New Owner help with swap

thefisherking56 · Post by **thefisherking56** » February 12th, 2005, 1:51 am

I just bought a 1992 MX3 with a 4 cyl engine and want to swap it out for something better and turbo charged. Couple of questions.

Which is the best engine for this swap(performance wise)?

Can i put in a v6 or a rotary with a turbo?

Which is the best tranny?

I appreciate any help or advice given to me. Thank you in advance.

David

ryanlindenberg · Post by **ryanlindenberg** » February 12th, 2005, 2:40 am

there is a lot of info on this site...use the search button up top. the best engine for you would be the 1.8 BPT with a protege lx transmission.

thefisherking56 · Post by **thefisherking56** » February 12th, 2005, 2:56 am

Off what car does a 1.8 BPT cone from or who would sell it. Thank you

thefisherking56 · Post by **thefisherking56** » February 12th, 2005, 3:14 am

Also what year does the protoge have to be and where is a good place that sells just transmissions like this. One more thing is it a standard application to join the bpt engine with this tranny and put both into the car or do i have to modify and what other pieces will i need,

Thank you very much for any help given.

matt_fulghum · Post by **matt_fulghum** » February 12th, 2005, 9:48 am

actually, you COULD use the stock tranny from the MX-3, but that'd be a recipe for disaster with the BPT's power...

As I recall, the only cars that came with the BPT engine were the Japanese and Australian late '80s 323 GTXes (the more common ones) and GTRs (the incredibly rare ones)

I'm going to assume you don't live in either Japan or Australia, so you'd have to find an engine importer to get your hands on one...

Also, on top of that, you'd need a custom fit intercooler, and a lot of extra fiddly bits to get things working perfectly. My advice? Get a normal BP from a 90-94 Protege.

It's exactly the same engine block, IIRC. All that's different is that it doesn't have the turbo exhaust manifold, but they're easy to find. Corksport sells em (http://www.corksport.com)

The BP swap is also a direct drop in, so you could get that working first, and then when you have the cash and time (say, summer vacation) you could go and turbo it.

Another thing: the turbo on the BPT is wussy (except the GTR is a bit better) and you could definitely find a much nicer one, like a sequential turbo or something, so long as it bolts onto the manifold correctly.

Just my two cents.

thefisherking56 · February 12th, 2005, 11:23 am

I am lucky that I dont need to drive the car so I want to do everything at onc but I want to do it the best way possible. If I do go with a bp of a protoge what turbo would I get and would that be a lot more expensive than buying the whole bpt. also if I do go with the bpt can I beef up the stock tranny or get the protege lx one. I still need to know what year protege and if it is directly compatible with the bpt. hank you for all your help.
David

By the way I live in Miami. Eventhough it seems like a foreign country down here its not japan or australia! LOL

matt_fulghum · Post by **matt_fulghum** » February 12th, 2005, 3:04 pm

well, buying a BPT would be incredibly expensive considering they have to be imported, and they're harder to find... a BP should run you 250-400 bucks (I got mine for 350). For an imported used BPT? you're looking at a CHUNK more than that.... blech!

if you buy a BP engine, you could get the BPT exhaust manifold from corksport. Not exactly sure what turbo the BPT used, it's an IHI something or another... I'll look into that in a bit, trying to get my tranny off atm

Most likely, buying the BP and then the turbo manifold and turbo and such would actually be cheaper than buying the BPT (remember, they're EXACTLY the same engine, even the oil lines are the same)

if you go for the BP and turbo it later, or the BPT, get the Protege tranny, or you'll surely kill the stock one. As a bonus, the Protege tranny is geared better for hard acceleration, while the MX-3 tranny is meant for best gas milage.

1990-1994 Protege LX is the model range you're looking for. Make sure you don't get a motor from a DX, they used the SOHC engine, the B8

aside from the lack of a turbo exhaust manifold and the turbo itself, it's the same exact motor as the BPT, so it's completely compatible.

thefisherking56 · Post by **thefisherking56** » February 12th, 2005, 8:25 pm

Thank you for you help. Does anyone out there know which turbo would be compatible with this swap and how much it would be?

matt_fulghum · Post by **matt_fulghum** » February 12th, 2005, 9:49 pm

alright, this article says that the GT-R turbo is the IHI RHF6CB turbo, but it says that it was specifically built for the GT-Rs, so it's probably impossible to find em... lemme look for the junkyard turbo list thing someone had... ah, here it is....

okay:
GTX turbo: RHB52W
GTR turbo: RHF6CB

should be interchangable... don't quote me on that.