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My Wife's New 2013 3 with the SkyActiv-G Engine

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    My Wife's New 2013 3 with the SkyActiv-G Engine

    More than One Way to Buy a New Car

    I didn't want to post this until I discovered how everything would work out.

    On July 8th, my wife and I went out in her 3, with she behind the wheel, to take care of some business. Due to construction, on the approach road to I-287 traffic was bumper-to bumper, stop-and go. We had come to a complete stop and were waiting for traffic to proceed when we got hit in the rear by a van. The impact was so severe that we were both thrown forward hard against our seat belts and our car was driven into the Chrysler in front of us. I felt a sharp pain across my chest and in my right shoulder, the worst of which started to subside after about two minutes. My wife suffered pain in her two shoulders and in her left knee which contacted some part of the instrument panel in front of her. Thank God we were wearing our seat belts (not that we ever don't) or our injuries could have been quite severe. After a couple of minutes, I felt okay enough to get out of the car and survey the damage - the front and rear of the car were well and truly pushed in but there was no fluid leakage.

    My wife called 911 and after about 15 minutes the State Police arrived on the scene. In the interim, the moron who hit us, a squat, toad like creature, approached me and asked if we could settle this without involving the insurance companies. Looking at the damage that was immediately apparent I laughed in his face telling him that I would be willing to accept a cashier's check for 15 grand if that suited him. it didn't.

    When the SP officer surveyed the damage, he immediately concluded that we had been hit and pushed into the car ahead of us. In fact, the perp admitted that he had hit his throttle instead of his brake which accounted for the force of the impact. The officer wrote up the accident report stating this scenario thus absolving us of all blame for the accident.

    Surprisingly, the car was completely driveable and tracked straight and true despite the massive body damage, unlike the van which emptied its fluids all over the roadway. This is a real testimony to the crashworthiness of the 3.

    Off to our insurance agent who told us that although we were completely covered, since we weren't at fault we could go through the perp's insurance company saving us from having to pay the $500 deductible. Since we had to wait one week before we could pick up the accident report from the local State Police Barracks, which would contain the name of the perp's insurance company, and since our 3 seemed completely roadworthy, we decided to hold off and pursue this option.

    In the interim, we visited our doctor to be checked out to make sure that we hadn't been permanently or seriously injured from the accident. He examined us, prescribed muscle relaxants, and before the week was out we each made a complete recovery.

    A week later we collected the accident report, found the perp's insurance company and contacted them. Lo and behold, it turned out that the perp's insurance had lapsed as of June 28th and he had never renewed. So, on to Plan B, back to our insurance company who of course said they'd cover us and, while they were at it, sue the perp for whatever they could get which could possibly cover our deductible.

    Then off to the body shop for an estimate which came in at $5700. This being fine with our insurance company we made an appointment to bring the 3 in on August 12th, the first available date, at which time my wife would be given a rental car as part of our insurance coverage.

    On August 14th we get a call from the body shop telling us that after dismantling part of the car it was found that the damage was considerably more extensive than first believed so our insurance company decided to total the car.

    So ends phase one of our Odyssey.

    Happy Motoring!
    Last edited by goldstar; 09-06-2013, 09:50 AM.
    02 DX Millenium Red - The Penultimate Driving Machine
    MP3 Strut Tower Bar kit; Cusco Front Lower Arm Tie Bar
    MSP Springs, Struts, Stabilizer Bars, Trailing Links, #3 Engine Mount
    Kartboy Stabilizer Bar Bushings; Nyloil Shifter Bushings; Red Line MT-90 Gear Oil
    MP3 Shifter, Knob and Aluminum Pedal Set
    Suvlights HD Wiring Harness; Osram Night Breaker H4 Bulbs; Exide Edge AGM Battery
    Summer: 5Zigen FN01R-C 16 x 7" Wheels; Yoko S.drive 205/45-16s
    Winter: Enkei OR52 16 x 7" Wheels; Falken Ziex ZE-912 205/45-16s
    Modified OEM Air Intake; Racing Beat Exhaust System; Techna-Fit SS Clutch Line
    Denso SKJ16CR-L11 Extended Tip Spark Plugs; Magnecor Wires
    Power Slot Front Brake Rotors; Techna-Fit SS Brake Lines; Hawk HPS Pads
    Red Line Synthetic Engine Oil; C/S Aluminum Oil Cap
    Cyberdyne Digital Gauges: Tach; Ambient Air Temp; Voltmeter

    #2
    glad you are both OK .. shame about the 3 tho


    Comment


      #3
      Glad everybody is okay. Whiplash is a B.
      :popcorn:
      1991 Protege LX with GTX swap, DD
      1990 4WD Protege with GTX swap, Project/garage decoration
      2006 Mazda 3 with 2.3, Her car
      1980 Ford F100 Short bed with 300ci 6 cylinder, work truck/home for moss

      Comment


        #4
        Off to the Mazda Dealer

        Thanks guys, we're pretty much okay now.

