Woohoo! Just traded my original '04 Winning Blue GT with 56K miles that I preordered in January of '03 and took delivery of about 7/31/03 for a... tada... Aurora Blue Mica R3!!!! I think this may be the first R3 in Austin.

Wow!!!... does the R3 handle great!!! I love the suspension on this car. Much firmer when cornering and stopping than the '04... and much less body roll. I'm no master driver, but this is exactly what I was wanting with the R3 "upgrade". The overall ride is still great... not too choppy for a daily commute (provided you like the sports car feel all of the time), but still much improved handling in the corners. I just wish I had Yokohama's on it instead of the Bridgetstones. But hey, I'm not made out of money, so the Yok's 'll have to wait 'til it's time for new tires.

Taking a little while to get used to the Recaro's, as I'm not as lean as I used to be. But I think I'm starting to like 'em.

Quite a few other little extra's with the R3 that I'm really diggin' over my '04. Not the least of which is everything is so much smoother... like new again. My '04 was definitely showing signs of wear in quite a few areas... which was made even more apparent after driving the R3. The clutch on the R3 is exceptionally smooth compared to old '04. Really starting to like the new gear ratios, too.

I think I'm gonna go by Mazda's break in specs, as I don't think I can wait much longer than that... don't run the engine at constant revs for too long and avoid full throttle... for the first 600 miles. I'm trying to keep it below 5k for the 1st 300, then I'll probably drift on up to 6k with maybe a few overs until 600... at which point I'll let 'er run free!

The R3 is delight to run through the twisties... or any curves or corners you can find for that matter. Quick car, great looking, awesome cornering, rev's like a poor man's F1... and most of all, is a blast to drive! Very happy with the R3 so far!!!

 

Congrats!!!!

 

actually, research has proven you will get the best out of your engine, reliability, horsepower, compression, etc... if you drive it really hard, change the oil @ 500 miles, then @ 1000 miles, then @ 3000 miles. then drive it normally.

 

can you post some nifty pics, cuz that would be awesome

 

Yeah, I've heard that, too. I can kinda understand the logic behind it. And no doubt, I'd love to do it! But I'm not so comfortable just totally ignoring Mazda's recommendations. After all, they're the ones that designed and built the car. I would think they might have some relevant knowledge of what would be a good way to break the engine in.

I will probably do one or two extra oil changes within the first 5000 miles though.

Thanks for the info.

 

Congrats on the new version! But I think we need some action pics.

 

I'll try to get some pics soon as I can. So busy, though, someone else will probably get some Blue Mica pics posted before I can. I've decided to go ahead and get some window tinting. Wasn't sure at first, as the R3 looks so good as is, the no tint look was starting to grow on me a little. But now I think tinting will be even better. Plus, it's so friggin' sunny and hot here in Texas now... tinting definitely has some functional advantages. Soon as it's done, I'll try to get a few pics.

 

pix..

 

Pics or it never happened!


Congrats BTW!

 

Yeah, yeah.... I hang out on the Gear Page alot... a forum for musicians... mostly guitar players. This is similar to a favorite reply there, which is "This thread is useless without pics!" It's dark here in Texas now (a good excuse, anyway?). Plus, I've been known to be lazy and a procrastinator at times. Except when I saw that the blue R3 was shown to be in stock at my local dealer . I high tailed it down there the same day! I actually saw it listed as in stock on MazdaUSA (though previous inquiries to the local dealer suggested it wouldn't be here until September). Called the dealer the same day. They said it wasn't in. Then they called back later and said no, that it had actually come in that very morning. What luck I had finding out about it so quickly!

 

Indeed.

 

Congrats on the buy. Glad to hear that the R3 is even better.

 

OK, OK. Here's a couple of (bad) quickie stills... will get some better pics after the tinting.

 

Niiccee. I'm looking to trade also, mines getting up there in miles. Not sure if I'm going with the r3 or a different car yet

 

Good Luck w/ da ugly rear lights and front happy face.

 

Do you happen to have any kind of link to the research? Not that I'm doubting you it's just that I would like to read it. I see you telling it to almost everyone that has just gotten their car, and I would actually like to take a look at it.

But anyway....Ha! it really does look like its smiling. But it's also really nice. Enjoy it.

Post pics of the interior!

 

congrats and nice looking ride....it would b so hard for me not to take it up to 9k as soon as i got it haha i'm so used to it on my 04 it's just a daily habit

 

Looks like it's my turn. If you could still put the mazdaspeed kit on the R3, I definately would. Too bad I'm broke.

 

you should do this:

 

Yep... same here. That is a cool thing about having an older one that's broken in and you're really familiar with. No hesitation about just ringing it out for all it's worth. Just had the engine changed in the '04 a few weeks before, so was being more than a little light footed with it. Now with the new one... it's been awhile. Can't wait to get the R3 to that point!

 

Where did you find this? I like the look.

 

Whatever floats your boat. The quick pics I took above don't do any justice to how great the R3 looks in person. It's definitely an eye catcher, IMHO.

 

I liek the stock wheels better then that Mazdaspeed versions...

 

Actually, as opposed to my pics, THIS is what the R3 looks like in the flesh... which is pretty damn hot to me!

 

Thats aWesome!!!! post pics of interior !