Replacement/Upgrade
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The Bay Area Probe Owners Club does not endorse or avoid any specific automotive business or product. Use this information and these links at your own risk. Note: Most of this information is collected from the Probe Performance List and should be considered hearsay until YOU verify for YOURSELF. Being listed here does not imply suitability for your application. I may post parts of email messages I receive. If the author objects to this policy, I will re-edit or remove the text to satisfy you.
Porterfield Brake Pads: http://www.big-mall.com/porterfield-brakes.com/
Service Manual - see the FAQ Page on this site.
Roebuck Mazda - cheapest source for many parts
SP MotorSports - Special page for Probes, performance parts
K&N Filters - Super popular drop-in, cone air filters
Import Performance Website - A huge set of links to performance related sites
Mazda Mart, Recycling late model Mazdas. Atlanta, GA 1-800-221-5156
Jeff Knight, Miami Florida. Turbo installation. See it at http://members.aol.com/mx6perform/turbo.htm
Scooter's Auto Probes only! Parts. 1-888-6PROBES (Toll Free). In Wisconsin. (Website working again at new URL 6Oct97)
SpeedTek - Modifying specialists in South Florida. Turbo installations. Reportedly a turbo kit for the 93+ Probe GT, about $2500-2700+install and 6 lbs of boost giving c. 240hp.
Tommie Vaughn Ford - Reportedly has Borla cat-back exhausts for $275 (20Aug97). In Houston.
Mazda Auto Recycling - Pro7 link, used parts. Don't know anything about them.
The wheels are kinda hard to find in the USA, unless you have a major Japanese wheel importer near you. I believe they are still available even though the design has been on the market for the past 5+ years. In Japan, the VS-5 on perf. cars is as popular as Boyds on MuscleCars in the US.
Originally, the VS-5 (17x8") retailed for $975 per wheel. These days, I believe the wheel retails for $850-875/ per wheel.
BTW Beck/Arnley sold at PepBoys(uGH) will fit a 97GT. B/A cap 174-7027 $29.42 B/A rotor 173-8004 $10.24
I discovered the place on the internet when I used a parts locating service. It works really well! www.valuparts.com Sometimes the server is a little slow, but it works quite well and can locate parts close to your zip code. thanks to MF
This shifter includes: 1) The actual shifter itself, chrome plated 2) New urethane bushings 3) Straight shift knob 4) all other necessary installation hardware.
We can get them from Stillen (theres that name again)at a few different price points, broken down as follows.
Gen 1&2 Pricing is identical, but shifters aren't, you must specify.
MSRP is: $160.00 MIPOC (or any probe club) is: $125.00 MIPOC (or any probe club) quan. 10 or above is:$105.00
Again, your contact at Stillen is Phil, and he can be reached 1-800-711-4128 ext. 173 8:30am to 5:00pm California time.
The ad indicates the converter interfaces with the J1850 VPW 10.4Kb/s data stream which is, if I'm not mistaken, is what Ford uses. It'd be wise to contact them to see if they know if it's compatible with the Probe just in case.
It interfaces with any 286 or higher laptop and has some pretty neat looking screens. I think it's about $249...
It'd make a very nice data logger for you 96/97 drag racers... 20Aug98
Axxis/Repco Deluxe front 088-1471D $42.30 rear 088-1470D $37.60
Axxis/Repco Metal Masters front 088-1471M $55.30 rear 088-1470M $49.00
Brembo only manufacturers rotors for the front end of your car. The part number is 09.5584.10 and the price is $48.59/ea. We can get you original equipment quality replacement rotors for the rear for $61.30/ea., part #083-2557. (I am assuming you have disc brakes in the rear. If you do have drum brakes, the price is $55.38.)
If you have any further questions or price inquiries, please don't hesitate to write. If you have received other pricing, let us know the competitions bottom line is, including shipping. We would like to have your business, so we do our best to match our competitors' pricing as frequently as possible.
