FAQ's

 

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Below is a compilation of emails that I have had and my response to them.  All information below is free and the reader takes full responsibility for any consequences arrising from the use of any information below.

Mazda B6 Information that I found on the Web somewhere


The bread and butter of the Mazda line up is the B6, motor and the entire Bx series of motors. The B6 has a capacity of 1597cc, a 78.0 x 83.6 bore/stroke and is available in a number of formats ranging from single or twin cams; carburetted or fuel injected; 8,12 or 16 valves and turbo and non turbo variants, with three different sizes of gearbox and numerous gearbos cases. Evern in its 'sports' version, the B6 shows it's humble bread and butter origins developing only adequate power.

The B6T for example produces the same amount of power as a 1.6L Toyota 4AGE and substantially less than the 4A 20 valve. Despite this the B6T is used heavily in Rallying seeing use in 4WD 323's and TX3's and occasionly with a mad crew in a FWD 323. Here they have shown good reliabilty and with some extra boost have become very competitive.

Like most turbo cars, the B6T runs an over boost and over rev circuit to protect the motor, and uses an IHI RHB05 VJ14 turbo. The exhaust manifolds are prone to thermal cracking between cylinders 2 and 3. Standard Boost is set to 8.1psi using an integral wastegate although it can creep up as high as 11.7psi.

The B6 DOHC, is available in three formats FWD, 4WD and RWD. The FWD are the most common being found in 323's, TX3's & Astinas, the 4WD Variants in TX3's and Familias and the RWD in the early series MX5.

There are two types of inlet manifolds in the DOHC B6 motors, a smaller and a larger boxy plenum chamber. The smaller is reputed to give better power than the larger in NA motors and vice versa in the Turbo variant. There is also a later model B6T from the later BG series (88/89) with an alloy sump in contrast to the normal thins steel version, this is has more power than the more common motor from the BF (86/87) series.

Known Conversions:

-> KA/KB Laser
-> KC/KE Laser
-> Offroad Buggies

Q.  I have had my 88 Laser TX3 turbo 4wd for more than a year now. Since then I've had to replace the radiator and new bearings. There's other things on my list that needs attention- new struts (~$1000), turbo reco and change of timing chain. Through your experience, when should I reco my turbo and replace the timing chain ? (the car's done approx. 140,000 km already). And is there an alternative to buying original imported struts without modifying the car? Finally, what other future problems may I come across?

A.  If the turbo is BAD....then the car will be blowing some smoke...you can let the turbo wait until last if you want, just don't go flogging it too much and watch out for the cops. One of the problems is that I left my turbo too late and fragments managed to get into the engine and damage the pistons. This probably will not happen if you drive "nicely" but as I can understand the temptation is way too much. If you can wait, do this last and FEEL the power.

The timing belt is no major drama and can be done any time. I would probably do this first due to the number of KM's and as this component can make or break the engine - ultra important particularly if you plan on hitting the redline often.

As for the struts....well there are plenty of different makes (Koni, Pedders etc...). I went down to the local tyre place (Bridgestone dealer I think from memory!) and just asked for quotes on different setups. From what I hear, to get the 4WD's to handle really well they put heavy duty, tight and ridged suspension on the rear and not so severe on the front. I put Pedders Sports Struts all around and it handles really good. Well if you don't want to modify the car, then Pedders can offer the same type of struts but made in Australia and won't break the bank.

Future probs, watch out for the gearbox...my gearbox in my 4WD Mazda is fucked. The first and second gears crunch like hell. I need some money to get the synchros done. So treat the gearbox nicely. Does it have all the power shit like windows, sunroof, etc?....These tend to fuck up over time in these cars!

Exhaust? Go the 2 1/2 inch with high flow cat! Huge improvement in power and fun value

Q.  I am thinking of buying a Laser TX3 Turbo, I assume you have had a Mazda 323 Turbo or Laser TX3 Turbo in the past (I obviously noticed the pics of a standard Laser on your site). If this is so, please let me know what problems you encountered with your turbo powered car, how much it cost to repair and the like. Was it a 323 or Laser? What was the reason for going the standard Laser? Your response will be much appreciated.

A.  Firstly, the laser on my site is my project car, so don't assume anything - It has kicked a lot of other TX3's around!

Secondly, I currently have a 4WD Mazda 323 and my Laser FWD.

Problems:
1) Turbo disintegration - I drive my Laser HARD and therefore the turbo is usually in use. Metal fragments from my previous turbo actually managed to end up in the engine. Bad things. Had to rebuild the motor too. $4000.

Maintenance:
1) Oil - $50 per 3000-4000 km's
2) Suspension seems to bee quite sloppy after a while. If you pick up a Laser now, make sure the struts are good. Could set you back $700-$1000.

