hey guys, i have a few issues and questions on my m3 and would appreciate any advice.

1. Every once in a while, there's a loud cracking sound around my dashboard, it sounded like a stone hitting the windshield. At first i thought there was stone hitting my windshield and i was scared but this kept happening for 5 months since i got my car, now i am sure it is not stone hitting my windshield cause i dont see any stones everytime this happen. I start to suspect the sound came from my dashboard, probably some plastic parts in the dashboard which cause this sound? Anyone of you experience the same thing can tell me where the sound came from?

2. i notice a hissing sound around front passenger seat everytime i go over road that's not very even. the sound is constant like some part is loosen. My friend manage to trace and it seems to be coming from under the passenger seat. There's a black box thingy with wires, but i checked everything is sturdy. Again would like to get some advice is you guys had encounter this? my 10k service is due in 2 months, thought i should find out the problem and tell them to fix it.

3. Passenger seat reclining adjustment lever is very 'tight', need to use a lot of force to pull it only can recline. I'm afraid someday it will break the thing. Does yours pull easily?

4. Not a problem but just want to know whats the average FC you guys considered normal. My FC averagely around 8L/100km, 50% highway 50% city drive. Is this considered ideal? normally full tank i can travel around 500KM only with 2 bars left. I read some can go 600KM+. I tried to sail smooth whenever i can, but also some heavy footed driving when i'm alone and in highway.

5. Had some scratches on my bumper, meteor gray is EZY Touch Up Paint any good? or will it come out as ugly patches and better to leave it as is?
Thanks!

if anyone managed to find a rear bumper/diffuser that can expose the dual exhaust, do let me know

I din use soap, just plain running plain water. Let the water flow slowly and wash.

No wonder la...the soap bubbles will carry the dirt away and also act as a lubrication to avoid/minimise scratching of the paint surface. Anyway the swirl marks are not that difficult to remove, just need to right technique and product.

Forgot to add, even if use quick wipedown method, also need detailing liquid or paint lubricant with microfibre cloth.

You can get some ideas and inspiration from here (all videos) :
http://www.autoblog.com/details/

BTW. I got 1 question. I wash my car myself every weeks mostly, how to prevent scratches from the cloths ya. I already separate 2 cloths and still cannot prevent.

I got use microfibre cloth. And ok I will go read and choose a good soap to use.

hey guys, i have a few issues and questions on my m3 and would appreciate any advice.

1. Every once in a while, there's a loud cracking sound around my dashboard, it sounded like a stone hitting the windshield. At first i thought there was stone hitting my windshield and i was scared but this kept happening for 5 months since i got my car, now i am sure it is not stone hitting my windshield cause i dont see any stones everytime this happen. I start to suspect the sound came from my dashboard, probably some plastic parts in the dashboard which cause this sound? Anyone of you experience the same thing can tell me where the sound came from?

2. i notice a hissing sound around front passenger seat everytime i go over road that's not very even. the sound is constant like some part is loosen. My friend manage to trace and it seems to be coming from under the passenger seat. There's a black box thingy with wires, but i checked everything is sturdy. Again would like to get some advice is you guys had encounter this? my 10k service is due in 2 months, thought i should find out the problem and tell them to fix it.

3. Passenger seat reclining adjustment lever is very 'tight', need to use a lot of force to pull it only can recline. I'm afraid someday it will break the thing. Does yours pull easily?

4. Not a problem but just want to know whats the average FC you guys considered normal. My FC averagely around 8L/100km, 50% highway 50% city drive. Is this considered ideal? normally full tank i can travel around 500KM only with 2 bars left. I read some can go 600KM+. I tried to sail smooth whenever i can, but also some heavy footed driving when i'm alone and in highway.

5. Had some scratches on my bumper, meteor gray is EZY Touch Up Paint any good? or will it come out as ugly patches and better to leave it as is?
Thanks!

anyone tried buying from this site before?

http://www.mazdaparts.org/mazda-3-2014-all...-floormats.html

and the scuff plates look sick, too bad in USD 

BTW. I got 1 question. I wash my car myself every weeks mostly, how to prevent scratches from the cloths ya. I already separate 2 cloths and still cannot prevent.

I second that. Our M3 sedan has got nice dual exhausts but Mazda decided to hide it behind the rear bumper/diffuser. But the hatchback's dual exhausts are visible and looks good.

1. This are discussed before. And even have PDF file to counter it. It's quite normal as most of us got this sound. Need to trace back. I try to find back it later.
2. I do not have this problem .. hmm.
3. Mine same  as well, like going to break it like that.
4. I think normal. Mine can go 500-600
5. I dont know. lol

1) Does it sound like a loud "piak" or "tik" sound? Happens mostly on hotter days for me, hardly hear that during night driving or colder days. Maybe something or the screen is not adhering correctly. I just live with it, because mine happen in random, hard to replicate. So won't consult SC on this for now.

2) Is it the absorber sound?

3) The springs are tight. If want to adjust, put a bit of force when resting your back to the seat, then only pull the lever. The action will be smoother that way.

