I know that the topic of rebuild kits has been beaten to death. I have read through numerous threads on the subject but I cannot seem to find an answer to this specific question.

Why is the Racing beat rebuild kit for my 10AE so much cheaper than everywhere else? It includes both the rotor seal/spring kit AND the complete gasket set for much less than anywhere else when combining the prices. I have been scared away from the Atkins kit due to some recent poor customer experiences and I also prefer to use only OEM seals if possible. The only catch that I can find is that the parts list on the Racing beat website has the original corner seal springs (not the FD upgrades), but I called their tech support line and they said it was no big deal to swap that out for me.

I just want to make sure that there isn't something that I am overlooking before I make what seems to be a no-brainer purchase. You all have been extremely helpful so far and I really appreciate your assistance and expertise.

 

not sure, but its possible that Racing Beat either gets a better deal from Mazda, or has a smaller markup

 

I ended up buying the kit. The rep at Racing Beat was gently suggesting that I street port the intake/exhaust while I had the engine apart during our discussion. I know that this is off topic, but I had decided to stick with the stock ports due to the limited availability of replacement irons. I already had to have them lapped/renitrided because of the cost/availability of buying new. I am terrified of having my first porting experience occur on the only set of irons that I can seemingly get right now. I also have already purchased the RTEK 1.7 so that I can safely run my full exhaust on the stock turbo/intercooler. From what I have found during my information searches on here is that porting of any kind requires dyno/tuning on a standalone ECU in order to protect the engine.

Am I doing the wrong thing with my original plan to keep this engine mostly stock or are the gains from a streetport too much to pass up?

 

nope, the stock port works, and we know it works. its one less thing to worry about

a small street port would add power, but i've also seen them be too big.

 

Thanks for the reassurance.

Is my understanding about porting correct though? That, in order to do it properly/safely, something like an RTEK 1.7 is not going to be enough in terms of handling the different dynamics of the engine with the enlarged ports? Part of the appeal of the RTEK is that I can, theoretically, put the car back together with the recommended supporting modifications and go.

 

yep, that is perfectly valid. we all have limited time/money and these cars are old, so it really helps a lot if you can cut down on the variables/scope of the project.