Hi folks, Newbie here.
I am looking to buy an MX-3 after falling for their obvious good looks and V6 charms. I'm in the UK and have been researching as best as I can and have found differing estimates of HP (from 128 to 140) on stock engines. I'd like some difintive info please. I did read that the post 1994 cars have 128hp and the pre 94's 135hp, is that true?
I'm only looking at UK cars as insurance is cheaper.
The other question I have is regarding these piggy back devices (ebay) that boost power by apparently fooling the ECU the airs at the intake is cooler...? Do they work and if so which one is best? There's one with a dash mounted dial so you can increase power from the comfort of your seat ...They sell for £3.95 and make claims of up to 20-45hp which sounds way to good to be true... usually if something sounds too good to be true, it is.
Look forward to any advice you can give.
Newbie wants advice on UK 1.8 V6 spec
-Jim
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lakersfan1
- Senior Member
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- Location: Puyallup, WA
ZE engines are JAPANESE ONLY. If your engine isn't from Japan, it isn't a ZE. These 5 HP differences you're bickering about are NOTHING. All that can be explained in emissions differences between California and the rest of the U.S. in the early-mid 90's, let alone emissions restrictions from other countries. If it's a NON-JAPANESE engine, it's exactly liek everyone else's K8 engine.
...erm right lakersfanny...
My orignal question was from 128hp-140hp which is a good bit of difference in my book and we're hardly bickering... just wanted some info. If there was a 128hp for the same money/condition as a 135 or even a 140hp it would make sense to me to buy the more powerful one as I'm not looking to do any serious mods to it.
US variants of most cars generally have had tougher emission controls in comparison to UK spec -especially pre 92 which is why I made it clear I'm interested in UK spec as I know the imported cars here can be quite different, the 1.5 DOHC version for instance and theres a fair few 1.8 imports running about from Japan, Ireland as well as South Africa.
My orignal question was from 128hp-140hp which is a good bit of difference in my book and we're hardly bickering... just wanted some info. If there was a 128hp for the same money/condition as a 135 or even a 140hp it would make sense to me to buy the more powerful one as I'm not looking to do any serious mods to it.
US variants of most cars generally have had tougher emission controls in comparison to UK spec -especially pre 92 which is why I made it clear I'm interested in UK spec as I know the imported cars here can be quite different, the 1.5 DOHC version for instance and theres a fair few 1.8 imports running about from Japan, Ireland as well as South Africa.
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Nd4SpdSe
- Senior Member
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- Location: Québec City, Quebec, Canada
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I've heard of only 2 versions
K8-DE: 130HP
K8-ZE: 135HP
K8-DE: 130HP
K8-ZE: 135HP
1992 Mazda Mx-3 GSR - 2.5L KLZE : Award Winning Show Car & Race Car ['02-'09] (Retired)
2004 Mazda RX-8 GT - Renesis Wankel : LS3 Coils, BHR Mid-Pipe + Falken RT-615K 245/40r18
2011 Mazda Mazda2 GS - 1.5L Manual : Yozora Edition (1 of 500)
2003 Nissan Xterra SE - 4x4 Supercharged : 2" Body Lift, 4" Suspension Lift & 33" MTR Kevlar
2001 Nissan Frontier SE - The Frontrailer : Expedition/Off-Road Trailer Project
2004 Mazda RX-8 GT - Renesis Wankel : LS3 Coils, BHR Mid-Pipe + Falken RT-615K 245/40r18
2011 Mazda Mazda2 GS - 1.5L Manual : Yozora Edition (1 of 500)
2003 Nissan Xterra SE - 4x4 Supercharged : 2" Body Lift, 4" Suspension Lift & 33" MTR Kevlar
2001 Nissan Frontier SE - The Frontrailer : Expedition/Off-Road Trailer Project
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snellgrove
- Regular Member
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- Joined: February 4th, 2005, 5:14 pm
- Location: UK
- Contact:
@ Chemical, in the UK i believe they are all around 130bhp.. - well, the V6 ones anyway 
but I wouldnt worry too much, each engine varies.. buying an MX-3, it wont be 130bhp.. or 128... or 135... only way to be sure is to get it Dyno'd, and even then thats a wheel power, not an engine power (tbh engine power is pointless anyway - a 800bhp car with 600bhp losses through the drivetrain is going to be slower than a 250bhp car with 25bhp losses if they weigh the same, 600bhp losses is hypothetical of course - no drivetrain is THAT bad!!! but anyway..back to the topic....)
tbh, if your after bhp an MX-3 isn't the place to go.. I 0-60'd mine and it did 8.1 seconds.. not bad but they aren't seriously "BMW M3" fast!
