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Turbocharged Skyactiv 2.0- you read right.

32K views 46 replies 24 participants last post by  mazdaspeedmyk 
#1 · (Edited)
So from all the various tunes I've performed, I'm going to be setting aside the revenue to do testing on a skyactiv engine for BOOST!


**this is not a sale or advertisement. nothing for sale here**​

since I'm no longer pursuing my idea for "ots map tuners" I'm going to pursue something everyone has been asking.

"Can I turbocharge a skyactiv?"​

Well if all goes well here soon I'm going to be purchasing a skyactiv 2.0L and doing a bunch of various testing, tuning for boost, and having various internal components checked for fatigue limts.

All of this is for the information for the community so they know the possibilities of the engine :).


Stay tuned for more to come :) Like I said (before my post was deleted) BIG things are comming! (information wise)​
 
#3 ·
That'll be fun. Looking forward to seeing this. If you want to skip the header-building phase it'd be cool to see a Rotrex'd Sky instead.
 
#4 ·
This could be really cool, or really explosive. Either way, fun to see what happens! Keep us appraised :)
 
#7 ·
"You had my interest, but now you have my attention".
 
#9 ·
Well said.
 
#12 ·
:no:

The saying, "There's no replacement for displacement" applies well here...

The 2.5L Skyactiv with the same setup as for a 2.0L engine would naturally put down a bit more power then the smaller block. Shouldn't be but a 30-50hp difference with the final output, but regardless, the bigger 2.5L should put down decent numbers and be a blast to drive around. I wish Mazda would've released the 2.5L engine with manual tranny at the time of my purchase...
 
#19 ·
Very interesting.... Comparing the Sky-G to the FA20 at 12:1 compression ratio I'm pretty sure you can run 5-7 pounds of boost safely. Might need to dump more fuel into the equation and retard timing to hold back the knock but I wonder how strong the pistons/rods really are since everything is slimmed down so much. I know the crank should be able to hold the power since it's forged steel vs cast iron in the old MZR. The thing that's worrying is the stress on the crank journals and rod journals since it's smaller then the MZR's

Another thought on my mind is how this motor would handle ITBs. Since everything is balanced from factory and the rotational friction is reduced, how much power can we expect out of a 2.0L or even 2.5L revved out to 8k with the right configuration. Going any higher would start to get scary since the piston speeds would be ridiculous and the load on the sidewalls would increase that much more.

It will be an exciting day when we can make more power out of these units besides bolt ons.
 
#20 ·
I'll hold my doubts, maybe super low PSI. Does boost at 4psi even .. do anything?

I've seen these rods in person. The Skyactiv engine has been ripped apart and saved of all forms of weight in every way possible. The word skimpy implies cheapness so I won't use that, but believe me when I say it's almost scary to see these in person and wonder why they don't break under daily use.


An e85 tune may work, but let's be honest, who really goes e85 and is happy about it?
(after it ruins all of the fuel system)

 
#21 ·
I'll hold my doubts, maybe super low PSI. Does boost at 4psi even .. do anything?

I've seen these rods in person. The Skyactiv engine has been ripped apart and saved of all forms of weight in every way possible. The word skimpy implies cheapness so I won't use that, but believe me when I say it's almost scary to see these in person and wonder why they don't break under daily use.


An e85 tune may work, but let's be honest, who really goes e85 and is happy about it?
(after it ruins all of the fuel system)
Yeah, that picture doesn't do much justice on really how small it is. 83.5mm is a tiny bore. But just looking at that piston and rod is scary! It looks like it'll snap under boost.... I wonder what mazdas plan is when they do decide to release a new MS3. These aren't forged rods and pistons right? Rather hypereutectic cast pistons and cast rods? Not much information was given when you saw the parts were they?
 
#22 ·
*cough* diesel *cough*

No that picture really doesn't. It's seriously amazing what's in the skyactiv engine. I HIGHLY recommend to anyone to find a shop or a mazda nerd that has some parts or access to these parts to take a look, even if you're not into all of it, it's almost amazing to compare those to any other piston head and rod.
 
#23 · (Edited)
If you want more displacement on the pave, reduce the size of your tire's diameter. You'll suddenly have low end torque that wasn't there. Just the front wheels. *Your odometer and speedometer will be affected. I did this to my 89 Sunbird GT turbo which stock went 0 to 60 in 6.5 secs. After going with smaller tires you didn't dare floor it in first gear. 2nd gear was all power band and third gear was all power also. That car would go for a 2.0 L engine pushing 165HP. MS3's competitor. it weight 2500lbs vs 2900 or so. If you took the passenger seat out, spare tire, install smaller tires (lighter and faster) possibly lighter rims, go to the gym....

