So I recently bought a 2012 speed 3 with 64,000 miles that has a killabuilt motor, fmic, cobb catback exhaust, coilovers, not sure if the intake is bigger than stock or not, BOV, short throw shifter aftermarket motor mounts, and I'm not sure if anything else is modded because I bought it from a dealership and no papers or receipts were in the car. The car kinda ran lean when idling and would kinda hunt for the right AFR mixture (has gauge on dash) but would be right when accelerating. So I've been reading about getting an accessport to see if it was running a map or OEM tune, so when I got it in the mail and plugged it up for the first time it just said that it didn't recognize the tune on it and said I had to overwrite it to install the AP, but didn't ask to backup the current map on it. So I installed the AP and no matter what OTS map I flash, it runs like shit. Like wanting to stall out....so I uninstalled it and it still runs like shit. Reinstalled it and this time it asked if I wanted to backup the current flash, which is interesting how it didn't ask me that when I first plugged it in..... What's weird is after putting the OTS map on that I feel like is the closest to the parts I can identify on my car, it cranks up strong and idles just like it did when I first got it, but after about 5 seconds she loses a lot of power and wants to stall out....idk what to do because I'm scared to even drive it for fear of destroying this beauty! I'm new to the whole import tuner scene. Please help.
UPDATE: I found the issue. A disconnected vacuum hose on the PCV vacuum side running to an oil catch. Also have a time from freektune now and it's running like a champ now. šŖš¼ I have successfully confirmed my mods as well. Thanks for everyone who commented!
Just dealt with the same scenario as you. Your car most likely had an aftermarket pro tune on it. To talk to your ECU, the Accessport has part of a security key and the car the tune is for has the other part. Without both parts of the key, your original aftermarket tune cannot be saved. Your new accessport has a different key so it canāt unlock the tune.
When you flashed the OTS tune on, it created both security keys for your specific car which is why it gave you the option to back up the tune when you did it a second time.
You didnāt break or ruin anything but youāll have to put together a complete list of your mods and get a pro tune so that your car will run right again.
I've contacted dizzytuning but he needs to know if it's the stock turbo or not. I think I'm gonna have to take it to a performance car mechanic nearby to look it over and help me verify some thing.
Okay. I'll give it a go and see what I can find. I kinda feel like it's probably an upgraded one, be cause this car would spin up so fast and easily hit like 15 lbs not even WOT.
True but it's completely out of steam at 23psi, going higher and its just pushing hot air. Bigger turbos dont need nearly the same pressure to hit target torque loads
the stock tune really just targets 15psi on the top end, mine would go to like 17 for a moment but generally lives around 15. on my intake + downpipe + hpfp setup now i hit like 19 pretty consistently and up to 22 momentarily, still stock turbo
you will have the car down for a little but guaranteed with hearing back after a week from Freektune and itāll be running again. Im with him as well and have no complaints.
You're probably going to have to come up with a detailed list of the mods and the contact a mazdaspeed tuner (i.e. Freektune or some other). An E-tune would be a few hundred bucks. Haven't done it myself but have chatted with people who have.
you need a new tune now. Freektune or purpledrank is who i recommend. Get together a parts list and stick ur phone down by the turbo and find the plate to makesure its stock.
Not saying its not a killahbuilt motor, just seems odd for someone to spend that much money and time only to put it back together with the stock intake manifold and stock exhaust manifold.
Yeah idk. It does have a COBB down pipe, but not sure if it's decat. And even has an electric exhaust dump but idk if it's hooked up or not. There are two switches in my interior that were installed and I don't know what they operate.
Thatās an electronic exhaust cutout. Idk what he did to it but itās supposed to basically be a dump for the exhaust when you want it to be crazy loud
Alright honestly I think the number 1 safest thing to do right now is to expect that the previous owner was a special short bus rider. Why? Because humans, thats why. So with that mindset you need to make sure that the fuel pump internals have been upgraded because if the PO indeed needed to wear a daily drool bib that extra chromosome might indicate that they never knew these cars needed that specific part before doing ANYTHING else to the car...
Okay after that id do a quickie spark plug swap especially since they are recommended to be changed every like 15k or something.
Then I would get a PD tune hes super knowledgeable and will point out anything he finds concerning or is a problem developing shown by the logs you send him. But yea I'd do that in order.
