TX3 turbo ??? - Ford Forums - Mustang Forum, Ford Trucks, Ford Focus and Ford Cars

12-23-2002, 01:51

TX3 turbo ???

I am looking at buying a ke-kf tx3 4wd turbo. i was wondering if anyone can tell me how they go? how much km's per tank they get? and what problems you have heard that goes wrong with them?
thanks for all your help.

biggaben · 12-23-2002, 02:29

my mate has one and yeah nice ride. he runs optimax and gets arround 350-400 to the tank...he is always up it

when looking at buying one, my mate said look watch out for high k's and poor servicing. His bank account found out the hard way after spending large amounts of money on intercooler, turbo and other nick nacks that the gearbox wasn't up to scrach.

12-23-2002, 03:03

cool thanks, there a 40 litre tank yeah, and is that flogging it? ill be chacking the turbo and compression before i buy anything.

Martin · 12-23-2002, 06:08

The weakest link is the gearbox, even the smallest amount of abuse and/or large power increase and they die pretty quick.
And unfortuanatly theres not a thing you can do about it as there are no stronger ones available.

Also build quality is pretty ordinary even though the Turbo Lasers were built in Japan.

How much have you got to spend? Have you also thought about the Mazda equivalent? The 323/Familiar GT-X and GT-R, import only though. The GT-X has the same power as the TX3, the GT-R has another 20kw ontop of that.

XR6 VCT UTE · 12-23-2002, 13:49

brilliant car very underated,rear LSD to yes be careful with the g/box,as a replacement from memory the gtr g/box is stronger importers have them but can be hard to find at times,or go the hole hog get a gtr front cut with the big hp motor/g/box bolts straight in,interior /dash is a little drab but you can fix that,I have known these tx3 doing high 13s modified of course.

They prove good value for money a todays prices

good luck

dcstraight · 12-23-2002, 14:47

A guy I knew a while back had one - I thought it was a beautiful ride - very quick in factory form ! He did the exhaust, upped the boost (with electronic boost control) and then stripped out the interior - it was a daily driver at that time too, so the odd time he brought it down to the track was good, but really would have suited to be a full-time track car at that stage. Just my 2c, but for the money, I have always had a soft spot for a Lancer GSR (aka evo 3 I think) hehe.

Cheers,
Steve

Aussie Pete · 12-23-2002, 18:36

Mine did over 200,000km no probs. Had a 3 inch exhaust and a few other bits but it was ultra reliable and a good car all round. KH is the pick. KE is a dog in comparison.

12-23-2002, 19:58

yeah i like the kh, but the insurance is $1000 more than the ke, whats the kf like, its a 1.8 isnt it?
the familia will be way to much for insurance so thats a no go. and for the lancer, what can i say, its a lancer, they suck.
if only they made the TX5 4wd then i would be happy.
But my major concern is fuel efficiency how does it go per liter, thats why im getting rid of the ef, its to expensive.

biggaben · 12-23-2002, 23:35

don't boost and if it is in good mech. then you will probably get 450-500 kms, same as your falcon just a smaller tank

carazy · 12-24-2002, 15:53

Yeah dude a Turbo 4 can use just as much if not more that a 6 depending on how you drive it.
The lasers are a great car. I'm a fan of the 1.6 KE Turbo FWD. Heaps lighter and a better balanced car just a little less power.
Yeah the gearbox is a known weak point (same on all 4wd sports cars)
Not much goes wrong with them though the Laser is a great car.
BTW you can get 4wd Mazda 626's but your more likly to find a Ferarri for under $3000.
Telstars rock man but they have a lot of torque steer.