Sincerely, Kerith A. Strano Strano Performance Parts Visit us on the web: http://www.stranoparts.com or 1 888/6 STRANO 5Aug98
Plug Wires. NGK part number for the wires is ZE28 (7mm), unless they changed it since. The label on the box only lists applications for the 2nd gen MX-6 and 626 with the 2.5L, but it WILL fit your PGT. 23Jul98
Toyo Tires, fifth largest tire manufacturer in the world.
Tires: Dunlop D40 M2 - "Max performance" Good replacement. Local "Just Tires" center quoted me $90 for 225-50ZR16 (or $110 for VR. Go figure). Apparently some mail order places had them as cheap as $74, but may be close to out of stock (older tire design). Commonly used by list members.
Dunlop SP8000 - "Max performance" Better replacement. Same tire shop quoted me $100 for 225-50ZR16, no VR. $89 from Discount Tire Direct from June 98 SCC.
Dunlop SP9000 - "Ultra High Performance" $178 from the same Discount Tire Direct.
Yokohama A520 - "Ultra High Performance" A recently introduced tire. 225/50ZR16 for $109 same dealer, same mag.
Pirelli P7000 SuperSport - "Ultra High performance All Season" At least one list member uses them (Kirk Porter). $126 from same mag. 29Jun98
EPIC Motorsport. they'll match eddie's price (eddie: CBPerform@aol.com) for a GReddy Cat-back. $175 for Eibach springs, and $60 for install. Tel (619) 874-8883 18May98
Superchargers. we are getting closer maybe to a real kit. See the Upgrades Section below. 13May98.
Used Probe engines http://fordauto.com/_index.htm or Scooters 19Mar98.
Underdrive pulley Bulk Buy: $129 down from $159. Need 12-15 people. Mail the performance list (probe-perf@amber.org) for details. Mar98.
Magnacore Spark Plug Wires. The price on the magnacores is jumping up about $20, but we can still get them for $118.95 but only until Feb 28, 1998. (The normal price is $139.95 - James) SP Motorsports can be found @ www.spmotorsports.com and (301) 990-8783 23Feb98.
Hotshot Headers. $350, Hotshot intakes $85.00 plus S/H. Eddie (CBPerform@aol.com) 19Feb98.
Plug wires 11Feb98.
Redline Oil. About $7.95 qt. See the site for local retailers. 22Jan98.
Coil over springs. Ground Control . Adjustable ride height, products for street use. 30Dec97
Underdrive pulleys: Unorthodox Racing - for the Probe (MX-6, 626) 2.5V6.
Check the Underdrive Pulley Page for installation, performance reports, etc on underdrive pulleys.
Underdrive pulleys increase available horsepower by lowering the accessory drive speed (and thus their power requirements).
Bosal Brospeed Exhaust & Headers for the 2.5 & 2.0. Exhaust in 2 weeks. Headers by the end of December 97. bo38db@nac.net $Sugg. Retail on the exhaust: $600.00 $Sugg. Retail on the header: 2.0 $390.00 2.5 $600.00 3Dec97.
Rear Strut Bar. Road Race Engineering. c. $90. MIKEatRRE@aol.com. Prevents movement between rear strut towers for improved chassis stiffness. This is reportedly one of the nicest bars around. 1Dec97.
New Intake System, PRM 190 Marycroft Ave. Unit #15 Woodbridge, ON L4L5Y1 1Dec97. about $US190.
Dunlop D40M2: New lower price! $81+shipping. The popular 225/50ZR16 Dunlop D40M2 tire will be available until about July 1998 from the Tire Rack according to Max Jones - sales@tirerack.com, http://www.tirerack.com
Rear Anti-Sway Bar 7/8" (22mm) (93-97), SP Motorsports October's special $151.95 Joe Scott joe@spmotorsports.com 27Oct97.
G-TECH/Pro. Measures: 0-60 & 1/4 times, G-Force, Braking and Horsepower. $139? 20Oct97.