        Well, it was pretty much a shock to hear the news that the car would be totaled since we were weren't planning on buying another one at this point and hadn't budgeted for it. My wife's car was an '06 with 100 K miles on it but was in excellent shape and still going strong. The body shop told us that our insurer would be contacting us soon with their offer and advised us to get the Kelly Blue Book value of our car to evaluate any offer made to us. We figured that if the insurance company was willing to pay $5700 to repair the car, it should at least offer us that amount in settlement. The very next day we heard from the insurance company and, unbelievably, they offered us substantially more than that figure and considerably more than the Blue Book value. Why, I don't know but we weren't about to argue with them. This meant that with some additional money from our savings account, we were affordably in the market for a new car with a substantial down payment. But which one should it be?

        Hmm, how about another 3 but this time with the SkyActiv-G engine. Do you think? So, off to our friendly, local Mazda dealer to see what kind of a deal we could get. Since they were unloading their 2013 models they were offering financing with 0% interest over 5-years and that, in combination with their dealer loyalty discount (we had purchased my wife's defunct 3 from them), gave us monthly payments most easily affordable. We usually pay off our car loans before term but in this case with 0% interest there's no savings involved.

        So what's the Mazda3's 2013 lineup for the 4-door (sedan) with the 2.0 L engine? Most economical is the i SV with the conventional MZR engine and 16x 6" steel wheels. According to the Mazda website, this most basic model is not generally stocked by dealers and is only available on special order.

        Next up, and in dealer inventory, is the i Sport with the SkyActiv-G engine with either the 6-speed MT, or ATX, but also with steel wheels.

        Then comes the i Touring which includes, among other niceties, 16 x 6.5" alloy wheels, and keyless entry and start system with push button start. This is the model we chose, with 6-speed MT of course, and with only two options, wheel locks and dealer installed Sirius radio.

        My wife would have liked built in GPS but that's only available in the next step up, the I Grand Touring which includes too many other options we didn't want and, in any case, is too rich for our blood. Go to the Mazda website if you want to see all the models and options in detail. The s Grand Touring 4-door is the model with the conventional 2.5 L MZR engine.

        Dealing with the salesman was kind of amusing since I knew more about the technical details of the car than did he. He got a real kick out of hearing that we only drive MTs and he kept repeating it to some of the other salespeople thinking it was real funny. He was a nice guy though and the whole experience was pleasant enough. In addition to our buyer's loyalty discount we managed to get a little more off the sale price so I guess we did alright on that score. Not that I'm arrogant enough to think I'm a shrewd bargainer when it comes to these situations but at least I came away feeling that I wasn't a total mark. The salesman accompanied us during our test drive so it was impossible to really wring out the car out but it was enough to indicate a noticeable increase in power over the MZR (part of that due to the different torque curve), and the new 6-speed MT is an enthusiast's dream with its short throws and smooth action. More on this of course when we actually own the car and I get a chance to give it a proper evaluation. We're due to pick up the car tomorrow.

        In my next post, I want to talk a bit more about the SkyActiv-G engine.

