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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: 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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Replying to: creakid1 (Jun 25, 2007 5:53 pm) Not totally. The 2.0 and 2.3 Duratec is a Mazda design but built by Ford. Only the 4F27E (4 sp auto) tranny is a Mazda. The 1.8 in the Escort GT and Tracer was totally Mazda, also used in the Miata. It's a shame that we are not going to get the Mk2 Focus over here. That is one helluva vehicle...
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