Bought a Mazda Atenza, Few Questions

[ee904age]

Not Toyota related, but you guys are such a knowledgeable bunch!

So, yesterday I picked up our new Mazda Atenza. Its an 03, 2.3l manual liftback. Really impressed with it so far, put ~500km on it driving from Auckland to Wanganui, was great to drive with no unwanted surprises.

First question, what fuel should it use? I've done a bit of research but all I can come up with the usual forum arguments saying "all imports need 95+" or they will detonate and die etc etc. As far as I know, most newish N/A cars these days will self tune to whatever you put in them within reason?

Second, it has a popup Nav screen on top of the dash, but it doesnt want to pop up properly, if you lift it up manually the screen will switch on untill its at about 45 degrees, then switch off if you try to lift it right up. I was hoping to have a play and try to get a NZ DVD burnt to put in but can't as I can't read the screen.

And lastly, it has the 8? speaker Bose sound system with sub etc, but no band expander or aux input. It has to be the best sounding factory system I've heard, but limited to CDs at this stage. Is your everyday $10 band expander going to work or is there more to it?

[Girvs]

Is the car NA or Turbo, if its the MPV Atenza I'm guessing its the 6 speed turbo? If so the higher the octane the better. Personally I'd be running 98.

Heres a little bit I've read about octane & detonation which I can't find the link I read it from. So I'll just regurgitate it in the best way I can.
The higher the octane of the fuel is not to increase the power, its to increase the resistance to detonation.
New cars can auto tune depending on the octane level of the fuel, thus meaning if the car detects a lower octane level it will reduce the timing to prevent detonation, thus you lose power and possibly efficiency of engine.

Because current ECU's are so smart in this manner if you have a higher level of octane, the closer you get to the desired octane level, the more the car is likely to run at its peak efficiency without retarding the timing. This can result in higher power and more economical fuel consumption.

Most people just look at fuel nowadays as just a $ figure. They don't really understand the mechanics of what happens out of sight. An engine tuned to its optimal fuel can actually save you money. Don't assume that its costing you more just because thats what you see on the pump when you pay for gas.

Can't help you with the Sat Nav.

I'd say a band expander should work fine. It works with most Japa stereos that I'm aware of.

[duddley]

My father inlaw has a mazda 6 sedan with the 2.3l engine and he reckons it runs like crap on 91 and he only uses 95+.

[strx7]

i know the 2.3 motors are hard to come by because they die alot so pretty good chance they need 95-98 octane

[evil_si]

I had a 4wd 2.3 sportwagon, definitely ran smoother on 98, it would go thru a set of plugs in 8-10k when it was run on 91,

Ordinary band expander is fine, can fit if you drop the glove box, can just get to the aerial plug behind the stereo,

I found the factory aerial' reception was shit, so fitted an altezza roof mounted aerial and that made a huge difference,

[soopachargen]

you can get an ipod adapter for the stereo's in these, I have done on on a friend's car,

something like this http://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/car-ste ... 339809.htm

[Lloyd]

i know the 2.3 motors are hard to come by because they die alot so pretty good chance they need 95-98 octane

From...?

I haven't seen one with any serious issues yet apart from the usual alternator issue. One that clicked over 300k quite happily even, though you've likely seem more through than I have.

[strx7]

earlier this year a customer rang me for a 2.3 motor, i searched the country high and low for a motor and no one had one, one place had a vehicle due in approx 4-5 days later, quoted it out and sold it before the vehicle arrived.

[fuel]

parents have had an '03 NZ-new Mazda6 GSX hatch, got it ex-lease with 140km in 2007 and have put on 30,000kms trouble free motoring since - not a single plug change and only maintenance has been oil/filter changes every 12 months. Has always run on 91 octane and consistantly averages ~9L/100km with mostly around town driving and the occasional open road trip. Maybe the NZ-new models have lower compression or have a tune better suited to 91 octane? Even the owners manual recommends 91 octane.

[AE82 FXGT]

Use 95.

The reason 2.3 motors are hard to find is because a lot of imports have poor servicing and will run crank bearings, I've seen this about 5 times in my 4 years at a Mazda dealer. As a cheap fix you can drop the crank out of the bottom and just replace the bearings without taking the head off, but can't guarantee something else has been damaged.

parents have had an '03 NZ-new Mazda6 GSX hatch, got it ex-lease with 140km in 2007 and have put on 30,000kms trouble free motoring since.

NZ new is less likely to have problems as they have had 3 years free servicing from new.

Keep up with the oil changes (6 months 10000kms is Mazda standard service interval, but sooner doesn't hurt)

As stated above a normal band expander if fine you will just need to intercept the aerial at the back of the stereo and run an acc wire to it. Note that the frequency read out on the car will stay the same (from 80 to 90 I think), but you will get all NZ stations.

[91 ZERO]

We just bought a 2005 Mazda Atenza 2.3. 80k on the clock. Nice car and goes alright.

Whats the recommended oil you guys use on these? I'm finding a bit of conflicting info everywhere..

[Bling]

Might want to give Mazda a call, what they use should in theory be right I'd check what the parents Mazda uses, but it's out.

[Dell'Orto]

We just bought a 2005 Mazda Atenza 2.3. 80k on the clock. Nice car and goes alright.

Whats the recommended oil you guys use on these? I'm finding a bit of conflicting info everywhere..

Repco will know

[Lloyd]

We just bought a 2005 Mazda Atenza 2.3. 80k on the clock. Nice car and goes alright.

Whats the recommended oil you guys use on these? I'm finding a bit of conflicting info everywhere..

Repco will know

"This one is on special. Buy this one."

[Dell'Orto]

20w50 is good for everything right?

[AE82 FXGT]

Mazda uses "Golden SM" IIRC it's 5w30 and SM rated.
We use this in pretty much every petrol Mazda.

[metric]

Probably put 10w50 magnetic in mine unless advised otherwise.

Cant seem to beat it for value for money, any other suggestions?

[Dell'Orto]

earlier this year a customer rang me for a 2.3 motor, i searched the country high and low for a motor and no one had one, one place had a vehicle due in approx 4-5 days later, quoted it out and sold it before the vehicle arrived.

Now does that mean they break frequently, or rarely?