SPEED 3 awd conversion

[Roger Mesler]

hey guys,
So I have had my 2008 speed 3 for about 4 years now, and for the past 2 or so years I tossed around the idea of do the awd swap out of a speed 6/cx7. my car has seen better days and the Michigan winter has taken its toll on the rear quarters so I decided to go ahead with the swap. I built the motor myself (Wiseco pistons, Manley h beams) when I first got the car so I figured that AWD would be a cool step forward with the chassis for better or worse (that's what were gonna find out)

the parts list so far
-cx7 subframe
-cx7 rear diff
-cx7 driveshaft (I believe I will need the driveshaft out of a speed 6 though for the shorter length)
-speed 6 T-case
-Speed 6 trans
-adjustable everything (toe links, camber arms) in the rear to help alignment
-cx7 trailing arms (modified to fit the speed 3)
-cx7 shocks
-all rear brakes are cx7( which are a bigger vented rotor and not a twist in style caliper which is a plus)
-fuel system is the rather tricky part as im still figuring it out 2/12/2021
-front driver side axle shaft is from the speed 3 but the passenger side is a speed 6 axle due to inner spline diameter
-I was able to retain the stock lower motor mount but a custom mount from the trans itself to the factory mount will need to be made. about 8 inches total length.
-lower control arms in the rear will have to be custom made out of the inner part of the speed 3 arm and the outer arm of the cx7 to fit in the trailing arm
-Cx7 abs sensors in the rear

Now I'm about id say %75 of the way finished with this project, rear is completely bolted in, driveshaft has been cut and made to fit until I can get some measurements to get a complete new custom one made. the t-case trans and motor are back in the car mounted. I'm just putting all the little pieces back together to make it a running car again. this is really just the starting post for more to come. I will be uploading pics of what's done so far and to give all of you guys an idea of what needs to be done, that's why I'm doing this is to help the community get some clarity on this swap since it seems to be so vague. maybe I overlooked some posts on this subject but I can not find a single post on this subject so here I am.

Thanks guys
Roger

 

[JohnnyTightlips]

This sounds awesome. Pics please. Excited to see where this goes.

 

[Maisonvi]

Well this is cool. Where are you at in MI?

 

[Flyhigh]

Can't wait to see how it turns out. I think someone tried it once, but that post was on the other forum. Good luck!

 

[Roger Mesler]

Well this is cool. Where are you at in MI?

I live south of Detroit in Brownstown, just moved out here from Jackson

 

[Roger Mesler]

Here is all the pics I have so far. kind of just took random pics as I was working. go ahead and roast me on the mess that's fine i deserve it. plenty more coming this weekend as ill be out working on the car. a lot of the stuff still need to be cleaned and finished as you can see in the pics, also hope yall don't mind rust.

 

[Easter Bunny]

How much of the body have you had to cut?

 

[Roger Mesler]

How much of the body have you had to cut?

I cut about half the spare tire well (refer to my avatar pic) out and replaced it with a flat sheet of metal and folded it down into whats left of the spare tire well and riveted and sealed it.

 

[Awafrican]

coming a long nicely

 

[Raider]

This is a great build! Thank you for posting here!

 

[Roger Mesler]

Hey guys I'm back with more pics of the progress as of today 2/14/21. Rear end is done, I just need to put the sway bar back in and fill the diff with gear oil. The fuel system had been routed and wired (hopefully it works with the car).

So let's talk about what its gonna cost. Most people wanna cringe when they think about it, BUT with careful parts searching and the right deals around town im into this for about $3,500. It would be more with the bnr s3 turbo, but thats a performance upgrade and has nothing to do with the awd conversion.

-rear subframe with basically everything attached, rear diff, driveshaft, and the wrong T-case (didn't know at the time) from a wrecked 2007 cx7 (local junkyard) $420 was all that I had cash that day and they took it

-trans and correct T-case from a 2007 speed 6 (A&L auto recycle canada) $750

-fuel system
Hyperfuel 40008 g-fuel surge tank(dual 340lph pumps) -$399
Rjs 15 gal fuel cell from summit- $139
Quantum fuel 380lph e85 safe lift pumps (x2) -$89
Misc hose and AN/JIC 37 ° -$300 (luckily I work at a semi truck parts store and was able to get a discount)
-fuel pressure regulator -$89
-seperate fuse block -$8


Suspension/brakes
- speed 3 adjustable camber arms from rock auto x2 -$40
-speed 3 godspeed toe links ebay deal -$80
-cx7 rear shocks from rock auto x2 -$30
-cx7 brakes rock auto -$200
-stock cx7 rear axles
-stock cx7 rear hubs and ABS sensors

Transmission/front axles
-speed 6 trans
-speed 3 trans mount (bolts right on)
-speed 3 driver side cv axle pops right in there
-passenger side cv axle has to be custom made after more measurements I took. (WILL HAVE TO BE a speed 3 outer hub side cv knuckle/sline BUT the overall compressed length and inner joint/spline will have to be from a speed 6) i welded one for mock up purposes and to send to a cv axle specialist to have one properly made but know that neither a oem speed 6 or oem speed 3 cv axle will work due to different spline diameters and overall cv shaft length.
-speed 3 slave cylinder and stock speed 3 hard line.

And again this is a rough build, I will be going back and cleaning and finishing/painting most of the metal parts when I know that this will work %100.

Also when the car is complete I may make a video of a complete walk around of the car. I mean its not much to see on the outside but underneath is what counts right?