        Happy Motoring!
        Last edited by goldstar; 09-06-2013, 09:49 AM.
        02 DX Millenium Red - The Penultimate Driving Machine
        MP3 Strut Tower Bar kit; Cusco Front Lower Arm Tie Bar
        MSP Springs, Struts, Stabilizer Bars, Trailing Links, #3 Engine Mount
        Kartboy Stabilizer Bar Bushings; Nyloil Shifter Bushings; Red Line MT-90 Gear Oil
        MP3 Shifter, Knob and Aluminum Pedal Set
        Suvlights HD Wiring Harness; Osram Night Breaker H4 Bulbs; Exide Edge AGM Battery
        Summer: 5Zigen FN01R-C 16 x 7" Wheels; Yoko S.drive 205/45-16s
        Winter: Enkei OR52 16 x 7" Wheels; Falken Ziex ZE-912 205/45-16s
        Modified OEM Air Intake; Racing Beat Exhaust System; Techna-Fit SS Clutch Line
        Denso SKJ16CR-L11 Extended Tip Spark Plugs; Magnecor Wires
        Power Slot Front Brake Rotors; Techna-Fit SS Brake Lines; Hawk HPS Pads
        Red Line Synthetic Engine Oil; C/S Aluminum Oil Cap
        Cyberdyne Digital Gauges: Tach; Ambient Air Temp; Voltmeter

        Comment


          #5
          glad it worked out okay!!!
          anxious for further updates
          ---Has ClubProtege helped you in someway? show your support by Contributing--- Click Here---

          1992- project FE3..... 313 WHP @ 9.3psi




          I pet my dash when I get into the car..."good car"
          he actually has a mazda tree, parts grow on it

          Comment


            #6
            Some Technical Data

            The 3 with the SkyActiv-G engine differs from the normal 3 with the MZR engine. It's a total package with a lighter, more rigid chassis, and two new 6-speed transmissions - a manual and an automatic. By now, everyone knows that the engine has a 12:1 CR (13:1 in Japan). But there is a lot more to this engine than its high compression ratio. I was able to learn more about this power plant by reading an SAE paper that discusses its characteristics.

            While the MZR 2.0 L is oversquare, the Sky has a long stroke 83.5 x 91.2 mm. The engine has a high pressure (2900 psi/200 bar) direct injection with 6-hole injectors that can be pulsed twice per cycle - once at the bottom of the intake stroke and once at the top of the compression stroke. The smaller bore and smaller combustion chamber contribute to faster combustion, but there are also additional features to make the engine knock-resistant. They include an evaporative cooling effect from the first injection pulse, a piston crown with a diesel-inspired combustion cavity to help maintain fast combustion, and a 4-2-1 exhaust manifold to help purge the hot exhaust. This latter feature is absent from the 3 due to lack of room but installed on the CX-5 it allows a higher CR of 13:1.

            The variable intake and exhaust valve timing contribute to the torque improvement, and the Sky engine has an all-electric intake camshaft phaser - an expensive precision component developed by Lexus.

            A long-stroke engine is subject to increased piston friction as rpm increases, hence its usual tuning for low speed torque. However, the Sky engine was engineered to remove weight and improve manufacturing tolerances to reduce friction and drag throughout the engine. Compared with the MZR 2.0 L, Mazda claims a 74% reduction in oil pump drag, 31% reduction in water pump drag, 25% reduction in reciprocating drag (from lighter pistons and lower-tension piston rings, which compensate for the longer stroke), and a 50% reduction in valvetrain friction. Aiding this reduction in friction is the required use of SAE 0W-20 (down from 5W-20 in the older 3's) fully synthetic engine oil, with added moly, which is available in quart bottles from your Mazda dealer (and I assume in liter bottles for our Canadian friends). The MT also calls for a lighter viscosity grade - SAE 75W-80 down from 75W-90.

            As an aside, the oil is made domestically by the Japanese oil company Idemitsu. As is usual in most cases, Idemitsu does not describe its constituent base stocks, only listing their ingredients as Petroleum, Other. From this paltry description, it's safe to assume that it is a Group III hydrocracked oil.

            Finally, in regard to the valve timing which is crucial to the Sky engine's efficient operation. On deceleration, when the vehicle is at near-zero load, the valve timing switches into late intake valve closing. This not only reduces engine pumping losses but also effectively lengthens the stroke and extracts the last bit of power from the power stroke (essentially a Miller/Atkinson cycle effect). Engines with hybrid electric or supercharger assist, such as the Mazda Millenia produced from 1993-2003, get the fill-in power that is missing at the end of the Miller/Atkinson power stroke. However, because there is no meaningful load to overcome on deceleration, the Sky engine just keeps running until the electric cam phaser instantly re-establishes the valve timing needed for loaded operation.

            Some punkin's is all I have to say.

