I was out late tonight running an errand and got next to a Probe GT at a light with two left turn lanes. I had the left lane, he had the right. I didn't think much of it until the light turned green and I heard him rev and his exhaust, which I didn't notice when pulling up. 5spd confirmed. Mods (exhaust) confirmed. Hmmm....

I take the turn normally shifting to 2nd halfway through it and then take off at moderate throttle. He's right by my side the whole time, even on the outside lane and then I hear/see him punch it so I just bury it in 2nd from about a 20-30 mph roll.

Aww yeah baby, It's On!!!

Since he nailed it a little before I did he got a bit of a jump but I pulled about a car or two in 2nd. Shifted to 3rd somewhere north of 6k but not redline and then pulled another 2-3 cars up to redline in 3rd (95 in a 45 at this point )

At that point I hit 4th, shut it down, and flashered him. Had to get on the brakes moderately for traffic up ahead, got over into my turn lane and pulled into my stop with a big smile on my face.

I had a full tank of gas and the A/C was off. I'm not sure if he had any passengers or not. Probe GT's are at least mid-15 sec cars stock if I'm not mistaken and he was modded with at least exhaust so I'm happy with the run.

I love this car!! VQ Power Baby!!!!!

 

Great kill SteVTEC; you can go ahead and add one more Ford kill down for the Maxima's.

 

I don't have any problems walking on them from a roll but nice race!

 

i have this guy who lives in the next apt. bldg. Mazda Mx6, custom paint, wheels, exhaust, painted calipers, 5spd, modded. I assume he's v6. I want to invite him on a friendly one sometime..

 

If he only has an exhaust for a performance mod, then he should be prepared to be schooled.

I remember a post back in the MX6 forums when they were talking trash about the Maxima. They only run mid/high 15's stock with the 5speed V6 combo. They really need to learn.

 

Oh really? That makes sense then. 4-5 car-lengths at 90 comes out to about 0.5s in the 1/4 mile. So if they run mid/high-15's stock and assuming an exhaust does about nothing for them (just a guess...), then that would put my car at about low/mid-15's just from this street result which is about where it's supposed to run stock.

Thanks for the info

 

how can they be so fast w/their shiety 2.5 170 hp v6 ?!

 

2800-2900lb and a close-ratio 5spd just like the Maxima. Also, less frontal area and good aerodynamics really helps at higher speeds too.

 

That engine, the KL03, is a tremendous engine. It reminds me of a miniature (2.5) VQ. It revvs great, sounds good, and has great power and torque. They are 164 hp and 170 ft-lb by the way. They are low 15 second cars with the right driver. Mid-high 15 with normal drivers.

 

Nice job Steve...

I onced owned an MX6 (1988 GT- 135hp -- 190lbs/tq) my butt-dyno told me the car was quick, but the MAX is definitely quicker...

 

Back when the last-gen Probes were first introduced, they were great perfomance machines (I used to race Mustang GT's in mine). Very spirited cars and one of the best handling that I have driven. These cars had NO torque steer at all. light goes green, drop cluth and punch the gas....no hands on steering wheel....Shift through the gears...still no hands on steering. Very fun to drive.

The '93s were the fastest since they were 200-250 lbs lighter due to the lack of a passenger side airbag. 0-60 was rated at appx 7.1-7.5 in the trade mags and had a top speed of 140 (dyno's around 140 fwhp and 139 fwtq). With external upgrades (exhaust, CAI, clutch), 0-60 times have been around 6.4 sec.

I'd say good kill, but, being a former '93 GT owner...well....

 

i loved my probe gt 5speed....sniff sniff, fun little car, but its all good, i still have the max

 

Isn't that the same motor they used in the contour SVT? My friend had one of those 200hp, 200tq and it was quick. If I am correct that motor is built by Yamaha.

 

Yep, I've always loved those Probe's too. Beautiful cars, sleek, lightweight, and a decent engine. It's too bad Ford discontinued them for "political" reasons to help push slumping Mustang sales because they really were awesome cars. At the time Ford was only getting a pathetic 215 HP out of its 4.6L V8 in the Stang and Ford execs I guess weren't very happy that the "lesser" Probe car was able to beat it!

What a waste of an otherwise great car!!

Anyways, you know Ford could never design a compact DOHC V6 on their own. I'm 99% sure that 2.5L V6 was sourced from Mazda. Actually, I'm also 99% sure that the whole Probe/MX-6 was a Ford-Mazda joint-venture. Mazda designed the powertrain I think including the engine while Ford took care of everything else, if I'm not mistaken.

