Hi all. Well after securing a new job and girlfriend damaging my mint e36 328 sport (!!!!) I've decided to flog the e36 once I get it back and get something turbo'd and a bit more comfort than my old BMW and modified EP3 I use for the odd track day.

Always heard these MPS were rapid, but could just never get over the front end! But they are growing on me, see a black one regularly here in Stockport and the prices are now affordable to me.

Guess they're pretty reliable? Just heard a few issues with the VVT and 3rd gear synchro?

Hated the 5 door thing, but then guess it makes it fairly practical - the boot looks fairly large (I was looking at A4 quattro 2.0TFSI's but they are all high miles and aren't for sale very long. Plus I'd be an Audi w**ker!!). So the 3, with LSD would probably bepretty grippy eh? Maybe not as grippy as a 4wd but still.

Anyway, let me know the good and bad (All cars have them!) points to these!

Hopefully find one soon (looking at about 4-5.5k)

Thanks!

Hi mate thought I recognised your username from the ctro forum I used to have a modded ep3 then went down the Beemer route as well with an m sport 530d. Tbh the mps isn't much comfier to drive around town then the ep3 it's nice and quiet and doesn't scrape any speed bumps but still pretty stiff and crashy over small potholes and bumps. The power is much more usable then the civic I've drove my mates old cupra r and the mps reminds me of that a lot, loads of low down torque but a bit flat at the top of the rev range sort of the opposite of the type r

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Black mk1 3mps aero sports, - k&n typhoon, JBR TIP, 20% rear tints, painted red callipers & black badge, Auto gauges boost gauge with dash pod mound, Alloys refurbished in a darker grey, 225/40/18 Goodyear eagle f1 asymmetric 3's all round, dyno'd at 267.7bhp and 290lb ft at Evotune Durham.

Hi mate, thanks for the reply. Yep I'm a forum whore! Mainly use Cliosport and CTRO, sometimes found on e36coupe.com/bmwowner.

Was dead set on an a4 quattro but they're too hard to find in the 2.0TFSI (BUL engine) quattro avant guise and the ones I've found get sold in about 5 mins!

So I considered the mps and the more I think about them the more I'm sold. It's not got the space of an estate, but then the A4 isn't the best estate in terms of space. The MPS hatch looks big enough and definitely an improvement on my E36 coupe.

No 4WD like the quattro but then the LSD box sounds like it'll will go some way to cover that.

The only thing that puts me offis the mpg and tax - but the tax is only another £20 a month and that's nothing in the real world, I spend that on a round - and I hardly drink any more so...............

Insurance I'm yet to investigate, although they want an extra £70 for the remaining 3 months of my policy so seems I'd need to shop around again at renewal time.

The harsh ride - well to be honest I think a soft, wafty, dull motorway cruiser like the B6 A4 190 Avant might bore me after a couple of months, so to be honest, maybe I'm looking for something similar to the ep3 (still love to hoon around in it from time to time) but that's newer, quieter, less rattly (my EP3 has the dreaded front end rattle from what seems to be a combo of the slider in the rack and the front caliper sliders) and less in your face and chavtastic as the civic. Originally I hated the 5 doors of an MPS, but now the understated looks and 5 door 'family car' look are appealing to me in a wolf in sheep's clothing type of way. And the added practicality has touched my sensible side with me being a couple of weeks off my 36th! Ha.

But let me be honest - a car that's got those huge leather buckets with MPS stitched in, chunky wheel arches, aero spoiler, BOSE stereo and most of all TURBO! Well that is me still clinging on to my 20s despite the 5 doors!

Found a couple but they're both miles away - typical!

Haha I bought the first one I went to see like I seem to with most things (my house/every other car I've had) I don't mind shopping around on the internet but can't be bothered to go and see loads. I wanted a mk2 mps I had £9k+whatever px value I got for my 5 series (I couldn't of sold it privately it was riddled with problems) but decided instead of maxing my budget I'd try and find the cleanest mk1 I could and still have loads of change. My insurance is less then it was on my bm but about £40 a year more then my ep3 so not bad really. The mpg isn't that bad but I don't really drive about much my work is a 16 mile round trip but then it usually doesn't move off the drive after that most days and maybe a bit of pottering about at weekends and I spend about £40 a week on fuel. (You can only use 98ron minimum fuel there's a sticker inside the petrol flap) I live right next to a shell garage thankfully and have always used v power in all my cars anyway. If I thrash it about though there's been some weeks where I've needed to put up to £70 in lol. The tax is a huge sickener and more then my insurance which is a first for me. A premier edition cosmic grey ep3 parked behind me when I was at my parents house the other day I took a sneaky pic of it from an upstairs window. My ep3 was just a facelift the premier seats are so much better looking

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Black mk1 3mps aero sports, - k&n typhoon, JBR TIP, 20% rear tints, painted red callipers & black badge, Auto gauges boost gauge with dash pod mound, Alloys refurbished in a darker grey, 225/40/18 Goodyear eagle f1 asymmetric 3's all round, dyno'd at 267.7bhp and 290lb ft at Evotune Durham.

