Crespo's Build Thread

[Crespo]

So I've been a member on here for about 2 years or so and never got around to making one of these. Here it goes.

2010 Crystal White Pearl Mazda 3 Sport with 6MT. Purchased in early June of 2010. I was actually pretty lucky because my dealership swapped cars to get me this one, so for that I am grateful . Got it with a couple hundred miles on it due to the drive from the other dealership and other possible test drives.

This is my first car ever that I can call my own. I learned stick on an NB Miata and mostly drove a 2000 F-150 in high school and on occasion the NB. All of the work minus the paint matching(eyelids excluded) I have done on my own and with friends helping but no shops, etc. It's been a great learning experience!




Mods List

Engine

1. MSDS Header
2. Simota Intake
3. OEM Mazdaspeed 3 Axleback Exhaust
4. Advanced Timing
5. James Barone Racing 80 Durometer Rear Motor Mount

Exterior

1. Factory Paint-matched:
   • Corksport Eyelids
   • Front Bar
   • Fog Light Bezels
   • Front Mazda Emblem
   • Rear Mazda Emblem
   • Rear "Mazda"
   • VG Sharkfin
2. Plasti-dipped Rear Valence
3. DDM 35W 5000k HID Lows
4. DDM 35W 5000k HID Fogs
5. V-LEDs 5000k License Plate LEDs
6. BaysonR Window Visors
7. Madico Charcool in VA Legal Tint (50% Fronts, 35% Rears, 5% Windshield Strip)
8. OEM Rear Bumper Guards
9. Various Stickers
10. Mazda Pin striping: If anyone else has this, I'm curious to know if you paid for it. I'm the only one I know of that has this pin striping just below the window line, beginning with a Mazda logo. Came on the car when I picked it up, no extra charge.

Wheels and Suspension

1. Summers: 17x8 +48 OZ Ultraleggera Wheels wrapped with 225/45R17 Hankook Ventus V12's
2. Winters: Stock Wheels wrapped with 205/50R17 Continental DWS's
3. Blue Gorilla Lugs
4. BC Racing Coilovers, non Extreme Drop: 8k front, 6k rear spring rates.
5. James Barone Racing Adjustable Rear Camber Arms
6. James Barone Racing Rear Sway Bar

Interior

1. Ultragauge for monitoring engine parameters and CELs
2. TWM Type R Shift Knob with Engraved Shift Pattern
3. Blue LED Front Footwell Lighting
4. Stealth Hatch Dual LED Bar Lighting

Future Mods

1. Dynotronics Tune
2. GT Taillights
3. Audio Upgrade
4. Roof and Rear Valence Gloss Black Vinyl Wrapped
5. Short Shift Plate
6. Front Lip of some sort
7. Turbo/Supercharger (Decided I'm gonna keep the car for a while after college and build my own kit)

Dyno (I know it says Mazdaspeed3 on the sheet but pretty much every other car was Speed3 and I was the last of the day so I can see how the dyno guys were confused. Done on a mobile DynoJet at EpisodeM)



Now for the pics. Semi-short/summed up and close to chronological. There were intermediate mods and I'm pretty sure I included them.



Day of/few days after purchase




First mod: Simota Intake


Next mod: License plate change and photoshoot up at school


Next mod: Painted emblems black


Next mod: HIDs and 1st attempt at Hatch lighting




Next mod: Tint and MS3 Exhaust




Next mod: License plate LEDs, VG Sharkfin, Window Visors




Next mod: Springs




Next mod: Summer of 2011 was RSB, newly self-painted emblems and evil "m", hatch and footwell lighting










Next mod: August 2011 Paint-matched everything(except eyelids)




Next mod: Fall 2011 Header, RMM, and pedals


Next mod: Spring 2012 Rear Valence, Wheels, Self-painted Eyelids. Got a new set of DWS's for the stockers in January. Burned through the stock/shitty Yokos auto-xing and from them being terrible.








Next mod: Bought and Ultragauge




Coilovers and Shift Knob







Auto-X
I started autocrossing when I was at my co-op in South Carolina in Feb. 2011. After my first run I was hooked! Was not that great when I first started and my intake immediately put me in the ST class where suspension, exhaust, etc. upgrades were legal. I sucked it up and just did various events and I got to know the car better, especially but adding on things one at a time. I recently got first in the new STF class last month in an autocross in Salem, VA so I have vastly improved as a driver and my car has as well. I don't do it competitively for nationals and such but just for some fun on weekends. Just a few random pics that I have managed to find...