These cars are really good in both performance and construction. The only major maintenance is to clean the oil regularly.

As for my car....I wanted something different and surprising - like a
"sleeper";Looks like a standard piece of shit but it has the shit to
kick ass.

And Looks...the TX3 does look much better than the 323...but look in Hot
4s and Peformance Cars - Year Book from earlier in 1998 (January I
think). There is a sweet 323 in there.

Q.  I currently have a pretty much stock TX3 with the turbo and 4wd, I was wondering what were the best/cheapest mods to make to get some more juice out of the turbo also some who/where info on getting this done..? The other thing is the ride dosen't seem that good currently what is a good suspension set up to look at...? Don't know if you can answer these questions but I would really appreciate any general tips you can give me on the car in general.

A.  The cheapest mod is to increase the boost.....simply disconnect the wastegate piping from the intake manifold and drill one small hole, probably 2 or 3mm, reconnect making sure no fragments of plastic end up inside the pipe. Now go for a drive around the block. You will notice a difference in power. It is important to have a boost gauge when doing this as this will indefinitely increase your boost and you need to know what you are setting it too. In collaboration with this mod, the exhaust system is ultra important. I definitely recommend a 2.5" mandrel bent exhaust system with same size hi-flow catalytic converter.

Just this change with out changing the boost will give a huge difference in the type of power, when it comes on strong (in terms of rev range - it is usually higher) and sounds good too.

Another good mod is to drill 8 - 10 holes (about 15 - 20mm diameter) in
the bottom of the air intake box (where the air filter is located)....this gives about the same performance of a ram-pod (obviously less but is a huge improvement over the standard).

Suspension....well. Depending on what state you are in, I suggest that you head off to Pedders (as that is what I have and I recommend them for performance and price). The next paragraph is an extract from an email I sent to someone else regarding the 4WD's.

"As for the struts....well there are plenty of different makes (Koni, Pedders, MacPherson...). I went down to the local tyre place (Bridgestone dealer I think from memory!) and just asked for quotes on different setups. From what I hear, to get the 4WD's to handle really well they put heavy duty, tight and ridged suspension on the rear and not so severe on the front. I put Pedders Sports Struts all around and it handles really good. Well if you don't want to modify the car, then Pedders can offer the same type of struts but made in Australia and won't break the bank."

Q.  I was after some info about the 4wd tx3 turbo, probably an 88 model in relation to gearbox and engine reliability. With respect to gearboxes, how strong do you think they are and if they are weak like i have heard, what are the fixes for them. Also with the engine, what milage could be expected from a mildy worked example(12 psi boost, 2.5" exaust, big front mount intercooler with water spray, cold air induction, etc) which would be driven hard from time to time but not stupidly eg - dropping strips all over the place or trying to rev it to 20 000 rpm.? Also how long would the turbo last under these conditions?

A.  These engines are reliable and strong...can handled up to 16PSI no probs. The gearboxes on the 4WD's are particularly shit. Watch out for the first and second gears as the synchros seem to go rather quick when given a hard time.   12PSI of boost is no problem. The turbo SHOULD last for about 8 years in total but could be as low as 4-5 years under these conditions. The engine should go to 150,000 km's no probs.

Q.  I have succesfully implanted the KF 1800 turbo engine into my 88 323 turbo, but the standard 1600 gearbox is just not up to it !  Ive blown 3 !!!! can you help my me in tips to strenghten the 1600 box or point me in the right direction.

A.  Good move! sounds good. I was going to do the same but just couldn't be bothered with the mods at the time. Silly me!!!

I am not sure as to how you have blown up the gearboxes. If it is to do with the gears being stripped, then all I can suggest is go to a gearbox specialist, tell them your woes and they should be able to supply some competition gears. Go for the close ratio if you can as this will improve the performance greatly, though top speed may be reduced.

Yeah....definitely go for the competition gearbox setup. It should do the trick. Try looking in rally magazines under the 4Sale section as there are usually heaps of stuff for Mazda 323/Ford TX3.

I assume that you have beefed up the clutch to handle this power?

Q.  What i was wondering is if you ever had a problem with the idle rate. I was thrashing it one night and suddenly the idle dropped below 400rpm. I adjusted it up but havent had much luck with finding the cause. and when I turn on the AC it stalls the car..so yeah any ideas would be great!

A.  I too have had problems with my idle rate and to this day it seems to be a little erratic. I am not sure as to why this is but it seems to have something to do with the air flow meter.

Another possibility is to clean the plumbing from the air box to the turbo, from the turbo to the intercooler and from the intercooler to the intake manifold. A guy once told me that these motor are notorious for blow-by so there will be oil in these pipes. Ummm...naaahh. Forget
this paragraph. Nothing to do with idle but is good for maintenance.

Idle....Idle....Try checking that the air filter is clean too.