My Mazda 3 MPS

Mazda have adjusted (incorrectly in my mind) the Speedo , It is 10% out!! i.e it reads higher than true speed.
What this means is when you drive a New car made since 2006, esp Mazdas (most of them I beleive) on the open road at , say 100 Kph your in fact only doing 91 kph.
No joke , buy or get hold of a Garman or similar GPS unit and verfiy your speed. If you see it is incorrect, then COMPLAIN to Mazda!! Its so WRONG in many ways, yeah its legal , you see the rule that allows them and other Car manufractures to get away with it is , Australian Desige Rule (ADR 18 - Instrumentation) See 18.5.1.1.2 It says , in summuary that your speedo can be out by upto 14 percent (at 100kph) !! (The Main page is http://rvcs-prodweb.dot.gov.au/
So if you own a Mazda and did not understand why so many people keep passing you, (Not EVERYONE is Speeding you know.) you should get your speedo checked.
Becuase your holding up traffic, causing other drivers to overtake you when they are driving at the legal speed limit. This can also lead to ROAD RAGE from some drivers, as heated arguments about what speed your driving at could eruppt into a angry scene.
Sure some people may like to drive slower, maybe its safer, but you are going to have more people overtaking , which is far more dangerous !
Funny thing is according to Whippels Mazda Toowoomba is it cannot be adjusted, just as well its not the other way round or you would have to get a new Instrument Panel.
Getting back to the MPS, It has Stability Control, Checkout this Vid.. How Effective is Stability Control and you will see one of the reasons I bought the MPS. I also found a way to turn off the DSC and ABS from the Service manual, What you do is hold the DSC button down while Starting your Engine, The DSC Warning Led stays on and the DSC OFF Led will also be on. It is handly if you are going to put your car on a Dyno to check its Horsepower and performance. I would not use it while driving becuase your not protected.

Some cool tricks for the MPS.

Want to be able to operate the power windows at any time? eg regardless of wheither the key is in the Ignition position or not? Well, locate the internal fuse box, located underneath the Glove box, There are 3 fuses that are used,
  • F78 30 AMP
  • F77 30 AMP
  • F56 30 Amp
The first 2 fuses are Switched 12 volts through the ignition switch , the last fuse is powered with 12 volts all the time. Simply remove the 2 Fuses F78 & F77, Insert the 2 pins into the output side, then connect the other end of the Fuse link to the Thick Blue power cable, this has 12 volts at all times.
There you are, no key needed to open and close the windows at any time.
More Techo stuff,The Mazda cars run on a CAN_H CAN_L Data Bus system, what that means is your Mazda is a Little PC on wheels, everything from the ABS HU/CM (Abs Control module) to the Instrument Cluster and even the CD player are all connected via a twisted Pair Communication Data network, that sends 0s and 1s throughout the car.
Checkout The Error codes from your Audio Unit

The Power Plant.
2.3 litre turbocharged 4 cylinder 16 valve DOHC
Engine capacitycc2,260
Bore and strokemm87.5 x 94.0
Compression ratio 9.5 : 1
Maximum powerkW190 @ 5,500rpm
Maximum torqueNm380 @ 3,000rpm
Throttle control Electronic (drive-by-wire)
Fuel system Electronic direct injection
Fuel tank capacitylitres55
Fuel consumption litres/100km 9.0 on the open road at 100 kph (no not 91 kph)
Transmission Ratios   
1st 3.538
2nd 2.238
3rd 1.535
4th 1.171
5th 1.085
6th 0.853
Reverse 3.831
Final drive 3.941 (1st-4th)
3.350 (5th-6th)

Chassis & Suspension    
Brake typefront Ventilated disc
 rear Solid disc
Brake diameterfrontmm320
 rearmm280
Suspensionfront Independent MacPherson strut with coil springs and double acting shock absorbers. In other words it Grips the road like sh*t to a blanket.
 rear Independent multi-link with low profile springs and cylindrical double acting shock absorbers
Steering  Hydraulic power assisted
(engine revolution sensing)
rack and pinion
Turning circlekerb to kerbmetres11
Tyres 215/45R18 89W
Wheels 18 x 7.0 J (alloy)
Spare tyre/wheel An Orange Metal Wheel.
I think a stupid cost saving Idea from Mazda! Its very temporary, and a very dangerous replacement Wheel !!! Only good if your a Zoom zoom driver, no good if your a Var-Roommm Driver..!!
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