MX-3.com

Once I had a dream.

A dream of a 200hp Mx-3, pissing all over Civic Type-R's, and BMW 3 Series's

Now that dream is gone, stolen from me by the ridiculous price of parts and labour in the UK.

I dont have any equipment or space for doing the swap myself so I was stuck dealing with the automotive vultures and trolls know as scrap merchants and independant garages.

3000 quid for a KLZE swap..... and then to be told it might not work or pass the bast*rd MOT..... I think not.

So it looks like im going to be tuning a K8 Afterall.


If honda can get 180 out of an old Integra I can get 160 out of a K8.

Will keep you guys informed!

I know exactly how u feel.

Look at it this way, tuning the smallest V6 in the world is a bigger challange...and more expensive though...but the hell, 160 bhp is in the reach, not saying more if u drop a turbo...

What's the reason for it not passing MOT? Do they check engine codes? OR are they just talking about emissions? If the block code is a problem, then get a crank,rods, and intake cams from a KL and throw them in your K8. That'll give you over 2.0 liter displacement and a little more intake breathing. Then, get some headers for the exhaust, and a Stage 0 or Stage 1 clutch for a 2.5 liter V6, and you should be in a decent place power wise.

How about sourcing a Probe KLDE engine with low mileage. I believe they were imported there with EGR intact. That would still get you buy the MOT I believe. Now juice that up a bit with a set of ZE heads or cams, Millennia IM w/ KL68 TB or ZE IM w/TB (curved or straight neck since LHD Left Hand Drive restrictions don't apply) and a KL31 or KL36 or KL01 or KL03 ECU. A CAI and aftermarket headers, CAT, pre-silencer, Muffler and piping would also do well. Hey, pocketbook permitting, Hi Comp pistons. Is it mostly the shop costs or the MOT that's the biggest obstacle. You can install an EGR onto a ZE if needed. It may very well be worth the "Chunnel Drive" to the Netherlands and touch base with "Black Majic" from this BB. He has his finger on the ZE pulse and it may very well be worth a 3 day "holiday" excursion to the Netherlands. No different than our US friends who may occasionally go south of their border for similar reasons. There's always options. Exchange rate with the Gilder or Euro now I guess might make it even more lucrative. Good luck.
john

1st£3000 - $4500US.....thats one big reason not to do it.

2nd, ive spoken to Black Magic and he says he's not doing swaps anymore. Pity because he was well up for it before, I even had the money put aside for the job.

3rd, I cant get any information from the DVLA on what catergory my car would come under if i did an engine swap.

4th, the insurance costs would be insane for me at the moment

5th, Have you seen the proce of petrol over here £0.99 per litre, so like $1.50 per litre, and get the impression the KL-ZE is anything but economical.

Im gutted i cant do the full swap, but thats life.

I feel for you man - I too am from Scotland and dreamed of KL-ZE ! (had contacts in Japan even price me engines (including a brand new one apparently.... yum!)

HOWEVER I moved on to pastures new - and now own a Nissan 200SX (so I got my 200bhp, in fact now tuned to about 250bhp)
It's fast as hell, but nowhere near as fun/nice as the MX!

UKMX-3 wrote: 5th, Have you seen the proce of petrol over here £0.99 per litre, so like $1.50 per litre, and get the impression the KL-ZE is anything but economical.

Well, I don't know where you got that idea from. Most people with V6 MX3's never broke 30 miles/gallon until they slapped a 2.5 liter engine in.

Woah guys.

I dont mind paying money, but i'd like to KNOW its going to work, and that the DVLA isnt going to make me take my car off the road once i've spent thousands of ££££s on it.

There's being passionate about driving and then there's just being foolish.

As for fuel comsumption, are you honestly telling me that a kl-ze is as economical as a K8, given that it doesnt have the advantage of a longer gear ratio in the Mx-3?

I got 525km's out of a tank at 110-120kmh with my ZE the other day.

Around town i get about 400.

Look at it dis way Uk guy.. the Mx3 is a exquisit car and not always do u need a klze engines changing etc for perfmance enhancement , why not try reading some of the japanese imports magazines mate n try seeing what ppl to do their cars and wetha u can... keeping a broad mind will help ESPECIALLY UNLIKE SOME PPL who have alot of money to spend... maybee they dun have gfs? or live home with their mum at 40 wateva the reason.. mate try getting a broad spectrum of it or go see a performance consultant. Ppl have helped me alot here putting things into perspective so use their knowldge just reasearch

bai thanks lot

As for the ZE being econimical... I get the same milage from a tank as I did with the K8. I also pass emisions better with a ZE than the K8 ever did and I bought the car with 30K miles and did the ZE swap at 130K. I don't use EGR, but that is not required here if you can pass without it. And agian I pass better than the K8 with EGR. Also, honesty aside, they would never be able to tell it was a ZE other than the intake manifold cause the engines look exactly the same (same block different bore). I know you brits can do swaps. I've seen more than a few sick ones in magazines over here where you guys put HUGE motors into tiny cars. Where there is a will there is a way.
I know that most of us cannot truely simpathize with you, but I'd say it is possible from what little I know. All you need is an answer from your motor vehicle dept. on what they are going to say about it. As for smog and gas you are better off with a ZE than a K8.

UKMX-3 wrote: As for fuel comsumption, are you honestly telling me that a kl-ze is as economical as a K8, given that it doesnt have the advantage of a longer gear ratio in the Mx-3?

Yes. My 1.8L never gave me better than 23MPG no matter how easy I took it on the engine. My 2.5L gave me over 30MPG through the state of Colorado. Many others have experienced the same phenomenon. With the extra torque, I find I can shift at alot lower RPMs and not bog my car down.

Yeah, I remember cruising around in 5th gear at like 15 miles per hour. The car had no problem doing it, didn't shudder in the least. That was a KLDE, btw.

So the veridicts in, i need to do some saving and resurrect the project!