I know most here have the manual but, I have the auto. To the left of the brake pedal is a little place to put my foot. With as thin as the carpet is, is there anything to mount or place there before I end up with a hole in the carpet?

 

This was one of my concerns when I first got my 06 hatchback last May.
The carpet in these vehicles is ultra chepo, and I am going to replace all my carpeting in the spring, with a much heavier grade carpet.
As for what you could consider, take a piece of any carpet, as long as it is the same color, and put it over that foot rest position.
You can get 3m adheisive spray to make sure it sticks in place.
Another thing you might consider is to get a larger floormat, one that will cover that area.
You would proably have to trim it so it doesn't cover the gas cap release lever.
Bob.

 

That area is called the dead pedal... but not specific to Mazdas.
Yes, there are those that make dead pedals, or dead pedal covers if you will, for the 3 series.
Mine was part of the AutoVation pedals (http://www.autovationparts.com/store/Mazda3.html)I bought about 3 yrs ago... one of my first and still favorite mods. They are Mazda3 specific, not a Wal-Mart universal set.

 

Yep, that's it. Couldn't think of the name off hand. Do you know of any companies that make them in black? I suppose I could paint them but, I'd prefer something that blends in to the floor.

 

sok07 on M3F.com used to make them. His profile:
http://www.mazda3forums.com/index.ph...profile;u=4270
His thread: http://www.mazda3forums.com/index.ph...294#msg2832294
He had his own little cottage industry going for a while, even sold some using eBay. He isn"t listing on eBay right now. I just did a search and came up empty.
icspots has a black one, and iirc a whole pedal set that sok07 made.

 

Thanks. Is there anything behind the dead pedal? It looks like they are all held down with screws. Do those screws go through the bottom of the car or just the dead pedal which is seperate from the bottom of the car?

 

There is a molded hard foam insulation behind the DP, I understand about 4" of the stuff, though I have not taken mine apart that far to verify those findings. Short screws will go through the carpeting and into the foam. Mine is also mount that way and in nearly 4 yrs of hard use, it is still attached and snug.
If you are worried about it, I know a guy that also attached some industrial strength Velcro to the back of the pedal and stuckthat to the carpeting.