2007 Mazdaspeed 3 p2188

Mazda3speedster

Greenie N00B Member
Hey, fellow speedsters

I just got this car and it came with this code, Ive never owned a Mazda but I didn't think it would be a big deal, so I was looking into it and I found many possible solutions and Im not sure which one I should follow, It has a 91 octane stage 2 tune not sure what it is specifically(OTS tune from cobb i believe) I put a picture up, popped the hood today and there seemed to be a ticking from the right side of the intercooler(seemed like the hpfp), the ticking got much quicker when I got my buddy to rev it to about 1k rpm, the previous owner also got the heads redone so I don't believe its valves, or the timing chain. I also seen that I should replace the purge valve, and check for any vacuum leaks, I was also told to check the STFT which ran between -25/25% which is not normal, wondering if its the hpfp or if any of you guys know what my issue is. also got some unnormal knock retard









Thanks for any help in advance,
 
If the purge valve failed an easy trick is to dis connect the pipe going from the IM to the purge then cap off the port and see if your fuel trims correct.

Or disconnect the connector for the purge valve so it cant operate, remove the pipe on the back of it and see if it is pulling vacuum through the solenoid when it is off.
 
Stft don't mean much, what are you LTFT? Ticking is probably normal, esp if top right of engine the hpfp isn't exactly quite and there's ticking noises from the injectors too.

Definitely check for leaks that's usually always step 1.

When the knock hits 8 is that just driving, like cruising / partial throttle or is it WOT?

Cobb maps are shit and alone could cause the knock, what mods are in the car that it's running "stage 2" that typically means the hpfp internals have been upgraded although DO NOT bank on that.
 
STFT can mean a great deal actually, especially when it averages to something that doesn't justify applying LTFT, this is because LTFT has large breakpoints. That being said, it depend on the mods you have and under which conditions you are seeing these trims.

In terms of ticking, You have to be careful when you say left or right side of the car. Convention is to use driving position, even though it is not always intuitive when you are looking under the hood.
 
STFT can mean a great deal actually, especially when it averages to something that doesn't justify applying LTFT, this is because LTFT has large breakpoints. That being said, it depend on the mods you have and under which conditions you are seeing these trims.

In terms of ticking, You have to be careful when you say left or right side of the car. Convention is to use driving position, even though it is not always intuitive when you are looking under the hood.
Stft alone*

As for engine bay: right side of engine when looking at it from the front of the car as if you were checking the oil is typically hpfp and that's how it's generally referred to atleast from what I've seen in the speed community over 8+ years.
Yes when installing parts such as suspension it's referenced from inside the car as if you were driving looking out the windshield and that gives the left or right.
 
yea its the drivers side of the intercooler, as for mods I'm pretty sure the guy just had oem parts put back in the motor he said the valves didn't damage any pistons and compression test was done and it was good, other than that its a catless straight pipe, cold air intake, and a Mishimoto catch can other than that I'm pretty sure its stock
 
Sounds like you have a post-turbo leak. STFT at +/- 25% is fine if it's touching it during normal driving because you'll naturally get it during hard acceleration or lifting off the throttle. If you're just sitting at idle and your STFT is bouncing all over the place then you probably have a leak.

Is the catch can sealed or vented? Also do you know how it's plumbed?
 
Yea it does it at idle itll go from like as low as -5 when it first starts up, and when Its just idling its usually fine but when I press the brakes I've seen it go up to like 5
 
+/-25 ltft or stft is not "fine." You want trims to be as close to 0 as possible, generally a maximum of +/-10 is the threshold we look for. If you're seeing a value of 25, either positive or negative, then your trims are maxed out and may not be sufficient to fully bring afr into line. It would mean the ecu is adding or subtracting 25% of commanded fuel at any given time; that's a significant adjustment to be relying on the ecu to make in real-time rather than fixing any hardware (leaks) or tune issues.
 
Sounds like you have a post-turbo leak. STFT at +/- 25% is fine if it's touching it during normal driving because you'll naturally get it during hard acceleration or lifting off the throttle. If you're just sitting at idle and your STFT is bouncing all over the place then you probably have a leak.

Is the catch can sealed or vented? Also do you know how it's plumbed?
You should not be seeing +/- 25 ever. If you see this you have an issue "leak". You might bounce around +/-10 with normal driving and weather conditions changing. If you start to see +/-15 you randomly that is ehhh ok but past that you need to look into it.

