new to forums got some questions

Code_Kid · Post by **Code_Kid** » October 30th, 2005, 4:16 pm

hello im new to the forum, currently trying to buy a mx3 from a salvage yard as a new project car. its beat up but looks to be a promissing project.

i was wondering what the specs etc.. on the V6 engine, also do they offer a turbo kit or will i have to do a conversions if i have to do a conversion someone point me out to years and models of what i need to take off from the donor car.

also how much boost can stock engine old up ? 7psi ??

this will be my second project car my first is my geo storm which im in process of having a body kit buy in and turbo being installed. check it out tell me what u think also http://www.cardomain.com/id/code_kid

mainly since the body its damaged a bit i will prolly rice out the exterior then work on the engine. hopefully i get it should @ least get a cold air intake and exhaust.

but i think mazda is a good company and i like the how the mx3 looks and feels.

lakersfan1 · Post by **lakersfan1** » October 30th, 2005, 5:36 pm

I don't think any of the turbo kits really fit the MX-3 as they require intercooler piping, and any kits are made for the Ford Probe. You should be able to fit the supercharger kits since they don't require intercooling for low boost.

You can get supercharger kits from mrspeed.biz or boosthead.com

hgallegos915 · Post by **hgallegos915** » October 30th, 2005, 5:45 pm

I would advice the search function.

Code_Kid · Post by **Code_Kid** » October 30th, 2005, 6:07 pm

well i thought about search but so much to go threw rather get direct and right answers.

so will any turbo kits bolt up or what year of car do i need to get a turbo mainfold off of?

not worried about intercoolers pipes (charge pipes) cause i can have a shop custom bend some but id like to turbo charge it and not supercharge it.

em-ex-3 · Post by **em-ex-3** » October 30th, 2005, 6:14 pm

Glad to see that your getting a Mx-3...Those Geo's... well just look like a storm hit them

Juans_93_MX3 · Post by **Juans_93_MX3** » October 30th, 2005, 6:26 pm

The V6 MX3s use a engine called the K8
It has 135hp & 115ft torque
The AutoTransmissions on the V6 Mx3s and the 4cyl MX3s mess up after about 110,000miles and are very crappy for racing
However, the stickshift Mx3s last a long time and can take alot of torque/hp before braking

Anyway, go to the search feature and look for the names Rebel2k and Babyblue. Rebel is running about 260fwhp and BabyBlue is at about 360whp. They dont use Nitrous ether

Most people on here that want a fast MX3 swap the K8 engine for a KLDE or KLZE. A KLDE engine can be found in V6 Ford Probes, Mx6s and Mazda 626s... or is it 323s? (V6 models). They bolt straight onto the MTX and everything else.

The KLZE, I dont know very much about
They have 200hp and 160ft troque.
Just like the KLDE, they bolt straight onto the MX3
The KLZE engine can get you to the low 14s alone

You can find a used KLDE with about 50k miles (I think its 50k miles) for about $500 at your local pick n pull or salavage yard. They come with water pump, ecu, ect
Depending where you live, you can get a KLZE for $800 to $1400. Just like the KLDE, they come with everything else (water pump, ect)

As for a turbo system goes. You can make your own system for very cheap. Dont give into people who sell turbo kits for overpriced prices. Make your own

A KLDE can take 10PSI max
A KLZE can take 6 PSI max
check this thread out
http://www.mx-3.com/phpbb2/viewtopic.php?t=46540
ignore the fact that I put 14PSI max for the KLDE

Code_Kid · Post by **Code_Kid** » October 30th, 2005, 6:32 pm

As for a turbo system goes. You can make your own system for very cheap. Dont give into people who sell turbo kits for overpriced prices. Make your own

well will anything bolt up to the mx-3 k8 engine?? maybe a turbo from another car or sistercar?

Hoodzy · Post by **Hoodzy** » October 30th, 2005, 7:45 pm

Code_Kid wrote:
As for a turbo system goes. You can make your own system for very cheap. Dont give into people who sell turbo kits for overpriced prices. Make your own
well will anything bolt up to the mx-3 k8 engine?? maybe a turbo from another car or sistercar?

NO IT MUST BE CUSTOM:)

and u probaboly dont even wanna bother with turboing a k8 u can easily spend less money and get a newer engine with probably same hp stock as u could turboing the k8

Code_Kid · Post by **Code_Kid** » October 30th, 2005, 8:27 pm

damn that sucks i can get a turbo exhaust manifold for a geo but not for a mx-3.

dont really want to go the way of supercharger for k8.

guess i will get the car first then see about doing a swap.

