New Victoria Mazdaspeed 3 owner

[Silence]

Hey guys,

Thought I'd quickly introduce myself... I just picked up a 2008.5 CWP Speed 3.  I guess I've had it for almost 2 months now, and absolutely love it.  The car is pretty much stock with a MazdaSpeed CAI installed.  It's now tinted, and I've started on the ICE with an Alpine W900BT NAV unit.  I had to have the NAV unit in ASAP as we're heading down the Pacific Coast Highway to Napa Valley and San Francisco in a couple weeks. 

Kelly

And the only picture on my computer at work, from the day after I bought it:

[MR083]

noiice speed and welcome to the forum. I think i saw u on the old island highway a couple of days ago..?

[Silence]

Thanks.  It could have been me... although I've noticed a couple other CWP Speed3's in Victoria, which kind of surprised me because I hadn't noticed any prior to picking this one up.  My car now has 5% tint on all the back windows, and 30% on the front doors, so it looks a little different now.  I actually had my car into Pacific Mazda last week, and one of the other CWP Speed3's was in the shop as well (owner just put RX-8 wheels on the car).

[MR083]

its funny how u start noticing other cars like urs after u get a new car right?? there are about 5 or 6 different ms3's on the island that ive seen.

[Spunnel]

Welcome! Hope to see you around town. You can't miss my car lol.

[MR083]

oh... u should come on our little cruise thing today!

[tonyzoomzoom]

Welcome Kelly to the forum !

[Great68]

I think more and more MS3's are migrating to Victoria.

[scojo]

NAV units are too expensive. Why not just get a regular detachable car GPS and save that money?

[Spunnel]

Prob like me and how I don't like things hanging off my front windshield. I like how things look integrated into the vehicle and it's handy to not have to hide it every time you park.

[Silence]

I'm with Spunnel on this one... I want something cleanly installed that I don't have to constantly remove from sight.  When you combine the full iPod integration (ipod locked in the glove box), NAV, and blue tooth connectivity, the W900BT is not that expensive, and takes care of a lot of the issues I have with the factory system.  On top of that, I have close business ties with some of the audio/cellular stores in town, so I pay dealer cost for everything.

[Cosmic Wonder]

Welcome to the club Kelly! Nice looking car, bet the tint looks really nice!

Just wondering, if you're able to, would you be able to take a picture of the Alpine NAV system installed in the dash? I've been wanting to do something like that for a while and was wondering how it looks in your car. And I'm a huge Alpine fan too so that helps lol.

[Silence]

Thanks Cosmic Wonder... I'd be happy to snap some pictures when I get home from work tonight. I just had it installed last week, and then was off in Vancouver for the weekend, so I haven't had a chance to take an pictures.  I have a 2008.5 with the piano black interior trim, so I had to spend a little to get an appropriate dash kit.  I ordered one from japanparts.com (which cost a lot) but it's an OEM fit and finish, and looks fantastic. 

[Cosmic Wonder]

I bet it does look great! I have the '08 so I still have the silver dash as opposed to the piano black in yours. Did you get the adapter to allow use of your steering wheel controls? And did you lose the function of your display screen from the factory radio? There are a few head units out there that will still allow the screen to function as it always did but I'm not sure of the Alpine units.

[Silence]

The shop that I had do the install gives me cost on everything, so they put in the PAC-SWI controller for the steering wheel controls, and put in a parking brake bypass kit. 

Honestly, the steering wheel controls are a take it or leave it thing with me. There is a slight delay in relaying the steering wheel controls, so I find I'm using the head unit itself most of the time.  My hand is always on my shifter, so reaching up isn't much of a challenge. 

As for the display screen, the clock and radio functions disappeared, but the climate control information is still displayed on the right side of the display screen.  From my understanding, the clock is tied to the stock head unit, so it's going to be lost when going with an aftermarket head unit.  As you have a 2008, your harness and display should be separate, so your climate control read out should still exist (I assume that part is the same in our cars).  I recall installing an aftermarket deck on my ex's 2005 MZ3, and the entire display was removed with the radio, and a little, almost useless, storage hole replaced it.

[Alpinewhite6]

Welcome fellow victorian...look forward to seeing you on the streets!

[Silence]

Cosmic Wonder... I've posted some images in the ICE section of the Alpine head unit installed.  Let me know if you have any more questions.

[bstylez]

Welcome to the forums! I think i might have seen you around before but im not to sure lol. 

[MR083]

did i see u parked just off cedar hill yesterday??

[M Speed]

Welcome to the forum. Islanders are rolling in...keep 'em coming!