Look out, I'm a new guy!

Bobbyrules485 · Post by **Bobbyrules485** » October 24th, 2007, 3:02 am

Hey guys, im brand new to the whole MX-3 scene, i just bought mine about a month and a half ago, its a '92 with the V6. It's all stock except for the sound system, i needed bass! Anyways, just wanted to introduce myself and ask you guys one question, what would you recommend as a good first mod?

Dali · Post by **Dali** » October 24th, 2007, 3:49 am

hey, welcome to the site. as for mods....depends on what you are looking to get out of the car and how much you looking to spend. typical things are, cold air intake, exhaust, lowering, tires/wheels, klze motor etc. all you need is money and time.

Bobbyrules485 · Post by **Bobbyrules485** » October 25th, 2007, 2:46 am

We'll, i want to get as much out of my car as i can.....ive actually just went out today and bought a new door seal (mine was ruined) and a nice set of 17" rims and some nice low pro tires for them. Reading the forums, ive seen that the CAI's dont give much more power, and being on the west coast, we get a lot of rain, i could get a bypass valve and all that, but do i really want to spend so much money on something with which gives back so little? I'm getting a brand new catback exhast system very shortly.....I dont really want to do anything else to this engine, like new headers or underdrive pulleys, cause in the future i see myself swapping the 1.8 out and grabbing up a KLZE or a KLDE and throwing that in there. I'm also planning on getting a body kit soonish, after winter, and getting the entire car repainted while its getting put on... As for lowering it, i catch ferries all the time (I just moved to Nanaimo from Powell River) and i have seen lowered cars with body kits ground out or smash their front clips into the ramp.....I dont want to find out my car is too low to go onto the ferry with! By the way, how much is a KLZE - DE in good condition going for price wise right now?

Dali · Post by **Dali** » October 25th, 2007, 3:42 am

stock height wont help on the ferries, i hit my stock bumper on the ramp, with it being lowered i made it on and off just fine, you just have to hit it at a nice angle and depending on how much the tide is in or out. as for a cai it was on of the cheapest mods and made a very noticable difference in performance, other quick cheap mod is the upper strut tower bars, front and rear, makes a huge difference in handling.

solo_ryder · Post by **solo_ryder** » October 26th, 2007, 9:21 am

Bobbyrules485 wrote:We'll, i want to get as much out of my car as i can.....ive actually just went out today and bought a new door seal (mine was ruined) and a nice set of 17" rims and some nice low pro tires for them. Reading the forums, ive seen that the CAI's dont give much more power, and being on the west coast, we get a lot of rain, i could get a bypass valve and all that, but do i really want to spend so much money on something with which gives back so little? I'm getting a brand new catback exhast system very shortly.....I dont really want to do anything else to this engine, like new headers or underdrive pulleys, cause in the future i see myself swapping the 1.8 out and grabbing up a KLZE or a KLDE and throwing that in there. I'm also planning on getting a body kit soonish, after winter, and getting the entire car repainted while its getting put on... As for lowering it, i catch ferries all the time (I just moved to Nanaimo from Powell River) and i have seen lowered cars with body kits ground out or smash their front clips into the ramp.....I dont want to find out my car is too low to go onto the ferry with! By the way, how much is a KLZE - DE in good condition going for price wise right now?

KLDE is almot not even worth it unless you find one for under 400$. However, you can get a ZE for under 1K and that is pretty cheap considering the price of motors for any other car that are JDM. As for a body kit... If you like that kind of thing then ok, but if you are worried about the ride height and the ferries then a kit is not going to help you becuase they ALL hang lower then stock except for the Mazdaspeed front nose (best kit anyways) so consider that... If you need any help with parts or swapping stuff PM me or Dali and we can help. Welcome to the club BTW, hope to see you at the annual meet

Tunes67 · Post by **Tunes67** » October 26th, 2007, 10:50 am

Welcome to the board. I will have to disagree with Solo on the KLDE idea. Even if the engine isnt a ZE it still has a LOT more power than the stock K8 and its easier to get running properly cause there are plenty of OEM MAF, VAF & ECU combinations for it. Unlike the ZE where you are trying to find specific JDM ECU's or Probinator chips or even complete standalone engine management systems.

The KLDE may not have as much overall power as a ZE.. but its cheaper and easier and still a decent upgrade over a K8.

Tunes67

solo_ryder · Post by **solo_ryder** » October 26th, 2007, 12:34 pm

Tunes67 wrote:Welcome to the board. I will have to disagree with Solo on the KLDE idea. Even if the engine isnt a ZE it still has a LOT more power than the stock K8 and its easier to get running properly cause there are plenty of OEM MAF, VAF & ECU combinations for it. Unlike the ZE where you are trying to find specific JDM ECU's or Probinator chips or even complete standalone engine management systems.

The KLDE may not have as much overall power as a ZE.. but its cheaper and easier and still a decent upgrade over a K8.

Tunes67

Where you gonna find one in good shape though in that area? All the wreckers will charge u over 800$ for a 200 thou motor. That is why I also think ze is a good idea.

Tunes67 · Post by **Tunes67** » October 26th, 2007, 12:43 pm

So you buy one and have it shipped to you from some importer. DE's are not like ZE's.. you dont have to worry about making sure it has the right casting numbers or KL31 cams or whatever.. its just a DE. Heck for that matter maybe he could get lucky and be sent a ZE by mistake LOL

Tunes67

Bobbyrules485 · Post by **Bobbyrules485** » October 29th, 2007, 2:48 am

Thanks for the welcome! Anyways, i was leaning towards a KLZE simply because it was so much more powerful, but i was worried about finding parts for a KLZE, and the prices if i did find them....and like Tunes said, there are a lot of factors to getting the KLZE running properly, getting specific ECU's, etc....... Now a KLDE would be cheaper and finding parts for it a lot easier, but its just not a KLZE..........and FINDING a KLZE might be a bit troublesome, unless any of you know where i might find one

On another note, yeah, i'd love to come to the annual meet, it sounds like a lot of fun!