Pre-turbo = + trims, air added or sucked in
turbo to TP = - trims, air lost or pushed out
post TP = + trims, air added or sucked in "TP = throttle plate"

Throw the cold air intake in the trash and get a real intake with a tune "htp 3 - 3.5" or similar". Freek OTS+ would be good for what you are doing. Do you have a log of idle and cruising?
 
Last edited by a moderator:
+- 5-7% is what I always shot for. As Sharks said, 25% is max, so you could be more than that. Anyone telling you 25% is ok is way off base.
 
I'm not saying that it's normal to have it 99.9% of the time but if you're looking at looking at strictly max/min rather than sustained on a log you may see a high STFT without there actually being a leak. That's why I asked how his STFTs were at idle. Obviously under most driving conditions you want it +/- 7% but that's not always going to be the case.
 
Last edited:
Yea I have some logs, so you're saying I could have a turbo leak or maybe just a bad turbo? I checked my LTFT and it is at around -10 ish when cruising going as low as -20 and around 0 when I open the throttle more, also noticed that its gotten a bit slower
 
There's a leak for sure ideally ltft is +/- 5 could be 7, 10 you should be looking for the leak and 20 you've got a massive leak.

PS if anyone's reading this thread and it flows a little odd or repeated information it's because OP made 3 threads for the same issue on 3 sections (that's not on) and got responses I've tried to merge them so that the various answers are there from everyone that'd being helpful. Hence why it looks like people may be repeating info.

OP you have a massive air leak.
 
Last edited:
Ok where would you suggest I check, exhaust out and exhaust in of the turbo or the piping from the cold side(intake to turbo/ turbo to intercooler) or vacuum system?
 
Ok where would you suggest I check, exhaust out and exhaust in of the turbo or the piping from the cold side(intake to turbo/ turbo to intercooler) or vacuum system?


Did you not read JTs post? he said where to look based on + or - trims, you have -25 to +10 you need to look at the entire system from intake to intake manifold, and then be also looking at the exhaust side between the head and O2 sensor to see if exhaust gas is coming out.

Post I'm referring to is quoted below


You should not be seeing +/- 25 ever. If you see this you have an issue "leak". You might bounce around +/-10 with normal driving and weather conditions changing. If you start to see +/-15 you randomly that is ehhh ok but past that you need to look into it.

Pre-turbo = + trims, air added or sucked in
turbo to TP = - trims, air lost or pushed out
post TP = + trims, air added or sucked in "TP = throttle plate"

Throw the cold air intake in the trash and get a real intake with a tune "htp 3 - 3.5" or similar". Freek OTS+ would be good for what you are doing. Do you have a log of idle and cruising?
 
So I went to go check out this boost leak and I found that the hose connecting the intake to the turbo was basically off the turbo, I assumed that buddy before me was the one that did that so I took off the intercooler and reconnected all the pipes correctly, also checked exhaust side and there are no leaks in the manifold or the straightpipe(brand new previous owner has receipts) Im still making the same boost maybe even spooling up a bit quicker but the STFT is now between -25/5 and my LTFT is -9.52/0. Also when Im on the throttle the LTFT will go to 0 and STFT will go into the -9 range and with more throttle it'll see the high but when I'm off the throttle or at idle it'll go to the same 9.52 and the STFT will go to 0, when at idle and not moving STFT is around -6, LTFT is the same -9.52. These are better than the numbers I was seeing before but still not right, I was thinking the car might need more drive time to learn the trims again since I disconnected the battery. my intercooler is a bit banged up but it doesn't seem like there's a leak in it I looked it over thoroughly, I was thinking to go get a boost leak test at a shop somewhere but just wondering if any of you might have an idea if the intercooler could be causing this issue and if I should skip the test and just go for a new intercooler
 
how long did you have the battery disconnected for? should have read zero when you first idle if it reset. usually need about 20+ miles for ltft to stabilize, two times you're really looking at ltft is idle and cruise, accelerating takes even longer to trim.

are you still getting the code? leak test may be in order just because the intercooler looks shoddy does not mean it isnt holding pressure, if its not that is an issue. did you check the maf sensor oring to make sure it's intact? I've replaced mine twice now over the years.
 
Back
Top