            Happy Motoring!
            Last edited by goldstar; 09-06-2013, 09:52 AM.
            02 DX Millenium Red - The Penultimate Driving Machine
            MP3 Strut Tower Bar kit; Cusco Front Lower Arm Tie Bar
            MSP Springs, Struts, Stabilizer Bars, Trailing Links, #3 Engine Mount
            Kartboy Stabilizer Bar Bushings; Nyloil Shifter Bushings; Red Line MT-90 Gear Oil
            MP3 Shifter, Knob and Aluminum Pedal Set
            Suvlights HD Wiring Harness; Osram Night Breaker H4 Bulbs; Exide Edge AGM Battery
            Summer: 5Zigen FN01R-C 16 x 7" Wheels; Yoko S.drive 205/45-16s
            Winter: Enkei OR52 16 x 7" Wheels; Falken Ziex ZE-912 205/45-16s
            Modified OEM Air Intake; Racing Beat Exhaust System; Techna-Fit SS Clutch Line
            Denso SKJ16CR-L11 Extended Tip Spark Plugs; Magnecor Wires
            Power Slot Front Brake Rotors; Techna-Fit SS Brake Lines; Hawk HPS Pads
            Red Line Synthetic Engine Oil; C/S Aluminum Oil Cap
            Cyberdyne Digital Gauges: Tach; Ambient Air Temp; Voltmeter

            Comment


              #7
              Nice writeup as usual, Goldstar. Glad to hear you guys made out well, and most importantly, uninjured. I wondered about the new Mazda engines, particularly with the long header; how do they do for cold start emissions? I would think they wouldn't heat up the cat fast enough with that and dual injection.
              sigpic
              1992 Familia GT-X
              1988 323 GTX
              2011 F150 Lariat Ecoboost
              2014 Civic Touring

              Comment


                #8
                that was indeed a mouthful. quite nifty!
                ---Has ClubProtege helped you in someway? show your support by Contributing--- Click Here---

                1992- project FE3..... 313 WHP @ 9.3psi




                I pet my dash when I get into the car..."good car"
                he actually has a mazda tree, parts grow on it

                Comment


                  #9
                  Thanks for your kind words DuRWooD. That's a good question you ask about cold start emissions but one I can't answer, at least at this point. I'm still trying to learn more details of this engine as I go along.

                  Happy Motoring!
                  02 DX Millenium Red - The Penultimate Driving Machine
                  MP3 Strut Tower Bar kit; Cusco Front Lower Arm Tie Bar
                  MSP Springs, Struts, Stabilizer Bars, Trailing Links, #3 Engine Mount
                  Kartboy Stabilizer Bar Bushings; Nyloil Shifter Bushings; Red Line MT-90 Gear Oil
                  MP3 Shifter, Knob and Aluminum Pedal Set
                  Suvlights HD Wiring Harness; Osram Night Breaker H4 Bulbs; Exide Edge AGM Battery
                  Summer: 5Zigen FN01R-C 16 x 7" Wheels; Yoko S.drive 205/45-16s
                  Winter: Enkei OR52 16 x 7" Wheels; Falken Ziex ZE-912 205/45-16s
                  Modified OEM Air Intake; Racing Beat Exhaust System; Techna-Fit SS Clutch Line
                  Denso SKJ16CR-L11 Extended Tip Spark Plugs; Magnecor Wires
                  Power Slot Front Brake Rotors; Techna-Fit SS Brake Lines; Hawk HPS Pads
                  Red Line Synthetic Engine Oil; C/S Aluminum Oil Cap
                  Cyberdyne Digital Gauges: Tach; Ambient Air Temp; Voltmeter

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Oh, BTW, we did pick up our new car yesterday from the dealer. I drove us there in the Protégé and my wife drove the SkyActiv-G home. She's always a little anxious when driving a new car and since she'll be the principal driver, I want her to get as much experience with the car as possible during the next few days since she goes back to work next Tuesday after being off for the summer (she's a teacher). Based on her limited time with it, however, she already loves the car. Also we have a big wedding coming up on Friday which really cuts into our time for things automotive. With luck, I'll get a chance to take the car out on the road this coming Saturday and put it through its paces. I'm really eager to compare it with my Protégé, which up until now I've considered "the penultimate driving machine." Rest assured that I'll give you a full report when this happens.

