So my car has been performing very well of late and is pretty much in a perfect place for power, handling, brakes, etc. The only thing that seems left to actually improve on the car is the diff.
The only real option available for the MPS platform is the Quaife, unless you are willing to sacrifice daily drivability and take on higher maintenance obligations.... neither of which I am keen on. Reedy's thread goes through all this: http://www.ozmpsclub.com/forum/tech-...tml#post280297
What I need to start getting my head around is exactly how much this upgrade is going to cost and what else aside from the Quaife I'll need to factor in. I've broken this out into the separate sections below.
Quaife purchase - ~$1,500 AUD
Edge have this listed for $1,174 USD + $170 USD for shipping.
Quaife Limited Slip Differential MS3 07+
I've had a look at a few other places to if there is anywhere else which is considerably cheaper, but so far Edge seems the best.
Replacement Clutch - ~$750 AUD
My car has only just ticked over to 33,000kms and is about 3.5 years old, but is seeing an increasing amount of track kms. Is it worth doing the clutch now given the life of the car to save labour down the track or do I cross that bridge when I come to it?
As far as options on the clutch, the OEM clutch works perfectly fine for me and I have no interest in moving to a clutch where I need to adapt to a bullshit heavy pedal or an "all-or-nothing" friction point.
Edge have:
(I'd expect shipping to be roughly the same for both at $185 USD)
If I am going to replace the clutch, I'd be inclined to get the entire kit as my throwout bearing has been shagged for a while now.
I know there a few other clutch brands out there... ACT, CPE, etc for the MPS. But none seem to be offering anything more which could entice me away from OEM. But if anyone has any experience on a good non-OEM clutch with OEM-like characteristics, sing out so I can have a look.
Replacement Flywheel - ~$1,100 AUD (OEM)
If you are replacing the clutch, is replacing the flywheel as well a foregone conclusion?
If so, Edge can supply an OEM flywheel at a whopping $1,049.54 USD -->
OEM Mazda Flywheel MazdaSpeed3/6 06+, but various lightweight flywheel options from Edge are coming in at <$500 USD.
Same as the clutch, I'm not looking at anything that will dramatically change the driveability, so is an OEM replacement the only viable option here? The price disparity between OEM and aftermarket flywheels is enough to consider other options if they won’t alter the car too much...
Labour - ???
I presume this will be the icing on an already large cake of money...
I’ll have a chat to Tunehouse in the next few weeks to see what sort of labour they’d charge. I’d be interested to hear what other options are out there (@mickos??), but otherwise there are very few other places I’d trust to get it done right.
Whatever places are able to do this, it would be interesting to price up a supply + fit cost, as the shipping on all these components will almost pay for another Quaife on their own!
If there is anything else I've missed or not considered from this process, let me know and I'll add it to the list.
I’ll keep this OP updated as I go along so there is a good record for others going down the path in the future.