Questions on the 1991 LX

[Skeedaddy]

I just bought a 91 Protege LX and it has a dohc. What is the hp and does a CAI really help that much? With new plugs and wires what else works good? A chip and from where? Is an additional 25 hp possible? Has anyone tried Seafoam? I used it on an old Buick LeSabre and it really cleaned the thing out. The smoke is really impressive. Once I learn how to post pix I will put my car on the forums. I don't know how far I want to go with it but since I do a lot of high school youth group work my students will want me to tune it out. We will see. It has 177K on it. What potential problems should I be aware of?

I look forward to sharing information about our cars.

 

[MazKid]

Well:
1. Rated 125hp at the crank, though dynos of stock cars show ~115hp through the wheels.
2. CAI helps, as with any car, though the Protege is special. You can(and should) get a B-code airflow meter from a '86-'88 RX-7 non-turbo, it's plug and play with the Protege and the bigger size/better flow, when tuned properly, can produce a dynoed 8WHP, just that. Add a better intake tube and you can get even more, though many(myself included) keep the intake box(known as the Helmholt's resonance box) because it increases low end power/torque.
3. Plugs/plug wires should be NGKs. NEVER use Bosch anything because they're crap and will make the car run like crap. Crap!
4. Chip? No...
5. 25hp is possible, though a lot of work is needed. With the RX-7 AFM(or a hybrid AFM, which I'm currently running), you get ~8whp. There's another mod called the 'Exhintake', which is putting a stock BP exhaust camshaft in place of the intake camshaft, its lobe profile is more agressive and has been dynoed to produce 8whp when used in conjunction with the RX-7 AFM, and without the AFM you'll get around 5whp. Other things, such as an aftermarket exhaust manifold and the exhaust itself, and a timing bump, can yield around 20 whp. Of course, you can turbo the car pretty easily(turbo version of the BP found in Japan, Australia, and Europe) and make 200whp pretty easily.
6. Ah, Seafoam. What fun! I did my Protege, a can through the intake manifold. Seemed to smooth out the engine after getting rid of 135,000 miles of carbon buildup/whatever. The smoke alone was well worth the can. Nothing quite like going for a drive, then gunning it to the redline and smoking out the cars behind you, the whole road, and the people on the sidewalk. Mine actually smoked pretty well for a few miles. It was great!
7. Potential problems...there's really nothing different from any other car that I can think of. Just basic mantinence. The intake tube likes to crack, so keep an eye on that.

Hope that helps!

 

[Salmon_Rob]

4. Chip? No...

you can chip the ecu and raise the red line, and almost all plug and play afc's/timing units etc work

5. 25hp is possible, though a lot of work is needed. With the RX-7 AFM(or a hybrid AFM, which I'm currently running), you get ~8whp. There's another mod called the 'Exhintake', which is putting a stock BP exhaust camshaft in place of the intake camshaft, its lobe profile is more agressive and has been dynoed to produce 8whp when used in conjunction with the RX-7 AFM, and without the AFM you'll get around 5whp. Other things, such as an aftermarket exhaust manifold and the exhaust itself, and a timing bump, can yield around 20 whp. Of course, you can turbo the car pretty easily(turbo version of the BP found in Japan, Australia, and Europe) and make 200whp pretty easily.

or not. bcode vaf = 10-12 hp dyno tuned, exhintake cam = 10 w/vaf - 5-7 w/out, cut intake manifold = 10-15 whp
that is, at the low end, 30whp for < 350 dollars

6. Ah, Seafoam. What fun! I did my Protege, a can through the intake manifold. Seemed to smooth out the engine after getting rid of 135,000 miles of carbon buildup/whatever. The smoke alone was well worth the can. Nothing quite like going for a drive, then gunning it to the redline and smoking out the cars behind you, the whole road, and the people on the sidewalk. Mine actually smoked pretty well for a few miles. It was great!

be careful with this, as with higher mileage cars, the carbon build up/soot deposits can actually be keeping old rubber seals together, and can cause problems that did not exist before

7. Potential problems...there's really nothing different from any other car that I can think of. Just basic mantinence. The intake tube likes to crack, so keep an eye on that.

your 1991 has a bp with a short nosed crank. it is rare, but there is a possibility of crank walk at high power out put. the transmission isn't to keen on high horsepower. check various suspension bushing for wear/dry rot and as mazkid said, standard basic maitenance

 

[Solo2Protege]

Also take note, that to make the EXHintake cam work properly, cam gears are needed for tuning.

2.5" intake piping
2.25" exhaust piping

 

[Skeedaddy]

Thanks to all for the start up advice and I look forward to sharing ideas about our cars.
Best Regards
Skeedadday

 

[Gen1GT]

With the very few mods I have, I'm making 125whp and doing mid 15's in the 1/4...when my header goes in, I should have 135whp and high 14's.

Lets not forget about ignition timing. I'm running 18 initial advance, and I'm getting 7whp over the stock 10. Just make sure to run premium fuel.