Mazda MX6 2.5 V6 manual
Discussion
I've been nibbling away at things when time has allowed. I got the turbo and exhaust properly mounted up, I had to cut down some of the bolts I had to a suitable length for installation. Plus I fitted the oil feed and return lines.

I found that the 10AN drain line that came in the ebay kit I bought was a bit short for my setup, since the turbo is offset to the side of the engine. I was able to connect it up but I had to route it over the collector pipe to fit, which is was touching against.

Also the drain connector that fits to the bottom of the turbo touched against the wastegate housing, so I want to buy a 45deg one in place of this 60deg one I have. I will buy a longer line and route it around the front of the exhaust piping.

I received and fitted the third and final gauge I wanted, this is to monitor oil temp and sits along side the boost and AFR gauges in the 3 way panel.


I found that the 10AN drain line that came in the ebay kit I bought was a bit short for my setup, since the turbo is offset to the side of the engine. I was able to connect it up but I had to route it over the collector pipe to fit, which is was touching against.

Also the drain connector that fits to the bottom of the turbo touched against the wastegate housing, so I want to buy a 45deg one in place of this 60deg one I have. I will buy a longer line and route it around the front of the exhaust piping.

I received and fitted the third and final gauge I wanted, this is to monitor oil temp and sits along side the boost and AFR gauges in the 3 way panel.

I got the charge pipe plumbing done, I've cut the 2.25" piping to length and assembled it with the couplers. This has gone together like I imagined it so I'm pleased with this same-side intercooler arrangemen that I decided on. As I may well have mentioned previously, I was aiming to keep the piping length to a minimum, plus I didn't want an excessive diameter, so hopefully this will help to minimise lag...








TotalControl said:
Keen to see the end result. There's something rather satisfying about taking an older car and modifying it to your own taste, improving as you go along. I think it's got a nice look and has character.
Liking what has been done so far.
Hi thanks for the positive comments, I'm keen to see the end result now too! It's taking longer than hoped but I've enjoyed doing the work, I've got all the required parts and it's coming together now at least...Liking what has been done so far.
Thanks. Unfortunately I had to do a house DIY weekend so didn't get much done on the MX6, though I did out in the garage for a while last night.
I got the screamer pipe cut down as it was excessively long, since the external wastegate is mounted fairly low down below the turbo. This just vents to atmosphere so will sound quite lairy when the turbo comes onto boost! I'm not really bothered about refinement with this car as it won't be a daily driver, so some loud turbo noises will be fun. If it's a bit too OTT I could revisit it at some point to weld the screamer pipe into the downpipe, but for starters I want the most simple setup.

I threw the front bumper on to check the fitment now the intercooler has been installed, I'm satisfied with the position overall. Where the rear side of the bumper curves back it just touch on the intercooler slightly on the left side, so I will trim about 10mm off to sort that.

I did a bit of head scratching and planning, I need to buy a few more small bits and pieces to get things finished off.
I got the screamer pipe cut down as it was excessively long, since the external wastegate is mounted fairly low down below the turbo. This just vents to atmosphere so will sound quite lairy when the turbo comes onto boost! I'm not really bothered about refinement with this car as it won't be a daily driver, so some loud turbo noises will be fun. If it's a bit too OTT I could revisit it at some point to weld the screamer pipe into the downpipe, but for starters I want the most simple setup.

I threw the front bumper on to check the fitment now the intercooler has been installed, I'm satisfied with the position overall. Where the rear side of the bumper curves back it just touch on the intercooler slightly on the left side, so I will trim about 10mm off to sort that.

I did a bit of head scratching and planning, I need to buy a few more small bits and pieces to get things finished off.
I got a bit done last night. As some may have noticed, in a previous pic' I had the intake coming off the turbo and pointing vertically, obviously I wasn't intending to cut a hole in the bonnet for this! The plan was to cut a hole to have it point down through the body.
The panel I needed to cut is next to the frame rail and already had a hole for the now deleted coolant expansion tank filler neck, so this would form part of the new hole. Since the intake pipe is 3" I started off with the 4" hole saw, but this proved awkward so I just roughly chopped out a square shape with the grinder. I did a little trial fit and the positioning seemed satisfactory. Oh, and I need to get a new 3" silicone coupler as this is a cut down one I had.

