You might end up with an engine that is rough at high RPM's. In other vehicles, Mazda put balance shafts in the 2.3. I understand there is not enough room for the balance shafts in the NC chassis. But, some folks have "modded" their 2.3's by removing that balance shaft too.
charlie brown wrote:The capacity difference in the two engines looks like a longer stroke in the crank.
The bore in both engines is the same at 87.5mm but the stroke in the 2.3 litre engine is 94mm compared to the 2.0 litre engine’s 83.1mm.
You should be able to just to a crank swap.
The 2.3 engine has a taller deck, and calculatin the rod ratio between both the 2.3 has better rod ratio than the 2.0..
And balance shafts can be removed... I heard(read) there where a like 3 Nc's that there where doing this swap.