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[Fuzzy]

I'm looking into buying the Mazda 3s Grand Touring 4-door for my first car (or more accurately having my parents buy it   ). I was checking one out at the dealership yesterday (they didn't have one for me to test drive, have to go back in a week) and there was something I'm curious about. I know absolutely nothing about cars whatsoever. I've always liked the idea of driving manual, but I have to stick with automatic. The dealer was trying to explain to me this thing he called the "Sport AT" which to me just sounded like semi-automatic. There's no clutch, you just shift from drive into this other mode and tap down once to shift to a higher gear or up once to shift to a lower gear. I was wondering if maybe someone here could answer a few questions about this:

1) I highly doubt it, but can you shift between normal drive and "Sport AT" while you're moving?

2) He said that if you shift down moving too fast or wait too long to shift, it will shift for you. What's the point in being able to shift if it occurs about the same time anyway? Do automatic cars really shift so early before the red line that you could get a better acceleration out of this?

and some other random general car questions I've been curious about:

3) Is it possible to "drift" in a car with front wheel drive? I feel like your back wheels need to be spinning during the slide for it to work, but I have a friend who begs to differ.

4) How easy is it to flip a sedan? I.E. How fast would you have to go and take a turn to roll it?

5) What exactly is horsepower a measure of and what exactly can you do to an engine to increase it without outright replacing the whole thing? I know some cars have a restrictor plate or something like that which you can modify somehow to allow better acceleration.

I'm sure I have more, but this will do for now. Man, I wonder how stupid these questions are to people actually educated about cars...

[yaazz]

1) I highly doubt it, but can you shift between normal drive and "Sport AT" while you're moving?

I think you can do that but im not sure

2) He said that if you shift down moving too fast or wait too long to shift, it will shift for you. What's the point in being able to shift if it occurs about the same time anyway? Do automatic cars really shift so early before the red line that you could get a better acceleration out of this?

its not that they shift so far below red line, its that auto transmissions usually shift at stupid times (my truck wont shift out of second when flooring it until its been at 120 kph for at least 5 seconds, so if you let off the gas it shifts as it thinks your all done accellerating)

3) Is it possible to "drift" in a car with front wheel drive? I feel like your back wheels need to be spinning during the slide for it to work, but I have a friend who begs to differ.

Drifting is all about reducing the friction in the rear wheels through accelleration or ebrake or whatever, and in a front wheel drive, the fulcrum is in a different place on the car due to the front wheels spinning AND steering, therefore its much more difficult to do drifts in a FWD, and you dont have as much control over them, but yes its possible

4) How easy is it to flip a sedan? I.E. How fast would you have to go and take a turn to roll it?
pretty damn fast in most cases, its going to depend on ride height and tire quality. That said, if you hit a ditch, or a bump while sliding sideways with the ebrake or something, theres a good chance your going for a roll so wear a seatbelt!!


5) What exactly is horsepower a measure of and what exactly can you do to an engine to increase it without outright replacing the whole thing? I know some cars have a restrictor plate or something like that which you can modify somehow to allow better acceleration.

horsepower is a physics term measuring work, its not a car term. But to increase horsepower, an engine works by making explosions thru an exact mixture of air and fuel, increase the fuel and air thru bolt on mods, and you will gain more horsepower. Restrictors usually shouldnt be fucked with, but if its just something restricting due to emissions or something, use a racing chip to defeat it in most cases

[Fuzzy]

I think you can do that but im not sure

Well I'd imagine it's like a normal shift and you'd have to have your foot on the brake...either way I'll just ask next time.

its not that they shift so far below red line, its that auto transmissions usually shift at stupid times (my truck wont shift out of second when flooring it until its been at 120 kph for at least 5 seconds, so if you let off the gas it shifts as it thinks your all done accellerating)

Oh, I had no idea cars do that. Thanks.

Drifting is all about reducing the friction in the rear wheels through accelleration or ebrake or whatever, and in a front wheel drive, the fulcrum is in a different place on the car due to the front wheels spinning AND steering, therefore its much more difficult to do drifts in a FWD, and you dont have as much control over them, but yes its possible

Yea, I know you have to get the rear wheels to lock then usually you just floor it so they spin until you regain traction at which point you take off. If you were drifting in a front wheel car would you still want to spin your wheels once you start skidding? I feel like that would be totally ineffective.

pretty damn fast in most cases, its going to depend on ride height and tire quality. That said, if you hit a ditch, or a bump while sliding sideways with the ebrake or something, theres a good chance your going for a roll so wear a seatbelt!!

Heh, thanks for the tip.

horsepower is a physics term measuring work, its not a car term. But to increase horsepower, an engine works by making explosions thru an exact mixture of air and fuel, increase the fuel and air thru bolt on mods, and you will gain more horsepower. Restrictors usually shouldnt be fucked with, but if its just something restricting due to emissions or something, use a racing chip to defeat it in most cases

Well, I have no idea what the fuel and air thru bolts are, but it sounds like something I can't do myself  
Racing chip?

[Rylinkus]

QUOTE(Fuzzy @ Jun 18 2006, 11:07 PM)

Well, I have no idea what the fuel and air thru bolts are, but it sounds like something I can't do myself  

Well the whole premise behind an enginespower is that Gas + Oxygen => Explosion, which moves the pistons creating mecahnical motion from a chemical reaction. Bigger explosions mean more power. So more fuel and fuel will yield more power. So for the most part you start by opening up the cars airways to let it "breath" better. Replacing the air filter or adding a cold air intake, (Remember colder air is denser and therefore has more oxygen), should allow the car to inhale better. More extreme mods of this type would involve replacing the throttle body with a better flowing one. Better flowing heads. A different cam can adjust WHEN the car is inhaling/exhaling. Of course the car is taking air in and needs to expell the burnt fuel/O2. So the exhale end of this is the exhaust side. A better flowing muffler. Bigger exhaust pipes. A high flow catalytic convertor or even headers all may help make a less restrictive air path for the engine.

