Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Dyno and Drag Mazda 6 vs. SVT?

Well I seen Car and Driver test the Mazda 6 at 15.0 in the quarter mile. That is faster then the SVT (15.2-15.3 IIRC )

To the 6's credit... it's also a few thousand dollars cheaper than the V6 Altima, Maxima, and Accord. That makes it especially easy to justify installing a set of DuratecPerformance's headers and cat-less Y on it very early in the game. That should allow for at least 190WHP and significant weight reduction. That should be good for some mid-14 second runs - which would place it right between a stock 3.5 Maxima and 3.0 Accord. And that Duratec would sound oh, so sweet.... especially in a vehicle almost 2 seconds faster than mine

The mazda six also has a large weight difference. as the SVT's curb with powere everything and no Moon Roof is 3040lbs, the Mazda 6 curb weight is between 3300 and 3500lbs
depending on acessories.(from road and track.) honestly i would have to say drivers race....if each car is modded equaly i must give it up to the Larger displacement engine.....i feel it would get a greater benifit form mods.



Roz

Actual specs for curb weight are:
I-4 M/T: 3042 I-4 A/T: 3091
V-6 M/T: 3243 V-6 A/T: 3311

That's about 200lbs more weight in the 6... and I'm not sure how hard or easy it is to get a 6 without a sunroof, but I recall reading that almost all SVT's have sunroofs.

The 6 matches up very close with SVT... the extra 250 lbs cancels out the extra 20 HP and the 17"/thin sidewall tires help with sharp turn-in for the "perception" of equal to better handling. The lat gs and lane change speeds are slightly off SVT and I suspect push comes to shove, if you put the 17s on the SVT it will make more clear the benefits of shorter wheelbase and less weight. But "stock v stock" I agree it will come down to driver on EITHER the road course or drag strip. The 6 has a bigger back seat though. But, I like SVTs looks better...anyway, it would be a tough call...

And I also think I would prefer the 6 (or SVT!) to the altima or accord, despite the power deficit...superior all around package. The 6 in fact looks a bit like the new style Mondeo ST220...and its as close as we will see as a next generation CDW27.

Well, I did something I promised myself I would not do... and test drove a Mazda6 V6 Automatic (no MTX on the lot )

Well... let's just say I had to pop the hood to make sure it wasn't a 4-cylinder. My very modded 2.5L ATX Cougar is EASILY faster than this 3.0 (and even it's too slow IMO). I know it was an automatic... but the 3.0 really should have had enough balls to churn its way though the slushbox and deliver SOME forward movement. There was absolutely nothing below 3000RPM, and there wasn't much when it finally got into its powerband. I will admit I revved this car higher than a car with only 40 miles should be revved... but only because I had some fleeting hope that the car might start to move at above 5000RPM, which it really didn't do with any sense of urgency.

I will give the car credit for having EXCELLENT handling with the stock suspension. I didn't quite reach its limits, but I had the very arrogant salesman sh*tting himself as I looked for them on a backroad. I would hesitiate to say that my Cougar feels as nimble as this car. But if I wanted an underpowered go-kart, I would already own a Miata.

I'm reserving my final judgement on an otherwise very nice car for when I can get my hands on a V6 MTX... but I think I can already tell it's not for me.