Yep, same! I'll research for ages on the Internet but when I want something I'll get whatever is available at the time, same with the house I just bought! All worked out tho.

And I get you on the premier seats, they look better, but I don't think they're a good seat, I had electric trendlines in my clio 172 cup and flogged em, they don't wrap around you.

Just to clear up you get about a hundred miles to 40 quid?! Might take some getting used to. I get 70-80 put of 20 in both my 328 and ep3

In my last job i was doing pretty much bang on a 100 mile a week costing me £30, that was mixed driving (dual carriage/motorway/b roads) and being stuck in a bit of traffic which is when i found the mpg suffered most.

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Now Sold...Mk1 3 MPS Aero Facelift;-Corksport Stage 2 SRI+TIP//Forge BPV V2//Custom 2nd Cat & Resonator Delete//Cp-e REM 60a//SF Ssp//Kinugawa Banjo Bolt//Rear Tints//6k H-Lights//L.E.D.S//Shell Helix Ultra 5W 40//K&N Oil Filter//Goodyear Eagle f1 asymmetric 3's//

*Gone but not forgotten; moist silver mazda 6 mps*

**Winners only do what losers dont**

I go to work at 3am so there's no traffic at all but lots of temptation to give it huge boosts think that's when my mpg suffers most. I've just stuck £18 in to see me till Friday hopefully, v power has gone down in price to £1.15 per litre

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Black mk1 3mps aero sports, - k&n typhoon, JBR TIP, 20% rear tints, painted red callipers & black badge, Auto gauges boost gauge with dash pod mound, Alloys refurbished in a darker grey, 225/40/18 Goodyear eagle f1 asymmetric 3's all round, dyno'd at 267.7bhp and 290lb ft at Evotune Durham.

Welcome, plenty civic owners grow onto the MPS

Out the box does all you'd want for the budget and more..
Good power distribution, healthy torque, easy mod path to a reliable 300/320BHP.. Not too much involved to take it beyond that

has its flaws also so not perfect but main things to check are Chain Rattle VVT... Rough cost £300 parts plus approx £300 labour
Smokey Turbo.. Idle car for 10mins then give it some revs watching for thick blue.. rough cost £700 upwards as once the turbo is gone
its wasteful to put another ko4 on as they aren't the strongest when pushed

Welcome, enjoy the search

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Finally Purchased May 2015- 3 MPS Mk1 Aero Facelift Crystal White Pearl~ Sure Aeros Intake and TIP/GReddy TI-C 3" Catback/Cobb AP v3/J-Tune Rev5/Autotech HPFP Internals/GFB TMS Respons BOV/Heko Wind Deflectors/Cobb Shift Knob/Torque Solutions Solid Shifter Bushings/Dewipered Rear window/Uprated Xenon's/HID Main/Interior LED Conversion/RallyFlapz and Plenty Purple Bits............ Made 317bhp (270whp) and 326lb/ft at the national meet May 2016 ****** Currently ZZB, Will rebuild over time

Cheers for the heads up. Not sure whether it'd be better to buy a cheaper mk1 aero and then spend another £700 on the VVT and chain a few months later (so I'd know it's done and done properly) or get one for more £ and trust that it has been done correctly.

Seen a few online and not sure it's worth the drive - mps 'tuned', budget tyres, kerbed rims, pinkish paint, etc.

Ideally I'd like a black one - red seems popular but my civic is red (red again after it turned pink), or silver if they command less of a premium than the popular colours.

Hi & to the

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Nigel - GSB - TDU - Events Team Member - RX-8OC Club Calendar

Photo's < Click > ****GreySilver Beast III****

Hi and welcome to the family

Im from the Stockport area as are a few more of us from the surrounding area, pop down to the monthly northwest meet near Trafford Centre if you want to have a look at a few MPS and a chat.

We also have a great buyers guide and modification guide somewhere on the forums

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New motor - 2015 Mazda 2 Skyactiv 115 Sport Nav
Previous motor - 2010 Mazda 3 MPS running BNR S3 Snail and the usual bolt ons.

Welcome to the forum bud!