Funny story about a 1994 NA V6 LS

789 Views 10 Replies 7 Participants Last post by 93fourslapper, Oct 20, 2008

Stratoviper

Discussion Starter · Oct 16, 2008

I got spanked by a 2003 5.0 Mustang the other day ...

Me: 1994 Mazda MX6-LS 2.5L V6 .... stock. I mean BONE stock. :shrug:
Him: 2003 Ford Mustang ?? ... I dunno what was under the hood, but if I had to guess I'd say he managed to stuff the friggin' space shuttle in there by the way He left Me in the dust, ... at 170km/h He just stepped on his accelerator and made Me look totally ridiculous. I've had My car up to 210km/h before I ran out of straight stretch and nerve, but there was no point in "playing" after that. Clearly a little out of My league.

I'm not happy about that, ... I want a re-match. Only I'm going to need some more power. Maybe I'll never be able to slap him back like He did to Me but I want to be able to make him have to keep checking his mirrors at least.

So My "baby" is a daily driver, and I bought her for $3500, so I'm not dumping a $5000 turbo/SC system in her. NOS kinda scares Me and I'm not sure it's legal up here in Canda so I just want to do "all motor" upgrades. I'm getting rims & lowering springs,new struts next summer, already upgraded the brakes to brembo rotors & pads, but My budget is around $2000 max. Hopefully I can get some helpful feedback on where to go with this ...

I'm pretty sure the engine in there now is a KL 03 ... She's got a lot of milage on Her (331 000 km), but she runs really strong and was very well maintained.
I am (mechanically/mentally) capable of doing and engine swap, so was considering a KL ZE mostly because of the high mileage on My current, but is 200 HP at the wheels possible with a KL03 (rebuilt with new pistons,rods, valves,cam,CAI ...etc,etc.) or would it be better to go with the ZE, and THEN massage the internals. It's a manual tranny right now, not sure if the clutch is good or not, don't really know how to tell if it's got good grab, but it doesn't like accelerating in 5th after 4th shifting at 5000 rpm + it'll do it, but it's not as spectacular as I'd like. I'm not sure if it's because the engine is running out of torque or if it's cause of a clutch that is starting to get tired. Are there any ideas or suggestions about My situations? Thanks in advance. I'd love to give karma too, but I'm not exactly sure how it works, sorry about the 'noob' question. Later.

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vandejm

· #2 · Oct 16, 2008

Stratoviper said:
So My "baby" is a daily driver, and I bought her for $3500, so I'm not dumping a $5000 turbo/SC system in her. NOS kinda scares Me and I'm not sure it's legal up here in Canda so I just want to do "all motor" upgrades. I'm getting rims & lowering springs,new struts next summer, already upgraded the brakes to brembo rotors & pads, but My budget is around $2000 max. Hopefully I can get some helpful feedback on where to go with this ...

I'm pretty sure the engine in there now is a KL 03 ... She's got a lot of milage on Her (331 000 km), but she runs really strong and was very well maintained.
I am (mechanically/mentally) capable of doing and engine swap, so was considering a KL ZE mostly because of the high mileage on My current, but is 200 HP at the wheels possible with a KL03 (rebuilt with new pistons,rods, valves,cam,CAI ...etc,etc.) or would it be better to go with the ZE, and THEN massage the internals. It's a manual tranny right now, not sure if the clutch is good or not, don't really know how to tell if it's got good grab, but it doesn't like accelerating in 5th after 4th shifting at 5000 rpm + it'll do it, but it's not as spectacular as I'd like. I'm not sure if it's because the engine is running out of torque or if it's cause of a clutch that is starting to get tired. Are there any ideas or suggestions about My situations? Thanks in advance. I'd love to give karma too, but I'm not exactly sure how it works, sorry about the 'noob' question. Later.

mines at 282500 right now and she is tired...even if they are well maintained, that many km's will lead to some loss of power over time...thats most likely your prob at higher rpms...i know that is the case with mine.

the rebuild you speak of will cost thousands upon thousands and not produce the power you're looking for...that kind of build would be looking for some sort of FI in the future...N/A its really expensive and time consuming to get a lot of power out of the KLDE (same as KL03...DE is just more correct)

The ZE swap will cost you about 2000 bucks when all is said and done...maybe a bit more. The motor will be about half that...then the install plus all the maintenance you 'should' do to it before you put it in.

read up on the swap. Your question about the clutch suggests to me that you are a bit new at this sort of thing....no offense meant.

