Well… I bought the car used - It seemed stock and clean but I didn’t really know the history. I didn’t want to push the engine much as this is a 10y old car so getting a better flow in the exhaust system and a bit of tuning I considered as extremely safe mod to the car.
Plus if I want I can buy the BBR cams separate and get them fitted. I however do not need a track car - I need it to behave on public roads so…
a) I personally I think I don’t need at the moment more than 187ish bhp and 157ish lb.ft (but If I do there are options). I need to check the BBR maps so I may still just upgrade the cams on my engine however the 2.5L duratec wont necessary give you much more power but it will give you a LOT more torque - and midrange which is where I mostly use my car, so it will pull a lot harder.
b) Setup and handling, I think my car is perfectly setup for road use so I am not changing it. Note its a 2010 sport roadster so it has all the Mazda updates from the NC1 - and this is something that I recently discovered. It appears that Mazda has modified the NC, and from the NC2 and onwards there were various updates including the suspension setup.. If you use the car on public roads it needs to be able to manage the bumps and keep all four wheels on the ground in order to have traction and the car pointing where you want it to go. I strongly believe that many people have the misconception that “upgrading your suspension” always means better. I don’t really want to get into that here as I have already expanded on what I think on this thread. All I will say it depends on you and what you want your car to do (or look). As for me, I think whatever Mazda did on my car (wheel geometry, stock sports roaster springs and Bilstein shocks) works brilliantly on public roads. If you want a track car that’s a different discussion.
c) having expanded a bit what I think on the suspension in point b, this is a somewhat expansion on the engine discussion. The only issue (well unknown factor) I have with fitting a 2.5L duratec is the actual engine weight. I don’t know what needs to go and what stays in the car (including any comfort factors as the AC) so honestly I don’t know the delta weight. And this is my concern as changing the engine mass from what it is now will change the car dynamics and handling and this is something I do not want to do. So although the 2.5L duratec is an Idea and a possibility, at the moment as far as I’m concerned I prefer the car as is. I will investigate this further but I don’t really want more power, but I’d like to have more torque and if the BBR cams can provide this I may give it a go instead as this probably the less headache and safest way to upgrade the engine without messing up the handling of the car… However I just don’t really know either way at the moment.