AE86 w/MX-5 swap, maybe??

[cke70]

Hello guys,
Has anybody tried out the 1.8L MX-5, and maybe the 1.6L engine swap in the AE86 ?
I've been trying to find out any information on the web, but i can't find anything of interest, it seems to be a very rare swap, or maybe never done before.

If you guys have any info on this, or know someone who has tried this, please post here. Thanks.

In this case, the swap is not to be done in a AE86, but in a KE70, which is the same in chassis dimensions.

[Ivan141]

There is little or nothing to be gained from an N/A MX5 engine (although they can be built to be fast), so why bother swapping one in when there are more powerful or easy (4age into ke70) alternatives I guess.

From a reliability standpoint I would consider it an upgrade. The gearboxes are great and the engines last well if you stay away from the short nose crank ones.

[cke70]

Reason is, the 4age +T50 is an outdated engine and gearbox, and here in Portugal they are overpriced and i can´t see my self spending over 1500€ in this swap..

I think a newer engine, like the mazda one, is great in potencial, reliability and upgrades, so, i consider it a good upgrade over the 4age.

[Bean]

Not sure on availability in your area but if you move away from the 4A and don't bother about the issues that come with a swap you might as well look into SR16VE or SR20VE engines (if available) at least then you'll get some extra power out of it too.

[cke70]

SR's are a good choice over the 4age, but in my area they are very rare, and overseas the price is of my range.
I am not interested in making lots of power, i just want a strong and reliable (and cheap too) engine + gearbox to swap over the 34 year old 4K engine and K50 gearbox.

[d3nso]

1g-fe and j160 out of a is 200?

[cke70]

It is a good choice, but i think the MOT shops and the police won't like the extra 2 cylinders.

[AlexKTM]

you could go for a spanish s13 or s14 engine

[mad.matt]

Hmmmm, worth it for the 1.8 VVT Engine (Mk. 2 onwards) - 145bhp with decent torque and a good gearbox. Could get fun with a decent exhaust manifold and throttle bodies.

Everything else isn't worth the effort.
I had a short nosed crank Eunos 115bhp and it's probably a fair stand-in for the 4AGE without bottom end reliability issues....because it's swapped with crank keyway issues instead.

But, best gearbox shifter I have ever felt.

[oldeskewltoy]

(05-30-2016 11:59 AM)mad.matt Wrote:  Hmmmm, worth it for the 1.8 VVT Engine (Mk. 2 onwards) - 145bhp with decent torque and a good gearbox. Could get fun with a decent exhaust manifold and throttle bodies.

I recently did a MX5 VVT head, it made 165whp, and 141 "wheel" pound/feet.

(05-30-2016 11:59 AM)mad.matt Wrote:  Everything else isn't worth the effort.
I had a short nosed crank Eunos 115bhp and it's probably a fair stand-in for the 4AGE without bottom end reliability issues....because it's swapped with crank keyway issues instead.

But, best gearbox shifter I have ever felt.

Not entirely true.... remember everyone is comparing it to a 4AGE... but the owner is running a K engine series, so even a short snout crank 1.6 will be a substantial power increase over a "K" engine.....

One engineering issue to sort out might be exactly how the builder mounts the transmission as it doesn't have a typical cross-mount like a Corolla... but this isn't a huge issue.