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Need Advise New Pistons for my K8 Mx3 1993 Help!

Posted: January 31st, 2009, 8:19 pm
by caruscar
I want to buy new pistons for my K8 I really don't want to buy a KLZE engine really not a racer and I am happy with the power I have on my K8 engine, but I wanted to rebuild it since I have it out and wanted to know if I should go with after market or keep the stock pistons and just put in new rings. It would be nice to put in some kind of pistons and rods that would be balance and give the car a little more HP for better GAS MPG. I would like to know if you guys know anybody that sell after market pistons for this car. As well if you some one that can port and polish the Heads. I live in Miami Florida I have a few shops around here but they do not know much about this car. I rather buy the pistons and then go have them fitted here in Miami. I was also thinking just putting the Mazda Millinia Fuel injectors for the extra need of fuel for maybe little bigger pistons. Please Help

Re: Need Advise New Pistons for my K8 Mx3 1993 Help!

Posted: January 31st, 2009, 9:23 pm
by hgallegos915
It would cost more to rebuilt the k8 than to just get a klde...

get a used klde, they cost around 50o or even less. Locally where im at, millenia ze cost 550 .

A rebuilt will cost at round 1000 dllrs.

Re: Need Advise New Pistons for my K8 Mx3 1993 Help!

Posted: January 31st, 2009, 9:43 pm
by Nd4SpdSe
caruscar wrote:I want to buy new pistons for my K8 I really don't want to buy a KLZE engine really not a racer and I am happy with the power I have on my K8 engine, but I wanted to rebuild it since I have it out and wanted to know if I should go with after market or keep the stock pistons and just put in new rings.
caruscar wrote:It would be nice to put in some kind of pistons and rods that would be balance and give the car a little more HP for better GAS MPG. I would like to know if you guys know anybody that sell after market pistons for this car.
There are NO aftermarket pistons for the K8. The only option would be to see if the KF 2.0L pistons fit, I have no idea if they do, otherwise you'd have to spend some good coin on custom ones. If you go higher compression, you'll need to run higher octane fuel, so hopefully the powergain and efficiency isn't offset by the extra cost of fuel.

Balanced pistons won't get unless you get the rods balance, and teh whole crank and assembly balanced too. That would free up some power. Better rods won't do you any good unless your boosting, and they'll be heavier, which isn't what you want to get to free up some power. Lighter rods will cost you more than your car.
caruscar wrote:I was also thinking just putting the Mazda Millinia Fuel injectors for the extra need of fuel for maybe little bigger pistons.
Man, people don't even use Millenia S injectors in KL's unless they're running boost. They'll be insanly overkill on an N/A K8. Think for a minute tho...you want better milleage, but you want to dump in more fuel to do it? It doesn't work that way. Actually less fuel would give you more power, but the problem is the leaner, the more chance you'll have to ping or detonate, which would damage the motor.

Honetly, a DE/ZE would give you what you're looking for. For all the work and money you would spend on the mods. The price for aftermarket pistons for a KL, you could get a DE easilly, and that's not the price of a custom set for the K8.

For you're K8, a rebuild would yeild lost power, put in an intake and an exhaust, new o2 sensors and that's really they best you can do to improve power and efficiency. The next step would be to maybe get a stand-alone and tune the motor. You get good gains on a KL, but no one has ever done it on a K8 to my knowledge, so that may be money wasted...

In the end...there's a reasons why people don't bother with the K8...

the pistons alone would be the price of a DE

Re: Need Advise New Pistons for my K8 Mx3 1993 Help!

Posted: February 1st, 2009, 8:02 am
by RX8SE3P
Well I personally got a bargain deal on some K8 short blocks last year. They were brand new mazda ones, it was a small group buy and it cost us about 400 AUD at the time. They have the pistons and everything installed, it's a brand new bottom end.

Have not been able to find anyone who wants them yet. Great for rebuilding but no one seems to want to rebuild a K8. The KL engines are much more attractive. I would also suggest getting a KL engine and rebuilding that. Your car would go hard with a freshly rebuilt DE or ZE. Gas mileage is also pretty much the same as the K8...