 

No, the Mazda V6 was used in the MX-6/Probe. The Ford 2.5 was used in the Contour/Mystique/Mondeo. The Ford 2.5 is a smaller version of the Duratec 3.0 used in the Taurus/Escape. I don't think Yamaha had anything to do with either of these engines, but I do believe the 2.5 was helped by Cosworth. Yamaha did build the 1st get Taurus SHO engines. The Contour SVT was the massaged 2.5. The mazda 2.5 uses a timing belt, the Ford 2.5 uses a chain.

 

Steve you are correct. I owned a 95 GT and would have made it much more interesting...he he he. But anywho..the motor, tranny and basic suspension parts were all Mazda. I used to get my parts from the Mazda shop because of two reasons.

1) Ford never knew what I was talking about
2) the EXACT same part was about 15-25% cheaper at the Mazda dealership.

Also remember that the Probes had a funny resonator that made them sound really rice right from the factory.

I really miss the "slotcar-ness" of the Probe. But the heads were weak and the HLA cams were a pain. Eventually the head on mine went so in came the Max. Just wish I could through the Max around like the Probe.

I could never win a straight line with the Probe. So I would alway lure them into an area where I could either whip the car in and out of traffic or through a set of curves...that is where she really showed her true nature.

 

Nice Kill Steve. Gotta teach them a lesson every now and then.

SuDZ

 

Both I believe are based off of the Mazda 626 platform.

 

nice info

 

i think those used ford probes and dodge avengers need to be taken off the streets for oogliness

 

good kill

 

Hey SteVTEC, are you planning on taking your car to the track any time soon? I think we weigh about the same (previous post) and we have the exact same car, color too
I'd like to see what you could run. I ran 15.86 but that was my first time at the track. I think I can improve on it.

 

I'd like to see what I can run too, but I'm just so damned busy all the time. Weekends I'm usually 170 miles away visiting my g/f, but I'd rather be doing that than racing my car

In a month she's moving down to my area finally so I won't be running around so much anymore. So maybe I'll have some time in the summer

 

I agree if you are talking about the 1st gen Probes. 2nd gen probes (IMHO) still has a great look to them. Slight drop with 18's and they look great. Shame Ford would not build performance parts for them like the 'Stang (since the Probe was the result of a Mustang redesign that received bad press from Mustang enthusiasts).

You will probably be seeing a lot more of these in stop light action since the older 2nd gens sell for anywhere between 2.5-3.5k on used car lots. I see a lot of high schoolers driving them now. No worries tho, the Max owns them...

 

ran a probe at the track this past weekend(1/4 mile) and he was running mid 16's if i remember correctly. nothing to worry about.

 

The 1st gen probes were ugly, but they had potential. My brother had a GT Auto with the 2.2L Turbo motor w/ a stage 3 HKS set up on it. He was running like 16lbs of boost, huge intercooler, boost control, additional injectors..... This was back in 92' and that car running low 14's (much faster but it no traction) at like 100mph was fast then. Now its nothin', the 02 max from factory would give it a run.

 

I still like the 2nd generation Probe GTs. Back in college I really wanted a Probe GT and test drove quite a few of them. At the time I had a 90 CRX Si. The Probe GT felt real torquey, the motor had a sweet sound and pulled really well, and the handling was perfect. Then I started pricing used models that were 1-2 years old and realized I could get a 94 Z28 for the same price. Which do you think I chose

I've seen 5 2nd gen Probe GTs dyno along with a 1st gen MX-6 turbo. The Probes made anywhere from 135fwhp up to 160fwhp with about 140-150fwtq. The MX6 turbo made 220fwhp and 250fwtq. He runs upper 13s@105mph. Quite a sleeper. I watched the 160fwhp Probe (93') run 14.8@92mph on drag radials. Not bad at all, but his interior was completely gutted plus he had drag radials. I'd doubt he could run 15.3 with a street setup. The problem with the 2nd gen Probe GT/MX-6 is that they don't take to mods well at all. There's very little for these cars in the way of performance.


Dave

 

Nice kill VTEC, I used to like those Probe GTs. They were cool looking. Mazda V-6 mated to a 5 speed looked like good potential. Then, I sat in one. The love affair was over. My 6'0 220 lb frame could not get comfortable in that car at all with the seat all the way back. Who desgined that interior?? No room whatsoever. And the back seats?? Please. My Honda CRX 2 seater felt huge on the inside compared to this 4 seater probe. I don't care what kind of power I have if you can't sit in it and enjoy it.

