Someone in our club has made a small modification on his P5 to get neat 10 HP. A technician from a mazda dealer told him to do that. He swear that it make a big difference.

That mods consist to:

1- Cut the pink wire
2- Groung it with a 20 amp fuse ( I didn'y get why with a fuse but that's what the technician told)
3- Reset the ECU and enjoy

That little mod give Protege 2.0L the EXTRA 10 HP that the MP3 have.

The problem is that he get a check engine but he feel the power diference.

What do you think of this

 

Youve got to be joking me dude, that will knock out a cylinder it looks like.

Are you trying to get people to mess up there engines?

Can you be that cruel??

 

I didn't try this yet. But someone did it and he got no problem.

The Mazda MP3 didn't have this connector???

I will try to get more info from my dealer tomorrow

 

ok seems too good to be true thoe.

 

yeah I'm sceptic too. But he swear that it make a difference and remember that this trick come from a MAZDA technician.

 

Yeah that's the VCIS I believe it's called. Or some acronym similar. It's an emissions system in our cars.

There has been a post on it before. But more for engine knocking at cold temperatures rather than a horsepower increase.

 

 

Isn't that a picture of the MP3's engine bay. Yellow tower bar hmmm.....

 

Power increase? Let me explain...

Cutting this wire disables the VICS (Variable Inertia Charging System), which is the 2-stage intake system found on all 1.8L and 2.0L Proteges and the MP3. The intake has a second intake tract with a set of butterfly valves that swing open at high rpm to allow more airflow. It's the same concept as the secondaries opening on a 4-barrel carb. VICS provides a low-end torque boost when the valves are closed and a high rpm power boost when they're open.

If you cut the wire, the VICS butterfly valves should jam open, reducing low-end torque. This will make the engine *seem* like it has more power because it will suddenly start to pull harder at ~4500 rpm; however, it's actually putting out the exact same amount of top-end power as before, it's just that the low end is gone and your "butt dyno" can't tell the difference between less low end and more high end

VICS is not to be confused with VTCS (Variable Tumble Control System), which supposedly causes the infamous 2.0L cold engine rattle. VICS has nothing to do with emissions.

Please reconnect the wire and enjoy your properly functioning engine

 

Are you sure that's the VICS terminal? I thought that was the VTCS terminal. The '99 and '00 ES models don't have this terminal. We actually have one that sits in the center, between those two.

Cutting this wire won't do anything but activate the Check Engine light. The VTCS only operates at idle and low RPM part throttle and is purely an emissions feature to increase fuel atomization. This action is actually illegal in a lot of the states with strict emissions laws such as California and New York. A Check Engine light automatically fails you during a smog test.

-Jerry

 

Inertia charging? It sounds like you're confused and talking about a Hybrid car battery charging system!

 

OK, maybe that is the VTCS connector. The VICS connector is on the passenger side (timing belt end) of the engine in my 99. Could someone with a 2001+ FSM verify this?

BTW jstand6 is right, disabling the VTCS will have zero effect on horsepower at WOT. It only works at part throttle. Disabling the VTCS will not have adverse effects on drivability like disabling the VICS, but it will turn on the "check engine" light.

Oh yeah, minor correction: I said earlier that all 1.8L Pros have VICS. This is wrong. The 90-94 SOHC B8 engine doesn't have it. However, all DOHC 1.8L engines do.

 

It probably sounds better in Japanese

 

$hit, i am impressed! Good work Dr. watson

 

Hmmm... From my Mazda training, VICS stands for Variable Intake Control System. However, I have heard of it referred to as Variable Inertia Charging System, although I believe that is an older acronym. It has changed many times. The current K series engines are equipped with VICS, but before it was called VRIS (Variable Resonance Induction System System) and operated differently, although the overall concept is the same. The new 2.3L uses a variable induction system as well, although I have no idea what Mazda will change the name to this time.

Either way, Mazda has been using variable induction systems for over a decade. I think the first use (in the U.S.) was on the BP 1.8L DOHC used in the 1st Gen Protege's and Escort GT's. I had a '91 Escort GT and I was always very impressed with the engine. I kind of wish I had that engine in my current Pro. However, it is a factory performance item and disabling it will decrease performance!

-Jerry