From what I've read about the FS-ZE, it seems to match the MSP in claimed horsepower. Torque, I can't remember. Anybody know any of the actual #s? Or have any performance #s such as 0-60, 1/4 mile, etc.? I'm just wondering what to expect in doing that conversion vs. adding a turbo to my P5.

 

Well basically adding a turbo, say the BEGI turbo kit into the P5 will completely help it annihilate a P5 with a FS-ZE swap.

The BEGI turbo with a turbo exhuast makes 194lb/ft torque and the 170hp at the wheels. Compare that to the 131lb/ft the FS-ZE makes at the crank.

You are right that the FS-ZE matches the FS-DE turbo on the MSP, but you will never net 170hp at the crank for the FS-ZE with the Jspec ECU or standalone engine management. Not to mention that the Jspec ECU is OBD-1, while all new cars in NA are OBD2. I don't know what it means, but it MAY mean emission problems. Not to mention you guess less torque than the stock FS-DE.

Going the naturally aspirated route is challenging, not to mention very expensive. My recommendation is to just get a turbo kit for it. Best bang for the buck.

Oh btw, welcome to our forums!

 

Thanks for the info, and the welcome! I know it would be tough, but at first glance it seemed less expensive to go the naturally aspirated route. Sounds like you know your stuff, though. Thanks again for the info.

 

Which ever route you take, be careful. The stock tranny, unfortunately, cannot take a whole lot of power. That is why Mazda decided to go with only 170hp on the Mazdaspeed Protege. They could have easily tuned it for more power, but I heard they were blowing trannies during testing and deemed it too expensive to really beef up the tranny without shooting the price into WRX range. I'm sure they can take more than 170 crank hp, but for warranty and lifetime reliability, Mazda decided to go with the low figure. Plus, they beefed up some of the drivetrain.

 

Are there any Mazda FWD trannies that will handle more power that can be easily swapped in? MX-6 comes to mind.

 

The MX-6/Probe V-6 tranny is basically the same as the 01+ 2.0L Protege tranny.

Please note that the MX-6 V-6 puts out almost the same amount of power and torque as the MSP. Funny coincidence. It's almost like Mazda has known about the torque limitations of this tranny for years.

 

Other than what was already said, stay tuned for the 2004 Mazda3. I'm sure it will use a different tranny for use with the MZR 2.3L. And with their lesson learned having to limit power on the MSP, I would imagine this one will be a whole lot stronger. Mazda has been playing with MZRs and turbos already in Europe. I'm sure the Mazdaspeed3 will get that treatment. However, I doubt that tranny could be easily swapped in.

 

Of course, another possibility is that Mazda decided that they could live with the increased risk of tranny breakage on the JDM KL-ZE powered MX-6 because people in Japan don't keep cars as long as Americans due to punitive car registration taxes. Therefore, it's less likely that the trannies would die from neglected maintenance. ("It broke because I didn't change the oil? I didn't know the transmission HAD oil.")

To address the original topic, I wouldn't be too worried about the P5/MSP tranny grenading at *modest* power levels. Keep in mind that most Jap cars are designed to withstand lots of neglect and abuse. If you don't do anything stupid, like never changing the oil, powershifting, or hopping curbs while accelerating, you probably don't have to worry too much.

On the topic of designing car parts, here's a basic summary of the way car manufacturers look at the way people treat their cars in different countries, according to a Ford engineer I've met:
1) If Americans can't break it, you don't have to worry about Western Europeans or the Japanese.
2) If Southeast Asians can't break it, you don't have to worry about the Americans.
3) If Arabs can't break it, you don't have to worry about ANYONE.

(p.s. This is all in good fun, not meant as racial stereotyping or anything.)

 

I did the swap on my MP3, and all I can say is for cost efectivness sake, get a turbo!!! I now have a turbo after....ok you will have to do a search for my experiences that I have posted on more than one occasion, but in a nutshell, I put in a FS-ZE after I blew my engine with nitrous only to have it overhauled because of inhearent problems it had when it left Japan and put back to US spec in preparation for turbo. I paid over $8000 to get me back to square one, and then I put on a turbo. As far as the Mazdaspeed, it puts out 150 HP and 151 ft/lbs Torque to the wheels! That will beat a N/A FS-ZE, which isn't truely 170 HP to the carnk by our standards anyway! It gets 131 ft/lbs to the crank, and even less to the wheels. Get a turbo!!!