4WD Protege questions
 

Some questions about the 4WD protege we got here in Canada (and the US too I think?)

-Are the floor pans actually different from the FWD protege? I've read some confilicting info on here....

-It came with the SOHC motor, correct?

-Are the transmission and differentials the same as the protege GTX found in Japan? ie, will it hold up to a modded GTX engine swap...(this is probably a dumb question... doubt they'd actually make a weaker drivetrain for the north america bound 4WD n/a powered protege)

-Anyone know what the gear ratios are like in it? (hopefully it keeps the revs a bit lower then the FWD proteges)

-Last question for now :D .... anyone have a 4WD protege for sale in southern ontario? :cool:

By now you can see my plans for a killer sleeper. :evilgrin:

1. Not sure about the floor pans, but I believe they're the same. But don't hold me to it.

2. Yes, they all came with tiny engines. Most came with automatic, too, at least here in the States.

3. I don't know if they'r the same, but I know people that have done both 1600 and 1800 turbo swaps successfully. There's a GTX swap in my little hometown, I believe he's a member of this list, name of Frank.

4. Not sure.

If you do a seach for AWD Protege on this list you should find a bunch of information, and there's some posted on the web, also. It's a good swap and will make a killer car. Go for it!

tom

Modded Pro
 

that would be awsome...a modded pro as it is is a sleeper....b/c no one expects our cars to be so quick....let alone a modded... 180+ hp awd pro....the thing would grip like a whore and pull off the line....before they could even drop the clutch...do it man ....it would be killer...

Re: Modded Pro
 

Yep! The FWD protege has a great upgrade route with the BPT, KL-ZE etc out there.. but then theres the issue of traction.
4WD pro with ~300hp would be killer... :D Be fun to see the look on the face of someone in a vette, z28, or whatever, when a fairly plane protege pulls on him :cool:

Jesse,
is there any detailed info that shows the differences in the floor pans? just curious...as i recently discoverd that the blank switch next to our dimmer switch is infact the 4wd diff lock switch, not the 2wd/4wd that i thought it was. (dunno why i thought that exactly, but i did know it had to do with the 4wd system)

Superdave,
I think your best bet for a even better sleeper is to find a 323 GTX sedan 1988-89. These are much more abundant and came with the 1.6L B6T turbo motor, which has many aftermarket parts that are easily available. the B6T can be made quite powerfull. Sure not the nice styling our G1 Proteges have, but its AWD, turbo and pretty lightweight....and you wont't have to take a second mortgage to perform the swap (that is, if you don't find an AWD Protege) hell pull the GTX badges and you've got a totally sleeping 323 sedan...nobody will look twice...until they see taillights...:D

Weaker tranny? Well there goes that idea. I guess thats one of the reasons I havent seen it done on here.... :(

mazdaspeedwest: 323 GTX's are bank up here for one that is road worthy.
(/edit: Sedan? I've only ever seen a 2 door hatchback GTX?)

If only mazda put the GTX drivetrain in the 4WD pro we got here... so much for the sleeper idea. Guess I'll sink my money into a TII.

Thanks for the info guys!

Guys, are we sure that it has a 'weaker' tranny?
 

It is a G series - instead of the DOHC G5M-R, it uses the G5MX-R....i believe the clutch disc is a lil larger than the DOHC...
and for Edwin's sake, the forum FAQ lists the ratio's ;)

the sedan may have been a GT model, but still AWD and still the same B6T turbo motor. The factory alloys give it away, as it looks like a sporty little devil.

Re: Guys, are we sure that it has a 'weaker' tranny?
 

-maybe- the weaker tranny is for the auto's? -hopes-

oops :D at least I didn't start a thread asking for the ratio's, its not that bad... :p

I didn't realize the GT sedan was a 4WD turbo car.. i figured it was just... well pretty much what my GT is ;) seeing as the 4WD turbo hatch back is the GTX.. bleh... assuming shit never gets me anywhere...

-wanders over to autotrader.ca-

HEY!!!!!
 

Is it -just- the tranny thats the weak point of the drivetrain? Or are the diffs weak aswell?

If its just the tranny, I could probably get one when I buy a BPT..... any thoughts on this... assuming that the stonger tranny is interchangeable with the weak ones we got...

-Dave

(haning onto the idea by a thread!)

Two things:
1) The US 323 GT is a 2WD, turbo sedan, the 323 GTX is the only AWD turbo.

2) Just the tranny is weak, the gears and syncros are physically too small to handle the power and abuse. The diff is just fine. Since the tranny is the same as the aforementioned 323GTX and there are lots of racing parts available, you can build it up quite nicely. Of course, you'll have to win the lotto or rob a bank first, but it can be done. :D

tom

well i looked up on centerforce.com and...
 

they list a 225mm clutch disc for the 4WD; a 215mm for the DOHC...both with 15/16" 22spline input shaft
so the tranny shouldn't be the problem, but maybe the rest of the 4wd stuff - the diffs, etc could be the weak point.
then again, temrich has mentioned Frank with his 4WD/GTX conversion....

hahaha....well i guess Tom and i were typing our reply at the SAME time :) sooo i didn't see his post before i typoed mine....
maybe i'm wrong!? ;) wouldn't be the first time...