                    Happy Motoring!
                    Last edited by goldstar; 09-06-2013, 09:53 AM.
                    02 DX Millenium Red - The Penultimate Driving Machine
                    MP3 Strut Tower Bar kit; Cusco Front Lower Arm Tie Bar
                    MSP Springs, Struts, Stabilizer Bars, Trailing Links, #3 Engine Mount
                    Kartboy Stabilizer Bar Bushings; Nyloil Shifter Bushings; Red Line MT-90 Gear Oil
                    MP3 Shifter, Knob and Aluminum Pedal Set
                    Suvlights HD Wiring Harness; Osram Night Breaker H4 Bulbs; Exide Edge AGM Battery
                    Summer: 5Zigen FN01R-C 16 x 7" Wheels; Yoko S.drive 205/45-16s
                    Winter: Enkei OR52 16 x 7" Wheels; Falken Ziex ZE-912 205/45-16s
                    Modified OEM Air Intake; Racing Beat Exhaust System; Techna-Fit SS Clutch Line
                    Denso SKJ16CR-L11 Extended Tip Spark Plugs; Magnecor Wires
                    Power Slot Front Brake Rotors; Techna-Fit SS Brake Lines; Hawk HPS Pads
                    Red Line Synthetic Engine Oil; C/S Aluminum Oil Cap
                    Cyberdyne Digital Gauges: Tach; Ambient Air Temp; Voltmeter

                    Comment


                      #11
                      Originally posted by DuRWooD View Post
                      I wondered about the new Mazda engines, particularly with the long header; how do they do for cold start emissions? I would think they wouldn't heat up the cat fast enough with that and dual injection.
                      After doing some research, I think I may have the answer to your question DuRWooD. As you infer, one critical drawback of the long 4-2-1 exhaust header is that it takes a relatively long time to heat up the NOx catalyst during cold start which is why most modern production engines have abandoned this exhaust configuration.

                      Mazda overcomes the cold-start problem by retarding the ignition which leads to a higher exhaust gas temperature to compensate for the longer manifold. Since the late ignition may result in unstable combustion, this tendency is overcome by the specially shaped pistons with their dead center cavities which concentrates the stratified A/F mixture around the spark plug. Also contributing to optimized combustion are the high pressure, 6-hole, injectors.

                      Happy Motoring!
                      02 DX Millenium Red - The Penultimate Driving Machine
                      MP3 Strut Tower Bar kit; Cusco Front Lower Arm Tie Bar
                      MSP Springs, Struts, Stabilizer Bars, Trailing Links, #3 Engine Mount
                      Kartboy Stabilizer Bar Bushings; Nyloil Shifter Bushings; Red Line MT-90 Gear Oil
                      MP3 Shifter, Knob and Aluminum Pedal Set
                      Suvlights HD Wiring Harness; Osram Night Breaker H4 Bulbs; Exide Edge AGM Battery
                      Summer: 5Zigen FN01R-C 16 x 7" Wheels; Yoko S.drive 205/45-16s
                      Winter: Enkei OR52 16 x 7" Wheels; Falken Ziex ZE-912 205/45-16s
                      Modified OEM Air Intake; Racing Beat Exhaust System; Techna-Fit SS Clutch Line
                      Denso SKJ16CR-L11 Extended Tip Spark Plugs; Magnecor Wires
                      Power Slot Front Brake Rotors; Techna-Fit SS Brake Lines; Hawk HPS Pads
                      Red Line Synthetic Engine Oil; C/S Aluminum Oil Cap
                      Cyberdyne Digital Gauges: Tach; Ambient Air Temp; Voltmeter

                      Comment


                        #12
                        Interesting. Thanks for the follow up. I just looked up the pistons; they sure do look strange.
                        sigpic
                        1992 Familia GT-X
                        1988 323 GTX
                        2011 F150 Lariat Ecoboost
                        2014 Civic Touring

                        Comment


                          #13
                          Mazda has worked a lot of technology into these SkyActiv engines, both gasoline and diesel. The gasoline engine is capable of running at 14:1 compression, but, as stated earlier, this requires the use of the 4-2-1 exhaust which doesn't fit in the Mazda3's engine bay. Therefore, Mazda set the compression at 12:1. The CX-5 (and I'm guessing the 2014 Mazda6) uses the 13:1 compression pistons only because of America's use of lower octane fuels, 87 octane, for example. I believe the high (14:1) compression engines require 91 or 93 octane gasoline, which most Americans don't want to pay for.

