Imagine driving down the freeway at cruising speed and someone decides to change lanes too fast, causing an accident. This is one of the worst things that could happen on the way to work, school, or a friend’s house. I’ve seen this happen to many of my friends, and the most important thing is that everyone was able to walk away without being hurt.

Once the dust has settled, you have an imperfect “race car” to take care of. You have to decide if you want to fix the car, or trash it and move onto the next project. As long as the car isn’t totaled, my vote would be to repair it and keep your baby.

What’s the next step now that you’ve decided to repair your vehicle?

You have two options to get your baby back up and running:

1. Order OEM Mazda parts to replace what you currently have.

2. See what parts need to be repaired, and buy upgraded ones.

Take the time to fully think about where you want to go with the car. Are you looking to keep the car stock, do you want to explore new power levels to achieve certain times at the track, or do you want a super fun daily driver? These are some things you should consider when deciding what direction to go with the car.

Let’s assume you took some front-end damage, which includes your top mount intercooler and intake. When searching for repairs, you’re going to notice that a stock top mount intercooler from a Mazda dealership is going to cost you somewhere around cost you big for a brand new one, according to parts specialist at Bountiful Mazda, Cody Allington. That price doesn’t include labor to have it installed.

On the other hand, our top mount intercooler is more affordable, not including the shroud or shipping. When you break that down, you’re saving money while going with an upgraded part. You’ll get an upgraded top mount intercooler with added cooling and flow benefits, AND you’ll be able to pay someone to install it, all for the cost of what an OEM top mount intercooler would cost. You’ll also get added horsepower and torque from upgrading your top mount intercooler, which will make the butt dyno very happy.

An OEM intake including the short ram and turbo inlet pipe is going to cost you a pretty penny, not including labor. That’s not a cheap part for what you’re getting.

However, if you have decent power goals for your Mazdaspeed, you can pick up our 3.5” intake for less than that OEM intake. You’ll still be saving money and if you think about what you’re getting with it, it should be a no-brainer. You’ll get much better flow from the intake, which increases horsepower and torque.

This graph shows the difference between the OEM MAF and the 3.5” MAF. There’s a huge difference. You’ll definitely notice the increase in power and sound if you decided to upgrade to this intake.

Most people look at getting into a wreck as the worst thing that could happen to them. However, I look at it as an opportunity to capitalize on a mistake and make your car better than it’s ever been.

Typically, the insurance company will give you the quote and write a check. If this happens, make sure to tell them you’re doing your own research on parts and picking a shop of your choice so you have the option of buying the upgraded parts.

If you played it off right, you can tell all of your Speed friends that you got your car fixed (without the mention of upgraded parts), and put a whooping on them! You could turn your car into ultimate sleeper status.

Just remember to entertain all ideas before pulling the trigger, and if you play your cards right, you can turn your wrecked baby into a modified monster!