FIMotorMX-3 · Post by **FIMotorMX-3** » October 31st, 2005, 8:47 pm

There is a turbo set up being designed as we speak thanks to BabyBlue and MMI... Do a search for v6 turbo or MMI turbo and you should find what you are looking for. The kit includes the necessary piping and intercooler. You supply the turbo, wastegate and bov. I believe they might offer just the manifold for the turbo if you don't want to run an intercooler. BabyBlue is designing it to fit with our stock front bumpers and by not including any of the turbo components it lets us customize the setup to our needs, eg: klze, k8, de, depending on how we have built our engines and how much boost we would like to run. If your engine in the salvaged car is shot, look up klze, klde, etc. There are posts that go into depth on boosting and our internals. As of right now, I believe the klde stock internals will hold up better under boost but there are kits available to build our ze internals to hold up to 20psi of boost. ze has 40 hp stock over de. I think most of your v6 questions might be answered for you on either the home page or in v6 faq's.

Code_Kid · Post by **Code_Kid** » November 1st, 2005, 9:47 am

I believe they might offer just the manifold for the turbo if you don't want to run an intercooler.

ha dont think so i plan to run it on stock componets so i will need a intercooler bad lol.

so this kit will bolt up to the K8 stock motor on my mx3?? i looked into the forum and cant wait should be awsome. the engine in the salvage car im getting is in great condition and low miles just needs some body work well alot of body work so im sure the kit will be finished by the time im done with the body damage.

Vanished · Post by **Vanished** » November 1st, 2005, 7:08 pm

Defantly don't get a super charger. Sure its nice to say "hey i got a supercharger", I agree, but its better to put the money into a new engine. Superchargers put wear and tear on an engine, and the K8 thats in there might not be in the greatest condition. Even if it is, it's still pointelss to supercharge it when you can get a KLZE for the same price. It will be more reliable, and just as fast for the same price. Trust me.

kiwi_MX3 · Post by **kiwi_MX3** » November 2nd, 2005, 4:58 am

Vanished wrote:Defantly don't get a super charger. Sure its nice to say "hey i got a supercharger", I agree, but its better to put the money into a new engine. Superchargers put wear and tear on an engine, and the K8 thats in there might not be in the greatest condition. Even if it is, it's still pointelss to supercharge it when you can get a KLZE for the same price. It will be more reliable, and just as fast for the same price. Trust me.

Umm id like to ask where you base your logic that superchargers put
wear and tear on a engine when a lot of manufactors build supercharged
engines as stock.

Nd4SpdSe · Post by **Nd4SpdSe** » November 2nd, 2005, 8:36 am

Juans_93_MX3 wrote:Anyway, go to the search feature and look for the names Rebel2k and Babyblue. Rebel is running about 260fwhp and BabyBlue is at about 360whp. They dont use Nitrous ether

Also note that those guys have swapped out their 1.8's to the 2.5l's and turbo'd them. There are only 2-3 Mx-3'ers on here who ahve turbo'd a 1.8L, they guestimage about 200hp, but for what i read, the stock internals are weak as compared to the 2.5l's. Besides, the 2.5l are a much more tried and tested platform. Although there are no current bolt-on, there are many who have create custom setups. Check out the Probe and Mx6 communities for information on boosting a 2.5l.

Juans_93_MX3 wrote:Most people on here that want a fast MX3 swap the K8 engine for a KLDE or KLZE. A KLDE engine can be found in V6 Ford Probes, Mx6s and Mazda 626s... or is it 323s? (V6 models). They bolt straight onto the MTX and everything else.

Actually the 2.5l's are availble from Ford Probes, Mazda Mx-6, 626 and Millenia's. 323's never came with v6's. There are 2 varients of the 2.5, read further down below for a quick explanation.

FYI: People have put v6's into 323's, Protege's and such since they use the same platform as the Mx-3. So with some work, nothing custom required i believe, it's definitely doable. Custommx3 put a k8 into a 323, and there's even a KLDE 323 locally.

