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Hatchbacks Mazda3 Mazdaspeed3 vs. VW V GTI vs. Civic Si
1379 messages, Last post on Oct 01, 2009 at 10:54 AM
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Replying to: aviboy97 (Jun 23, 2007 2:01 pm) gogogodzilla, "Mazdaspeed3 vs. VW V GTI vs. Civic Si" #1184, 19 Jun 2007 7:17 am In an early post "Mazda6 vs TSX" that was archived. A member name Stretch posted a continuous short-clip video of his red 4-cyl Mazda6 doing oversteer at the end of the track run. I believe he was decelerating to a stop on a sharp turn. My arguement about today's Mazda's reluctance to stay away from oversteer/fishtail is being shown on the Mazda3: http://www.msnusers.com/BrunoLuong/04caroftheyear.msnw "Paul Horrell (Great Britain) - sixth - The Mazda is another good-looking, enjoyable but noisy car. And its potential for oversteer is too much for most buyers in this class. Relying on DSC isn’t good enough." "John Simister (Great Britain) - last - Mazda's 'zoom-zoom' slogan dies seem to have lodged itself in the Mazda3, because it is a sharp, lively drive as befits its next-generation Ford Focus underpinnings. In fact there are times when its handling might be almost too tail-happy for an inexperienced driver." Totally lack of oversteer is boring. So oversteer isn't neccesarily bad. Uncontrollable oversteer is. That's why multi-link rules! Don't get me wrong. I was the one that has been posting around here for years saying that the Mazda3 is the best car in the world b/c it's the only one w/ German suspension, Japanese power plant & built in Japan. I also said that the 16"-rim RX-8 has the world's best ride/handling compromise (& I can't wait to see a taller roomier sedan version of it in the future). It's the Mazda-donated engine that saved Focus's reliability issue. I just wish the Mazda3 has a wider rear-glass visibility like the Mazda6. That was also why I picked the Focus 2.3 ST at the end over the Mazda3 & Volvo S40.
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Replying to: creakid1 (Jun 23, 2007 7:58 pm) IE - When I pulled out of the Hertz Rent-a-Car lot at the BWI airport, the front wheels pulled the car along, but the back wheels had no traction at all. As I made a left turn out the lot, the rear end of the car kept on going in the direction that I no longer was. If it had continued, I'd have ended up doing a 360-degree spin-out in the middle of traffic (which ain't a good thing).
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Replying to: gogogodzilla (Jun 23, 2007 9:35 pm) My '93 Camry SE had a scary rear skid on every bumpy left turn. It turned out that it had a defective aftermarket strut in the right rear!
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Replying to: creakid1 (Jun 23, 2007 11:23 pm) I'm assuming that whatever it was that happened for you to experience what you did, it was a very specific set of circumstances, because in 28 years and over 1.3 million miles on the collective odometers, I've only had that one event with the back end of a FWD car misbehaving. |
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Replying to: creakid1 (Jun 23, 2007 7:58 pm) Oops! My appologies!! 
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Replying to: aviboy97 (Jun 25, 2007 6:33 am) |
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Replying to: creakid1 (Jun 23, 2007 7:58 pm) i still like the ride/handling balance in the gti better anyway.
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Replying to: eldaino (Jun 25, 2007 7:34 am) That's an iffy one. It was designed by Mazdas German team, in Germany. The 1999-2005 Mazda Miata was designed in Irvine, California, does that make that Miata an American car? No. It was still the Japanese that built it. So, I would say that the Mazda3's suspension is Japanese.
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Replying to: aviboy97 (Jun 25, 2007 7:39 am) Mazda3's Control Blade rear suspension is not a Japanese design (the earlier Mazda-suspension TTL -- Twin Trapezoid Link -- is). It was taken directly from the European-car Focus, which was derived from the old Mondeo wagon's unique space-saving "4-link rear suspension" set up. Mazda simply retuned it w/ different firmness & understeer/oversteer balance when using the whole MkII Focus platform. Only the steering rack was Mazda's own Japanese design, while the Focus & S40/V50 share the same European steering rack. Mazda's design team in Germany mainly only contributed the drivetrain portion in this C-1 project, which consists of Mazda3, MkII Focus & S40/V50. & yes, the drivetrain in the recent Focus in the U.S. is Japanese. So was the 1.8 in the '91 Escort GT/Tracer LTS. Just like the MkI S40 has a Japanese suspension (Mitsubishi Carisma platform) while the MkII S40 has the Focus Control Blade. & no, the Focus is not an American design. The Pinto is. Saying this suspension is Japanese is like saying the MkV Rabbit/GTI's Control Blade is a version of a Japanese suspension. 
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Replying to: eldaino (Jun 25, 2007 7:34 am) I agree about VW Rabbit's ride comfort beating just about everyone else's Those of you not happy w/ Mazda3's quicker-rebound ride movement can solve the problem simply by using Gabriel or std-S40 shocks to calm it down. That way, you are still keeping the only reliable "German" car on the road.
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