i tied searching for this but

[perfor.element]

i guess the question and im hoping the discussion that will follow is what are the weaknesses that exist in the msp engine tranny combo. i have read several posts concerning the weakness in the tranny: gears, lsd. so ive seen the gtx gear upgrade and welded lsd or the quaife upgrade. so the engine weakness, rods pistons? otherewise its a pretty stout engine. i guess the next question has to do with the chassis. anyone can go fast in a str8 line and put plenty of power down but does any one feel like there is a max that the car can put down and still be effective utilizing as much power as possible. i.e. is 300 hp too much for the chassis to use on a road course or your fav back road. is 400, 500? i know its kind of blasphemy but has anyone really looked at swapping a different engine all together like going to a sr20 fwd or a honda engine. more seriously than yea i want to put a k20 in my msp. i know there are some serious wrenches on this forum i wonder how hard it would actually be or easy. not necessarily money is no object. so lets go with the standard b16 out of a civic si and the sr20det out of a sentra bluebird (jdm) please dont chew me up too bad. i just want to have a discussion that most dont take too seriously. if you can find a beater protege and swap in a b16 and make it run you may be ahead of the curve. thanks and good luck.

 

[HondaNoMore]

umm, i know the Protege is a great handling platform, and i love my speed, don't get me wrong, but if you WANT to put a Honda motor into your mazda... why not just buy a 4 door EJ civic? they're lighter, AND then swap would be a LOT less painless. not to mention there'd be a lot less time and money trying to make custom parts to fit your frankenstein idea (exhaust, intake, mounts, etc.). don't take this the wrong way, i'm not bashing your idea; i just think if you want to build a honda motor, do it in a honda, they're perfectly good platforms as it is...

 

[perfor.element]

totally with you. just wanted to know how far if anyone went with a different engine or how far some has thought about the swap and such. all opinions are ok. just dont chew me up too bad.