What can u do to a 1.6L SOHC engine

CarMan1 · Post by **CarMan1** » March 24th, 2005, 3:14 pm

i haev a 1.6L engine, should i just swap it, or could i do some cool things to it? dont have money atm to do an engine swap, nor time, but major mods and such i could do... thanks for any feedback

freyguy_412 · Post by **freyguy_412** » March 24th, 2005, 4:00 pm

Most people don't even bother with the SOHC... 88HP not a very appealing base. But more power to you b/c I'm trying to stay away from motor swaps with my DOHC.

I have heard there is a turbo kit for the SOHC... but it's almost 2 grand... do a couple of searches on here and you might find it.

They make the intake, ebay being a popular place to get it. Your throttle body can be swapped... check the 4 cyl faq up top on the index. Corksport.com has a header for you. Other than those basic ones... youre probably going to need to have a lot of custom work done. Get a muffler and a shop should be able to give you a cat back exhaust for under $200. Maybe find a motor shop you can trust to do a decent head rebuild with a port and polish job. But again... most of your work on a SOHC will probably have to be custom. Good luck!

atlantamx3 · Post by **atlantamx3** » March 24th, 2005, 4:23 pm

Sorry but that doesnt make ANY sense.

No money for a swap, but what are some major mods?

If your car is already a manual, then you could literally do the BP swap for $500 if you got a good ebough deal on the engine.

Thats less than any "Major" mod you could do such as headwork & such.

rukick · Post by **rukick** » March 24th, 2005, 5:20 pm

I have seen several posts that ask this same question and the answer is always "swap in the BP." (BP=1.8L DOHC). A lot of you guys forget that most people in the world do not have the know-how, tools, or friends with the know-how and tools to take an engine out of a car and put it back in. And if you had to pay someone to do it for you the whole swap would be a lot more than $500. It is also a big risk because you can't be sure that the engine you get is any good until you pay to have it put in. If that happens it would have been a lot cheaper to just buy a turbo kit, plus a lot less down time if it's your daily driver. If this describes your situation, spend the $2000 at racingmazda.com and get the kit. Even with no skills or experience under the hood you could install the kit with a wrench and a screw driver and still have a car that would be super fun to drive. This would be especially easy with the 1.6 SOHC because there is so much room under the hood. The other option is to study like crazy, buy all the necessary parts and tools yourself and then do the swap (that's the way I was going to do it but then I just bought a Protege LX that already has a BP).

guyaverage · Post by **guyaverage** » March 24th, 2005, 9:01 pm

I'm going to go out on a limb and say you will have an easier time pulling the engine and dropping in a BP than you will installing a turbo, plumbing an intercooler, and intelligently tuning it to be reliable. For $2000 you could easily find a decent BP, pay someone $500 to install it, spend another $300 in misc replacement parts (water pump, timing belt, main seal, clutch, beer, McDonalds, etc) and still have plenty of change left over, and be more reliable and still have more HP than the turbo kit will give you. Spend a couple hours driving to smaller, private shops and asking them what they would charge. Talk to the mechanics off to the side, ask them if they would be interested in doing it as a side job. You'll be surprised how many guys will jump at this, to make $400-$500 for what for them will be one days work.

All the tools you need to pull and engine out, including a hoist, can be had for less than $350 (If you'd rather not buy one, you can usually rent a hoist pretty cheap if you call around). A shop manual, and a few days spent reading it, and you will have the know-how to do it. Dont underestimate yourself, all of us with the know-how started with zero knowledge too. If you can install a turbo kit, you definitely can do an engine swap. Its really not that difficult.