Juans_93_MX3 wrote:The KLZE, I dont know very much about
They have 200hp and 160ft troque.
Just like the KLDE, they bolt straight onto the MX3
The KLZE engine can get you to the low 14s alone

You can find a used KLDE with about 50k miles (I think its 50k miles) for about $500 at your local pick n pull or salavage yard. They come with water pump, ecu, ect
Depending where you live, you can get a KLZE for $800 to $1400. Just like the KLDE, they come with everything else (water pump, ect)

There are 2 version of the 2.5L v6. There is the one's available out of your local Ford Probes, Mazda Mx-6, 626 and Millenia's. Those are known as KLDE's. They output ~165hp and ~160tq. Than there is the hi-output varient available from Japan and the such that outputs ~198hp and ~165tq. Both engines are basically drop in and go. Nothing NEEDS to be changed when upgrade to a 2.5l. Ideally you wanna upgrade the things like clutch, and get the proper ECU/VAF combo, and other preventative maintenance things while the engine is out, but I would suggest doing a search on that. There is plenty of information regarding 2.5l swaps, it's sometihng that is very common around here. One benefit to a KLZE is that thy typically come wth much lower milleage than a KLDE since they come from Japan, but doesn't mean that they are in better shape (like mine)

You can get into the 14's on a KLZE as well as a KLDE. I've seen both, with the exception of mine (and I"m not too happy about that). With a good driver, a KLDE can get you high-14's (i've raced against Bonestockkid who pulled a 14.6 if i remember right) and a KLZE low-14's. I've *heard* of high-13's with just th swap (Aaron The Hic said he did a 13.8 on just the swap i believe. He later added N20 and eventually blew up his engine. Man, it's been too long, but I think he was running 11's with N20)

Juans_93_MX3 wrote: As for a turbo system goes. You can make your own system for very cheap. Dont give into people who sell turbo kits for overpriced prices. Make your own

A KLDE can take 10PSI max
A KLZE can take 6 PSI max
check this thread out
http://www.mx-3.com/phpbb2/viewtopic.php?t=46540
ignore the fact that I put 14PSI max for the KLDE

For max boost, that's about right. Thing with a turbo's, is that you can swap in a 2.5l for less if not cheaper than doing a custom turbo setup, and you'll get about the same HP, but less reliability (forced induction is always less reliable than natrally aspirated). And a turbo isn't just pop in and go, there is alot of tuning required to get a turbo to run right. Besides, the downfall of the 1.8 is that it's only available in Mx-3's, so 1.8l-specific replacement parts (typically the internals except for the cams) are rarer and more expensive, and because of it's limited availability, there is no aftermarket internal upgrades that I'm aware of. The aftermarket on the 2.5l's however does exist, largely in part to the probe and mx-6 communities who modify their engines, so if you want to get insane on the boost for a 2.5, it's possible. Just look at Babyblue's Mx-3, quite the piece of work. If you wanna turbo, a turbo 2.5 is the way to go. Turbo-ing a K8 requires more money, more work, sacrifices reliability, as opposed to an engine swap, for the same amount of power. Also, gas milleage actually improves with swapping in a 2.5l since the engine doesn't need to work as hard to move the same amount of weight.

Also, here are pro's and cons to choosing either a KLDE or a KLZE for forced induction. ALthough a KLZE handles less max boost compared to a KLDE, because the KLZE is higher compression (10:1 as opposed to 9.2:1), you get more HP per PSI, as well as the KLZE's have better flowing heads, the runners are squared instead of round, so you can let in more air, but the higher compression gives less margin for error for tuning. A KLDE is easier because of it's lower compression, but as they cay "low compression is a poor excuse for poor tuning". I'm not a turbo guy, so I couldn't tell you exactly which way is better in the end, but that's why I know.

kiwi_MX3 wrote:
Vanished wrote:Defantly don't get a super charger. Sure its nice to say "hey i got a supercharger", I agree, but its better to put the money into a new engine. Superchargers put wear and tear on an engine, and the K8 thats in there might not be in the greatest condition. Even if it is, it's still pointelss to supercharge it when you can get a KLZE for the same price. It will be more reliable, and just as fast for the same price. Trust me.
Umm id like to ask where you base your logic that superchargers put
wear and tear on a engine when a lot of manufactors build supercharged
engines as stock.

It's difference comparing a stock-designed super/turbo engine to a n/a with an aftermarket FI system. Superchangers add a load to the engine, theoretically making the engine work more since it has to work to turn the blower, on top of handling the boost being forced into the engine. but IMO, that load is negligable in terms of engine wear, and really only affects the max power output.