Good enough that I overtook someone on a winding road home on monday night the moment a straight bit came up... and the MX-3 is the most fun car I've EVER driven (and I've driven quite a few!! used to work for a company that had franchises of quite a variety of manufacturers
)
:edit:
Will say though, that if you are after a 'fairly fast' (mine keeps up with my mates Celica GT's (176bhp) until about 80mph or so ) and damn fun, drivers-car kinda thing... then the MX-3 is the car to buy, its a bit exclusive too.. dont see THAT many around (nice when you do tho, usually see the driver looking over at mine, as I look over at his/hers 
)
but I wouldnt worry too much, each engine varies.. buying an MX-3, it wont be 130bhp.. or 128... or 135... only way to be sure is to get it Dyno'd, and even then thats a wheel power, not an engine power (tbh engine power is pointless anyway - a 800bhp car with 600bhp losses through the drivetrain is going to be slower than a 250bhp car with 25bhp losses if they weigh the same, 600bhp losses is hypothetical of course - no drivetrain is THAT bad!!! but anyway..back to the topic....)
tbh, if your after bhp an MX-3 isn't the place to go.. I 0-60'd mine and it did 8.1 seconds.. not bad but they aren't seriously "BMW M3" fast!
Good enough that I overtook someone on a winding road home on monday night the moment a straight bit came up... and the MX-3 is the most fun car I've EVER driven (and I've driven quite a few!! used to work for a company that had franchises of quite a variety of manufacturers
):edit:
Will say though, that if you are after a 'fairly fast' (mine keeps up with my mates Celica GT's (176bhp) until about 80mph or so
) and damn fun, drivers-car kinda thing... then the MX-3 is the car to buy, its a bit exclusive too.. dont see THAT many around (nice when you do tho, usually see the driver looking over at mine, as I look over at his/hers )1997, Silver, V6
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lakersfan1
- Senior Member
- Posts: 3825
- Joined: June 26th, 2003, 2:01 am
- Location: Puyallup, WA
The 140 HP rating was ONLY on the Jap spec.Chemical wrote:...erm right lakersfanny...
My orignal question was from 128hp-140hp which is a good bit of difference in my book and we're hardly bickering... just wanted some info. If there was a 128hp for the same money/condition as a 135 or even a 140hp it would make sense to me to buy the more powerful one as I'm not looking to do any serious mods to it.
US variants of most cars generally have had tougher emission controls in comparison to UK spec -especially pre 92 which is why I made it clear I'm interested in UK spec as I know the imported cars here can be quite different, the 1.5 DOHC version for instance and theres a fair few 1.8 imports running about from Japan, Ireland as well as South Africa.
All other engines are rated from 128 - 135, but they are the SAME engine. This 7 HP range is from what is in your emissions system? Even if you had a 128 HP rating on your engine, and put one from a 135 HP rated car, you'll STILL HAVE 128 HP! Why? Because you didn't change anything in your emisssions system!. You won't change a thing by changing from one K8DE to another K8DE. If you want, you could try more aggressive cams made for a KLZE or even some custom grinds from our Canadian friend Mike Seli, since the K8 intake cams are ridiculously poor flowing. But that's about all you can do at the block end with keeping a K8 block.
Cool guys,
I knew it was PROBABLY about emission control but wanted to know if anything else, compression etc had changed. And yes Lakers- I get what your sayin but it was'nt what I was asking- I understand about cars having cut my teeth on Australian Holden straight sixes (I grew up in Oz) but don't know much about MX-3's and trawling the web I found much conflicting data. As I 've already said here I want to keep it pretty stock - not fart about with cam's, exhausts, chips, so 7hp is significant to me. An extra seven black stallions under the bonnet for free!
Well.. I will get an induction kit but thats about it.. mmm well mebe take a look at the exhaust..I did read that post about exhaust velocity and found it very informative.
Oh , and UKMX-3 -you said the suspension needs sorting?
