Okay, so I have done just about every Honda swap out there but I know dick about mazda's. So can someone tell me what swaps are available and worth it for a protege ES 2.0.

 

none.

sorry...

 

Acutally now that I think about it. You could do a j-spec swap or at least make a decent hybrid using parts off the FS-ZE its 168 hp.
Check the faq for more info
http://web2.airmail.net/theman/protegefaq/

 

someone at protege5.com did the swap...trust me...it's not worth it...the motor is 2K and the ecu (which is where most of the horsepower comes from) is another 1500...you can boost it for the same price and get a much better gain.

 

only decent swap is the FS-ZE...but its been proven without the ECU you wont make the stated 170hp....that ECU is harder to come by than simply forking over the money also...corksport doesnt sell them, they have to order them. And those ecu's aren't widely available..best thing to do is to look into a turbo as previously stated.

 

or N20...I'm still dumb-founded as to why everyone disregards Nitrous as a power-adder.

A stock block 2.0L protege should run a 60hp shot (dry) safely and thats more than enough to make you enjoy your $500 investment.

p.s. Got my ZEX kit back from my friend....pics and videos soon!!

 

Yeah, I have a an NX kit sitting my garage that was going to go on my CRX but I think I'll slap it on the pro for a little while and have some fun.

 

The FS-ZE's harness is OBD-I...and the the U.S. FS-DE is OBD-II...that is the tricky part about the JDM ecu, it is not hard to get...it is expensive, just like the north amercian ecu's...But a lot of sensors don't match up properly when you try to bolt the U.S. harness and ECU to the ZE car...

Screw that though...if you want the engine, get a standalone with it...You can get the ZE parts to turn your own FS into the ZE for about 700 bucks...and then talk to Keith at flyn'protege and get a link2 plus or something..you can have that standalone for under 1 grand...you can build your own adapter to make it a plug and play system pretty easily...I am working on basically an FS-ZE right now, tuned with motec, and using 12.1:1 CR rather than the 10.5:1 of the stock ZE, and it cranked out 188bhp on a brake dyno two weeks ago...

As far as Nitrous, I have never seen a single mod pop more FS's than a dry kit...everything from blown rings, gouged thrust bearings, to rods hanging sideways out of the block...I would never recommend it, the stock rods are too weak for dry kit stress...Some guys have gotten away with 50hp wet kits for a little while, but I know two of them still scattered the engine...It would not be the case however with a standalone, or even a piggyback to tune it properly...

 

this is why I steer clear of laughing gas

 

They call it laughing gas 'cause thats what the in the next lane does when you pop your motor..laugh and gas......you're sitting dead at the lights

 

God mazda motors must really be weak then because I was running a 100 shot on my old hatch for quite a while before i dropped to a 50 shot and when I tore the block apart for the build there was no visual signs of wear. this was on a brand new 1.6L SOHC VTEC block.

 

the 2.0L fs-de engine is a stroked version of the 1.8L engine but they used very weak rods. Yeah, they don't hold much but I don't think piston/rod strength is the problem by any means...it's the ECU that kills most proteges. They have horrible A/F tuning and devices such as the S-AFC2 have yet to work correctly. The ECU will actually re-learn around those devices. It's very frustrating. The protege community is eagerly awaiting some excellent, cost effective form of stand alone FM.

I hear the AEM (and have seen it run) will be the protege saviour but the previous AEM tuner dropped the project due to lack of time. Some new guy has picked it up and the scoop is that he's used it for years on the mustangs and the ECU is similar but the mazda ECU can learn around things like this. The AEM would have to be made into a complete stand-alone P&P for people to really get into. When that is said and done I bet you'd see numerous 300whp proteges on low boost and numerous 500hp proteges on high boost with forged internals.

 

Yeah it isn't that "mazda" motors are weak...The BP is every bit as strong as an SR20DE or 4G63...even with 200cc's less displacement...and The FE3 is on a similar level...But the FS is a bit weaker compared to those two...But still has a forged crank, and an extremely strong block...

Just like Roddimus pointed out...The ECU is what is causing the problems...A ton of people are used to engines and ECU's (particularly guys that were used to tuning OBD-I cars) that will take whatever you throw at them...the U-LEV compliant FS ECU will do everything it can to keep the car at as low emissions as possible...and then go dead rich to keep heat down...the goofy transitions, and very inaccurate timing parameters lead to an engine that does not respond well to bolt-ons, is unreliable when heavily boosted, and absolutely sucks with high-end power...DON'T SKIMP ON THE TUNING...there is plenty of power to be had with the FS...but you have to get that ECU out of there, that is the single most restrictive part of the car (minus the stock downpipe)...get rid of it, its a disgrace to car people everywhere...

 

wErd

 

forgive my ignorance, but do our ECU's have an E-Prom that can be replaced or can the ECU be reutned via places like ECUtec and so on....Of all the cars I've owned and tuned ECU tunign was always the first to happen....now Im screwed and dipleased with my car relearning how to be slow everytime I do something to it...