I have some videos on my youtube channel of my autocrosses from Salem here as well as some other random car videos >>> Crespo79 - YouTube

My log of the 2012 season >>> 2012 Season


CCVT
My local car club, Car Club at Virginia Tech, goes to the local 1/8 mile drag strip about once or twice a month for fun. Ran my car a couple times and got low 10s. It is a test and tune event with some bracket racing at the end. I ended up winning $50 one time by placing second. I would have won $100 but I red-lighted in the final round . Don't really have many pics from there since most of us all drive or people forget to take photos but here are a couple from a recent outting...








We also go on mountain cruises and have a car show every semester. Lots of alumni bring there nice vettes, GTRs, Vipers, Audis, etc. down and party for the weekend. Its a blast!

Springfest 2012
The local Mazda club and I rolled down to Springfest 3 in VA Beach back in May. Was a sick show with tons of cars from every scene. Click on the pic below for my full album. The sticker was actually your ticket in to the judging area, pretty unique idea.



EpisodeM
I drove down to Orlando with my friend Carl from my co-op and had a blast! Great turnout of the Mazda crowd with a bunch of Speed3's, multiple Speed6's, a few Miatas, a few Regular 3's, some RX7's and 8's, and a few other random Mazdas. I even got to dyno and made numbers I'm very happy with!



If you have any questions on how I did any of my mods or have any comments, feel free to leave them below or PM me.

[DL2011MS3]

Very impressive resume. Wish I had more time to get into autox but with the baby coming, and workin a lot of OT, its hard to start a new hobby. But u have a nice car and its good to see u enjoying it and sharing what uve done.

[Chawee]

Me gusta. I really love your car. Especially all the little white bits painted, looks unique but subtle, which I really like. Keep it up! White ftw!

[Crespo]

Originally Posted by Chawee

Me gusta. I really love your car. Especially all the little white bits painted, looks unique but subtle, which I really like. Keep it up! White ftw!

Thanks! That's my goal, clean and subtle looking. White ftw indeed.

Originally Posted by DL2011MS3

Very impressive resume. Wish I had more time to get into autox but with the baby coming, and workin a lot of OT, its hard to start a new hobby. But u have a nice car and its good to see u enjoying it and sharing what uve done.

Thanks! Auto-x is a blast and doesn't require much extra time, just one or two days a month tops. Its defintely a hobby with as much effort as you can apply.

[TRiXWoN]

What did you use to paint the lids?

[Crespo]

Originally Posted by TRiXWoN

What did you use to paint the lids?

I had heard of Automotivetouchup.com Touch Up Paint, Aerosol Spray Paint and Touchup Paint Accessories | AutomotiveTouchup | 888-710-5192 and went there to order the paint. Another member used them to paint their new AutoEXE bumper. Great place to get supplies from. I had never done any real painting before and the stuff they sent was top notch and matched perfectly. Very easy and I just dove head in into the mini project.

[TRiXWoN]

Since our cars are the white pearl, was there any extra work? The paint site mentions something about a 3 step process. I've painted lots of things but never tried a pearl.

[Crespo]

Originally Posted by TRiXWoN

Since our cars are the white pearl, was there any extra work? The paint site mentions something about a 3 step process. I've painted lots of things but never tried a pearl.

There is a base coat, mid coat, and then gloss as opposed o just a base coat then gloss. I had never done any automotive painting but it was pretty easy. Get a solid base coat down after priming and sanding. Once the base coat is on, apply the mid-coat, which is the metallic flakes. After that is applied and dried, using several coats of the mid, apply the clear coat using several layers. That is what I did and they are very close if not a perfect match. They have instructions on the site which is what I followed, down to the time intervals between coats.

[axelajdm]

Very nice Crespo. Your car looks great. BTW any problems and passing emmission with an MSDS header in the ol VA? I know laws are different there than up here but if it passes in VA, I'm sure it will pass in Toronto.

[Crespo]

Originally Posted by axelajdm

Very nice Crespo. Your car looks great. BTW any problems and passing emmission with an MSDS header in the ol VA? I know laws are different there than up here but if it passes in VA, I'm sure it will pass in Toronto.

The area where my car is registered in VA doesn't require emissions testing, just the state inspection. Up in NoVa, DC area, those counties do require emissions testing. The only thing they look for will be if I still have cats on, which is the case with the second cat. I still have the CEL but hopefully that won't matter.