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Hey all,
Just been doing some research on my swap plans for next year, and I came across an interesting idea. Figured I'd bounce a few ideas off of everyone and see what they think:
I'm planning a B8-ME F5MR swap for my ride next year, and am looking for the pep as well as the fuel economy. So this got me thinking about gear ratios and such with the F5. ProtegeFAQ tells me that the 1990-1991 model year Protege is the way to go, because it has a 3.619:1 final drive ratio. Compare this to the 4.10 323/MX-3 ratio, and you'll see a huge difference:
B8-ME (90-91) 3.416 1.842 1.290 0.918 0.731 3.619:1
323/MX-3 3.416 1.842 1.290 0.918 0.731 4.105:1
So I was looking into the Escort 1.9L transmissions, because FEOA.net and Imazda tells me that they are indeed F-series transmissions. If there's something preventing this from working, please let me know ASAP.
"the 1.9 came with the weaker F series mazda tranny. i have no idea what ratios it came with, but i can tell you some other cars that use this transmission platform. you could research their gear ratios and see if they have a taller 5th than the escort."
"1990-1994 Mazda Protege DX and Mazda 323
1991-1996 Ford Escort Pony, LX 3 and 5 door hatchbacks and 4-door sedans and Mercury Tracer (base)
1992-1996 Mazda MX-3 RS "
Conveniently, the ratio of a standard 1.9L Escort:
91+ 1.9 3.416 1.842 1.290 0.972 0.731 3.619
I will call the MX-3/323 one the "race" F5 because of its high final drive, and the others "economy" F5's because of the low final drive. Okay, so what's the big deal, Aaron... that Escort is identical to the Protege economy F5 one. But wait... now have a look at this badboy:
91-93 1.9FS 3.416 1.700 1.151 0.868 0.731 3.409
I just looked into it, and this FS surprised me - apparently there was a "fuel saver" manual transmission available from 1991 to 1993 on the base model pony Escorts. AKA thousands of juicy F-series transmissions that could save us a lot of highway-RPM grief potentially!
"If it's a Pony, it almost certain had the fuel saver transmission. I can look mine over to see if there are any casting numbers on it, but I don't remember if there were or not (mine's siting on a shelf at my parents' house)."
Now that's a heck of a lot of gear! This was cause for alarm, because I don't want to overgear/underpower all of the effort/time/money that it takes to throw in a B6/B8. Let's have a look at the Pony Escort. 1.9L SOHC crappy motor, and it came with 88HP and 108LBS/FT. However, since they were free from A/C and P/S, it might be closer to 100 and 120 respectively.
How about some swapped Festiva numbers for reference:
B6-E 82hp @ 5000rpm 92ft-lb @ 2500rpm
B8-ME 103hp @ 5500rpm 111ft-lb @ 4000rpm
Seems pretty comparable, especially with the B8-ME popped in. No gearing issue whatsoever.
So, in conclusion, I think this might be a really legit way of getting fuel economy out of a B6/B8 swap. With the stronger Mazda-produced motor, and the FS-F-Series transmission, I think it would be a great way to maintain fuel economy with the added pep and power of the B6/B8 swap.
"When you get your transmission, try to get the flywheel, transmission mounts (for parts or ideas for creating new mounts), and the shifter, or at least the first foot of the shifter connections that are at the transmission. For axles, you will need to procure axles from a 1986-1989 Mazda 323 (non turbo) or 1986-1989 Mercury Tracer. These axles should be available in abundance at the junkyard and at your local auto parts store."
Anything stopping an Escort-FS transmission from being used with a first gen 323 set of axles? I'll assume the clutches are pretty much universal across the F-series board... lots of options available in junkyards and on Ebay.
Here are the numbers comparing the standard B8 transmission to the Escort FS:
Sources:
Just been doing some research on my swap plans for next year, and I came across an interesting idea. Figured I'd bounce a few ideas off of everyone and see what they think:
I'm planning a B8-ME F5MR swap for my ride next year, and am looking for the pep as well as the fuel economy. So this got me thinking about gear ratios and such with the F5. ProtegeFAQ tells me that the 1990-1991 model year Protege is the way to go, because it has a 3.619:1 final drive ratio. Compare this to the 4.10 323/MX-3 ratio, and you'll see a huge difference:
B8-ME (90-91) 3.416 1.842 1.290 0.918 0.731 3.619:1
323/MX-3 3.416 1.842 1.290 0.918 0.731 4.105:1
So I was looking into the Escort 1.9L transmissions, because FEOA.net and Imazda tells me that they are indeed F-series transmissions. If there's something preventing this from working, please let me know ASAP.
"the 1.9 came with the weaker F series mazda tranny. i have no idea what ratios it came with, but i can tell you some other cars that use this transmission platform. you could research their gear ratios and see if they have a taller 5th than the escort."
"1990-1994 Mazda Protege DX and Mazda 323
1991-1996 Ford Escort Pony, LX 3 and 5 door hatchbacks and 4-door sedans and Mercury Tracer (base)
1992-1996 Mazda MX-3 RS "
Conveniently, the ratio of a standard 1.9L Escort:
91+ 1.9 3.416 1.842 1.290 0.972 0.731 3.619
I will call the MX-3/323 one the "race" F5 because of its high final drive, and the others "economy" F5's because of the low final drive. Okay, so what's the big deal, Aaron... that Escort is identical to the Protege economy F5 one. But wait... now have a look at this badboy:
91-93 1.9FS 3.416 1.700 1.151 0.868 0.731 3.409
I just looked into it, and this FS surprised me - apparently there was a "fuel saver" manual transmission available from 1991 to 1993 on the base model pony Escorts. AKA thousands of juicy F-series transmissions that could save us a lot of highway-RPM grief potentially!
"If it's a Pony, it almost certain had the fuel saver transmission. I can look mine over to see if there are any casting numbers on it, but I don't remember if there were or not (mine's siting on a shelf at my parents' house)."
Now that's a heck of a lot of gear! This was cause for alarm, because I don't want to overgear/underpower all of the effort/time/money that it takes to throw in a B6/B8. Let's have a look at the Pony Escort. 1.9L SOHC crappy motor, and it came with 88HP and 108LBS/FT. However, since they were free from A/C and P/S, it might be closer to 100 and 120 respectively.
How about some swapped Festiva numbers for reference:
B6-E 82hp @ 5000rpm 92ft-lb @ 2500rpm
B8-ME 103hp @ 5500rpm 111ft-lb @ 4000rpm
Seems pretty comparable, especially with the B8-ME popped in. No gearing issue whatsoever.
So, in conclusion, I think this might be a really legit way of getting fuel economy out of a B6/B8 swap. With the stronger Mazda-produced motor, and the FS-F-Series transmission, I think it would be a great way to maintain fuel economy with the added pep and power of the B6/B8 swap.
"When you get your transmission, try to get the flywheel, transmission mounts (for parts or ideas for creating new mounts), and the shifter, or at least the first foot of the shifter connections that are at the transmission. For axles, you will need to procure axles from a 1986-1989 Mazda 323 (non turbo) or 1986-1989 Mercury Tracer. These axles should be available in abundance at the junkyard and at your local auto parts store."
Anything stopping an Escort-FS transmission from being used with a first gen 323 set of axles? I'll assume the clutches are pretty much universal across the F-series board... lots of options available in junkyards and on Ebay.
Here are the numbers comparing the standard B8 transmission to the Escort FS:
Sources:
It's a good thing you don't read the stickies, you might of learned something.
Poverty produces creativity
lots of good info in there! lets hope it works out for you, let me know if you need help 
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