Here is a list of aftermarket parts available for the 2.0L Engine. (Pictures to come shortly)
Phenolic spacers - Phenolic spacers are available through JC Morgan. His website can be reached at http://home.san.rr.com/scmorgan/spacers. These spacers fit all mazda 2.0L engines, years 93-97. They are 60 dollars and up to 5-7 hp to the engine and 4-6 ft-lbs of torque. They do this by keeping the intake manifold cool, thus allowing the engine to operatoe more efficiently.
Cold Air Intake - These is not a whole lot available for the probe 2.0L, and what little available is pretty much only for the MTXs (Manual Transmissions). There is a kit available by Weapon*R which is made for the manual. It can be made to fit the automatic however with a few modifications.
Headers - The only headers available for the 2.0L are made by Bosal and marketed by Brospeed. They arer desgined for the 93-95 2.0Ls, but also can be made to fit the 96-97 with a slight modification. The reason for this is due to the OBD-II sensors that ford/mazda went with for these years. Thus there are 2 O2 sensors, one which screws into the header. An extra hole will have to be made to accomodate this sensor.
Exhaust - There is also limited support for an aftermarket exhaust for the 2.0L probe. The best system available is made by brospeed. It is designed for the 93-95, so again modifications will have to be made to make it fit the 96-97, again due to the OBD-II system. The modification is the addition of a 6 inch extender pipe. This system is not cheap running around 600 dollars. There is a affordable system available, the pacesetter, which is around 200 dollars and is an excellent value for the price. For more information visit Pacesetter Exhaust Systems.
Turbo - The only major modification available to make the 2.0L fast is the installation of a turbo kit into it. The premier person/group to perform the modifications to the 2.0L is Thomad Knight turbos. The kit is supposed to develop 188Hp at the wheels. For more information on this kit visit. Thomas Knight Turbos. The kit is not cheap, around 4 grand, and is by no means easy to install.
Underdrive Pulleys - Currently there is no underdrive pulleys availale for the 96-97 2.0L, but there is supposedly one for the 93-95.
Spark Plugs and Wires - These are generic for any car for the most part. The only performance gain from it to the best of my knowledge is smoother idling/starting if the old plugs/wires are bad. The gain from it deals mostly with greater current to the plugs and this better spark.
Transmission Cooler - A simple modification you can do to your 2.0L ATX transmission is to install a 50 dollar transmission cooler. It is very simple, involves tapping into the tranmission coolant line to the radiator, adding an additional cooler. For information on transmission coolers, visit Transmission Coolers by Baumann.
I have performed this modification, and the procedure is outlined below:
1. The cooler will be installed in the front of the car, toward the drivers side in between the front fascia and the A/C condensor. This is the optimal location for it and will provide sufficent airflow over the cooler. I used a Hayden cooler model 403, and had to purchase transmission tubing to route the lines. The only other thing you will need is fasteners, which will connect the cooler to the A/C condensor, and clamps. Nothing else is needed. Everything came with the kit, but I had to purchase separatley the rubber tubing.
2. Connect approximatley 1.5 feet of rubber tranny tubing to each end of the two cooler pipes. Fasten each connection with clamps.
3. Mount the cooler in between the A/C condensor and front bumper. Use the fasteners that came with the Hayden kit, or something that can be sent through the coils of each radiator and fastened at each end. Any way you can mount the cooler in this location will also be sufficent. While mounting make sure the tubing is routed through to the back of the fan.
4. The cooler will be installed in series with the return ATX coolant line. This is the bottom line which is located on the far right of the radiator near the passengers's side. Between this line and the ATX itself is about a 12 inch piece of rubber tubing which connected both metal tubes together from the ATX and the radiator. Remove this tube, and connect both ends of the tubing from the cooler to the two open ends of this metal tubing. Do one at a time. Not much fluid will leak out, also add some more ATX fluid to take into account the extra routing, about 1/4 pint.
5. Take the car for a shirt ride, feel the cooler. It should be warm, noting fluid running through it. Also check for leaks. The whole motivation for this modification is to ensure longer life for the ATX.
Notes: Some people have found that it is easier to install the cooler by removing the front fascia, but this is unnecessary. The metal parts and connectors included with the cooler are used to replace the connections to the radiator. The probe connectors are completely different, since they are side mounted connectors. It is best if one just replaces the rubbere hose portion of the return coolant line to the transmission. The ATX in the probe is not as robust as it could be, so hopefully along with proper maintenance this will extend the life of the transmission.
