Lewis7789 2002 Protege5 build thread (tons of pics)

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Looks nice, man. You Texas guys are so lucky you're rust free. :)
 
I vote you just take your time and wait to find a good KLG4. I think if you can find one with low mileage, it will be worth it in the long run to just spend the extra money. Do it right the first time and pass your E-Check!!

Also, when you do the swap, what will you be driving?
 
Yeah... Like I said last night. I'm still on the fence about which motor to go with.

KLZE = 200chp, JDM, inexpensive, How-To already written, easy to order and much easier to swap since all the info is already out there but OBD1 (though I can register my car to my friends house without E-check and I can run a catless exhaust)
KLG4 = 170chp, more expensive but more reliable, no How-To so the swap may have a few more snags than usual but I will be OBD2 and pass E-Check.

Decisions decisions...

And I will probably take a week off work to do the swap. And hopefully will be able to borrow a car from Phens auto fleet if I need to run to Autozone or something.
 
Yeah... Like I said last night. I'm still on the fence about which motor to go with.

KLZE = 200chp, JDM, inexpensive, How-To already written, easy to order and much easier to swap since all the info is already out there but OBD1 (though I can register my car to my friends house without E-check and I can run a catless exhaust)
KLG4 = 170chp, more expensive but more reliable, no How-To so the swap may have a few more snags than usual but I will be OBD2 and pass E-Check.

Decisions decisions...

And I will probably take a week off work to do the swap. And hopefully will be able to borrow a car from Phens auto fleet if I need to run to Autozone or something.

Are you really gonna notice 30hp? I'd go with reliable and obd2
 
Are you really gonna notice 30hp? I'd go with reliable and obd2
30 hp is a huge difference. i owned a couple probe gt's and my brother owned a klze.. and head to head the klze won, even with all bolt ons on the klde and a fart can and intake on the klze.
 
30 hp is a huge difference. i owned a couple probe gt's and my brother owned a klze.. and head to head the klze won, even with all bolt ons on the klde and a fart can and intake on the klze.

So, my 50 shot makes a huge differnence? not really....I describe it like having an extra gear
 
Well they're both reliable, Chris. The ZE apparently just has weaker valve springs. And OBD2 isn't that big of a deal now that I won't have to worry about E-Check. And I've read/seen on YouTube that KL's with an exhaust cutout are much quicker. So if I can run catless again then it would be just a weeee bit quicker.

02.5MP5, you're making me lean to the KLZE again. Haha. I think with all the power mods I've done to my FS-DE I maybe got 30whp from them. And they probably cost me about $1500 to get that 30whp. So sad...
 
Chris, you don't think your 50 shot makes a huge difference? That's like adding half your cars horsepowa all at once. I would think that would make a huge difference! But maybe I'll have to ride along to find out. (naughty) I had no idea you had nitrous.
 
Chris, you don't think your 50 shot makes a huge difference? That's like adding half your cars horsepowa all at once. I would think that would make a huge difference! But maybe I'll have to ride along to find out. (naughty) I had no idea you had nitrous.

Good thing you didn't know about that before the fun run. ha ha ha. I haven't had it hooked up for a little while now. It does add a kick, but it's nothing crazy. I built the kit myself 5 or 6 yrs ago. No control box and no pedal switch. I tell it when to spray.
 
So, my 50 shot makes a huge differnence? not really....I describe it like having an extra gear
my last probe gt, was full bolt ons and i also was spraying a 55 shot wet. it wasnt much of a difference but you could deff feel it.

lewis its def much quicker with a cutout. no restrictions what so ever.
 
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Back on the fence I see Evan.....

At least you have started a nice pros/cons list for both and know what you are getting into either way. That right there is 1/2 the battle.
 
my last probe gt, was full bolt ons and i also was spraying a 55 shot wet. it wasnt much of a difference but you could deff feel it.

lewis its def much quicker with a cutout. no restrictions what so ever.
***Removed video which contained STREET RACING****


damn that thing sounds soooo good....
 
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Yeah... Like I said last night. I'm still on the fence about which motor to go with.

KLZE = 200chp, JDM, inexpensive, How-To already written, easy to order and much easier to swap since all the info is already out there but OBD1 (though I can register my car to my friends house without E-check and I can run a catless exhaust)
KLG4 = 170chp, more expensive but more reliable, no How-To so the swap may have a few more snags than usual but I will be OBD2 and pass E-Check.

Decisions decisions...

And I will probably take a week off work to do the swap. And hopefully will be able to borrow a car from Phens auto fleet if I need to run to Autozone or something.


Well now that I see the list, I would personally go with the KLZE...if and only if you can register it at your friends house. The cut-out would sound badass.

Now the only problem I see with the swap is going to be having a KLZE in your only car. I think you should invest in a cheap $500 rust bucket in case your P5 has issues. Although if Phen would be willing to let you borrow a car from his fleet, you won't be stranded lol. I'm not trying to discourage you, just something to think about. :)
 
Ugh... I've been doing sooooo much research I think my head will pop. I think I'm actually starting to overthink things. I'm half tempted to just pull the freaking trigger on an eBay KLZE just so I've made at least one decision already. I'm beginning to turn into a dame. haha (freak)

But I did buy some MSP axels from Scratch. But that's about the only part I wanted to buy before I had a motor. The rest will be bought after I have whichever motor I decide on. I'm really leaning towards the ZE again...

And I was talking to my uncle today and he had a good point. How do the older muscle cars get away with not having E-Check? Special plates/tags or something? There might be a loop hole so I'm going to do more research on that too. That way I can have a catless OBD1 motor and still have it registered to my house.
 
Yeah, they get away with catless exhaust because they're either historic, and are only supposed to be driven in parades and stuff (mileage limit, they can only drive so much per year supposedly), or they just swap exhausts when they go get it checked.

Lol about the edits..

I've shown Evan the vids of a ZE vs a DE and it was a very clear cut, no questions asked, decisive win. Same thing with the open cutout ZE vs closed cutout ZE. And same with the 50 shot. 30 hp is a very big difference, especially when you think of what percentage difference that is. If both engines have 1000hp, big whoop, but we're talking about things on a much smaller scale, here.

It's not the valve springs that are weak on the ZE, it's the valve retainers. You want the ones from the DE so that you can rev it to oblivion and back, and I know you will be doing that because you won't be able not to. The ZE springs I believe are a different shape (supposedly square vs round iirc), but they have a burr on them from the manufacturing process. I don't remember if it's a problem, but I can look it up again for you.
 
Yeah. I know the video he posted that was removed. I wouldn't rock a cut-out, just my catless CorkSport exhaust.

And you're right about the valve retainers and the springs. If anything I can always pick up some DE heads and slap them on. I've been reading about a cat swapping a Millenia MAF onto his KL successfully too. More research... my brain hurts. No more interwebs for me tonight. I'm exhausted... haha
 
dude your 5 is deadly! I have a silver one myself =b i was wondering since i didn't find anywhere in the tread (i'm sure its there somewhere) where can i find that lip? Love the RPF's btw
 
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