SP Rides: Mad for Mazda
BY MICHAEL KITCHENS
Name: Noah White
Age: 23
Occupation: Sheet metal mechanic
Hobbies: Cars, playing music (cello, guitar, bass, drums, ukulele)
Year, Make, Model: 2010 Mazda Mazdaspeed3
Color: Dark Basalt (Avery Vinyl Wrap)
Engine: Auto Tech fuel pump internals, Deutchsworks in-tank fuel pump, Custom 4″ carbon fiber intake, Custom 3″ exhaust, BNR supercars stage 5 turbo, Custom front mount intercooler, Single runner ported and polished intake manifold, Devil’s Own 18GPH Methanol injection, Ethanol content based tune, Act lightweight flywheel and 6 puck clutch, Tuned by Nishan
Exterior: Molded Fortune Flares MS3-R widebody kit, Rally Innovations side splitters, BMSPEC front splitter with hammer heads, Garage Vary front grill, NRG 70″ carbon fiber wing, custom fit Tegiwa Imports wing brackets
Interior: Reupholstered Suede door cards, Brushed steel plastic trims, first generation Mazdaspeed3 leather alcantara seats, Kenwood DDX9703s receiver, Kicker L7 10″ subwoofer, Kicker CS 6X8 speakers, Alpine KTP 445u speaker amp, Kenwood KAC-9106D subwoofer amp
Suspension: Corksport adjustable dampening struts, Eibach Sport lowering springs
Wheels/tires: Cosmis Racing XT206R 18×11 square, Federal RSR 285/30/18 front, Hankook Ventus v12 Evo 285/30/18 rear
The Mazdaspeed3 is quite a car. It’s won numerous awards including appearances on Car and Driver’s 10 Best list for 2007, 2008 and 2010, and has competed against the best in the hot hatch category. The chassis is well-balanced, the engine is one of the best ever designed, it’s affordable and yet sporty. Not bad for a FWD grocery-getter right? Noah White would have to disagree… it’s way better than that.
This 2008 Mazdaspeed3 is much more than what rolled out of the factory a few years ago. Now it’s a wide-bodied, fire-snorting, quad exhaust fuming FWD monster. No kidding.
Three years ago, Noah was looking for an STI to begin his next modding experience after running a custom built 340HP+ 3SGTE Celica into the ground. And why not… it’s a great car to begin with and has become a standard entry level vehicle for today’s generation of car enthusiasts. However, it can be pricy and sometimes that means changing up the game plan. Without an affordable model in sight, White starting looking at other means. In comes the Mazdaspeed3 and out the door goes everything else.
This car has been built into a powerhouse. The engine is basic looking yet holds the power of 500HP to the wheels thanks to a Devil’s Own 18GPH Methanol injection and combination of BNR Supercars Stage 5 turbo and the required modifications. Whoa. He normally just runs on pump gas which drops it down to 380HP, which still isn’t a joke by any means. The license plate is apt, because from a roll, this ride is like a bat out of hell.
And it certainly does have the stealth look down. Wrapped in a Dark Basalt vinyl wrap made by Avery, this car sports a custom designed widebody kit (with design cues suggested by Noah) that was 2nd in production behind the prototype. The molded Fortune Flares MS3-R kit is spectacular and gives the already aggressive styling a huge bump in the looks department. Rally Innovations side splitters have been paired with a BMSPEC front splitter with attached hammer heads for an even more menacing look. The wing itself is a custom fabrication bolted onto the rear hatch thanks to White’s ingenuity.
Although the interior is relatively sedate, hidden within is a glorious sound system which includes a Kenwood DDX9703s receiver paired with Kicker L7 10” subwoofer and additional 6×8 speakers. All of it’s powered by Alpine and Kenwood amps for some major sound.
This ride travels comfortably on Corksport adjustable dampening struts matched with Eibach Sport lowering springs. The rolling stock is well represented with custom painted 18” Cosmis Racing XT206Rs fitted with Federal RSRs and Hankook Ventus V12 EVOs.
When you put it all together, this Mazdaspeed3 stands out far from the pack in a huge way. It’s a unique car that you may not expect much from in the power department, but thanks to Noah’s hard work, this car is spectacular. The plates on it read V8 Bait. Yeah, it’s a trap all right.
