1st gen MR2 (AW11) D15Z1 swap?

[96vtec]

Hi, I've been curious to see if anyone has also been wondering about such a swap. The weight to power ratio may not be as beneficial but driving a mid-engine rear wheel drive car may balance that out. This car weighs in at 2,350lbs while the original vx weighs in at 2,094lbs. Will this yield large losses in terms of mpg? Does anyone know the cd of the aw11 mr2?

(Side note: vx motors seemed to have risen in price over the past couple years)

Any suggestions as to whether such a swap would be worth doing?

[thisisntjared]

any idea of how much the motor mounts axles and shift linkage would cost?

i speculate the fuel economy hit for the motor wouldnt be too bad, but the performance hit for the mr2 would really suck. also i dont think the mr2 has a cd that is much better than a civic. i believe the difference in drag would come from frontal area.

[GasSavers_TomO]

Even with being able to fabricate all your own mounts and shift linkage at 0 cost (making them all from scrap laying around) the project would be horribly time consuming.

You would have to use the Civic's transmission as well since the Honda motors have spun counter-clockwise up until the K series motors in the RSX.

I agree that the fun factor would be removed completely from the MR2 as well.

It would be more advantageous to just hypermile the existing motor rather than try to make the swap....unless you have the stuff laying around for free and have the time.

[thisisntjared]

let me put it this way. the only motor you should swap in there that will require custom work is an electric motor
:0

[GasSavers_TomO]

Jared, that would be good advice...96VTEC, if you would want a project that you want to customize things, doing an EV conversion would be more rewarding.