Wow - It's Been a While

Nearly two months since my last post. I'm just not good at the blogging thing. Ah well - not like it's my job or anything.

These past couple of months have definitely brought some changes. I'm at nearly 2500 miles on my new 3 and I'm averaging 24.7 m.p.g. according to my Gas Cubby iPhone app. I was particularly happy this past Thursday when, during a 250 mile trip, I managed around 30.5 m.p.g. Obviously that's pretty much all highway.

I've also made some changes to the 3. First, I got bored and painted the brake calipers red. It's kind of hard to see in the pictures but definitely easier to see in person.





I installed a pair of 35W 5000K HID headlights and a pair of 35W 5000K HID foglights.



And I had the windows tinted by Mr. Tint on the south side of Columbus. I went with 50% in the front and 20% in the back. I think it turned out pretty good.







Next week I'll probably have some new wheels and tires. Hopefully I'll get pics up more quickly than this time.

I also did an oil and filter change at around 2,000 miles. I switched over to Mobil1 synthetic (5W-20) and used a Mobil1 M1-102 filter. I've had good experience with Mobil1 in the past so I figured I'd stick with it.

More Saddle Time

Well, yesterday I took my first road trip in the new Mazda3 and it was quite pleasant. The best thing was I went around 300 miles and only had to fill up once. It was mostly freeway and I figure I was averaging the EPA estimate of 29 m.p.g.

The car was comfortable and, with the windows and moonroof closed, quiet. I spent most of the time listening to my iPhone via Bluetooth, which worked very well. I also tuned in to the Sirius and found no problems there either.

One bonus I've noticed is that Mazda seems to have fixed the clutch pedal/gas pedal distance problem. In the RX-8 and the Miatas before it I always found that either the clutch pedal was too far away or the gas pedal was too close. The result was that when the seat was in a position where I could comfortably engage the clutch my right leg was bent to 90°. Consequently I've always had to "mod" my clutch pedal by zip-tying a block of wood to the clutch so as to "extend" it out towards me. With the Mazda3 the problem seems to have been resolved as I don't feel the need to extend the clutch pedal.

That being said, I'm still trying to find that perfect seat/steering wheel position. I generally like my seat scooted forward (I have short legs) and my seat back reclined a bit. I also tend to like my seat to be lower to the floor. The Mazda3 has a tilt and telescoping steering wheel which definitely helps with the seating position. I'm pretty sure I've got it where I want it but only time will tell.

De-Logo'd

At the suggestion of my buddy Mike, I spent this morning taking off the Byers Mazda Subaru dealer sticker. He's right - it looks a lot better.

Burnsy - this one's for you:

Before:


After:

Still Seizing the Zoom

But with a different car now.

Last week we got a new minivan. In 2003 we got a Mazda MPV ES. It was a nice minivan and, at the time, the smallest on the market. For us, though, that was the point. We wanted a small minivan. And since 2003 my wife has faithfully and proudly driven the MPV, though in the nearly seven years we had it we put only around 43,000 miles on it. Anyway, the time had come to upgrade and so last week we got a 2007 Honda Odyssey EX-L. The Ody is a wonderful minivan. It's bigger and more luxurious than the MPV and has more features, including power sliding doors and a moonroof. However, getting the Odyssey resulted in a bump-up of our monthly budget. As a result, I decided to downgrade.

It wasn't that we couldn't afford both the Ody and the RX-8; but saving over $100.00 each month isn't a bad thing. Not surprisingly I was upside down a bit in the 8, but Mazda is offering what I felt was a great deal on a lease of the Mazda3 - $239/month with $0 down. The problem (for me) is the deal is on a base Mazda3 S hatchback with automatic transmission and absolutely no options. I needed - okay, "needed" is a strong word - I wanted a moonroof and I wanted manual transmission. Fortunately, Byers Mazda, the dealership from which I've now bought or leased somewhere in the neighborhood of eight or nine cars, had one exactly to spec, with the addition of Sirius satellite radio. The Sirius only added a couple hundred dollars to the price and included a free six-month subscription. And even with the Sirius and my negative equity we're still saving over $100.00 per month.