Snellgrove and UKMX-3- thats what I meant- you guys have 97's and 135hp? Excellent! I was going to get a pre 94' with low miles but now gonna go as late as I can. Budget is about £1500 - searching nationally on ebay and autotrader and HOPEFULLY in black. Within a few weeks there should be one sitting outside! I''l post her pic up when she's bought.
My racer days are over so theyre fast enough for me otherwise I'd be looking at MK11 MR2 or even a Fiat coupe- plus I just really love the look of them and the fact that they are pretty rare.
So any advice on what to look for or look out for would be appreciated, where they're prone to rust ,cam belt intervals (50,000?) and anything else I should know.
I knew it was PROBABLY about emission control but wanted to know if anything else, compression etc had changed. And yes Lakers- I get what your sayin but it was'nt what I was asking- I understand about cars having cut my teeth on Australian Holden straight sixes (I grew up in Oz) but don't know much about MX-3's and trawling the web I found much conflicting data. As I 've already said here I want to keep it pretty stock - not fart about with cam's, exhausts, chips, so 7hp is significant to me. An extra seven black stallions under the bonnet for free!
Well.. I will get an induction kit but thats about it.. mmm well mebe take a look at the exhaust..I did read that post about exhaust velocity and found it very informative.
Oh , and UKMX-3 -you said the suspension needs sorting?
Snellgrove and UKMX-3- thats what I meant- you guys have 97's and 135hp? Excellent! I was going to get a pre 94' with low miles but now gonna go as late as I can. Budget is about £1500 - searching nationally on ebay and autotrader and HOPEFULLY in black. Within a few weeks there should be one sitting outside! I''l post her pic up when she's bought.
My racer days are over so theyre fast enough for me otherwise I'd be looking at MK11 MR2 or even a Fiat coupe- plus I just really love the look of them and the fact that they are pretty rare.
So any advice on what to look for or look out for would be appreciated, where they're prone to rust ,cam belt intervals (50,000?) and anything else I should know.
Well when i said sort the suspension what i meant was uprate it....Its fine for daily use as standard, but i found that it had a bit much body roll for my taste....especially on the twisty stuff out in the country, which is where i take mines for fun...
On your other two cars.....
Fiat Coupe Plus.....no no no no....don't do it....engines are thrashy, suspension needs rebuilt at about 80k miles and fiat quality body work leaves a lot to be desired....
If you are buying a coupe stay japanese, especially in you're price range.
You cant go far wrong with the MR2, lovely car, but my mate has one and he goes green every time he hears the V6 noise, however saying that there nothin like having an ebgine sitting 50cm behing your head....
but at £1500 pounds you will be lucky to find one newer than a 1992...and they are the ones with the....Interesting Handling, especially in the wet....remeber this is the UK, and they are undrivable/Very Scary in snow and ice apparently.
Personally i'd go for the MX-3, well actually i did...
Paid £4500 3 years ago...you should be able to pick up a 1997 V6 for around £1.5 -£2k these days, mines was so expensive because it only had 44k miles on the clock when i bought it
On your other two cars.....
Fiat Coupe Plus.....no no no no....don't do it....engines are thrashy, suspension needs rebuilt at about 80k miles and fiat quality body work leaves a lot to be desired....
If you are buying a coupe stay japanese, especially in you're price range.
You cant go far wrong with the MR2, lovely car, but my mate has one and he goes green every time he hears the V6 noise, however saying that there nothin like having an ebgine sitting 50cm behing your head....
but at £1500 pounds you will be lucky to find one newer than a 1992...and they are the ones with the....Interesting Handling, especially in the wet....remeber this is the UK, and they are undrivable/Very Scary in snow and ice apparently.
Personally i'd go for the MX-3, well actually i did...
Paid £4500 3 years ago...you should be able to pick up a 1997 V6 for around £1.5 -£2k these days, mines was so expensive because it only had 44k miles on the clock when i bought it
I was'nt gonna get a MR2 for that budget - I can go up to about 3500k but thats part of the reason for the MX-3- great value for money. I've always loved the fiat coupe too but I know theyre a bit of a nightmare unless you have deep pockets. But like I said I dont want anyhting I can kill myself in too easily these days lol
There's plenty to choose from but I'm hopin to find one a little closer to me so hopefully one will turn up in Scotland.
You in Scotland too?
There's plenty to choose from but I'm hopin to find one a little closer to me so hopefully one will turn up in Scotland.
You in Scotland too?