Centerforce clutch (Dual Friction) Centerforce II Throw out bearing Bob Franzke, Performance International. email: performanceintl@virtualrep.com phone: (714) 642-0164 20Oct97
NOTE: There is a rumor that Frick's Performance is out of business- 16Oct97
Conical K & N filters (p/n RE-0910) of $35.27 + 5.00 S+H. Bob Franzke, Performance International. email: performanceintl@virtualrep.com, phone: (714) 642-0164 Drop-in style K & N (p/n 33249) to fit the OEM '93-'97 air box (2.0 and 2.5) $33.31 1Oct97
NGK 8mm plug wires. For 93+GT c. $73 including shipping from Nopi. 25Sep97.
Lightweight flywheel. $500 8 lb flywheel custom made. Also other custom parts. (Got the info for this place off a Fiat site!) Good luck trying to drive the thing, though. PAECO 2400 Mountain Drive Birmingham, AL 35226 800-326-6401 205-823-7278 25Sep97.
Lightweight flywheel. Use a MX-3 V6 flywheel, only 16lbs? Presumably a bolt on. 25Sep97.
GReddy exhaust. Ok, so the Borla deal fell through, the new talk is $489 for a GReddy kit. Mail the performance list for details: probe-perf@amber.org. 25Sep97
OEM Wheels, 93/94 PGT. Rumor has it that the Tire Rack is out of these after having new ones at the great price of $100/wheel. 24Sep97
Centerforce Dual Friction clutch Performance International. $288.51, throw out bearing $34.25. Superior to mediocre stock clutch. In California. 18Sep97.
White faced gauges. From NR AUTO, see pics at Jay Bird's Probe Site. NR Auto direct for $150 including S & H, $70 for installation. 8Jan98
MotorSports Digest Forced Induction - Supercharger, turbo/NOS primer. Apr98
13May98: Unorthodox
Supercharger Kit.
*The kit will initially make 6PSI boost*
Unorthodox would like for all interested parties to call them @ (516) 253-4909. Unorthodox Racing needs $1000 deposit [Credit Card #] that will not be billed until it is shipped out.
Apr98: Unorthodox Supercharger Kit.
The supercharger will be located on the driver's side utilizing a shaft to drive the supercharger. The passenger side will utilize a new idler pulley and the pulley connected directly to the shaft. A longer belt will be employed.
The supercharging unit is still under debate, but a self contained unit is the most preferred. This includes the Paxton SN95 4.6L blower unit as well as the Powerdyne unit. The Paxton is good for 10psi maximum, with a HD unit availible. The HD will run up to 15psi. The regular SN95 can be upgraded to the HD unit when a stronger motor is assembled and you desire more hp. As the units are self contained, which means there are no oil lines to run to the oil pan, and no possible contamination of the oil from metal shavings often produced in a gear driven SC unit. Sean has expressed a strong desire to avoid running any oil lines. If one really wants a Vortech, maybe he can sell you everything else, and you could have a new mounting bracket made for the Vortech. The shaft will be allen keyed and locked right in to the front of the SC unit, eliminating another set of belts and pulleys.
The kit will be non-intercooled as it isn't necessary on a low boost street application. With the standard SN95 Paxton, we're looking at 5-6psi. Sean feels we may be able to run higher by utilizing a water injection system, which would cool everything down and allow us to run 8-10psi detonation free. Julian has some experience with water injection, and he's looking at the units designed and made in the UK. I can't remember the name right now....
Although he has to build and test the prototype, he feels the stock fuel system will be more than adequate to handle 6psi. Although I'm not convinced on this point, Sean will test everything thoroughly before he'll sell the kit. A Cartech FPU may be used to boost and regulate fuel pressure. An AFR meter may also be in the kit, although he'll test it first and one may not be necessary for the basic kit. Personally, I'd add one, as they're cheap insurance ($99 from Racer's Warehouse) in case something does go wrong.
Sean doesn't feel confident with the knock sensor controlling detonation and is thinking about having a chip specifically programmed for the SC kit. This would upgrade the fuel and ignition curves, and possibly the VRIS.
