How-To: VTCS Removal and Porting

DeadAir said:
Where did you find the template? What kind of air tool did you use?

I put a piece of cardboard (could have used wood but would have taken longer) up on the head. I taped it in the middle and poked holes for the 2 studs in the head that the IM sits on. Then I poked holes around the port holes. That's basically it. You need to be carefull about getting crap into the head, and you need to use a knife or sandpaper (cleanup...) to get the cardboard just right. Then you just transfer that to the IM when you're porting.

I have a craftsman air die grinder.

DeadAir said:
Do what now? I Googled this and all I saw were Impreza instructions... same thing?

It's on this forum. If you take the IM off it's really really simple. Basically there is a coolant tube going to and from the throttle body. There's one that goes from one side of the TB to the other. All you have to do is match the to/from loops together, and then keep the one on the TB just on the TB. You use the existing rubber hoses and just isolate the two loops, keeping coolant away from the TB.

P-Funk! said:
Question:
Why not just cut the VTCS actuator link flush with the inside of the head? Then just re-install the actuator. It would turn - but not protrude into the air stream...

Just quicker/easier than tapping a new bolt...

2 reasons. 1, when you make it flush you groove it like a valley to match the shape of the port. When the VTCS activates it will rotate it, and now it won't match the shape of the port. 2, the only thing that keeps it in place is the other parts of the rod going to the other cylinders. When you cut it off it basically floats in there. You can't really tell how far it or out it's going to sit. That's why I cut it halfway through and put quiksteel in the hole, that way the inside of the runner is always the same.
 
Okay I read and did a search...Does the Mazdaspeed Protege have this? Will it hurt the car or emissions in any way? Thanks
 
Protege2ner said:
Okay I read and did a search...Does the Mazdaspeed Protege have this? Will it hurt the car or emissions in any way? Thanks

Mazdaspeed protege and Protege MP3 do not have VTCS.
***edit***
my bad, Mazdaspeed Protege DOES have it.
The only protege that doesnt have VTCS is MP3
 
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DiS said:
Mazdaspeed protege and Protege MP3 do not have VTCS.
Incorrect. The Mazdaspeed protege DOES have VTCS. I personally removed mine.

The MP3 is the only one that does not(I can't confirm that personally, but have heard it from many sources).

It will hurt your emissions on a cold start, and your car will not be as efficient until the coolant gets up to temp.
 
Yes, the Mazdaspeed Protege does have VTCS, as mentioned above. The MP3 intake manifold won't have it (My manifold on my car right now is actually a ported MP3 manifold, since I have spares of nearly every damn part of this engine at this point.

- Eddie
 
Why a bolt to plug the hole in the IM? Couldnt I just JB weild it. (love the stuff!) It would save alot of effort in the whole tapping thing.

Definetly gonna do this as soon as I find a spare manifold to play with.
 
peepsalot said:
Incorrect. The Mazdaspeed protege DOES have VTCS. I personally removed mine.

The MP3 is the only one that does not(I can't confirm that personally, but have heard it from many sources).

It will hurt your emissions on a cold start, and your car will not be as efficient until the coolant gets up to temp.

my bad, i was thinking ViCS for some reason, silly me. Thanks for correction. Post edited.
 
peepsalot said:
We have VICS too :D
oh i know you do, hehe. Its just I was thinking in a complete opposite way that I couldnt understand how the **** did i come to that conclusion myself, haha. Everyone needs to think stupid for like 5 minutes a day, hehe
 
zerocover said:
Why a bolt to plug the hole in the IM? Couldnt I just JB weild it. (love the stuff!) It would save alot of effort in the whole tapping thing.

Definitely another option. I just like having a strong structural bond to work with, so the JB Weld is just to fill in the small/low spots.
 
yea JB weld works wonders. My friend dropped one drop on the battery and for the love of his life still cant get that s*** off, haha
 
For those of you who have done the VTCS removal, did you use quiksteel or something else ? Where can you get quiksteel ? Do you have to order it online or does someone carry it ?
 
Cool, I was hoping Autozone would have it. I tried to look on their website and it didn't show up in a search. Might have to run there tomorrow. Any reason you couldn't pass on the tapping of the hole and just quiksteel the piss out of the entire hole instead ?



flat_black said:
QuickSteel can be purchased at Autozone, Kragen, Pep Boys (sometimes), and most other large chains.
 
Yaggie1 said:
Any reason you couldn't pass on the tapping of the hole and just quiksteel the piss out of the entire hole instead ?

Stock was just the rod surrounded by a rubber disc. That's how I left it. I put some quicksteel on the inside, and put the rod and disc back the way they were.

I figure, it will look stock, and the quicksteel will be exposed to the exact same pressure environment on the outside as it will on the other ports.

I've had it done for a few months now. It was almost 0F degrees the night before I drove it and nothing came loose. I'm quite happy. Now I need an exhaust...
 
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