Engine swap
 

Its been a long time since I last posted a new thread. I crashed my protege and got another one and I also got my hands on a 93 Rx-7...which one would you play with more? But I was wondering if I wanted to do an engine swap with my protege what engine would put out the most power and best results? Right now the protege is an automatic which has to go, its a 2001 Lx...what do you guys think.....

I would definately make the RX-7 a project car.

yea work on the rx-7, it has a lot more potential.

The Rx7 is running at its full potential but there are some upgrdes that need to be done like the turbos and other stuff...suspension,looks and some speed but I just want to have the protege as a car i can fuck around with....I need an engine...someone....

I would definitetly put most of my money into the RX-7.

If you want some more kick out of your protege I would suggest a turbo or you can go a little NA mods like I/H/E, cams, etc. You can get a FS-ZE swap from the JDM Sport20, but that is basically a NA version of the US engine. For NA, it'll be cheaper just to get the parts from that engine. I also read on some mazda site (lost the link) of a guy in a protege managing to fit the KL-ZE(j-spec MX-6 V6 motor, 200hp) engine in his.

If I was in your postion, I would do NA mods to my protege just to get in running in the low 15s at least. BUT most of my attn would go to my RX-7.

I am hearing your ideas about the Rx7, I have put time and money into it and like Isaid its running at its full potential theres a little more I can do to it. I just some info on an engine for the protege just for fun...thanks

How about put your rx7 motor in your protege, I dont know how easy that would be, but if you could you would have one bad ass little compact.

It's NOT easy. In fact, it's extraordinarily difficult. My opinion: forget the idea right now. :D

Here are some Mazda motors that you may think to swap.

If it doesn't show up, just click on "j-spec engines" near the top.

You don't have the 2.0L (correct me If I am wrong, didn't think 01 LX's had it) so I don't think you can install all the FS-ZE parts on yours. As far as the KL-ZE goes, it would be incredibly hard, but if you had the time and the money well worth it. You would basically need to find a V6 93-98 626, 93-97 Probe GT- MX-6 or maybe MX-3 (I think some of them were available with the KL v6) that got its trunk blasted in big time. I have seen them around junk yards for a little over $500 with 50k miles or so. Tow it to your place and just start trying to fit the parts in your protege. The Pro's engine bay is similar to these model Mazda's with the 4cylinder (which was an FS) and I think G-15 gearbox's fit these v6's as well. You would need the totaled cars ECU and accesories and a handful of other things besides the engine. I would recommend going with the stock164hp US. KL to begin with to make sure you have everything fitting properly, then order a KL-ZE and get the ECU worked on (supposedly www.CorkSport.com does this included with the engine purchase.) I haven't seen this done on protege and you might basically need to incorporate the entire front clip of the wrecked car into your protege. If you have the v6 model you also have all the little things that the Pro might need. A lot of front suspension peices are similar and could fit if needed (Not sure about drive axle diameter, so for example the steering knuckles will fit if the V6 model has much thicker axles) It would be tough, but the payoff would be awesome.

I have driven a friends Probe GT with the 200hp KL-ZE and honestly it is the sexiest V6 I have ever driven, period (even the stock Probe GT's, which I owned, V6 was great). It revs so seamlessly and makes the coolest note from the engine bay. And its fast, really fast. Nice torque and high end power. Also its fairly lightweight as far as V6's go. I plan on doing this after I purchase a new car after college and everything, its not worth getting rid of it with depreciation and everything...

You could also go with the FS-ZE 4cylinder, but it wouldn't be as cool as a V6 protege. So if anyone says a 3rd gen doesn't make a decent project car, throw this at them. It is not an "easy" projcect car, but it could be really rewarding if done properly..

I am beginning to get really into this, so I would recommend picking up the new SCC and reading the swap of a v6 into a MR2. This has nothing to do with both the engines or a protege, but gives a great scope on the work involved and potential little things that can go wrong...

To elaborate further... a KL V-6 is NOT a bolt-in swap in a BJ Protege. It's possible (and alarmingly easy) to install these engines in a BG Protege because the front subframe from an MX-3 V-6 will bolt right up. However, the front suspension and steering mechanism also bolt to this subframe, and the suspension and steering on the 99+ BJ cars have been significantly redesigned compared to the earlier models and they are no longer compatible. Strike one. :( Also, the BJ Protege isn't offered with a V-6 anywhere in the world, so there's no easy way around this problem. Strike two. :(

Also, if you read SCC, please note that one of the main reasons that the MR-2 V-6 swap is possible is that three of the MR-2's four motor mounts attach to the tranny, which will bolt to either engine, so you only need to fabricate one custom mount. However, only one of the Protege's four motor mounts attaches to the tranny, and the 4-cyl. tranny will NOT bolt up to a V-6; the "guts" are similar and you can swap the bellhousing, but it's not exactly easy unless you're a qualified tranny tech and you have a stack of special tools required to pull a Mazda manual tranny apart. Strike three. :(

In summary, it's *possible* to get a KL V-6 into a Protege, but it will be far from easy. The FS-ZE is much more straightforward. Good luck! :D

Wanted: BJ from a hotchick inside a Protege :D

So the G-15 box in 2.0L BJ Pro is different from that of the earlier 626, PGT etc. V6 models? I didn't know for sure, but if he aquired the wrecked donor V6 car, he would have a box that fit anyway. I was unaware of the different steering modifications on later model protege's so sorry if I made it sound easier than it was. I wonder if you could just incorporate the donor cars steering rack and lower control arms, knuckles, etc... Do you know if the track is similar. the only thing I remeber about my Probe GT's front suspension that was different than my P5 was where the endlinks for the front swaybar mounted. On the probe they bolted to the control arm, and on the Protege they bolt onto the strut, but the control arms "looked" similar. Not sure if anything is compatible or not...