I wouldnt waste the time and effort on the 1.6, its a decent engine for gas mileage and its reliable, but its not a performance engine. It belongs in the 323 or Protege, not the Mx3. The BP should have been standard in the Mx3, KLDE in the GS, and the KLZE in the Probe and Mx6. Go for the BP.

rukick · Post by **rukick** » March 24th, 2005, 11:03 pm

guyaverage wrote:I'm going to go out on a limb and say you will have an easier time pulling the engine and dropping in a BP than you will installing a turbo, plumbing an intercooler, and intelligently tuning it to be reliable. For $2000 you could easily find a decent BP, pay someone $500 to install it, spend another $300 in misc replacement parts (water pump, timing belt, main seal, clutch, beer, McDonalds, etc) and still have plenty of change left over, and be more reliable and still have more HP than the turbo kit will give you. Spend a couple hours driving to smaller, private shops and asking them what they would charge. Talk to the mechanics off to the side, ask them if they would be interested in doing it as a side job. You'll be surprised how many guys will jump at this, to make $400-$500 for what for them will be one days work.

All the tools you need to pull and engine out, including a hoist, can be had for less than $350 (If you'd rather not buy one, you can usually rent a hoist pretty cheap if you call around). A shop manual, and a few days spent reading it, and you will have the know-how to do it. Dont underestimate yourself, all of us with the know-how started with zero knowledge too. If you can install a turbo kit, you definitely can do an engine swap. Its really not that difficult.

I wouldnt waste the time and effort on the 1.6, its a decent engine for gas mileage and its reliable, but its not a performance engine. It belongs in the 323 or Protege, not the Mx3. The BP should have been standard in the Mx3, KLDE in the GS, and the KLZE in the Probe and Mx6. Go for the BP.

Maybe you're right that a BP swap could be cheaper than $2000 but there is no way that it would be easier than the racingmazda turbo kit. The turbo kit doesn't even have an intercooler and it could be installed in just a few hours by a total amateur. Some people just don't want to mess with an engine swap, and the 1.6 SOHC is not just a throw-away when it comes to performance. Granted it has no where near the potential of the 1.8, but if you are not looking for big horse power #'s, it could be a real fun project for the beginner who is not looking to become a mechanic. Don't get me wrong, I like reading shop manuals and taking things apart that I may never get back together but some people don't.

93SOHC · Post by **93SOHC** » March 25th, 2005, 12:54 am

plugs, wires, CAI, exhaust...thats all I did to mine. I din't want to buy too much that wouldn't transfer to the BP when I get one

nos92mx3 · Post by **nos92mx3** » March 25th, 2005, 8:01 am

hey just to let you know but the first engine i had ever pulled was my sohc, theres nothing to it, and i also installed my b6t myself. It took me about a week that included 2 all nighters, neither of the all nighters include pulling or installing the new engine. 1 night was for wiring and Intercooler plumbing the other was for the exhaust/troubleshooting. So what im saying is dont be afraid. as long as its not your daily driver i say save up, buy some tools and do it over say a months worth of weekends. Youll be happier that you did.

Josh · Post by **Josh** » March 25th, 2005, 10:23 am

guyaverage wrote: I wouldnt waste the time and effort on the 1.6, its a decent engine for gas mileage and its reliable, but its not a performance engine. It belongs in the 323 or Protege, not the Mx3

i agree they should have put the BP in stock. but the B6 not a performance engine, common thats a crock and you know it. yah the BP has more potential but the B6 still performes. im running 8psi and ZE's (probes, or MX's) cant touch me. let alone a BP. the moter is definatly a runner. when im running with supras and RX7's and BMW M3's i think thats pretty damb good for a B6 at 8psi on a VJ14.

as far as the 1.6 SOHC goes. their have been alot of people on here in the last several years saying their going to build the sohc up. i really want to see someone actually do it. with some porting and higher compression, and a monsterous cam it would sound Bad a--. with one huge cam it would be real throaty and should make damb good power with the rite fuel and intake, and exhaust set up. i think with the proper tuning and the things i listed one could expect 120 to 130 easly out of that. and for that motor it would be sweet. it would be better to start with a BP sohc though for the displacement. but the potential is there its just waiting for some one to unleash. if i had the extra money i would but i dont so, and i started with a dohc.

osargeant · Post by **osargeant** » March 25th, 2005, 1:51 pm

Gotta agree with Josh on that last point, dont discount the 1.6 dohc engine, the BP engine may be a better base to start with but you can make damn good power with a 1.6 dohc (mx3 or b6t engine). I have 2 friends here with 1.8 v6 MX3s (exhaust/intake) that I normally go cruising with and they always beg me to take it easy so that they can keep up.