                          Anyway, glad to hear you and your wife are alright after the accident. And I'm looking forward to your in depth and informative hands-on review of the SkyActiv-G engine and SkyActiv-MT.

                          Comment


                            #14
                            My First Test Drive, Part 1

                            Last weekend I finally got a chance to take the car out and familiarize myself with it. My wife and I went out on a 160 mile run on Interstates and 2-lane country roads to test it in a variety of road conditions. Bear in mind that it's my wife's car and it's brand new so there was no way I was going to push it or drive near its limits. As far as possible I'll attempt to compare it with my wife's previous '06 2.0 L 3 and my own Protégé.

                            The keyless entry and the push button start were kind of novel and took a little getting used to but seems pretty cool. Very prominent is the Multi Information Display (MID) panel which displays the time, outside air temperature and either the average or current fuel economy. From the factory, the display was set to indicate the average fuel economy and average speed recorded since purchasing the vehicle which seems totally useless information (it can be reset), so we changed the display to current which indicates the current fuel economy and the driving range (miles to empty) which is much more useful data. It's also possible to change the display to Maintenance which indicates when service and tire rotation are due. But come on, really? The MID can be switched off when the lights are on so eliminating possible distraction after dark. There's also dual temperature control enabling the driver and passenger to tailor heat and cooling to individual preference. Enough of this frippery, on to the driving.

                            The shifter is really slick and moves easily in all positions - like an eel in oil. Reverse is obtained by moving the stick to neutral, pulling it to the extreme left and pushing down, resulting in a nice thunk. It's not likely that one could select reverse accidently when intending to go forward. First, third and fifth gears are selected by moving the stick forward, and second, fourth and sixth are obtained by pulling back. There is so little play in the shift gate that, when in fifth gear for example, it's easy to select fourth gear again when intending to go to sixth. Remembering to keep rightward pressure on the stick when shifting up tends to cure this tendency. In any case, the narrow gate is responsible for the short throws between gears and gives an almost sports car type feel to the process. It doesn't take long to acclimate to the shifting process and, once mastered, it enables smooth, quick shifts every time. Much improved, movement-wise, over my Protégé even with all the shifting mods I've added and certainly better than the 5-speed in the old 3. Another advantage over the 5-speed, in terms of performance, is the closer ratios between gears made possible by the sixth gear.

                            Disregarding the ridiculously low shift points recommended in the Owner's Manual, we found that 4th gear was high enough for just about any kind of driving through suburban or rural towns and neither of us liked 5th gear under 50 mph, nor 6th gear under 60 mph. Sixth gear is really an overdrive and I was curious about the range of rpms it permitted in the 60 to 80 mph range of speeds that I typically drive at on the Interstates. Since the OEM analog tach is worthless for indicating rpms with any precision (I did miss my digital tach in the Protégé), I decided to calculate the rpms in this speed range. Knowing the transmission's 6th gear ratio and its final drive ratio, all that's required is to plug the values into the appropriate formula. For those who are interested in the formula and its derivation, go to:


                            Wow, talk about fuel economy, here are the calculated results:
                            60 mph = 2136 rpm
                            65 mph = 2314 rpm
                            70 mph = 2492 rpm
                            75 mph = 2670 rpm
                            80 mph = 2848 rpm
                            Not even 3000 rpm? So I calculated it for 85 mph also and found that equated to 3026 rpm.

                            Keep in mind that the SkyActiv-G engine is rated at 6000 rpm for max power, 4100 rpm for max torque and 6500 rpm at redline. Holy moley!

                            Well, 6th gear does give a nice smooth, vibration-free, ultra-economical cruise on the Interstates but it doesn't take much of a grade to induce one to shift down to 5th. But, with all those gears to play with, this car is fun to drive anywhere.

                            As I will hope to indicate in the next installment.

