Building vs Swapping.

[zoom zoom]

avoiding the swap discussion, I ran a 1000w amp in my aspire for months before I tore the b3 out. The alternator never gave me any problems, my lights didn't dim on me, and it didn't kill the battery. Granted it was only a 480w rms amp pushing those 480w at a 2ohm load to a single 12" sub, but I didn't have a capacitor or anything special regulating power.

[MiltonHavoc]

But see MENTAL: Matt has already said that his builds will be pretty reliable all around. Mentioned doing some extensive reliability tests.

[Festevil3]

Well matt dickmeyer already proved that wrong by dynoing 266whp with a boosted b3....very few of us are making that with boosted bp's. That's over 200hp per liter dude...

^ bingo

I second that

I third that!

[KingFish]

Building the B3 sounds impractical to me. Fun and challenging, but impractical. The same amount of time and money put into better base engine such as a B8 or BP. Start out at the point you would spend so much effort to reach with the B3.

[M3NTAL]

This thread failed at the first post IMO.

[mikeycar500]

Im sorry but I have to Respectfully disagree with that comment Brian. If you have the funds why build the b3? What are you building it for? Horsepower. Torque. 2 things that should never be used in the same sentence as b3.

I think a done up b3 would be great for auto cross guys like me. I used a b3 and a b6t and I liked the b3 for auto cross more. In the end it's all on what u want to do with the festiva( type of racing )

[Team Lightning]

The one thing I'm wondering about, just how much does that 266 hp b3 cost? How long will pulling over 4x the factory hp will this motor last?
If that much money was spent modding a bp, what kind of hp would it have?

[sketchman]

People dyno'ing big numbers doesn't mean crap brad.

266hp in a 1.3 is not going to last long. Not as long as it would in a BP

How do you know that? Do you have a PROPERLY built one? I like that it's moving towards "Which do you want to build?" vs. "Do you want power or economy?" with these cars. I imagine a "high" comp FI built B3 would be a very nice compromise, and tiny built engines are just cool. And that's all there is. There isn't any more.

[Kraig]

I think if we all had the "bigger is better" mentality we wouldn't own a Festiva! I love the idea of a built B3!
Even my SVO Mustang has the smallest engine put in a performance Mustang...the mighty 2.3 Turbo!!

Less is more.......

[TheNewAmericanSpirit]

To each his own. It all depends on the person . . . their skill level, budget, time, desires. To say one is better than the other is futile at best because we all want different things and have different resources.

I had a huge amount of respect for the guys with BP swaps, turboed or not, B8 swaps, B6 swaps, whatever. I also have huge respect for what Matt is doing because few guys out there have the time, machinery, and skill level to do what he is doing as. As far as I am concerned I don't care what us under the hood of anyone's Festiva as long as they are happy with what they personally own.

Whether you have a build B3 or a swap the most important thing is that we blow the doors off of people that point and laugh at Festivas. It shouldn't be us against us, it should be us against the world!

[fastivaca]

Re: Building vs Swapping.

...and tiny built engines are just cool. And that's all there is. There isn't any more.

In an earlier era when Formula 1 rules allowed only 1.5 litres with a turbo Ferrari had a 1.5l V-12 So yes, tiny built engines can make a lot of power.

Sent from somewhere west of here via Tapatalk!

[Advancedynamix]

I love the idea of building a hot B3. My 89 4 speed is a blast even with it's anemic carburetor, and I thoroughly respect the people who put the time and money into these little engines, but I have to side with the swap camp here. There are also more options than a BP. The B6 16v miata engines are perfectly suited for the stock transmission and with a few Capri parts they fit in a festiva with very little effort. No custom mounts and very little wiring. I have bought entire 1.6 miata engines for the price of a used FMS cam. My next swap will be a simple N/A B6d running on a festiva ECU with different injectors. A Z5 or ZL swap would also be a good option on the stock E-series trans.
When push comes to shove the tranny and axles are going to make or brake your build. Any engine over 150hp is going to be very destructive to the E-series tranny, then you will also have tq steer issues caused by the unequal length ( and weak) stock axles. The only way to truly enjoy real power in these cars is to have a strong transmission and proper axles. Since that will require custom engine mounts anyway, why not bolt a better powerplant in the car.
The b3 wasn't intended to produce over 100hp from the factory, and it's internals scream that. The crank and block are extremely inferior to the 16v b6 parts and the BP/B8 engines make the B6 parts look flimsy. The BP has a forged crank and later models came with a girdle across the main caps. These engines were pushed to over 200hp in several factory applications and graced Mazdas own factory supported race cars for close to 2 decades. Seeing as you can get a BP for less than a set of quality pistons, this seems like a silly thing to even debate. Bang for buck is most definitely still the BP's forte. I would love to drive a well built B3, and I'm sure I'd fall in love, but I doubt I'd change my mind.

[Team Lightning]

Well said Charlie!

[M3NTAL]

Displacement > Everything

[Movin]

I would get better mileage towing it to the track with my B3 !
We just need more parking for more Festiva's built for all the
stuff we can do with them!! I would love to stuff a V8 in there

Have a turbo one..and keep turning it up and replacing broken
stuff with better until I couldn't get tires good enough to hold it!

A VW diesel transplant..That one may be harder than a V8.
The V8 would have to use a 500hp snowmobile clutch
and a jack shaft between the CV shafts to fit. Kinda worried
about the stock radiator and brakes...