But here's the thing - the car's white. I've never owned a white car and, quite frankly, I've never been a huge fan of them either. But for some reason I took a liking to the Mazda3 in white. It's a sharp white - crystal white pearl mica. Theoretically it's a cooler (temperature-wise) car since white reflects the light. White also hides dirt better - or so I've heard.

Specs on the car are as follows: engine is a 2.5L 4-cylinder making 167 HP and 168 lbs.-ft. of torque at 4,000 RPM. As noted above it has factory-installed Sirius satellite radio. It also has integrated Bluetooth which includes both handsfree calling and streaming Bluetooth audio. This is great because it allows me to play my iPhone through the stereo without any wires. It's got the Bose/6 cd changer/moonroof package as well. The pearl paint also costs a bit extra.

Anyway - here it is: a 2010 crystal white pearl mica Mazda Mazda3 S hatchback.









So I'm still seizing the zoom. The Mazda3 is peppy with 168 hp. No, it's not the RX-8 but that's not necessarily a bad thing. The 3 uses regular gas and gets much better mileage. There's more room in the back seats and more room in the trunk/hatch. Overall, I'm quite pleased with my decision and I'm sure I'll be even more pleased with it when the time comes to pay the bills.

Another Oil Change

No pictures this time. Just wanted to note that I changed the oil again. I did it the traditional way this time, though. I put the car up on ramps, rolled under it on the creeper and drained the oil the old fashioned way. I bought a filter and a crush washer from Byers Mazda Subaru in Dublin and Castrol 5W-20 motor oil from Advance Auto Parts. Advance had a deal going on - 5 quarts of Castrol GTX + an oil filter for $16.99. As usual, the change went smoothly. I'm a little dismayed that I've put 3,000+ miles on the car in less than three months but, then again, I've been doing a lot of driving for work so it's not really that surprising.

Actually, one photo is required here. Early on I was having difficulty getting the oil filter off. My filter wrench attachment kept slipping on the filter. At the same time my iPhone suddenly stopped working (I had it playing through the car's stereo while I was changing the oil). In complete and total frustration I went to open the car door to see what was going on with the iPhone while, simultaneously, I was messing with the filter wrench attachment to see what was going on there. The result? I opened the car door right into my head.

Saddle Time

I've spent a lot of time in the car recently . . . and have pretty much loved every moment of it. My job has taken me to Huntington, WV twice in the past three weeks and then today to Ironton, Ohio, which is only about 30 minutes up the road from Huntington. Since February 28 I've filled up my tank six times and I'm down to a quarter tank right now! During this time I've gotten some pretty good gas mileage. I'm getting in the neighborhood of 22 m.p.g. on the highway and got nearly 18 m.p.g. in my most recently mostly-around-town tank.

Anyways, the trip to Ironton can be pretty boring. Usually I take U.S. Route 23 south to almost Portsmouth where I zip around Portsmouth by taking a fun back-road trip that winds up a mountain. Eventually I end up on U.S. Route 52 which I take down to Ironton. It's easy; it's not terribly slow; and it's boring. Today, though, I took a slightly different route. I took 23 south to Chillicothe where I picked up U.S. Route 35. I took 35 east into the Hocking Hills and down to Jackson, where I caught Ohio Route 93, which I took south into Ironton. This drive was a blast. Lots of curves and hills . . . good scenery. I planned to do this in advance and consequently took my camera with me. Luckily, I was able to find an okay location to take some pics.

New Wheels Are On!

With highs predicted to be no lower than the mid-forties over the next 10 days, I broke down and decided to throw the non-winter tires/wheels on the car. As you may recall, in February I bought some BBS wheels off of Craigslist. Yesterday I had the Yokohama YK520s put on them and then attempted to mount them on to the car. Unfortunately, the wheels all had centering rings that had to be knocked out. The first one knocked out pretty easily; the second one, though, took some work. The third one took even more work and I couldn't get the fourth one by myself. As a result, I ended up with a car with 3 BBS wheels and 1 stock wheel.



Oops.

So this morning I took the fourth wheel into the shop and had them knock out the last centering ring and put the wheel on the car. I have to admit I really do like the look of the BBS wheels on the car. It gives it a bit of a more elegant (vs. sporty) look.





Since I broke down and took off the snow wheels and tires, it's all but certain that we'll get a foot of snow within the next 2 - 3 weeks.