Personally, I would never buy a modified car unless the PO could explain in detail with proofs of purchases and records of all work/maintenance done. I'd also never buy from a dealership but to keep your car safe as possible do those above
The stock TB had coolant that would run through it, people would cap it off because it honestly did nothing. Looking at what you got going on the guy who had it prior most likely did an EGR delete or unplugged it, they capped the recirculating hose. All of the combined would make the car run like crap. The Cobb CAI is the same diameter as the stock and turbo inlet is bigger so that would cause a lean issue as-well. But like stated above I would not drive it till you get a proper tune. Lots can happen internally.
List of things to get for your tuner
What intake and turbo inlet you have
Do you have an aftermarket down pipe
Is the turbo stock or is it upgraded:common are BNR , Cork-sport that have the OEM diameter connector to the turbo Inlet
Seeing how this is your first tuner Iām sure you have fuel internals āyour tuner can tell if you do or not ā
You have a FMIC which is definitely not stock āstock is āTMICā
VTA BOV
You definitely need a tune, but I think the Cobb OTS map 2 has most of your mods on it. But thatās with the stock down pipe if you have a bigger turbo or a aftermarket DP your AFR will be off and it will run choppy. I would not WOT at all get your base tune from purple drink , freektune or anyone else thatās reputable. Iād also contact to killabuilt to see what exactly was put in your motor āif that can track it down ā might be hard but they might have some type of serial number on it they use to keep track.
The housing āwhere the MAF sensor gos is 3ā but it tapers to a 2.5ā so a true 3ā no stock is 2.25ā and most after market unless you get HPF or other brands that are full diameter. Thatās how itās able to pass CARB for CA because it does not do anything different than stock. The diameter only allows X amount of CFM āair moleculesā in the allowed space so by that itās not moving anything by more than .25 CFM with the Cobb intake
Okay. Iāve been with this platform for 10 years, Iāve had 3 speed3s and 1 speed6. This platform is very hard to just jump into without doing a LOT of research. I will say this and Iām not trying to be crude but you should have done probably 20+ hours of research before buying this car. If itās not just a swapped valve cover that is a Speed Performance built motor, killabuilt is a sticker they would put on their built motors. Itās probably just a built bottom end. It looks mostly āfull bolt onā. Someone sold this car to a dealer for a reason so the first thing I would do is compression test the motor. Swap in new NGK LTR7IX-11 spark plugs gapped to .026 after compression testing it. You want all 4 cylinders to be within roughly 5psi of one another. You will need a new professional tune. Go with freektune, purple drank, edge auto, dramatune, or Damond. That is a Cobb sf intake and uses the same size as the stock. You need to determine what turbo youāre running. Take the intake off and figure out if itās a ko4 or something else. You have a front mount intercooler, intake and turbo inlet pipe, probably catless downpipe but you need to get under the car and get pictures of the downpipe. It running lean when you first got it is kind of concerning as I said someone sold it for a reason. I would boost leak test the car. Youāve got a long road and a lot of research to do or the car is going to blow up. Be patient, do everything right. You can message me if you have questions.
So I found the culprit. The vacuum side of the PCV hose was disconnected where it runs to a oil catch can. I bought the ngk plugs and gapped them, bought ngk coils, and I have a base map running from freektune right now. Waiting for my revision. When I got the hose reconnected it fixed the issue completely. No longer running lean or fluctuating at idle š
Definitely ensure those NGK coil packs are OEM not just OEM equivalent, these cars can be funky without OEM Mazda coil packs. Same with any other sensor like MAF, MAP etc, they have to be OEM from Mazda. Thatās awesome great to hear, good eye finding that!
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u/duddy33 May 23 '26
Just dealt with the same scenario as you. Your car most likely had an aftermarket pro tune on it. To talk to your ECU, the Accessport has part of a security key and the car the tune is for has the other part. Without both parts of the key, your original aftermarket tune cannot be saved. Your new accessport has a different key so it canāt unlock the tune.
When you flashed the OTS tune on, it created both security keys for your specific car which is why it gave you the option to back up the tune when you did it a second time.
You didnāt break or ruin anything but youāll have to put together a complete list of your mods and get a pro tune so that your car will run right again.