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Old 02-01-2019, 09:12 PM   #7
Luke Plaizier
Lukeyson
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Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Maitland, NSW
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Default Re: WQ Fiesta XR4/ST150 with Mazda SP25 engine

Pragmatism is starting to take hold as I get closer to making a decision on where to go. I'm now tending towards the 2.3. And there are a few reasons.

(1) The Ford Escape came with a 2.3 in the same vintage, so they are readily accessible in Oz at a similar <$1k price bracket. So rather than going cross-family from Ford to Mazda for the 2.5, I can get one with a Ford badge. However, there's not much difference when it's all said and done. The coils on the Escape 2.3 look almost identical to the SP25 coils, so I'd be up for the same challenge. But I wonder - would the escape engine loom work in a Fiesta? Curious. Time to hunt down some manuals and wiring diagrams.

(2) Pumaspeed from the UK do forged crank, rods and pistons for the 2.3, but not for the 2.5. So it makes sense to pick something with a forged path....

(3) Getting the base 2.3 into the chassis and on the road in Australia does not require an engineers certificate, while the 2.5 does. Mind you, NAT or Supercharging the 2.3 in the future would require a cert. (https://www.rms.nsw.gov.au/documents...ifications.pdf )

(4) There are turbo and supercharger kits for the 2.0 and the 2.3 in the ST150/XR4. It seems like the 2.3 is a supported path overseas - but something not done with any real zest in Oz.


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