4dr sedan... the wife demands a manual!
 

If all goes to plan, I'm leaving this island towards the end of May for NOVA. Family will follow in July after I have accommodations and transportation squared away

Wife was flat in love with her MS6. it was perfect. 275hp, AWD, interior designed by the lord himself, very roomy, tons of visibility, big trunk, decent aftermarket support, Mazda parts-bin perfection, zoom-zoom... I bought a bigger intercooler and straight-pipe for the second cat... things that would normally "improve" reliability... I blew it up, not unlike thousands of other MZR owners. The motor is a known timebomb, it's well known, they ALL blow up sooner or later. Whether Speed3 or Speed6... the stock engine management and fuel system is shit. AWD only increases stress and complication. The only way the motors survive is to put them in a mid-size FWD suv like the CX7 and detune them. I challenge you to find me a MS6 with more than 100k that isn't a complete and utter piece of shit with a 7 owner history. Mazda could not have done worse.

SO... have looked at the lists of new sedans available with a manual... or manuel if you live in Texas... all options suck in some way or another, and the options are slim. Current 0% financing for 78mo from dealerships have me considering new cars.

Genesis G70... nope
Mazda3... FWD and slow
Honda Civic... FWD and looks like a millenial cream dream
Jag F-Type... NFW
Honda Accord... actually, if AWD and 50hp more and didn't suck
WRX... don't even start
Caddy ATS-V... piece of shit
Jetta.. FWD and VW's are so fucking weird

SO... what do I do? I want another MS6. The wife would be perfectly happy with another one. I'd need to dump $1k into upgraded fuel system parts and another $1k into an aftermarket piggyback or standalone to run the thing IF I COULD FIND one that wasn't complete shit to begin with.

Honestly... a 4dr Mustang with a V6 Ecoboost, 6-spd, and a "cool wife package" with just enough nanny electronics so she couldn't wreck it, but skip the "rain-sensing wipers" and parallel parking robot function. Basically a modern version of the BMW 540i manual... fast as shit, but mid-level and simple.

What the fuck, over?

Welcome to 2020. Based on the above post, you have 30 years worth of automotive evolution catching up to do. Only like 2% of modern cars actually use piggy backs or standalones anymore, and there's tons of options now all of which are better than the ms6.

I'll expand on this...........in a few years :P

I also had an MS6 and loved it. Only sold it because the wife hurt her foot and couldn't drive for two weeks (all our cars were manual at that point). I don't know if you are aware but there is a Mazdaspeed parts/cars for sale page on Facebook. I recently joined so I can finally sell the parts I have sitting around. Just saw a one owner Whitewater Pearl MS6 for sale on there the other day that was stock and proclaimed no rust. It was located on the east coast, IIRC not far from Virginia.

Caddy is a pice of shit. LMAO. Okay sure.

Get a Miata

Chevy SS?

You're right about buying new. Dealers are DESPERATE to move inventory. I'm really thinking about picking up an MX-5 . . . but I just don't need another car . . . (need? WTF am I saying?).

Getting a manual in a new car is a tall order. Curious what you end up with.

Chevy SS isn't a bad idea. I've got a G8, and it is hands-down the most reliable car I've ever owned. It's just so heavy duty. Have 130K on it now, and all I've ever done is oil changes. The Aussies designed a great chassis (also used on the Camaro) and the LS is friggin' great. It's a big car, but it "drives" small. I think the Pontiac is more attractive than the Chevy version though.

Can confirm SS is great. VF & VE platform are both solid. Build quality isn't Merc or BMW. Though they stopped making them in 2017, so you're not buying one new. Manual tax on an SS is kinda high too.

I really liked our G8... but no manual (except for GXP). The interior of the SS is a huge improvement over the G8.

Curious as to why the G70/Stinger are a no go? They're a really good value...

I'm partial to the Acura TL SH-AWD 6 speed.
They are rare but usually not owned and modded by young people.
305 HP.
Normal mode 90% front 10% rear
Max acceleration 30% front 70% rear.
VTEC on both intake and exhaust.
NO variable cylinder management
Funny looking front end...
I think that last 6 speeds were 2014

I think for brand new 6-speed manual sedans you got them all. Slim pickings.

I'd find a used SS.