That damn fuel mapping is what kills out take offs. the powerband is in the 4k range. Get the CX-5 setup on our engines and you'll gain some low end torque. A turbo on our engines when it's still on warranty like most skyactiv's out there, is just a bad idea. I'd recommend for owners to wait a few years and then take the chance if you wish. I bet that most of your cars are daily drivers still on bank loans. How much does a new skyactiv engine cost... just saying.

Weight reduction, wheel size and distributing the weight across the car properly will help. Wheel diameter is important. I see guys install MS3 wheels on other models. They are bigger wheels than what the gearing was made for. You will lose displacement if you install a bigger than stock wheel. The tire diameter I should say.
 
#26 · (Edited)
I didn't word my last sentence correctly. I did mention tire diameter at the end but it's the way I wrote the whole thing that makes it not clear.

I'm comparing performance specs when comparing the two cars. Nothing more. There is 400 lbs shed off the Sunbird compared to the Mazda 3. I'd like to see Mazda do that. I really would since I own two of them. Isn't the whole Skyactiv designed around loosing weight? GM was able to do much better and still keep parts beefy enough to run a turbo. Using light metal such as aluminum for the engine block was an easy shedding skill back then. 25 years ago. 8:1 compression and 31mpg.

I'm not a pro-GM guy but I'm showing safer options for Mazda 3 Skyactiv owners. Like I said, most Skyactiv owners are still on warranty. Damaging an engine isn't cheap. Even if it's long term damage. If I'd buy a used Skyactiv later I'd be asking questions if it has a turbo installed on it. To be honest, I'd probably back away from the sale. Keep in mind that our transmissions and overall drive train also have their limits for added stress. Get an aftermarket 4-2-1 header to fit our cars and reprogram the ECU to use 91 octane and you'll have low end power which our car engines were actually designed for. The CX-5 which has the 4-2-1 header weight more than 3500lbs. The Skyactiv 3 is 2900lbs. See what I'm getting at...
 
#25 ·
You're talking about different gearing by going to smaller ratio tires. That's 100% a different subject.
But yes, it does work for most cars. But it's like the same reason with race cars.. you don't see any of them running gear ratios anywhere near stock versions of cars because it makes no sense on track. They're optimized for city and highway driving, not... speed.
 
#27 ·
The CX5 does not weigh 3500lbs? It weighs less than a Speed3 weighs, unless you're looking at the AWD version which.. that would make more sense.

The sunbird didn't have half the technology that cars today have. Have you seen the weight of today's cars vs the weight of cars from the 80s and 90s? They keep going up like it isn't a problem (when... really... really it is a problem fatass cars...) It's all this safety crap.
 
#29 · (Edited)
Yeah, that's true. I never even thought of all the airbags. I should of thought about it because the A-pillar causes a major blind spot. I almost hit pedestrians and can't see a car when it's coming from far away. This happened many times now because of it being so wide and I've only owned the car for a year. B-pillars causes a bit of a struggle also. I've exaggerated my mirrors pointing outwards to compensate.

CX-5 Curb weight 1,455–1,555 kg (3,208–3,428 lb) Mazdaspeed 3 CURB WEIGHT 3281 lbs.

I was comparing it's weight to a Skyactiv model since that's the car we're talking about, not a MS3. The base CX-5 is around 3208lbs which is 308 lbs heavier and the heaviest is 3428lbs which is 528 lbs heavier than a 2900lbs Skyactiv.
 
#32 ·
On average our engines (granted I'm covering a lot of bases here from gen1 2.0s and 2.3s, gen2 2.0s and 2.5s, and gen3s including the 6), need to rev up almost to 4k to make full torque. We have nothing down low (what do you expect, it IS a 4 cylinder).

Back when I got my car I used to keep the revs super low around 2-2.5k as much as I could.
It hasn't been until about a year ago where I realized that isn't at all where it should be. Since then I've been keeping it closer to 3-3.5k around town and the car has been much more happy, gas mileage hasn't suffered. RPM doesn't have much affect on MPGs (for the most part), stress on the engine sure, but you also aren't heavily loading / "bogging" the motor which is just as bad.
 
#33 ·
I don't think you can cover so many bases lol. In my car, anything above 2500 is eating fuel no matter how little load you put on it. I have to really baby the car to maximize its city mpg.
 
#36 · (Edited)
Turbo diesel Skyactiv for the win. It will be a powerful machine on take-offs and at low RPM's when shifting gears. I'd be curious to see what Mazda says
needs to be done to a stock engine to turbo the Skyactiv 2.0. It could be as simple as emailing an engineer and ask the question..
 
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