                            Happy Motoring!
                            02 DX Millenium Red - The Penultimate Driving Machine
                            MP3 Strut Tower Bar kit; Cusco Front Lower Arm Tie Bar
                            MSP Springs, Struts, Stabilizer Bars, Trailing Links, #3 Engine Mount
                            Kartboy Stabilizer Bar Bushings; Nyloil Shifter Bushings; Red Line MT-90 Gear Oil
                            MP3 Shifter, Knob and Aluminum Pedal Set
                            Suvlights HD Wiring Harness; Osram Night Breaker H4 Bulbs; Exide Edge AGM Battery
                            Summer: 5Zigen FN01R-C 16 x 7" Wheels; Yoko S.drive 205/45-16s
                            Winter: Enkei OR52 16 x 7" Wheels; Falken Ziex ZE-912 205/45-16s
                            Modified OEM Air Intake; Racing Beat Exhaust System; Techna-Fit SS Clutch Line
                            Denso SKJ16CR-L11 Extended Tip Spark Plugs; Magnecor Wires
                            Power Slot Front Brake Rotors; Techna-Fit SS Brake Lines; Hawk HPS Pads
                            Red Line Synthetic Engine Oil; C/S Aluminum Oil Cap
                            Cyberdyne Digital Gauges: Tach; Ambient Air Temp; Voltmeter

                            Comment


                              #15
                              My First Test Drive, Part 2

                              Without pushing the car to extremes, it did seem to handle somewhat better than the '06 3, which was no slouch. This was noted both during rapid lane-changes and through the twisties. The SkyActiv-G has a different chassis than the 2.0 L being both lighter and more rigid so I attribute any improvements here to the new platform. The wheel specs and tire size are the same for both models so that can be ruled out as a determinant.

                              Another quite noticeable improvement was the braking force. Although I believe that the new car has the same diameter discs as the old, the brakes felt much more powerful than those on the '06 and better even than the Protégé with its slotted discs and Hawk brake pads. I don't know why this should be the case unless the fact that the Sky has ABS is the determining factor. Comparing the Protégé to the '06, my car had the edge in handling which is not surprising since it incorporates the complete MSP suspension and 205/45 summer only tires. The Protégé also has the harsher ride as would be expected. I think the Protégé would still best the Sky in handling but not having tested the latter to the limit, it remains an open question. Of course, a full range of aftermarket performance suspension equipment is available for the Sky which would make it a whole different ballgame.

                              The Sky certainly felt peppier than the '06. Not that we wound it out or anything like that but on paper the Sky definitely has what it takes. While the conventional MZR 2.0 L has 148 BHP @ 6500 rpm and 135 lb/ft Torque at 4500 rpm, the Sky has 155 BHP @ 6000 rpm and 148 lb/ft Torque @ 4100 rpm. Much more importantly, in terms of Brake Mean Effective Pressure (BMEP), the only meaningful way of comparing engines, at max power the BMEP of the MZR is 148 psi while that of the Sky is 168 psi. In terms of max torque, the BMEP of the MZR is 166 psi considerably lower than that of the Sky at 183 psi. The icing on the cake is that the BMEPs of the Sky are even considerably higher than those of the MZR 2.5 L engine. Moral of the story: You can fly high with the Sky. For more information on BMEP, go to:


                              I'm looking forward to driving the car after it's broken in to get a fuller picture of its capabilities.

                              Would I recommend the SkyActiv-G 3 to my fellow forum members? Only to those who choose to enter the 21st century and embrace all the exciting new automotive technologies that are currently emerging.

                              Happy Motoring!
                              Last edited by goldstar; 09-05-2013, 03:46 PM.
                              02 DX Millenium Red - The Penultimate Driving Machine
                              MP3 Strut Tower Bar kit; Cusco Front Lower Arm Tie Bar
                              MSP Springs, Struts, Stabilizer Bars, Trailing Links, #3 Engine Mount
                              Kartboy Stabilizer Bar Bushings; Nyloil Shifter Bushings; Red Line MT-90 Gear Oil
                              MP3 Shifter, Knob and Aluminum Pedal Set
                              Suvlights HD Wiring Harness; Osram Night Breaker H4 Bulbs; Exide Edge AGM Battery
                              Summer: 5Zigen FN01R-C 16 x 7" Wheels; Yoko S.drive 205/45-16s
                              Winter: Enkei OR52 16 x 7" Wheels; Falken Ziex ZE-912 205/45-16s
                              Modified OEM Air Intake; Racing Beat Exhaust System; Techna-Fit SS Clutch Line
                              Denso SKJ16CR-L11 Extended Tip Spark Plugs; Magnecor Wires
                              Power Slot Front Brake Rotors; Techna-Fit SS Brake Lines; Hawk HPS Pads
                              Red Line Synthetic Engine Oil; C/S Aluminum Oil Cap
                              Cyberdyne Digital Gauges: Tach; Ambient Air Temp; Voltmeter

                              Comment

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