DW

 

Yeah, the back seats were very laughable The guy I sold my '93 GT to a few weeks ago is like 5'10 280+....It's funny watching him drive it...

The 2nd gen Probe is similar in comparison to what Mitsu did to the Eclipse. The current Eclipse is/was slower that the previous gen, but, is more mechanically refined. Same as the last gen Probes to the 1st gen. The 1st gen 4-banger turbo was faster than the 2nd gen GT, but, with the sorry drivetrain it had, it couldn't handle for squat.

 

I was talking to a friend's boyfriend Sunday. He has a very clean 92 (I believe), 4 cylinder turbo. He got it for only $2250. Great deal. How do those compare to the V6?

 

4-banger GT's were slightly faster off the line than the last-gen v6's. Ride quality, engine smoothness and anything over 1/4 mile they were no match for the v6's. The 1st-gen were narrower (at least it seemed) than the v6's and the handling positioned them around a stock civic.

The ride, handling and v6 sold me on my '93.

 

Having owned both cars, I can say that I would put the 1st generation 2.2 turbo (stock) against the 2nd gen V6 (stock) at any speed under 100 mph. The stock IHI VJ11 turbo on the 2.2 turbo is TINY and runs of of breath quickly, boosting over 14psi on the stock turbo is an excercise in futility and only manages to make heat, not additional power, aft 14-15psi. Doing what is known as the "j-spec" turbo (dont ask me where they got that name, I have know clue) involves using the compressor side and wheel from a VJ17 turbo, off the early Thunderbird Turbo Coupe. This setup is good for about 18-19psi before it starts wheezing, and because it is a larger compressor side, it makes much much more power. With typical bolt ons and 14psi on the J-spec turbo, they are good for about 240 hp and 280 tq AT THE WHEELS. Just like any factory turbo car, they are relatively easy to make VERY powerful. They are a little quirky and not as easy to mod as the Mopar 2.2 Turbos and DSMs, but they can definately put down the power if done correctly.

 

A stock '92 GT Turbo and '93 GT V6 were both rated 0-60 in 7.1 per C&D (94 and up GT's were rated 0-60 in 7.5). Granted, there have been issues with their tests before, but, they did test both models. There was a lot more you could do with the turbo models over the V6's due to the lack of aftermarket support for the V6 models. IMHO, aftermarket support was a whole lot worse than what we currently have available for the beloved Max....

 

I remember the project car that SCC tried to do. They sure had a hard time getting more power out of it. I think the Brospeed exhaust they put on actually lost power!

 

Get a Y-pipe already, you idiot!

 

I remember that article. On my board, there's not a whole lotta respect for those cars. I guess there's worse...there's the Berretta.

 

I think it would have been fun to put the pumped up Contour SVT V6 in the Probe GT. That would have been fun.

 

Since Ford's modular stuff has been beating around the last few yrs, the (getting) popular thing now is swapping around same family blocks with bigger factory bore/stroke rotating assemblies. The 3.8L V6 mustang guys are doing that with the 4.2L's, the '00 Cobra R was was the 5.4 block from the F-150, (see a few other custom 5.4L mustangs here and there), lots of heavier duty 4.6L Cobra parts drifting on to the SOHC 4.6L GT motors, several of us SHO guys swapping in 93-95 3.2L blocks from the auto cars into the 89-95 sticks, and the CSVT gang has the option of ditching the 2.5L duratech block for the 3.0L duratech from the Taurus. The dyno numbers for the 3.0L block on the CSVT heads/intake are pretty impressive. That in a '93+ probe would be a fun ride!

 

Yeah, I remember the Baretta.lol Who'd of though that GM would try to sell a 3.1L V6 with only 130hp!

But seriously, the Probe/MX-6 is a really good platform. Awesome handling, but the engine could be better. It's a lot like the 240SX in a way.

 

Colonel,

I didn't know you had a Probe GT.

I had a '93 GT 5-speed and loved that car. Awesome handling, exceptional brakes, and good acceleration.

I paid $14K OTD w/19K miles in late '94. After the heads were replaced, the warranty was coming up(9-10K), and college nearing, I decided to sell. Drove it for a little over a year and sold it with 26K miles for $13.5K.

I regret it to this DAY! Would have been a fun project car.