PLEASE TAKE THE TIME TO RATE MY RIDE IF YOU CAN. I AM NOT ASKING FOR FIVE STARS NECESSARILY,, BUT I WANT YOUR HONEST OPINION. THANK YOU!!!

 This was my 1996 Mazda 626. I bought this car from my uncle, who owned it for a very long time. Even though this wasn't my first car, it was actually my third, it was one of the first that I spent a generous amount of money, blood, sweat and tears on, so it was kind of hard to see it go, but i just needed something new to work on. The car originally started life as a $1,200 commuter car for me to get to school/work and back. But then I found a couple forums and realized that people actually modify this particular car. It happens to have lots of things in common with the Ford Probe GT so some parts are a direct fit. I started reading and learning more and more about them and when I saw other Forum member's cars, I decided right away to start "modding."

This car has seen parts come and go faster than I can remember so bear with me as I am probably forgetting some of them.

MOD LIST:

PERFORMANCE

"Custom" intake made with Injen pipe and AEM conical dryflow air filter. (www.injen.com, www.aempower.com)

Option Import cat-delete/race pipe. (www.motors.ebay.com)

Universal muffler with 2.25" piping.

NGK Laser Platinum spark plugs and wire set. (www.ngksparkplugs.com)

Royal Purple full synthetic motor oil. (www.royal-purple.net)

Mobil 1 oil filter. (www.mobil1.com)

**Duralast Gold brake pads. (www.duralastparts.com)

**Duralast New Clutch set. (www.duralast.com)

Also, with help from my Auto shop teacher and some friends, we advanced the timing, which didn't really add a significant amount of hp/lb.ft. but made a big difference in throttle response and delivered smoother power delivery and acceleration. 

**I know these parts don't really qualify as "performance" parts but they were essential components to how well the car performed so they were listed. I had a slipping clutch(which i was told was due to the oversized wheels and tires) so when I put the new one in it made a HUGE difference. I had minimal power to begin with so getting it all to the ground was crucial. The brakes were squealing and kind of squirrelly under braking so they needed to be replaced as well.

EXTERIOR

18" inch Speedy Octanes with Nexen N3000 sport tires. (www.speedywheels.com)

Luminics HyperWhite H.I.D. Simulated bulbs. (www.luminicsbulbs.com)

Custom tinted taillights.

15% tint(about) all the way around.

AUDIO

Pioneer head unit with AM/FM/CD/MP3. (www.pioneerelectronics.com)

2- 12" C4 subwoofers. (www.c4audio.com)

1- 12" Fusion subwoofer. (www.fusioncaraudio.com)

Memphis Audio and Q-logic boxes. (www.memphiscaraudio.com)

Visonik XT series 1000W High performance amplifier (www.visonikcaraudio.com)

Sony Xplod 600W amplifier. (www.walmart.com)

THE STORY  

I got my first car when I was 14 years old. It was an old Chevy Blazer S-10 and I loved it. It inspired me to start learning more about cars( and also to tear the freaking thing apart). I just started finding out the ways things worked, researching stuff online, and then trying to understand cars in general, and I haven't stopped since. I performed most of the work on my 626 (including the clutch install) with help from my friends. I want to give props to my friends Jake and Tyler for helping me along the way. Reynaldo for the help on the clutch install and for explaining how everything works. Also, my girlfriend Jordan for putting up with long days detailing, greasy hands and dirty clothes. I am a professional detailer. I have been hand washing/waxing my cars since i was 14 and I was employed at the local car wash here, Bischoff's Car Wash and Detail, for a couple years.

I look back on it now and see that it was what some people might call a "ricer." I was only 17 years old when I owned it and I thought I was the freaking man. I live in Bountiful, Utah, which is about 10 minutes from Salt Lake City (Mormon Central) and none of the kids here drove anything exciting. Sure i have a couple friends who drive modded imports, but the support here is minimal. I set out to make the car look, sound, and perform better than a stock 626, to my knowledge. I think I achieved that goal. Yeah sure, along the way I may have gotten a couple of laughs from a more experienced enthusiast, but the point is I was doing what I love doing, I had fun wrenching with friends, and I have great memories forever. After all, in the end, memories are all that I will remember.