Anybody out there thinkin about that 160 horse 4 banger that comes in the Mazda 6. and why they didn't put it in the P5. I sure would love to have those xtra 30 horses in my P5. How hard do ya think it would be to drop one in a P5 and would the wiring harness be almost the same or a nightmare to hook up. I was also thinkin bout the 220 horse V-6 Would it fit or would it be a total hack job. It would be sweet to have a stock 220 horse motor under the hood of my P5

 

You could probably make it fit in there, but with the cash you'd be spending on the engine and probably the transmission, not to mention everything else you'd need to make it work (I don't know what tranny the 6 uses), you'd be already well over what you'd pay to get the FM turbo kit, and still be not as fast. More potential to be fast, but that would be more money yet.

 

2004. That I4 will be going in the redesigned Protege.

Don't waste your money dropping it in. As it's more like cramming it in.

This would be the ultimate shithard swap to do. This engine has nothing to do with the FSDE or ZE at all. There are no similarities. And if there are it's pure fluke or necessary things for any car to run.

 

FWIW the new MZR 2.3L is a new engine designed for a new car. As others have already pointed out, the engine is completely different than an FS, and NOTHING will interchange. It's not in the P5 because would make little economic sense for Mazda to spend millions to redesign the entire front end of the P5 in its *last year of production* to fit an all-new engine... especially when the P5 is selling plenty well already.

Oh yeah... forget about the V-6 swap. If you're ready to spend that kind of money and you want a 200+ hp 6-cylinder sports sedan, buy a used E36 M3.

 

I tried looking for one, but couldn't find one. At least not at a reasonable price. They seem to be pretty rare.

 

'95's are the ones to get and the most rare. E36's hold their value like crazy too. You could still spend over $33,000 for a mid '90's M5 with mid mileage (50,000 miles or so) depending on where it is bein sold.

 

Not to be way too off topic, but you can find an early-to-mid 90s BMW 323i or 325i. Those cars are amazingly fast, even for their age. Also, you won't spend much on them either.

 

They're pretty common around here and prices have crept below the $20k mark, although you won't necessarily get the newest, lowest-mileage, best-condition examples for that. Of course, I live in a region where you can drive a powerful, lightweight RWD sports car year round with no problems whatsoever (we have an average of 1 snow or ice day per year) so I can understand why they would be less common in the Northeast. Also, if my memory serves me correctly, the DFW metroplex has the 2nd-highest BMW sales of any major metro area in the U.S.

Yeah, this thread has gotten off topic, but I always have to respond when someone asks a question like this... "I have a little FWD econobox, I want to convert it to RWD and install a [insert name of much bigger, more powerful engine here]!!" Unless you're out to prove your technical and custom-fabrication prowess, it ALMOST ALWAYS makes more sense to buy another car that already HAS the engine and drivetrain layout you want, in stock form.

 

Just wondering if this statement was based on fact, rumor, or good imagination.

 

fact

 

Yep. What he said.