Planning for a Complete Vehicle Rebuild

[mituc]

Originally Posted by Bingo 1. OEM LCA's are incredibly expensive, so I'll try to get away with just replacing the bushings.

Get the OEMs or at least the equivalent Moog. Replacing the bushing is just a quick fix but not necessarily a reliable one. However, this could make sense if you're doing a track build and you're not particularly interested for those LCAs to hold 60+k miles.

Originally Posted by Bingo 2. TMM and PMM: The OEM PMM is $255, and I couldn't even find an OEM TMM (besides through Mazda). Also, If I do go with an S3 (it would be accompanied by my current mods plus a long-catted DP and 3-port), are OEM mounts still a good idea?

If you want to DD the car then keep the OEM PMM. You can go aftermarket with the other two. For a quiet cabin a gen2 TMM + the tripode on the transmission it bolts on to + the CS TMM insert is simply perfect.

Originally Posted by Bingo 3. Main and rod bearings @mituc; why the King XP bearings? I don't know anything about these (or any other ones) but they're twice the price of the Mahle's. Also does this change at all if I do end up making closer to 330 whp?

The idea is the same: are you building the engine to go 60k more miles or indefinitely? You may also change your mind regarding the power limits and you may want to go higher at some point. The King bearings are indeed twice the price of Mahle bearings and like 30% more than the Clevite, but in absolute figures this is probably like $180-190 for both sets (main + rod), so probably like $50-60 more than the others.

You're rebuilding an engine and throwing at least $5k at it in parts and labour, $50 is like 1%, so don't cheap out at relatively inexpensive but critical parts. It's one thing to get some $1200 conn rods versus $350 ones which will still hold 600-650whp no problem, and another thing to spend $50 more on main and rod bearings.