tougher to install securely.
VAspeed3 4 years ago
I went to a Mazda Drivers event at VIR in June. A guy there from NY had the only MS3. He also has a Lotus Elise, but prefers the MS3 because it's more fun. Told me that MS3 is a great beginner's track car because understeer keeps you safer, and you can use trail braking to pitch the tail out some once you have some experience.
VAspeed3 4 years ago
BTW, he drove the piss out of that MS3, totally stock, and passed lots of cars including some that you would expect to be MUCH faster like 911 and NZX.
VAspeed3 4 years ago
Wow, MS3 more fun than the Elise? I wouldn't mind swapping for an Elise for a few laps ;-)
sdparksMS3 4 years ago
Likewise! But he said though the MS3 felt like a car with a higher center of gravity, it still handled well and was faster.
VAspeed3 4 years ago
Apples and oranges, though the Elise is a bear to get in and out of. NOT at all practical like the MS3 is. The Elise is quicker, though I doubt many could take that kind of pounding as a daily driver like the MS3 is for 20K less on average.
fett22 4 years ago
I hear you fett22- I was a little skeptical myself, but he was running mid pack among some seriously fast sports cars. Not having driven an Elise myself, I was in no position to refute him.
VAspeed3 4 years ago
My mount is homemade. There is a bar that goes across the headrest posts and has a mounting block clamped onto the bar. Originally made it for a 325i, then it also fit the tC, and now the same holes match up on the MS3. However, because of the shape of the seat, the headrest has to be higher to accomodate the bar and it isn't that stable. I need to work on it.
sdparksMS3 4 years ago
Looks like fun. I'm looking to get one of these in the next couple months. Probably gonna wait for the '08 models to show up. Hopefully they'll have more colors available then. =) How's the fuel economy when driving like this?
Nihil0s 4 years ago
Fuel economy? You're joking, right? There is fuel consumption, but the word "economy" is really a misnomer here. Maybe 5 mpg. Plus the larger costs of tire and brake wear.
I hear you on the colors. Mazda has some great blues and reds that would make the car look less like a toy. I don't know why they don't offer them on the MS3. Good luck and enjoy!
sdparksMS3 4 years ago