Performance ideas (KL-ZE fell through, now what?)

[dorin]

I was all excited about putting in a KL-ZE in my car, but it didn't work out. I ctually had it fdelivered from Montreal today but when it came it was missing the air-flow meter, and from what I understood I cannot make it run without the meter. Hopefully I will eventually get the right KL-ZE, but in the meantime the question is now what?<P>I have a '92 GS with 130,000km on it, with a PRM cold-air intake, 2.25" cat-back Ractive muffler and Midas pipes and high-flow resonator exhaust sytem, perfomance spark-plug wires (I don't remember the brand), front and rear strut tower braces, and 16" rims with 205/50 tires.<P>I'm thinking of getting a new Centerforce Dual-Friction MX-6 clutch, but I might as well wait until I can find a good KL-ZE and put it in at the same time as the engine in order to save on labour. I'd also like to get some stiffer dampers (struts), but I'm not sure if I want to lower my car and put in springs as well. What about phenolic intake spacers? Would I see enough of a performance gain to make it worth my while? What about an underdrive pulley?<P>Any ideas, especially those that I can do myself over the course of a weekend would be greatly apreciated. I'd also prefer peripheral improvements that I would be able to keep after I finally get a KL-ZE (it could be in a month and a half or it could be next summer).

[SE-Man]

Can't you just order one? I'm making them send me one with my motor.<P>------------------<BR>Thanks,<BR>Teri<BR>'93 MX-3 SE soon to be a GSR<P>http://www.geocities.com/warmachinex0/MX-3GSSE.html

[white fish]

Wait for the cutch install everything put an order on the VAF and just use the 1.8's till you get it<P>After the motor you might want to look into brakes, you'll have to slow the beast too <P>------------------<BR>Clear White 2.5L GSR

[Bri94GS]

How bout an ECU upgrade or NOS??? I don't think you'll need that much of a braking system upgrade. He should already have 4 wheel ABS, and even though the 2.5 makes our cars fast, they still aren't THAT fast...<P>------------------<BR>~'94 GS

[2.5mx3]

Whoa!<P>You say you had the engine delivered, but you didn't take it? Most ZE's will not come with the VAF. I've heard that most Japanese scrap yards either discard that part, or they'll take it off and sell it seperately. <P>Dorin, before I got my engine, I just bought a VAF from a Probe GT, and used that. It'll work just fine! I did a search on <A HREF="http://www.car-part.com" TARGET=_blank>http://www.car-part.com</A> and found one for $50USD. I would snatch that engine up again before someone else takes it! Btw, what was the condition of the engine overall? Just curious...<P> <BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by dorin:<BR><B>I was all excited about putting in a KL-ZE in my car, but it didn't work out. I ctually had it fdelivered from Montreal today but when it came it was missing the air-flow meter, and from what I understood I cannot make it run without the meter. Hopefully I will eventually get the right KL-ZE, but in the meantime the question is now what?<P>I have a '92 GS with 130,000km on it, with a PRM cold-air intake, 2.25" cat-back Ractive muffler and Midas pipes and high-flow resonator exhaust sytem, perfomance spark-plug wires (I don't remember the brand), front and rear strut tower braces, and 16" rims with 205/50 tires.<P>I'm thinking of getting a new Centerforce Dual-Friction MX-6 clutch, but I might as well wait until I can find a good KL-ZE and put it in at the same time as the engine in order to save on labour. I'd also like to get some stiffer dampers (struts), but I'm not sure if I want to lower my car and put in springs as well. What about phenolic intake spacers? Would I see enough of a performance gain to make it worth my while? What about an underdrive pulley?<P>Any ideas, especially those that I can do myself over the course of a weekend would be greatly apreciated. I'd also prefer peripheral improvements that I would be able to keep after I finally get a KL-ZE (it could be in a month and a half or it could be next summer).</B><HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P><P>------------------<BR>Hank<BR>'92 GSR<BR>2.5L KL-ZE

[dorin]

The thing is that I thought it would come with the VAF. I phoned the guy in Montreal three times to make sure that it came with the VAF and my understanding was that it would have it, but it didn't. I realize the VAF is fairly easy to come across, but I could not find a used one in town and a new one costs C$1100 (yeah, no kidding). I would have kept the engine if I had where, but unfortunately I don't have a garage and my garage had no place to store an extra engine for an unspecified period of time. Furthermore I thought the engine looked a little dodgy. It had a fair amount of oil on it and I didn't like the way the gaskets looked. The way I see it, it was the last engine out of a shipment of ten and that probably means there were nine other better ones than it. I think I'll just wait until the next shipment in a month or so and actually drive to Montreal to look at what came in. I can also find a VAF in the meantime.<P>Back to the other mods topic, my car does not have ABS, but it does have 4-wheel discs. I would not mind improving the braking, but I don't see how (just a week and a half ago I installed new Brembo cross-drilled discs with EBC Green Stuff pads, and I'm waiting for a set of Goodridge steel-braided brake lines). I guess and AEM big rotor kit would be an improvement, but I find it cost-prohibitive. <P>NOS might be good for some, but I don't like the idea. I'd rather have improvements that are always accessible (in other words I can see NOS being a pain in the a-- to always have a full bottle) and I need my car to be reliable. <P>An improved ECU sounds intriguing, what exactly can I expect to gain from one, how much would it run me, and is it worth it on the 1.8L engine? <P>What about the underdrive pulley or the phenolic intake spacers?

[dorin]

Another idea about improved braking would be to get some dual-piston calipers to replace the stock single-piston ones, espcially in the front. I posted something about that a while ago but got no replies. Does anyone know if it's possible to get dual-piston calipers for the front brakes?

[2.5mx3]

Well, better safe than sorry. If you didn't like the look of the engine, then it's better that you wait for a fresh shipment. <P>As far as the ZE VAF goes, I'm not even sure it'll work. Steve (tekguy) dyno'ed his car recently, and tried using the ZE VAF and ECM, but the car would either stall or run horribly. He's got a ported KL, so I'm not sure if would actually work with my ZE (or yours). By the way, I got my PGT VAF for $50. You can find them REAL cheap.<P> <BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by dorin:<BR><B>Another idea about improved braking would be to get some dual-piston calipers to replace the stock single-piston ones, espcially in the front. I posted something about that a while ago but got no replies. Does anyone know if it's possible to get dual-piston calipers for the front brakes?</B><HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P><P>------------------<BR>Hank<BR>'92 GSR<BR>2.5L KL-ZE

[dabudah]

Lol, I was going to drive up there to get that engine. I suppose it is a good thing I didn't if it looked as bad as you said... But I'm at school now so the ZE will have to wait for either winter break or next summer. Anyways, Hank, thanks for helping out, but as you can prob. tell, the trip north didn't come through. Hopefully I will have it soon enough.