can my pistons handle it?

[carr2626]

i have a 1.6 and a 1.8 mx3 gs im goin to have the engine rebuilt on one of them and i was wondering if stock pistons and rods could handle 300 -350 horse and a turbo kit and whether i should use the 4 cyl or the v6 for the build
any answers or comments appriciated

[RS_OBD'oh_2]

ya, neither engine or tranny will handle that in stock form.

You're better off to search next time. There is a 4 cyl making over 300 and there are v6's around the same. The engines are not stock and may or may not be the original "intended" engine for the mx.

The rest I leave up to you.

try looking at the worklogs.

[carr2626]

so i should go with new pistons and rods? this is my first engine build and im tryin to doit the rite way any advice?

[Ryan]

Man, Here comes the airplane...

BP swap or DE swap and tune it carefully.



Check the FAQ'S and WORKLOGS.


BP is known to handle 300 hp on stock internals, I'm sure DE is too. Not sure for how long though....

Stock motors - yes, but not for long, we're talking one or two joyrides I think. I've seen one 300+ hp SOHC, but thats it.

[RS_OBD'oh_2]

ok,

I'm going to have to ask a few questions. It's not a shot at you... just questions... if you cannot answer all of these, you are not ready.

Do you know anything about forced induction? Or how to turbo a car? - and more than the basics -
What year is your 4-cyl?
what turbo would you use? (either 4 cyl or v6)
What are you able/willing to spend $$$$$$?
Can you afford to drop close to 2-5000?
Do you have a local dyno/ tuning shop?
Do you know where you will be getting your parts?
Do you know the difference between quality parts and crap?

/end garbage

[carr2626]

yes i do no bout turbos and more thatn the basics i would use a t3 t4 turbo im willin to spend up to 3 grand i have a dyno three towns over and most of my parts would come thru a speed shop in my town i was just wonderin if the internals coulld handle the turbo or i needed to get upgraded pistons and rods cuz i could seem to find specs online of wat they could handle ive decided to go with the 1.8 v6 k8 de

[RS_OBD'oh_2]

yes i do no bout turbos and more thatn the basics i would use a t3 t4 turbo im willin to spend up to 3 grand i have a dyno three towns over and most of my parts would come thru a speed shop in my town i was just wonderin if the internals coulld handle the turbo or i needed to get upgraded pistons and rods cuz i could seem to find specs online of wat they could handle ive decided to go with the 1.8 v6 k8 de

The bees are on the what now?

[Sleeper6]

DE = 2.5l so im assuming you plan on doing an engine swap?

[Ryan]

I think he meant DE as in 'K8DE' which isn't the common nomenclature, as to be opposed to K8ZE.

Small, tiny difference. Or maybe he doesn't know what he's talking about.

[MapaX5]

turbo the i4 and get the 2.5 for the v6.
my buddy has a 2.5 on his GS and that thing is at 210 in pretty much stock. add headers, a nice ECU, the Milennia top end, and you're at 300, if not close.

[wytbishop]

turbo the i4 and get the 2.5 for the v6.
my buddy has a 2.5 on his GS and that thing is at 210 in pretty much stock. add headers, a nice ECU, the Milennia top end, and you're at 300, if not close.

In what universe?

Anyway. The general concensus is that the BP is most suited to big boost. It's also the best supported engine in the MX-3 realm as all of the miata internals are available for use with it. The KL is a very strong engine, and the girdle style bottom end is near bulletproof, but to get to 300hp you will have to swap internals as well. The difference is that rods and pistons for the KL are a little more exotic. Probetalk is a great resource for big KL builds.

In short, no. To pass 300hp you will need to be in the neighborhood of 15psi on either engine and neither one is going to stand up to it for long in stock form.