Rounding out the kit will be all the plumbing necessary. I feel Sean's goal is to design a reliable system that will work well in everyday driving where reliability is a concern. Race upgrades will be possible, of course, and a set of guages, AFR meter, booster pump, and such can be easily added for a little more money. Whether or not Unorthodox will supply these, I don't know.
Sean estimates the HP range with 5-6psi to be anywhere from 250hp up to 280 hp which is pretty good in my humble opinion. Bolt ons that work with the SC will naturally help.
The kit is at least one month away, and Sean emphasized over and over again that the kit would be tested thoroughly before he proceeds to make a kit and sell it to PGT owners. Some of the things he wants to try may or may not work which is why he wants to test and get it running really well before selling it. In my opinion, he seems to know what he's talking about and is very professional. Slightly lacking is his knowledge of the Mazda fuel management and computer system, including the VAF. But hey, he'll learn really quick, and he knows how to program aftermarket systems such as Haltech.
If you're interested in the system, I'd contact unorthodox and let them know. Their phone number is (516)253-4909, and their web page is www.unorthodoxracing.com. The more interest, the more quickly things will get moving.
Road Race Engineering in LA made a supercharged MX-6, $20K for it all done right, 260 HP on pump gas. They ain't mak'n any mo.
Eaton Superchargers, dimensions www.eaton.com
Check the Underdrive Pulley Page for installation, performance reports, etc on underdrive pulleys.
Underdrive pulleys increase available horsepower by lowering the accessory drive speed (and thus their power requirements).
Dunlop D40M2: The popular 225/50-16 Dunlop D40M2 tire will be available for about another year (from July 1997) from the Tire Rack according to Max Jones - sales@tirerack.com The Tire Rack - http://www.tirerack.com ph(888)362-8473 (219)287-2345 (ext. 367)
This is a good replacement tire for Bay Area PGT's because it offers very good dry and wet traction (equal or better than the OEM Gatorbacks) at a bargin price (currently $81 each at the Tire Rack). Reports are that cold/snow traction is substantially worse than Pirelli P7000 or other good all-season tires. Quieter, slightly better riding than Gatorbacks. Wear on mine (rotated and rebalanced every 6K) indicates I'll get about 35K out of them. James (@aol.com)
Stock: Probe owners can try Mazda dealers for possible cheaper prices.
Raybestos Semi-metallics: Similar to stock (also semi-metallic). Reported equal or better to stock. Cheap, c. $30.
Bendix: Similar reports as Raybestos Semi-metallics.
Repco/Axxis MetalMasters: Very popular upgrade pad for many different cars. Reported to be much more fade resistant and much better grip than stock. Varying opinions of how much trouble the slippery-when-cold problem is. Also possibly slippery when wet and cold. Possible problem with handbrake grip. Probably greater rotor wear than OEM.
20Oct97 Got the Metal Masters for my car. Super grip hot, and they feel pretty normal cold, although it hasn't been under 50deg F here. Fabulous at Sear's Point Raceway. Repeatedly pulling the car down from 100-40mph resulted in no fade. (@aol.com)
25Sep97. Heard there is a new pad from Axxis (Carbon?) that is better for street, but not yet available for our cars. More on this later.
Sep97 Well, I finally tried a car equipped with the MetalMasters, and the brakes felt like brakes when cold. Warmed up they had much better grip than my stock pads. Outside temp was about 55F, and the car had been sitting for a couple of hours. James (@aol.com)
Porterfield R4S: "S" for "Street". Similar to MetalMasters. Reports of no unusual behavior cold from someone in the Bay Area. Longer stop the first of the day, rest of the time great. Some dusting.
You can reach Porterfield at 1-714-548-4470 x132, Ask for Andy.