4) If you heavy foot alot and like 4k rpm and above, hard driving highway, your fuel consumption will be high, cannot run away from that. With 2 bars left, you can travel another 50km without worries. The fuel tank is 50L. This car's engine also don't like crawling and idling, drink a lot of fuel during that. Don't compare with vios/myvi/city/almera, these cars are lighter and smaller engine capacity. It is known that direct injected engines don't cope very well with mild engine loads.

5) For me, I would say no harm trying. The paint formula is known in the paint market and can formulate to factory specifications. The part you have to be concerned is the application part, follow carefully then should be ok. Just don't expect perfect finish like the paint shops sifus. If too deep scratch or big patch, cannot rescue....
Did you use soap? And is your cloth genuine mircofibre? If you just want to quick wipedown without soap, it can only be done with very light dust. But for our climate and dusty environment, better soap and wash la....

Wash from the top down...

I spray down the whole car first. Then using 'wash n shine', I wash the roof, rinse; the front and rear screens, rinse; then the sides/windows down to the door handles, rinse; then bonnet, rinse; then boot, rinse; then using another washcloth, wash the sides from the door handles down...working round the car in 'layers'......use another washcloth for the rims....

Wash the washcloth thoroughly before starting on the next 'layer'. That way you minimise any sand particles that will scratch the paint...

Use same strategy for drying.....

Just my way of doing things...

Do you wear rings?

1. no idea
2. no idea
3. same same
4. according to fuel trip mine is around 550+ per tank, but this is my 2nd tank now, will calculate it manually when i refill next time
go taobao buy better, probably cant get the same design but it is much cheaper and more choice

i like the stock floor matt of m3, can hide dust easily, good for people who dont always clean the car interior

must use microfiber cloth and apply almost zero pressure when wiping, also need to make sure there is shampoo on the area you wipe as it act as a lubricant to prevent dust scratching the car body
found this bodykit in taobao today, it got expose the dual exhaust
http://world.taobao.com/item/524672831594....0.goZK4T#detail

sporty yet not very high profile

i wonder how the auto high beam works, i activate the auto high beam and the dashboard light up already, but when i'm driving at a place that got no car nearby and very dark area, but the high beam doesn't turn on, is it only work at certain speed?

now only i realized m3 can do 0-100km/h in 7.8s, according to mazda 3 wiki

carbon in motion get the bodykit from mazda as well?

gloss black, wonder how it looks with my meteor grey color?

i'm not sure whether they get the bodykit from mazda, but the bodykit sure look the same as OEM one

i also wonder if black will look good with meteor grey, since we both driving the same color

If is the mazda OEM kits, I would say black look nicer

hey guys, i have a few issues and questions on my m3 and would appreciate any advice.

1. Every once in a while, there's a loud cracking sound around my dashboard, it sounded like a stone hitting the windshield. At first i thought there was stone hitting my windshield and i was scared but this kept happening for 5 months since i got my car, now i am sure it is not stone hitting my windshield cause i dont see any stones everytime this happen. I start to suspect the sound came from my dashboard, probably some plastic parts in the dashboard which cause this sound? Anyone of you experience the same thing can tell me where the sound came from?

2. i notice a hissing sound around front passenger seat everytime i go over road that's not very even. the sound is constant like some part is loosen. My friend manage to trace and it seems to be coming from under the passenger seat. There's a black box thingy with wires, but i checked everything is sturdy. Again would like to get some advice is you guys had encounter this? my 10k service is due in 2 months, thought i should find out the problem and tell them to fix it.

3. Passenger seat reclining adjustment lever is very 'tight', need to use a lot of force to pull it only can recline. I'm afraid someday it will break the thing. Does yours pull easily?

4. Not a problem but just want to know whats the average FC you guys considered normal. My FC averagely around 8L/100km, 50% highway 50% city drive. Is this considered ideal? normally full tank i can travel around 500KM only with 2 bars left. I read some can go 600KM+. I tried to sail smooth whenever i can, but also some heavy footed driving when i'm alone and in highway.

5. Had some scratches on my bumper, meteor gray is EZY Touch Up Paint any good? or will it come out as ugly patches and better to leave it as is?
Thanks!

1. Already answered by other members. But this never happened to me.
2. Happened once. Try playing with adjustable switch without sitting on the seat. I mean adjust your seat at every point. Somehow that worked for me.
3. yup very tight. new thing always tight
4. thats normal with your current driving condition.
5. im using ezy touch up and 99% (if not 100%) like real color. just never forget to apply clear coat after that so that the paint "blend" perfectly with current body paint.

great! thanks for the info. is your car meteor gray as well? mind showing some photo of your result?

now only i realized m3 can do 0-100km/h in 7.8s, according to mazda 3 wiki

hey guys, i have a few issues and questions on my m3 and would appreciate any advice.

1. Every once in a while, there's a loud cracking sound around my dashboard, it sounded like a stone hitting the windshield. At first i thought there was stone hitting my windshield and i was scared but this kept happening for 5 months since i got my car, now i am sure it is not stone hitting my windshield cause i dont see any stones everytime this happen. I start to suspect the sound came from my dashboard, probably some plastic parts in the dashboard which cause this sound? Anyone of you experience the same thing can tell me where the sound came from?

Admuser

Refer this

http://www.mazda.co.uk/videos/technology/h...ore-convenient/