V6 to I4 conversion...what should I do?

[Rick Johnson]

Hey guys, I'm at a crossroad here. My mx-3 is need of repair its a 92 GS, Im getting 7 codes from the ecu, both 02's, EGR, CPS, VAF, IAT and TPS my cars CEL is always turning on and off and it sometimes dies at idle when the engine is warm, I'm guessing this is the o2's and maybe combined with the TPS which sometimes my idle jumps from 1000-1500 every few secs. But at WOT the car still pulls pretty good 'specially at 4k but I guess after 3+ years of s---'n'abuse this is what happens at 246,000 kms anyways here's my dilemna. Should I

A. repair the car, drive it..... and wait for more stuff to go wrong...

B. Use the money I would on repairs + a little more and drop a KLZE in?

C. Convert it to a 4 cyclinder and put in a b6t which i just happen to have laying around in a complete 1988 323 GT.

D. Sell the mx3 for whatever I can get for it, and go buy a Honda Civic.... And proceed to put every after market "Honda Motorsport" aka HOMO part on it I can?

Well what do YOU think?

[Gro Harlem]

I WISH i did the V6 to I4 conversion when I first bought my car (had blown motor). IMO the KLZE doesn't have potential like the BPT does & there would be so much more room under there with a BPT.

It would require you to get a MX-3 I4 harness & a power sterring pump but everything else would fit relatively easily. Wiring it would still be a bit tricky but once you convert the harness, the wiring procedure would be the same as they are for the I4 guys.

[Rick Johnson]

Hmmm, good point Gro, I do have a complete b6t w/harness, I wonder if that would work with a bit of splicing. I need shop manuals. I don't think I could easily get a mx-3 I4 harness, I can get a protege harness.... they are pretty similar I imagine.

[TsiMiata]

With that many cels on it could be that nothing is wrong with the actula parts. It could be something electrical they all have in common such as a ground or +5v supply. Try testing the parts per the shop manual and seei fhtye are actually bad.

[solo_ryder]

Would the motor mounts line up if you did a I4 swap? Is that tranny compatible in the GS?

[PATDIESEL]

You would need the 4 cyl motor mounts, the tranny from you 323 will work just fine with the B6 swap. The cross member might have to be removed for the piping. The engine harness from your 323 should work fine with the motor in a MX-3. Good luck, but I'd do the ZE swap.

Why does a ZE have less potential. More displacement = more HP, the BPT might have more power for less monmey at some point, it has better block webbing, better aftermarket support (through the BP), when all is said and done the ZE will make more HP. True also that the BPT can take more boost, but the ZE will make similar HP numbers given a turbo of it's own. Anyway my 2cents.

[mxmaz]

I would sell the 323 you have and use the money you get from that to buy a klze.

[Rick Johnson]

Well I have located a curved neck KLZE in my area for $1100, no ecu tho....

[Gro Harlem]

if you have the parts, screw the KLZE.its not as great as everyone says it is. Lack of torque = no fun. B6T or BPT has a much broader powerband.

[Rick Johnson]

Well I bought the KLZE on saturday lol. I've decided to go this route because it's the easiest. I can't have any downtime here when it comes to this swap because I have a garage for 2 days and thats it, I can't be hassled with scouring junkyards for specific 4cyl parts to complete the b6t swap. I'm going to try and find a white mx-3 4 cyl tho and b6t that thing for my girlfriend or i just might sell the 323. I got a fidanza flywheel and clutchmasters stage 2 clutch on the way I'm still toying with boosting the ZE decisions decisions..