17Jun98 - I just installed a new set of Porterfield's R4S Carbon/Kevlar pads and bedded them in. All I can say is, WOW, what a difference. After I bedded the pads, I immediately headed to my dentist who specializes in reconstructive surgery to have all my front teeth put back in. I forgot to buckle my seatbelt and upon slamming on the brakes from 70mph, my face slammed against the steering wheel so hard I dislodged five front teeth. Nah, not really, but hey, they're damn impressive:-) Who needs cross drilled rotors and braided lines when you have these pads? (ok, I do, but just for looks) Seriously, these things stopped my car so hard I could feel them squirming on the Nitto Drag tires in the front. I could feel the chassis flex. I could feel my brain slamming against the front of my skull. I guess I'll have to purchase a front strut tower bar or make my own really soon. Anyway, I highly recommend the porterfields. BTW, I got them really hot, hot enough that they were smoking (both front tires). I pulled into a gas station just to make sure everything was fine, and of course, it was. Must be normal to burn off the bedding material. -MF
1999: I bought my Porterfield R4S pads over a year ago directly from Porterfield. They cost $89 and $69, front/rear respectively. The part numbers for a 1995 PGT are #583/ #584 (front/rear).
However after I have purchased my headers from Strano Performance Parts, I discovered that they also sell the Porterfield R4S pads for $80.10/$62.10 front, rear respectively. Contact: http://www.stranoparts.com/ or 1-888-6 STRANO
Borla, HKS, and GReddy are the most common cat-back exhausts for the 93+PGT. From the first Probe Summit I can tell you that hearing all those different exhausts at full throttle was pure music!
Greddy has a web page about California law and aftermarket exhausts: read it Here.
To see Borla pics on this site click here.
The Borla has the advantage of being stainless steel and the cheapest of the three. It has dual tips rather than the big single tip like the GReddy. From inside, the Borla gives a little "burble" note to the sound, not at all loud.
Supposedly Brospeed is coming out with a matched exhaust and header set for the PGT.
*Coming soon*: WAV files and pics of the various exhausts. Anybody got a microphone and computer to capture the sounds?
The stock intake is somewhat restrictive. Beware of a cone filter drawing air from inside the engine compartment. The 2.5V6 is very sensitive to air temp and it is thought that the air turbulence inside the engine compartment impedes air flow. If you use a cold air tube running to the bottom of the car (like the Hotshots intake), remove it in the rain as water is bad coming in the intake.
K&N drop-in: 1994 Ford Probe GT: #33-2049, $51
Returns of around 2% hp increase (as measured on a dyno) across the band are reported for using synthetic oil in the engine and transmission. It is slipperier than dino oil and may keep the parts cooler. Redline MT90 (75w90, GL-4) in the gear box and Mobil 1 or equivalent in the engine are commonly mentioned.
There have been several discussions about chips lately. I am pretty skeptical myself since there is a noticable lack of meaningful dyno testing. In October 97, someone on the Performance List did a before and after dyno with a Superchips chip that showed a modest increase across the powerband (3% or so).
A dyno test recently reported on the performance list (may be the one mentioned above) for a Superchips ship provided more controversial results. 1Dec97
Here are the SuperChips plots on Mike's Probe Site.
Spring rates Stock (93-95 ??) 96-97 have progressive springs I think
PGT: front = 190 rear = 135
MX6: front = 165 rear = 145
626: front = 140 rear = 115
Spring rates Aftermarket
Eibach's (same for all 3 cars)
front = 230 linear rear = 80/170 progressive
Aftermarket drops:
H & R's 1.5"
Intrax 1.75"
Eibach 1.3
Dyno results for V8, underdrive pulleys - Mustang, but lots of good data.
Synthetic oils - an article with dyno tests using RedLine oil.
http://members.xoom.com/minimopar/oilfilterstudy.html - Oil Filter tests
The Bay Area Probe Owners Club does not endorse or avoid any specific automotive business or product. Use this information and these links at your own risk. Note: Most of this information is collected from the Probe Performance List and should be considered hearsay until YOU verify for YOURSELF. I may post parts of email messages I receive. If the author objects to this policy, I will re-edit or remove the text to satisfy you.
March 1998
Bay Area Probe Owners Club Website