-Roger-
"mazdaspeed 36"

 

[Easter Bunny]

In your research did you come across what the rear diff solution was for the AWD 3 they sold in Japan? Curious if it fit without cutting

 

[JohnnyTightlips]

Hey guys I'm back with more pics of the progress as of today 2/14/21. Rear end is done, I just need to put the sway bar back in and fill the diff with gear oil. The fuel system had been routed and wired (hopefully it works with the car).

So let's talk about what its gonna cost. Most people wanna cringe when they think about it, BUT with careful parts searching and the right deals around town im into this for about $3,500. It would be more with the bnr s3 turbo, but thats a performance upgrade and has nothing to do with the awd conversion.

-rear subframe with basically everything attached, rear diff, driveshaft, and the wrong T-case (didn't know at the time) from a wrecked 2007 cx7 (local junkyard) $420 was all that I had cash that day and they took it

-trans and correct T-case from a 2007 speed 6 (A&L auto recycle canada) $750

-fuel system
Hyperfuel 40008 g-fuel surge tank(dual 340lph pumps) -$399
Rjs 15 gal fuel cell from summit- $139
Quantum fuel 380lph e85 safe lift pumps (x2) -$89
Misc hose and AN/JIC 37 ° -$300 (luckily I work at a semi truck parts store and was able to get a discount)
-fuel pressure regulator -$89
-seperate fuse block -$8


Suspension/brakes
- speed 3 adjustable camber arms from rock auto x2 -$40
-speed 3 godspeed toe links ebay deal -$80
-cx7 rear shocks from rock auto x2 -$30
-cx7 brakes rock auto -$200
-stock cx7 rear axles
-stock cx7 rear hubs and ABS sensors

Transmission/front axles
-speed 6 trans
-speed 3 trans mount (bolts right on)
-speed 3 driver side cv axle pops right in there
-passenger side cv axle has to be custom made after more measurements I took. (WILL HAVE TO BE a speed 3 outer hub side cv knuckle/sline BUT the overall compressed length and inner joint/spline will have to be from a speed 6) i welded one for mock up purposes and to send to a cv axle specialist to have one properly made but know that neither a oem speed 6 or oem speed 3 cv axle will work due to different spline diameters and overall cv shaft length.
-speed 3 slave cylinder and stock speed 3 hard line.

And again this is a rough build, I will be going back and cleaning and finishing/painting most of the metal parts when I know that this will work %100.

Also when the car is complete I may make a video of a complete walk around of the car. I mean its not much to see on the outside but underneath is what counts right?


-Roger-
"mazdaspeed 36"

I would double check the throw of the speed 3 slave vs the speed 6 slave. If I was you I would look into doing AN lines and maybe the speed 6 slave. People have had issues with the speed 6 slave on a speed 3 "with 3 trans" overworking the pressure plate and bending the fingers too far. Might want to dig into that a little more as I would hate to see you kill a clutch. I had this issue with the ACT 6 puck and streetlite. Looks great otherwise, keep it up. https://mazdaspeeds.org/index.php?t...ed-6-slave-cylinder-stainless-3an-lines.9262/

 

[Roger Mesler]

Well im nearly there, I had a few vacation days from work so I took it and worked on the car. As of now im waiting on my custom rear diff controller to arrive, it takes awhile when its coming from Russia.

The car is running now, though idle is a tad lean. Its probably my tune as its still for the k04 turbo and 2 port boost controller, although I'm gonna get a log and check for leaks, just to rule that out, Or maybe the fuel system itself im not to sure yet.

I did use the speed 6 slave just for ease of mind, the speed 3 plastic one is just known to break. I bled the system, went and felt the pedal and SNAP the clutch master just broke.. ohh well you win some you lose some.

Hopefully next weekend will be the test drive.

Don't mind the OG probe wheels, I didn't have nothing else to use.

 

[Sho]

The 6 slave itself is a bit too much for thr ms3 master cylinder. 2jz supra slave with the ms6 slave piston will get ya what ya need. @JohnnyTightlips
Has a good how-to for it!

 

[BAT-man]

No way to retain the fuel tank, even if smaller, in the stock location, is there?

 

[Roger Mesler]

No way to retain the fuel tank, even if smaller, in the stock location, is there?

There is definitely room under there for something. I know you can use the speed 6 tank or I believe its like a 2007ish Volvo xc70 awd tank. both will require 2 fuel pumps and custom straps though. maybe even 2 separate 6-8 gallon fuel cells on each side of the driveshaft would work but I didn't get to far into the fuel tank research as I planned on putting a fuel cell in the car anyways because I plan on putting some power down eventually after I build my 2nd motor.

 

[Raider]

There is definitely room under there for something. I know you can use the speed 6 tank or I believe its like a 2007ish Volvo xc70 awd tank. both will require 2 fuel pumps and custom straps though. maybe even 2 separate 6-8 gallon fuel cells on each side of the driveshaft would work but I didn't get to far into the fuel tank research as I planned on putting a fuel cell in the car anyways because I plan on putting some power down eventually after I build my 2nd motor.

Thank you for posting your AWD build here. I upgraded your membership, enjoy the additional access!

 

[StayFrausty]

This is fucking sick dude, keep it up

 

[Roger Mesler]

This is fucking sick dude, keep it up

I'm almost done with it, I got a couple more things I need to work out and ill be taking it out for some test runs.