New Daily Driver

[John Hartman]

For those who don't know (and give a shit), here is a picture of my new(to me) car.

Its an 06 Mazdaspeed 6.  For those who don't care to google it, its a 2.3 Direct Injected, intercooled turbo, 9.5:1 compression 16v twincam 4.  Backed by a 6spd manual tranny.  And all wheel drive!

Mazda did more with the Speed 6 than just the turbo and some badges too, they reworked the chassis/frame for stiffness and looks, they redid the whole suspension, huge  brakes(probably the most impressive feature actually) and the inside is all posh and swanky with heated leather etc.  Oh and factory 18's with 140 treadwear tires stock.  It handles very well, not just for a bigger car, but period.  Not as edgy as an Evo or WRX of the same era, but very competant and still very comfortable.

Very comfortable, safe, smooth car to drive on the hiway.

[Maurits Vos]

And all wheel drive!

Because AWD is AwD

Nice ride, John.

[Marke Bailey]

time to change that signature again.

[John Hartman]

heheheh, like YOU have anything to talk about 

but because you ask nicely, I will

[Brett Haviland]

Nice car john!  I have always liked the styling on the 6's since they came out.  And a mazdaspeed to boot!! Nice job!  Im sure the car will treat you good for many years to come.


So whats the first mod going to be now that you got your baseline down?

you were saying something about the intake i think?



hahaha i climbed that mountain this past summer.  Thats mt. Cheam in the background right?

[John Hartman]

rear motor mount, rear diff mount to keep things in check.  Even warranty safe.

Upgrade high pressure fuel pump internal parts. The stock one runs out of pressure at high rpms(they run close to 2000psi)And its invisible, you couldn't tell they were in there

full intake piping

rear mufflers/ypipe to be replaced with 1 single good muffler.  Its the only shitty spot on the exhaust

ecu reflash or possibly Cobb Accessport.  Its really rich stock as well as the fly by wire throttle doesn't open fully.  And boost drops off on purpose due to the aforementioned loss of fuel pressure up high.

camber adjustable ball joints up front.

bigger rear swaybar

possibly a better intercooler.  still top mount.

new tires and second set of wheels(stock ones for snowies)

satellite radio

Bilsteins down the road when the factory dampers wear out.

This will be it for ever.  Probably this will take a couple of years or longer too, its pretty nice stock, but I can't drive stock.

The power mods should be good for 75-100hp and thats PLENTY!

The handling mods will take that factory at the limit understeer away

[Richard Steger]

Yaaayyy  for the Hartman's!  Definitely a worthy 3rd place finisher to an Evo  or Wrex.  Good japanese build quality compared to Audi, BMW, cheaper parts than germans and good value as the Mazdaspeed 6 isn't in as much demand like the others.  More of a quiet performance car.  Still gonna keep the Merkur?

[Mike Hewitt]

That's a nice looking car John. I remember first time I took one of those for a ride. Surprised the hell outta me how well it drove. I've had a little thing for them ever since.

[John Hartman]

the XR4Ti will be going in the spring.  Going to do the valve stem seals and put on a full exhaust system, but then its on the chopping block.

Will miss it, great car, really nice in fact, and I have always wanted one, but we don't need 4 cars.  The Galant will probably go too. 

[GlenMartin]

john you are a man of good taste. i love the mazda speed 6's. if i was going to buy a newer car, thats what it would be.....

[Cole MacDonald]

Nice looking car john!

[Ivan Skare]

That's a sweet car, nice pick up.

[Dave Ingraham]

Does that car have the updated motor mounts?  I watched a guy at thunder mountain raceway in kelowna 2 years ago in the same type of car, drop the motor on the track.  He launched it made a very loud bang and than sparks from the pan.  The guy did get new parts for his engine, warranty covered it all.

[Sy Haw Wong]

The new Mazda Speed3 looks pretty sick also.  265hp turbocharged.  But only thing thats kinda crappy is that its FWD.  These two SPEED variants are a nice touch.  I may get a used if the price goes down in the future.  But I have a feeling it won't drop just because the Mazda Speeds were made in low numbers thus making it a sort of a rare car in the market.

Now John..I read the specs on the Speed6.  Here is a newb question...I am not familiar with the terms but what do they mean by direct injected (for fuel?).  Is it got to do with how the fuel injectors are implemented on the engine as opposed to the old school fuel rail fuel injectors (as I didn't see any on an open engine bay pic)?

[Rob Armstrong]

Verry nice car Johm. I am sure you will have one of the cleanest ones around, for a long time.