As I said before, for SOHC MX3s I think the BP swap is a no-brainer but for the DOHC I would definitely explore the turbo or built NA as an option.

CarMan1 · Post by **CarMan1** » March 25th, 2005, 9:27 pm

i guess i didnt explain that very well.. i'm going to techschool when i graduate this year, and i plan on being a high performance mechanic heh... i can do an engine swap np, but money becomes an issue since i am in school still... i work, couple weeks i could get a new engine,but id have to source one out, then find a way to have it shipped to me... i have a brand-new rebuilt 1.6L tranny, thats why i would want to stay with a 1.6DOHC since new tranny= not many problems..... also the mx-3 is a daily driver, and me and my friends im sure could do the swap np in a day, day and a half max.. atm were putting a 3 rotor twin turbo engine in a friends rx-7... yah hes got money...

are there any mods for the dohc 1.6? or are they all for the 1.8? i guess should i even do the 1.6 swap? if not, then ill have to look into some other options

freyguy_412 · Post by **freyguy_412** » March 25th, 2005, 10:09 pm

Holy crap!

I didn't realize you had the DOHC... in that case start stealing parts from the 90-93 miata and 323 GTX. Your DOHC is the B6-DE, the miata is the B6ZE and the 323 is the B6T... all B6 motors have a lot of parts that swap back and forth. Cams from the miata... turbo manifold and turbo from the 323.... etc etc... yeah start adding on some fatty parts!

nos92mx3 · Post by **nos92mx3** » March 26th, 2005, 9:01 am

oh s--- bro i thought you said you had a sohc. if youve got a dohc f--- the swap, get a turbo, turbo manifold from a 91-94 capri xr2 or a 88-89 323 gt or gtx the manifold and turbo will bolt on just need to run coolant and oil lines .get the injectors and the injector clips from said motor if you can to. stay away form there intercoolers though, there barely up to the job of cooling 8 psi. get one from a dsm or a cheap Johnny race car FMic off of ebay. then id look into either an apexi safc2 for fueling or maybe an emanage (dont know much about the emanage). Thats for starters, then your also going to need to redo your exhaust fabricate some IC pipes. Your going to need a boost gauge for sure i also suggest a data logging wideband and egt gauge.

BuGS · Post by **BuGS** » March 26th, 2005, 10:05 am

Josh wrote:
guyaverage wrote: I wouldnt waste the time and effort on the 1.6, its a decent engine for gas mileage and its reliable, but its not a performance engine. It belongs in the 323 or Protege, not the Mx3
i agree they should have put the BP in stock. but the B6 not a performance engine, common thats a crock and you know it. yah the BP has more potential but the B6 still performes. im running 8psi and ZE's (probes, or MX's) cant touch me. let alone a BP. the moter is definatly a runner. when im running with supras and RX7's and BMW M3's i think thats pretty damb good for a B6 at 8psi on a VJ14.

as far as the 1.6 SOHC goes. their have been alot of people on here in the last several years saying their going to build the sohc up. i really want to see someone actually do it. with some porting and higher compression, and a monsterous cam it would sound Bad a--. with one huge cam it would be real throaty and should make damb good power with the rite fuel and intake, and exhaust set up. i think with the proper tuning and the things i listed one could expect 120 to 130 easly out of that. and for that motor it would be sweet. it would be better to start with a BP sohc though for the displacement. but the potential is there its just waiting for some one to unleash. if i had the extra money i would but i dont so, and i started with a dohc.

Josh is right. I put an adjustable cam CAI and pretty much just timed it and I could beat a lot of people at highway speeds. But I those two things because I was gonna swap BP. There are guys running 120-130 hp out of their SOHC. One guy is running 180 HP off of a turbo project down in PR i beleive. I was reading up about his from a friend of his he has in Brazil....

92rsmx-3 · Post by **92rsmx-3** » March 26th, 2005, 1:20 pm

where did you buy the cam for the sohc?