I was going to mention the TL too, hard to find but decent choice. If you want 450hp with some bolt one, you could look into an n55 powered 335x. Although a manual might be difficult to find.

you might go try a manual civic, I just bought a 2020 hatch, managed 39mpg last tank, and they’re surprisingly quick. I test drove about a dozen ~180hp cars and this one felt more like 200-220. Not earth shattering, but it’s a tune and bolt ons away from another 100hp.

https://www.autotrader.com/cars-for-...ckType=listing

There are 5 of them for sale listed on autotrader. They're roughly 10k above the auto cars. There is another orange one for sale in Texas with just less than 50k for 35000. Not a bad price. No pictures though.

They are both very rare, but two options I would love to own: Subaru Legacy Spec B or an Acura TL Type-S manual.
You could also have a looks at a manual Cadillac CTS-V.

Former Gen2 MS3 owner here. Current M235i owner. And my day job is vehicle dynamics evaluation for a major OEM.

The MZR is definitely a super fun powerplant, and the Mazda ride/handling balance is unique in cars at that price point. I moved on from the MS3 to an N55 M235i 6spd. The way I described the difference in platforms and tuning is Mazda wanted to make the owner feel like the engine was a caged animal that was barely contained in chassis that housed it (not entirely untrue...). The 235 feels so much more controlled, and is faster without all of the added drama. It's easy to feel the additional stiffness of the chassis over bumps because there's so much less vibration passed end-to-end through the cabin. The longer gears and extra traction under acceleration inherent from the FR layout give way more confidence, but definitely reduce the excitement and fun factor.

All of that said, one of the best and most surprising cars I've driven in the last few years is indeed the Civic with the 1.5T that others have recommended. We benchmarked a CVT model, and the engine never feels lacking. The ride and NVH feel like a much more expensive car than the price point. It's definitely worth a test drive, if the cabin space meets your needs.

ETA: The base 1.5T is apparently very tunable, and the Si is also an option in sedan/hatch form.

Focus ST intake manifold and port injection to keep the valves clean, 2.5 block, and FMIC. Bewm, mostly reliable. Or just make sure to walnut blast the intake valves every 100k-ish. (note: brother got a speed3 recently - blew up 206 miles of ownership, carbon lodged in the exhaust valve and burnt it. So timing belt + vvt + valve job, now it just drinks oil - 2.5 swap in the future after we clear a couple other projects). There is also LibreTuner which is an opensource tuning software for it, the lead has a MS6 and he's slowly adding MS3 support (I'm trying to help but time + other projects).

I just found a couple Speed6 specific FB pages... did not know those existed. Might come in handy.

Definitely gonna buy used. New, no matter what, is just too damned expensive. SS's are still too new and expensive.

No, no, no.

Dat ass...
https://winstonsalem.craigslist.org/...111041094.html

Manual 335 is on the short list...

Not sure if I was just looking to bitch, or for validation, or to kill time during COVID. Decided I'm on the hunt for a white Speed6 w/leather and zero rust... preferably one that had the fuel pump internals done very early in it's life, otherwise that's item #1. That Facebook part-out page is gonna make it very easy to pick up used performance parts on the cheap.

From the FB Mazdaspeed parts/cars for sale group:

"Daniel Solorzano

April 24 at 9:17 AMPLEASE READ FULL DESCRIPTION!!

I have for sale my 2006 Mazdaspeed 6. For those who aren’t familiar with the platform this is the turbo edition. It is not your average Mazda 6. This is a well taken care of Speed6. No rust. Clean title. 1 owner. I am in no rush to sell so don’t even bother trying to lowball. It is even harder to find bone stock mazdaspeed 6 now a days. Especially being in white. And if you do find one they are typically blown up, have rust or have issues with them. They are awd and make 274 hp from factory. It is a 6 speed.

129xxx miles

If you have any questions feel free to ask. I’m open to offers as well. But again don’t lowball me or I will ignore you. If you don’t like my price then move along if you aren’t interested."


It's a GT so has the black leather interior you are looking for. If you decide to go this route I have a number of bolt ons for the car I have been sitting on (TMIC, HPFP internals etc).

He says it's a GT, but it's not... cloth interior and no sunroof. Otherwise that's a solid candidate... he's about $2k high on price, but I understand why somebody might think a bone-stock one at 129k is worth it. Looking further into the history of that FB page does not give me hope for the long-term survival of the model. I think the final count was just over 5000 produced.

Something like this maybe?