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Comments
1. How much space is underneath the front side of the front seats? I'm curious because I like to store CD wallets and other things of that nature under there. My Golf- unlike most cars- can'tdo that.
2. How much does the base (stock) stereo loosen up after time? After a few months of owning my new car (and complaining about the lack of bass and overall clarity), my base system sounds better than my upgraded system on my older cars. This will determine whether to get the Bose, or contemplate throwing in good speakers and a sub.
3. Has anyone had serious trouble with parallel parking/tight parking with their 6? I've done a few test drives, and the 6 is certainly the biggest car I've considered buying. Parking isn't bad, but I'm hoping that maneuvering in a smaller car in the past won't spoil me.
4. I asked at the nearby dealer for aftermarket leather, and they quoted me $1500-1800(!) Is there another option, such as buying seats/door panels online? Perhaps Ebay?
I guess I had 4 questions after all. ^_^
That's what Mercedes did when they had their equivalent to rev it up 2 years ago in Boston. My dad drove several MB models, got driven by professional drivers on a course, had a good time. They had a 3 series there for comparison. Dad bought a 330Ci. He had wanted a Mercedes for the longest time, but the drive changed him.
WE have one right in our own backyards of the US too
http://www.freedom-motors.com/
But, word of mouth seems to be good, which is one of the best ways to sell cars.
Mitsubishi motors is offering $100 rebate if you take a test drive of one of their cars, and buy another manufacturer's car within 21 days. Check out www.mitsucars.com for details.
Happy zooming!
http://www.autofieldguide.com/driven/0603dri08.html
typical smoke up dealer's rear end...
all 5 miles of it
people are catching on, in NoVA at least :-)
Pictures:
http://www.funnyfort.com/mazda6/06272003/mazda6_meet.htm
Not sure if the typical 6 owner is glad to see others with similar tastes or unhappy to see that the uniqueness is fading.
I've got 2000 km (about 1200 miles) on the car and half of that can be attributed to about 3 sort of long trips. Most of my drive is the same 5 mile stratch at the same time each day. I often see the same people in the same cars. Generally speaking, that means my exposure to what's out there is limited. That being said, I've now seen over 10 Mazda6 vehicles of all different colours and configurations.
I also park in my work's parking lot which houses 350 vehicles. I've noticed people staring at the car and I've had people come up to me and ask "Is that new 6 yours? Sweet!"
Unfortunately, for every one who has told me what I great car I have ther has been about 5 people who have told me that I have a 626 or give me the deer in the headlights look.
I love the car and the reaction it gets. I'm convinced that it would have been a better seller in the US (and maybe Canada too) if they had stuck with the Atenza name and changed the commercials a bit.
http://www.303products.com/main.php
When do you think the first TSX meet will be? ;o)
I live near the DC area and wanted to come to your get together last night but was unable to because of other plans. As I think most here know, I have a 6i w/sport package. I personally haven't modified it at all, but I'd love to see what everyone else has done and meet a few other 6 owners. Please post the info here if you all do decide to have another get together.
Thanks and sorry I missed it
There are really only 2 "pure" Japanese car companies now. And so what?
One thing that may delay it is the Sport Grille that I ordered. Someone mentioned a few posts back, that there was a shortage of them. My Mazda rep is checking on that and will let me know something on Monday or Tuesday. I don't want that one item to hold up the process, I can get that done later. I may have to work this out with my dealer if they don't have any to install at the "port".
Also, I saw my car listed in the Dealer Inventory on the Mazda USA website today. Everything that I ordered was listed. I was so excited to see that. It feels almost official now. It's been a long wait since I ordered this car (it seems pretty long anyway), but I must admit that it's exciting to follow it every step of the way.
In another week or two, I can join the club. :-)
Here's what I thought: the engine block is like the external casing that surrounds the internal parts of the engine. So my understanding was that Mazda used the engine block from the Duratec to house their components that they designed for the inner workings of the engine for the 6. So the outside of the engine is Duratec, and the pistons, camshafts, and all the other parts that compose the engine are all designed and made by Mazda.
However, after reading the responses again, I'm not sure if my simplistic view of the composition of the 6s engine is correct. Chikoo provided a very detailed and thorough explanation of the mechanical engineering of the engine, but I'm afraid that most of it went over my head. So maybe my question was answered in that post and I just didn't know it.
