lots of money, lets make it reliable.

K

kneedragger89

Member
:
Mazdaspeed Protege
ok so not like unlimited money but i am about to come into some money and i blew the engine on my MSP. i was gonna just buy another car but i love that freaking car. i have $8,000 and i still want to make it reasonably fast(around 260hp) but still reliable.i dont want to have to worry about it blowing up or messing up (insert here what yall think normally messes up).all i am looking for is advice on what should be replaced and/or brand recommendations not the fast reliable cheap triangle stuff. obviously forged internals i want info on that maybe PG forged engine? ill put my parts list i have one the car on here and thanks for the help.

vibrant 3" down pipe back exhaust
custom smic
ssafc with data logging
injen cai
PG highflow intake
boost gauge
 
Ok, So you want reliability? Or stronger reliability? My car has 170,000 miles on it with stock turbo and block, I call that reliable. Seems like you want reliable and fast. Speed Circuit short block is what you may want......PG sells them and Speed Circuit sells them for slightly cheaper. Look it up and go from there. I say built block and 12 psi should do it, with a gt28rs. With fuel and tuning of course. Good luck to you.
 
for 8 grand, these would be my suggestions:
-built shortblock
-all four motor mounts (AWR)
-welded diff
-stage 1 clutch (ACT is my personal recommendation, though theyre a little stiffer than exedy from what i hear)
-greddy profec b spec ii EBC
-turbo timer (pick one)
-wideband (how do you not have one already?)
-oil pressure gauge
-FMIC, upgraded BOV/BPV (your SMIC proooobably wont make 260)
-ssftc or AEM (since youre already with the SS setup, you might want to consider the FTC, even though the AEM is a better unit)
-vacuum block + fittings

-youll probably want upgraded injectors
-either a GT28RS or a steedspeed manifold (though both wouldnt hurt)
-you might want a knock light - i think too few people use them

that should put you right around 7-8 grand. you can spend the rest on things you want - maybe a set of projector headlights or something.
going for reliability after everything up there means youre looking at more obscure things, like EWG setups (usually means t3 flange), upgraded radiators/fans, standalone, J&S safeguards, and rebuilt trannies.
 
actually, another option that might be even better, but will probably push your budget is get in touch with speedcircuit to work out a forged shortblock / turbo kit combo. i would be sure to mention to 'dino that you want a bigger turbo than the one included, and see if hell let you pay for an upgrade. between things you already have (like feed lines), the turbo upgrade, and the fact that youre giving him ~7-8000 in business, he should help you get a good package together that includes the bigger turbo, upgraded injectors, and maybe a discount toward EMS/monitoring equipment.

EWG is more stable than IWG, youll get the necessary downpipe for t3 (youll have to get it fitted to work with your current exhaust), and the t3 manifold, plus the upgraded intercooler... thats really a good option for you. youll have a 0 mile block and a 0 mile turbo, whats better?!
 
(kneedragger89) thanks and good luck with your build, glad you choose to stick with the msp platform. (spiced msp) where did you get a avatar like that its freaking awesome!
 
if you want cheap EMS you can go megasquirt, however its a HUGE learning curve, and the wrong settings can blow your engine. However its got a built in launch feature and i think no lift shift? thats pretty sweet IMO its about 300-350 if you have it premade or something like that, but itll prob be really hard to find one premade for our cars
 
theres been a lot more support for MS on these boards lately, but i wouldnt recommend it for a build i wanted to call "reliable".

the more i think about it, the kooldino kit is probably going to push you pretty far over budget. even if he gave you the motor and turbo kit for $6500 (SUPER unlikely, especially with a turbo upgrade), you still need the EMS, monitoring equipment, injectors, drivetrain upgrades, mounts, etc. you would definitely want to do the mounts while the motor is out of the car, and probably the drivetrain upgrades too. its not like you can say "well i can do the kit now and the rest later".

but, the plus side to the kit, if you get a 40/45/50 trim t3/t04e, you could push your car until you max out the 440's, probably without issue (assuming you have timing control). once youve built the motor, as long as youve welded and/or replaced the diff, the next point of failure is the tranny... and treated properly, you can hold a good 350whp on it. people hold more, fairly often, its all in how you drive it, and what turbo you go with.

i would talk with kooldino about what he can do for you. ask him about getting a bigger turbo with your kit, and chat for a bit to see what kind of price you can get on the shortblock you want and the other upgrades i mentioned (mounts and clutch, especially... you could do electronics later, and youll have to get your diff welded locally). i have no idea what kind of discount he can give you for your $7500 in business, but im sure its more than $0. and if you do go with his kit, a turbo timer is a MUST... the turbos hes using are journal bearing, oil cooled (at least i think)
 
it looks like he could upgrade you to a t3/t04e 45 trim for like 50 bucks, based on what i saw on speedcircuit. i dunno man, if you can swing the budget, you could push 325-350whp for like $9000 on that engine/turbo setup.
 
Take that money and go to tech school and build your own. The crate motor prices are ridiculous. And think real hard about sinking $8K in to this platform.
 
if youve got 8k to do it all at once, its not substantially worse than any other platform. its less than $8k that sucks - you cant do much with $6k, for instance. build an engine and do an exhaust... whoopie.
 
maybe just trade your car + 8k to buy something better? Cant see myself ever dropping 8k in a msp but maybe thats just me.

or spend the 8k to just buy a 2nd msp and mod that one so if one breaks you have another ready to go lol
 
kinda thinking now about just putting forged stuff in a junkyard engine keeping stock turbo setup and shooting for lower hp(maybe just increase psi a little) getting wide band and oil pressure(and other monitoring stuff as im sure/appreciatively will be recommended), engine mounts and clutch and i know theres a few(probably lots) more things i am im forgetting for "reliability" sake and maybe putting the rest into suspension and a couple appearance things. this car needs to get me through college and flight school. sorry to change up plans on you :p but im sure im not the first person to change directions on a build lol. thanks for the patience and help.
 
if youre forged with timing control, you can still push 260whp on the stock turbo. and no, you are not the first to change direction, and you certainly wont be the last.
 
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