If you want to see how your clutch is doing ... just do a 0-60 sprint. When you hit second gear as fast as you can, how fast do the revs come down? Do your tires spin or not?

My mx6 has a Centerforce DF clutch and when i hit second it hits hard and the wheel break loose...while my 626 (same motor/tranny) the revs don't drop = clutch slipping :tdown:

Do lots of reading ... you'll prob hit 400 000 km's before you actually do the swap

edit: even with more power you're still probably gonna get spanked...lol

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JoeyV

· #3 · Oct 16, 2008

OK. I can't say anything more than what vandejm just told you. I can only make a few suggestions:

1) Change your clutch anyways, if it's stock, it ain't worth it if you wanna race.
2) Do you want to race a Mustang high-speed, or from take-off? If it's take off, I've never been beaten by one yet from a red light to another (I have a KL-ZE).
3) Advice: Make sure you know what car you're racing. 5.0 Mustangs stopped being built in 1994. So there is NO way in hell you raced a 2003 5.0. It was most likely a 4.6...MAYBE a 5.4 Cobra, but you would've known by the badging.

Also, I've read up a bit, and with bolt-ons to a KL-ZE (Intake, Headers, Exhaust) you can be pushing close to 180 to the wheels. Hope this helps. Good luck with the car bro! :tup:

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Stratoviper

Discussion Starter · #4 · Oct 17, 2008 (Edited)

Thanks for the info. ... sorta new at this, just never had to replace a clutch in any of My previous cars. Btw, It was a 2003 "body style" ... didn't matter if he had a 5.0 3.9 or a 4.78567 ... point was I pulled up beside him to see if he had the nerve to match His car ... aparently, He did. Not too offended anyways, I'm not too immature to admit I still need to learn some more stuff. Hmmmmm, ... don't like that swapping idea, mostly cause of daily driver down time. Oh well, ... I really do want a ZE, ... then I'll slowly build it up.
Thanks again.

it was dark so I don't think I could've seen any cobra badging, but I suspect that's what I ran into ... I've never seen a mustang pick up and leave in such a hurry. I used to have a crotch rocket so trust Me, I "know" speed, ... and ... He was "cooking"
It was still fun. lol

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Stoof01

· #5 · Oct 17, 2008

Best advice i can give is read and then read some more, but to tell you the truth the ZE wont be as fast as what you are looking for and the money on a proper NA build is huge. The only reason i went NA ZE and not turbo DE is because i am not allowed to drive a car with a turbo.
If you want to do a proper build this place has some stuff to give you an idea on prices Import Performance Parts - Import Performance Engine & Racing Parts

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JoeyV

· #6 · Oct 17, 2008

Sorry, I didn't mean to be rude. As for the Cobra badging, it's kinda hard to miss. It's written in HUGE letters on the rear bumper, which you probly got a good look at:lol: If your car is a DD, then I'd suggest getting your ZE engine, and get it ready. Then when the car and engine are all prepped. Swap it out in a weekend heavily invested. It can be done. Having the right tools helps too.

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93fourslapper

· #7 · Oct 17, 2008

i hate to say it, but even a turbo klze is going to have a very tough time keeping up with that mustang if it's a cobra. "385" horsepower factory (meaning they actually put that to the wheels) and any pulley or exhaust upgrades and our cars cannot catch him!

btw 2003 mustangs all had the 4.6. even the cobras, they added the supercharger and 4 valve heads

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N2oKLZE

· #8 · Oct 17, 2008

i wouldnt say that. the 03 cobra is said to run an low 13 with an occasial high 12 sec quarter mile. i would say a turbo ze and a cobra would be a good race considering there are quite a few turbo zes here that run low 13s and and high 12s.

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93fourslapper

· #9 · Oct 20, 2008

good point, but i was just comparing stock to stock. granted I don't think anyone on here has a stock mx6 lol.

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Elmer_Fudd

· #10 · Oct 20, 2008

factory horsepower numbers are not to the wheels they are engine horsepower

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93fourslapper

· #11 · Oct 20, 2008

point being that the cobras were rated at 385 at the crank, however most put 385+ to the wheels. they were underrated from the factory after they had an issue with the 01 cobras beeing rated at 305 horse power when they were actually making less.
same thing as the new nissan gtr. rumor has it they are making 470 horsepower to the wheels when they are rated at 470 horses at the crank by nissan.

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