Driving Sports

The MX-3 is one of the great orphan cars of Mazda history. In the United States, the car came and went  between the 1992 and 1995 model years, and the little car was dropped from the Canadian market at the end of the 1996 model year. The car was first built in 1991 and the last MX-3 was manufactured for the Japanese market in the 1998 model year.

But in its short life, the plucky little MX-3 gained a devoted following - and with good reason. The MX-3 is small and lightweight, with an advanced Twin-Trapezoidal Link rear suspension. The patented suspension design turns the rear wheels slightly during suspension compression, delivering crisp cornering. Further, Mazda gifted the little hatchback with two of its best engines.

Field Guide to the MX-3

Two flavors of the Mazda MX-3 were sold in North America. The 1992-94 MX-3 GS edition was gifted with a 1.8-liter DOHC 24-valve V6 K8-DE engine. The V6 version produced 130 horsepower and 115 pound-feet of torque.

The 1992-1993 MX-3 RS came from the factory with a SOHC 1.6-liter B6 engine, offering a somewhat anemic 88 horsepower and 98 pound-feet of torque. For the 1994 and 1995 editions, Mazda offered the MX-3 RS with the 106 horsepower, 100 pound-foot DOHC B6-D engine.

The 1.6-liter Mazda 323 and MX-5 Miata models used slightly different variations of the same B6 engine, and the later 1.8-liter Protégé and Miata BP-series engines share the same DNA.

All years and versions of the MX-3 could be purchased with an optional 4-speed automatic transmission, and every MX-3 had front wheel drive. The MX-3 RS was equipped with front disc and rear drum brakes, while the GS offered four wheel disc brakes.

The four-cylinder MX -3 RS gets good fuel economy for a car of its vintage, about 25 MPG in the city and 29 on the highway. The V6 GS edition gets 23 MPG in the city and 28 MPG on the highway.

Jarid's Vision

With a strong engine pedigree and the 5-speed FWD format common to most of Mazda’s product family, an MX-3 has all the potential in the world as a tuner car. Yet most tuners ignored the MX-3 as a performance car and the model has all but disappeared from the road.

Jarid Perry set out to change all that - to prove that the MX-3 is among the great tuner cars of the 1990s. The tuner world may be a parched desert for the MX-3, but Perry has proven himself to be the rain maker.

“I wanted a challenge, and I just fell in love the first time I saw the MX-3. I don’t like to make things simple. I like to get unique cars and make them my own. I could have bought a typical Civic, but that’s not me. This MX-3 is a timeless style, and I wish Mazda had stuck with it. People to this day ask me what year my car is - thinking it’s a new car,” Perry says.

Perry’s MX-3 is built for speed.  He chose the 4-cylinder B6T engine and built it to last with forged internals. Then he added cams, ECU, and an exhaust system with a cockpit-controlled cutout behind the front bumper. He chose a Garrett GT28 turbo for boost, but he wasn’t happy yet. Engine management proved to be challenge until he installed a Microtec standalone ECU and Greddy Profec boost controller.

“We did the piggyback route, but it was just garbage. The Microtec ECU made the car driveable,” he says.

But even with the turbocharged built engine properly managed, the car wasn’t over the top, where Perry wanted it. So he took the obvious next step - Nitrous Oxide.

“The car has about 300 horsepower at the wheels, and I guess that’s about 360 at the crank. The NOS is only a 50 shot, but when you’re making 300 at the wheels already, something’s going to give,” Perry says.

As you might expect, when he talks about something giving way, Perry’s speaking from experience.

“I’ve already replaced the transmission and the driveshafts, so I don’t know what’s going to break next. You’ve got to keep fixing the weak links. I’ve broken and replaced just about everything on this car, so not much else is going to go bad,” he says.

It's All About Results

A car built to the limit and boosted with a big snail and laughing gas has to show results - so it was off to the strip for the little MX-3.

“It turns 12.8 in the quarter mile. That was on a set of Nitto street tires and I’ve got slicks now, so it’s just going to get better,” Perry says.

The car is still in the factory red paint, but Perry recently added an aftermarket MAZDASPEED nose, purchased through CorkSport in Vancouver, Washington. “It’s one of the few parts made especially for the MX-3,” he says.  He plans to have it color-matched soon, but we couldn’t wait to cover this build.

After showing us around the car, Perry took us up into the hills for a drive. This MX-3 is tossable in corners, and generally very easy to drive. Just set the boost to a moderate level and the MX-3 is a lightweight, fun sports car.  In the hills or at the track, no one would expect much from it, but Perry knows different - with twist of the dial and a finger on the button, he’s got thunder and lightning right in the palm of his hand.

MODIFICATION LIST

Engine and Induction:

• JDM B6T Block
• B6DE race-ported head
• JDM B6T Rods
• Wiseco 1MM overbore forged and coated pistons
• Fully balanced internals
• Oversize stainless steel valves
• Heavy duty valve springs
• Custom 256 grind stage 2 turbo cams
• Mazdaspeed Cam gears
• Custom JW Motorsports Ceramic coated Header
• Garrett GT2871R turbo
• Apexi Delta Fin intercooler
• Tial 38mm wastegate
• Turbo XS Blowoff Valve
• Custom 3" downpipe with boost sensitive cutout
• 3" stainless exhaust exiting just in front of the rear tire
• Microtec LT10S standalone computer with two step rev limiter
• Greddy Profec B boost controller
• Miata Distributorless Ignition and coilpacks
• Aeromotive Fuel pressure regulator
• RC Engineering 550cc fuel injectors
• Walbro 255 fuel pump
• 63MM Throttle body

Something Extra:

• NOS 50 shot

Deletia:

• Air conditioning removed
• Power steering removed
• Stereo gear completely removed
• All rear plastics removed
• Soundproofing removed

Transmission:

• Mazda Protege LX transmission
• MAZDASPEED Limited Slip Differential
• ACT street/strip pressure plate with Race Clutch disc
• Driveshaftshop.com Level 3 Axles with Jackshaft deleted
• SRD performance Nylatron Transmission carriage bushings
• Stainless steel clutch hose
• B&M short shifter
• Bronzoil shifter bushings
• Solid transmission mounts

Wheels/Suspension:

• Ground Control coilover shocks
• MAZDASPEED trailing arms and control arms
• MAZDASPEED front control arm bushings
• Corksport front and rear strut tower braces
• Rear lower GS tie bar
• TSW rotors 15x7
• Kumho SP712 tires
• Kosei K1TS wheels and ET Drag slicks for racing

Brakes:

• KVR cross drilled front rotors
• KVR carbon fiber front and rear pads
• Rear disc brake conversion from an MX-3 GS
• Goodrich stainless steel brake lines

Electronics:

• Autometer Boost gauge
• Autometer Exhaust Gas Temp Gauge
• AEM Wideband 02 sensor and gauge
• Intercooler Temp in/out gauge
• Autometer shift light
• B&M Pushbutton shift knob for two step rev limiter
• Compustar Alarm with Autostart and turbo timer
• Battery relocate rear of vehicle

Interior/Exterior:

• Sparco Torino Seat
• Momo Jet steering wheel
• Autopower roll bar
• Cork Sport MAZDASPEED front bumper skin
• Custom MX-3 lightweight pedals