Mazdaspeed protege daily build 250 whp goal

Johnoolo

Member
:
2003.5 mazda speed protg
Alright I would like some advice on parts and the how to for a 250 hp build
I already have hard pipes on the cold air intake a godspeed fmic waiting to be installed boost controller and boost guage factory exhaust

Opinions on piggy back ecu
should I get an aftermarket exhaust or will 3 inch piping high flow cat and stock muffler be good

what would a safe amount of boost be to reach 250 hp on stock internals
 
safe boost with supporting mods is about 10psi on the stock turbo (although people have still blown up at 10psi). That's around 200whp give or take. Anything higher than 10 psi is taking a huge risk. Not saying it cant be done though, I believe the highest whp on a stock block/stock turbo was 270whp.

As for piggyback i'd go with a SSAFC V2 since it's the easiest to work with. You'll also need a wideband.

A full 3" turbo back exhaust would be best. Pope performance makes a 3" downpipe, but you'll need to get the rest of the exhaust custom made.

you'll also want to get a better flowing intake manifold whether it be a 626, JDM sam hollowed out stock manifold, or a 505zoom

you'll probably be a little more than 15 psi to reach 250whp
 
It is going to take a lot of time and money to do it and do it right.

Knox Joe made 267whp/290ftlb on a GT25, 11psi, literally every single bolt-on available, and professionally tuned Microtech LT10s....

The amount of money to make that horsepower on stock internals for any real length of time is going to be significant in my opinion.

Knox Joe didn't cut corners. He was somewhat local to me. If it existed and made power on the car or made it "safe" then he bought it. No corners were cut and his car only had 40k on. He ran it like that for about a year before it tossed a rod through the block. And then he sold it because he was over it and didn't want to dump money into forging it and subsequently parted it out. And unfortunately for me, I was going through a custody battle at the time so I wasn't able to score all the quality used aftermarket parts that were 30 miles away...
 
Last edited:
Also, at that point, you have to start worrying about transmissions. I'd estimate my whp to be in the 275whp range with my mods when I had my GT25 at 16psi. And I destroyed two transmissions. My LSD went long before that in my OE transmission.

Factory transmission- LSD (12psi, 440's, FMIC, AFC, AWR mounts, stock internals)
2- Cracked the case (16psi, 440's, FMIC, Pope downpipe, 3" exhaust, AFC, AWRs, forged internals, a bunch of other mods)
3- (about 3,000 miles later) stripped 3rd gear.
4- (same mods, but boosting upwards of 21psi on the GT25)- okay for now, but I also changed my tune to be less aggressive around 3500rpm which is where the most torque seemed to be.

Also, I am running open differential transmissions because if I had an LSD and actually put ALL the power to the ground, I'd probable destroy more transmissions.

I'm at the point that I've put so much money and time in the car, accompanied by it's age, that I just can't justify spending the money to build a transmission.
 
I agree.
dsc03553_3257.jpg
 
Last edited:
Then to be on the safe side a good 230 whp build just intake fmic high flow cat exhaust and a good tune. Anyone just out of curiosity have an idea on a theoretical quarter mile time at 230whp which intake manifold would be best I've herd conflicting info on a hollowed out intake vs 626 and I've never herd of a 505zoom
 
Last edited:
230whp is good enough for these cars. 505zoom is currently the best intake manifold for our cars, the third batch is still under development but they should be out pretty soon. And in all honesty the area were these cars shine is on the track where you will notice the handling capabilities of this car. This car handles like its on rails! Quarter mile isn't its forte. My two cents.
 
Thanks for the input on the track it makes me feel a lot better about the car so o yall think 230 whp is plenty reliable on stock internals I've herd a lot about the coolant housing cracking and it worries me just a little I'm trying to decide if I need to buy a spare block or not thanks again for all of the input what do yall suggest should I get a turbo header?
 
Thanks for the input on the track it makes me feel a lot better about the car so o yall think 230 whp is plenty reliable on stock internals I've herd a lot about the coolant housing cracking and it worries me just a little I'm trying to decide if I need to buy a spare block or not thanks again for all of the input what do yall suggest should I get a turbo header?

?????????

That's a new one to me and I've owned this platform for 8 or so years... A "turbo header" isn't going to be something you come upon often and, if you can, absolutely get one. I ran a cheap eBay manifold for 5,000 miles or so. For $200 if you needed one because your OE had failed it's worth it, but otherwise prepare to put some time and skill into fortifying it. Gabi has a manifold for sale I believe, so you might want to check with him.
 
I agree, I don't know if gabi is the pope but yes pope is selling manifolds right now better to jump on that now before they are all gone.
 
No, that's Tom Pope. Gabi is a user here. I was going to buy his in December, but scored a Steed Speed for $200 in November. I found a wrecked car with it on it!
 
That is some find right there! Finding a steed speed for 200 let alone in a junkyard nice! To the op if you ever find a mam manifold jump on that right away, my mam tubular manifold has been going strong for years!
 
The manifold Gabi is selling is a MAM.
 
Well I feel like I have an exhaust leak from the manifold and what would a good fuel pump I think mine is having problems and could be reasoning behind my fuel cut issue or boost spike every once in a while I can't roll into boost either it's either start and go but I can't roll into boost but I have trouble starting sometimes
 
Fuel pumps don't typically fail on these cars. Keep it simple don't start barking up the wrong tree. Pull the heatshield and check the mani hardware, check the wga by blowing into the vac line and see if it holds air. Check your plugs and replace them if needed. Basically do a good tune-up and make sure everything is running properly then you can get to modding it.
 
I recently changed coils plugs and wires the coils and wires were auto zone cheap stuff tho and the plugs are coppers andI know foul quickly might be time for the iridium plugs I would like to thank you all for the advice I am a novice when it comes to boost I was into na b series honda and not great there either

I'm trying to figure out what this valve is and do I need it, it connects the stock intercooler piping to the intake near the throttle body in this picture?
 
Picture

Picture of valve
 

Attachments

  • tmp_20400-20150127_1521231369329972.jpg
    tmp_20400-20150127_1521231369329972.jpg
    654.2 KB · Views: 286
Back