I think this has gotten a bit murky, let me clarify with what i know:
the ORIGINAL BF 323 GT <86-89> is a turbo sedan, the BF GTX is a turbo 4wd hatchback. The BG Protege GT in canada is a 1.8 DOHC protege FWD with some extra widgets. We did get a 4wd BG protege, but they were ALL SOHC 1.8s, most automatics, you can replace the motor and tranny with JDM BG GTX parts and make it much stronger. As for the floor pans, from what derrick told me over the phone, the front cross member is actually 2 pieces on 4wd cars, the second piece is just sheet metal unibody on the FWD models. The gas tank is different, and the rear subframe mounting is different, these items arent a big deal, the hard part is making the steering rack clear the drive shaft and finding a way to bolt in the rear tranny mount <#4 i believe> that doesnt match up. a FWD can probably be made a 4wd without a huge ammount of effort, but its no bolt in.

my bad, i always thought the 323 sedan was also AWD....thanks Mike. BTW, when did you get the Protege? nice list of cars you got going now huh :D

I'm going to ask this in the 323 forum, but with all this talk of AWD Proteges.....what about a AWD 323 hatch conversion? or is that pretty much the same level of torment and cash outlay as the Proteges?

without being under a BG hatch I don't want to speculate, but the impression i got from Derrick at cork was that all FWD models are not really designed to be made AWDs easily.

Ok, so is it the tranny, or the tranny and diffs that are the problem on the BG 4wd pro? IE if I can manage to get a BPT with a tranny will that solve the problem of the drivetrain being weak? If so :D is it a bolt in deal? ;)

-Dave "I know I'm pushing it now"

From what I understand, yes, with a BG GTX engine and tranny the problems are all solved in a 4wd SOHC car, its more or less bolt in, it would require some rewiring to use the BPT ecu, and its rare to get a complete intercooler and dp setup, but it shouldnt be hard to throw one together.

Awesome! Now I just have to find out if I can get my grubby hands on both a BPT with tranny, -and- a manual 4wd pro ;)

BTW if this does happen, I'm planning on running a Haltech E6K. :)

-Dave "Can you say sleeper?"

Well, I can't find any pictures of Frank's BPT AWD Protege, but I did find one of Rick Beson's ProRally AWD Protege, I believe he used the 323GTX engine and drivetrain. He built it back in '94 and ran a few seasons with moderate success and rumour has it he may bring it out of mothballs and try again.

http://www.bensrallypage.com/beninfo/rbeson3.jpg

tom

Hold on to your hat, I found an ad for a 5-speed AWD Protege in Connecticut. It's a few months old but might still be available.

http://www.bensrallypage.com/forsale/peter_protege.html

Good Luck!

BTW, a good source for 323 GTX cars and parts (along with lots of other fun stuff) is the Classified Ads on http://www.bensrallypage.com/.

tom

look on ebay
 

theres a 4wd 5speed 1990 on right now. look unto ebay, ebay will provide.:)

Re: look on ebay
 

Same car ;) I emailed the guy a few days ago, and he just let me know that he put it on ebay on thursday. The fact that I'm in school right now, and 10 hours away... No way I can get this one :mad: If it was summer time... well that might be a diff story, oh well :(

A guy i know here in norway put a 323 GT-R engine/drivetrain/suspension in his BG 4wd sedan. The only exterior mod was a GTX front fender. Now that is a sleeper. At first he used the standard drivetrain, but i think he has changed it to the GT-R drivetrain by now.

That`s what i am talking about. The SOCH non-turbo 323`s in europe came with a awd system too. The guy i mentioned used the standard "weaker" awd-system in his sedan, with a GTR-engine in it. He even used it on a track day, where he drove it like he`d stolen both the car and the fuel. I`ve actually got some video footage of it, but i haven`t edited it yet as it`s still on the dv-tape, not on my harddisk :( . The last time i talked to him, he said he was about to change the drivetrain to the GTR one.


If you want to, i`ll ask him if he encountered any problems with the weaker awd-system mated to the GT-R engine. As far as i know, maybe it could handle the power, but if you start to turn up the boost, the torque would kill the gearbox instantly.

As for my car, i`m thinkin of making a conversion to the Lancer EVO 5/6/7 gearbox, as it fits onto my engine with a couple of small mods. The standard GT-R box is reknown for breaking all the time, but mine has lived surprisingly long, considering the amount of torque going through it (350 ft-lbs / 480 nm). Most of all i want a X-trac sequential 6-speed box, but the price is waaaay to high for my wallet

AWD parts
 

Will the rear drive parts go on a front drive car? I know the tranny will have to be changed..

Sorry about the last question, I didn't read enough into the thread before I posted. The reason I asked was because I know where a AWD car is sitting in a wrecking yard, and if it's worth it, I'll pull what's left of the AWD off and stash it.

Thanx
 

Excellent specific info!....now i know you really ARE... TheMAN :D: