I'm interested to know when an American V8 would increase performance without weighing the transplant car down. And also, when it would be a better decision than a different set-up. This isn't a poke, I really want to know.

Google small block chevy or LS series engines, and then compare their weights to that of your favorite import engines. They are so comparable it's not even funny.

LS engines = inexpensive, easy torque, and a gutteral V8 sound

right, but i don't think a guttural V8 sound has any business coming from a car that looks like that. :)

-Mike

I'll stick with what's in it and try to squeeze as much HP out of it that's humanly possible. :burnrubber:

Well, that's a matter of opinion, of course. But you asked for quantifiable reasons for using this method, and the reasons are its relative weight, as well as it's ability to make easy power, with lots of torque.

nahh last thing i want to do is disturb the balance of my car so ill stick with the original motor, if its NA ill just turbo or supercharge it.

From the numbers I have seen online it seems that an LSx engine would weigh at least 50 lbs more than a 2-ish liter flat 4. Depending on which LSx engine it might be more than 100lbs.

I love the LS series engines and especially their noise is intoxicating.
In this car i just couldn't justify throwing 100lbs up front for ~400hp. 50 lbs maybe.
I'd rather get about 275-300 from a snailed D-4s.

If anyone finds better comparison weight numbers on both motors, please post them.
I don't trust my google'd sources blindly...

When I go to Sebring there are three cars I look forward to listening to. When the corvette was in GT1 that thing was just godly insane(you could be 100 feet from the track and feel your insides shake), the aston martin v10, and rotaries. I love it.

The miata is notoriously known as a gay car....so imagine a V8 in it.

Everyone's going under the premise that you could just slap a motor like the LS in there without any harm done to the actual frame of the car.

I call BS, you'd have to cut here, hammer there, and probably, definitely, slice into the firewall.

Not saying it would upset the entire rigidity of the chassis, but its not going to help.

Like I said earlier in this thread...Nobody has actually seen the engine compartment nor does anybody have any dimensions or measurements.

Don't get me wrong I will more than likely go NA and hope that someone would develop ITRB's. I'm simply just giving engine swap dreams and fallacies.

Good points. I'm just talking about the appealing aspects of the motor itself.

I'm still not swapping shit!

Ahh, you bring up a good point.

I'm not a boxer engine nut and as such I really don't know much about them. Are there any current aftermarket companies that make ITB's for boxer engines?

IDK let me look around for a bit

This is what I've found so far....http://www.tokyoseven.com/T7/product...=425&language=

Are ITB's really that beneficial in the 86? From what I understand from S2K owners on s2ki, you actually lose power with them. Now, that is in a s2000 so I can't speculate for an 86 but it surprised me when alot of the track guys that ran them, said they lost power.