Sooo, would someone please be so kind as to explain what an engine block is and how the one from the Duratec fits in with the Mazda 6s engine? In layman's terms, please? ;-)
When people ask me questions about my car (and I know they will), I want to be able to answer with accuracy and confidence. Plus, I just want to have a good understanding for myself. I'm starting to find the mechanical aspects of cars very interesting.
TIA,
SilverCrown (who may soon need a new screen name?)
I'm trying to talk myself into getting a 6 without side airbags/curtains, which I reeeally wanted. However, there are none to be found (unless you get a sports pkg, of course) and I don't think I can wait to 3-4 months to order one to my specs.
So.. if I can find some data that tells me the probability of getting into the type of accident that would benefit from the use of SAB/SACs is only "one-in-5000" or something, well, maybe I won't feel so bad, and I can finally pull the trigger on a purchase!
Somewhere around 2/3 of all crashes are frontal. That's why the big push for front airbags and before that, seatbelts. Most modern cars can now protect you from serious injury in a frontal crash. Side impacts are a whole different thing. Because of the smaller distances involved, it's a much trickier proposition to protect you there. A lot of people don't understand the difference between side airbags and air curtains that offer protection for your noggin. Some side airbags DO offer head protection without a curtain (some Nissan Maximas). It's interesting to note that BMW started putting head protection airbags as standard equipment in the 323i and 328i in '99. I think it will be hard to find stats on the probabilities you asked about, but they could be out there somewhere. The chance of you getting t-boned right into your driver's door are slim, but if you do, the difference SACs can provide is HUGE, and definitely could mean the difference between walking away and being dead meat. I once saw HIC numbers of something like 400 with and 4000 without (4000 is certain death). I think this was for a Crown Vic or something like that.
I can remember at least one "near miss" (I always liked that term) of getting t-boned into my driver's door within the last year. Personally, that's all the stats I need. Plus, with the proliferation of idiots driving 2-ton SUVs while talking on their cell phones, that's all I need to justify the 450 bucks, and maybe having to order the car.
Think of it as insurance. The chances of ever needing SACs are very small, but if you do, well it would make a huge difference. I suspect I will never have a crash that they would be needed for. I also don't think my house will ever burn down, but I still have fire insurance.
the block, which is the metal casting that houses the lower portion of the engine components, such as the crankshaft and the pistons. The term "engine block" as I think you're understanding it for the Duratec V6, most likely defines the casting plus the crankshaft, journals, connecting rods, pistons, and main bearings. In mechanics' terms this combination of parts are often referred to as a short block. Occasionally, the timing chain and gears are included as well.
the cylinder heads (there are two), which contain the intake and exhaust valves, cams, camshafts, and spark plugs. The block and heads combined are often referred to as a long block.
the intake manifold, which routes the air and fuel mixture into each cylinder head. The fuel injection system typically attaches to the intake manifold.
the exhaust manifold or it's higher-performing equivalent, the exhaust header, whose purpose is to route exhaust gases away from the head.
I'm not a Duratec engine expert, nor do I know precisely how the Ford Duratec engine differs from the Mazda6 V6, but I would guess that the primary difference between the two is the cylinder head design, which uses variable valve timing while the standard Duratec head does not. I'm sure there are plenty of other differences between the two, and perhaps the pistons, crankshaft, and connecting rods are different, but that's beyond my knowledge.
I hope that helps your understanding of engine terminology better, at least. For additional info, check out How a car engine works (howstuffworks.com).
Mazda redid all the internals. In fact, the intake/exhaust ports on the Mazda engine are smaller than on the Duratech... did they detune the engine so it wouldn't intrude on Jag and Lincoln? Why make something less efficient that's already been designed?
==================
Thanks to all who enjoyed the pictures. I was the only person without the sport package, and only two of seven were automatics. Two of seven (one of them me) were four cylinder engines.
More pictures:
here and here. Mine are here.
You hit the nail on the head. I don't keep up with the latest SUV models too much so can't say which ones they were, but some of them look so huge and the bumpers look so high up that it would miss most of the door and miss any door beams or anything else in the door that would be used to protect you. And of course you have some that are raised up even more than what the factory has. As you say, the chances may be slim but if a side curtain airbag can keep me alive then it's worth it to fork over the extra money. And if it ends up not making a difference over a non-side airbag version when hit then the person will probably be dead and that $450 will be meaningless anyway. Better safe than sorry.
It has three stage variable lift and timing on both intake and exhaust, but we have continuously variable, electronically controlled valve timing on the intake only. Believe it or not, we have the flatter torque curve... though the K24 is actually not flat in a good way - it peaks at 2500rpm for great around-town driving.