I'd suggest taking a look at
http://auto.howstuff....com/engine.htm

It's really a damn cool site that helps learn the basics on A LOT of things. The explanations are simple and there's some very nicely done pics and such.

[Fuzzy]

Thanks man, I'll read up.

[Rylinkus]

QUOTE(Fuzzy @ Jun 19 2006, 12:09 AM)

Thanks man, I'll read up.

They do a better job explaning the basics of an engine than I could. The pics really help a lot IMO.

[lostboyz]

the sport AT really isnt worth anything its a shitty version of a paddle shifter. Its still only a 4speed automatic. you get very little performance control from it. Just go manual, I drove a mazda 3 2.3L i-4 5spd last summer and it was soooo much fun.

no you dont have to brake or turn off your car to flip to "manual" mode just pop it over. like i said though its really not that cool

[Fuzzy]

Maybe I'll go with manual one day, but not quite yet.

As far as only 4 speeds, actually you can get the Sport AT in a 5 speed. You may think it's shitty but I think anything with an engine and wheels is cool about now  

EDIT: By the way, Rylinkus, that did a pretty good job of explaining most stuff, but I really didn't get the camshaft part. I'm just completely oblivious.

[lostboyz]

im just saying driving a manual isnt that hard, especially if you drive it everyday. It took me 2 days to learn really well after i got my first car (5spd explorer). I would go for the manual, its actually cheaper and youll enjoy it more. just my opinion

[Fuzzy]

Yea, but there's so much stop and go driving where I live. It would be horrible.

[Rylinkus]

QUOTE(Fuzzy @ Jun 19 2006, 02:04 AM)

Yea, but there's so much stop and go driving where I live. It would be horrible.

That being said driving an automatic pains me at this point. Even stop and go with the Camaro which absolutely loathes going slow is okay. I just like standards and I know it seems a lot of people do. And a lot of those whom don't merely are frightened by learning em. As far as I'm concerned its not that hard, merely practice and not getting flustered should you stall. I still stall my Camaro a few times a week and suspect thatll never end. No biggie. It's a rewarding thing to learn in my opinion.

I really like the 2.3L I4. It's a fine little engine. Well done by Mazda.

As far as a Cam shaft goes for, it's relatively simple. The cylinders of an engine house the piston. There are valves on that cylinder. Some let air in. Others let air out. The cam shaft is merely a spinning shaft that has "lobes" on it that control when the intake valve(s) and exhaust valve(s) are open and closed. So mainly when a cylinder can take air in and when it can expel air. I could snap a pic or 2 of the cam from my old Probes engine if you think that ay help in some way. Basically it's exactly as shown. I long metal rod that has "lobes" on it that push the valves open at certain spots as they spin.

EDIT: Just worth noting, a manual in that car would be far easier to learn than a lot of other things you could learn on. Ill bet a weekend at worst and youd be capable of getting around in it. A month and you'd have mastered a standard.

[lostboyz]

after driving my explorer, the mazda3, now a fusion, and a rav4, all in near city traffic (detroit), it isnt that hard at all. Just have to know how to be patient, If youve never driven one as this will be your first car I understand what your saying but its just a lot of talk. I personally believe driving a manual (or standard) is a lot easier, a lot more fun, gives you much greater control, is cheaper, and makes you pay attention more to how you are driving. You will be much much happier in the end. If you do go automatic, skip the sport AT thing, it is rather pointless. We had a mazda6 for awhile with that, and the only thing you could do was wait till 6500 rpm to shift rather than having it do it itself at 5000, and it isnt all that great with its response time.

[Fuzzy]

Thanks for the opinions guys. The real problem is, I've never even driven manual before and neither has anyone in my immediate family. I have no one to learn from! I don't think my parents would get me the manual even if I insisted on it. Plus, I'm (hopefully) getting this car because I need it in the immediate future. I really would love to learn to drive standard someday, but the time right now isn't really right. Plus, as I'm sure you guys know well, unlike Europe where traffic is designed to stop far less, America is full of complete stops, especially in a heavily police monitored area like near me.

lostboyz, it's not like I'm paying extra specifically for the "Sport AT" so I might as well take it with the slightly stronger engine. I can see it being entertaining for a day.

Rylinkus, yea that helped a little. The animation on HowStuffWorks made no sense to me at all. So does a vehicle with a dual overhead cam (overhead I suppose just indicating the placement) mean it has one control for intake and one for exhaust, or is it something completely different?

[Rylinkus]

QUOTE(Fuzzy @ Jun 19 2006, 04:35 PM)

Rylinkus, yea that helped a little. The animation on HowStuffWorks made no sense to me at all. So does a vehicle with a dual overhead cam (overhead I suppose just indicating the placement) mean it has one control for intake and one for exhaust, or is it something completely different?

Ill get some pics of the one on my Probe engine later to show you. But basically when a car has a V formation engine there are essentially 2 rows of pistons. Each row will have valves as every cylinder needs to be able to take in air. So the car ends up with 2 camshafts. One for each half of the engine. Does that clarify any?

[Fuzzy]

QUOTE(Rylinkus @ Jun 19 2006, 11:46 AM)

Ill get some pics of the one on my Probe engine later to show you. But basically when a car has a V formation engine there are essentially 2 rows of pistons. Each row will have valves as every cylinder needs to be able to take in air. So the car ends up with 2 camshafts. One for each half of the engine. Does that clarify any?

Yes, actually.