I cleaned up the apperture edges with a file and fitted some neoprene edge strip that I bought from ebay for this purpose, looks nicer and prevents the intake pipe being scratched.


So the intake piping and air filter now point down though the hole and into the cavity below, this space forms an air box of sorts and will be a source of cold air away from the engine bay. The pic shows this area with the bumper removed. I'm not sure whether I should open this space by removing the section of wheel arch liner that forms the bottom side, or whether cutting this away with create excessive air turbulence around the cone filter resulting in less air flow...

Anyhow, quite satisfied with the work. In other news, the longer 10AN oil drain line for the turbo has arrived, still awaiting the new fitting required so then I can get those fitted up.

The panel I needed to cut is next to the frame rail and already had a hole for the now deleted coolant expansion tank filler neck, so this would form part of the new hole. Since the intake pipe is 3" I started off with the 4" hole saw, but this proved awkward so I just roughly chopped out a square shape with the grinder. I did a little trial fit and the positioning seemed satisfactory. Oh, and I need to get a new 3" silicone coupler as this is a cut down one I had.

I cleaned up the apperture edges with a file and fitted some neoprene edge strip that I bought from ebay for this purpose, looks nicer and prevents the intake pipe being scratched.


So the intake piping and air filter now point down though the hole and into the cavity below, this space forms an air box of sorts and will be a source of cold air away from the engine bay. The pic shows this area with the bumper removed. I'm not sure whether I should open this space by removing the section of wheel arch liner that forms the bottom side, or whether cutting this away with create excessive air turbulence around the cone filter resulting in less air flow...

Anyhow, quite satisfied with the work. In other news, the longer 10AN oil drain line for the turbo has arrived, still awaiting the new fitting required so then I can get those fitted up.

Edited by MX6 on Thursday 21st February 11:31
shalmaneser said:
You're doing some great work with this! Can't wait to see it go.
Re. the bumper airbox - Definitely leave the arch liner in place, otherwise the filter will get filthy quickly from the spray from the tyres.
Might be worth making an intake hole on the front of the bumper M3 CSL style?
I'm starting to get a little excited about firing the thing up now, I'm slowly but surely getting through work, seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.Re. the bumper airbox - Definitely leave the arch liner in place, otherwise the filter will get filthy quickly from the spray from the tyres.
Might be worth making an intake hole on the front of the bumper M3 CSL style?
I wan't sugesting that I would remove the complete arch liner, just trim a bit off at the bottom. Your idea regarding an intake hole sounds better though, I did some googling of the CSL, I'd not actually noticed it on that car before. I had a quick squint at brake duct trumpets on ebay too. I like the idea but I'm not quite sure where I would locate it, I've the fogs the bottom of the bumper then the mounting bracket for the bumper positioned above so space is somewhat limited (presuming I keep the fogs, which I was planning to. Thinking of painting the silver colour bezels satin black...). I guess I could have something to the side of the bumper like maybe a scoop or something?
Love this, always used to admire these on the odd occasion I saw one, such a clean shape. Plus we must preserve v6’s to show the yoof what a proper engine sounds like 😂
It’ll be fascinating to see the turbo set up. Chinese turbos aren’t all bad, they just lack quality control because it costs money. I hope RNGesus has been kind.
It’ll be fascinating to see the turbo set up. Chinese turbos aren’t all bad, they just lack quality control because it costs money. I hope RNGesus has been kind.
Thanks for letting me know! I'm chuffed to get another mention, someone at PH clearly has a soft spot for MX-6's.
Here's the link for the record, so anyone reading in the future can find it: https://www.pistonheads.com/regulars/ph-features-s...
Here's the link for the record, so anyone reading in the future can find it: https://www.pistonheads.com/regulars/ph-features-s...
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