Funny thing is, at 4000rpm, the Honda engine makes a cool 15hp more than us, but our engine never lets up, and just past redline we're still running strong, making a whopping 20hp more than the K24 at 6600rpm.
To those who do not know, removing a diffuser and resonator on the air intake of the Mazda6 (designed to mute a deep growl of the engine) add 10whp when removed, and give the engine a nice, deep V6 sound at WOT. It sounds the about same during normal driving. This DIY, free, 15-min modification was not included in the above dyno numbers, however if it were... :-)
With that being said, at least the smaller the probability, the more comfortable I would feel about buying without the SAB/SACs.
I ask because there is a dealer with a car spec'd out the way I want (SAB/SAC!), but they've installed the appearance package and I'm not too keen on keeping that.
any thoughts?
much obliged!
I'm trying to find a 6i with SAB/SAC in the color I want, they're not very common. I thought about spending $1k more for one equipped with the apperance package also, but don't like to pay that much for something that serves no useful function, I don't like, and may rip out later.
I also re-read Chikoo's very informative post from a few days ago and more of it sunk in as well. Enough for me to pose another question: what is the difference between variable valve timing (VVT?) and sequential valve timing (SVT?)? Are they different terms for the same thing? If not, which type does the Mazda 6s engine have?
Oops, that's 3 questions. LOL I will also look on the "How Stuff Works" site to see if it has some answers, but I also wanted to get some input from this board. I am learning so much here. :-)
Thanks again!!
Basically, Vtec uses cam shafts that change profiles, whereas the SVT from Mazda uses a continuously adjustable pully driving a cam shaft. Like I said, see the pictures.
Because people like me don't like a bunch of plastic stuff tacked on to their car. Look at some of the Mazda6's in other parts of the world that don't have the ground effects but do have the 17s. They look sharp.
I think it was an I because the tail pipes looked teeny. Isn't there a slight diference in tail pipe diameter between the I and S. It looked that way on my last dealer visit.
"It's better to have a gun and not need it than to need a gun and not have it"
It really stinks that you are even faced with having to make this decision
Bear with me I'm over-simplifying a bit.
The Block is the main body of the engine, it's cast aluminum with steel sleeves where the pistons go. If they didn't use steel sleeves the pistons would wear that part of the block down, also a big heat problem and melting. The cylinders have Rings which have to *seat* properly when breaking in the engine, that's why you take it easy the first 1000 miles. The Rings help the Pistons to work vertically, smoothly, instead of wobbling as they go up and down in the cylinders.
The working parts: pistons, connecting rods, and valves go inside and on top. Along with the spark plugs, fuel injectors, and valve cover.
In the bottom of the Block is the Crank Shaft. The Connecting Rods *connect* to the Crank Shaft. The Pistons connect to the upper ends of the Connecting Rods.
What makes the engine *run* is when fuel and air (oxygen) is injected into the cylinders, not as a liquid but as a mist to mix with the air. Then the spark plugs fire to ignite the fuel/air mixture driving the Piston down. As the Pistons move downward they turn the Crank Shaft. But they don't all move downward at the same time, it's in a sequence. The Timing Chain is set to control which Piston is fired and in which order.
It's these parts which Mazda redesigned, along with adding Variable Valve Timing, to give the engine better performance. VVT and the onboard computer control the Valve Timing by opening the valves a little more on DEMAND from the driver's foot, which opens the valves wider and injects more fuel and more oxygen than normal. This is the *variable* part.
The front end of the Crank Shaft (depending on how you view the engine since it is mounted transversly -- across the front) connects with a pully-wheel and the Timing Chain. The rear end of the Crank Shaft connects to the Transmission.
The reason many prefer an MT is because it is closer to Direct Drive. An AT is less direct because of the gears in it and the slippage, which reduces fuel economy. The reason the AT slips is because the engine would quit if it was connected to the AT without a *built-in clutch*. The slippage takes the place of a clutch.
When you stop at a traffic light, for example, if there was no way to disconnect the AT from the Drive Shaft momentarily, the engine would quit when you hold the brakes. Or you would have to shut the engine off at each traffic light and re-start it.
Hope this helps. Correct me if I missed it, guys!
P.S. I have always thought it interesting that the gasoline engine and the diesel are like the bumble bee -- theoretically -- they aren't suppose to work at all; they should explode. The bumble bee isn't suppose to be able to fly because its wings are too small for its weight. But they DO!
fowler3