To start off, I don't have a Miata yet, but am planning on getting rid of my skyline to buy one soon. I am thinking that 200 ponies at the wheels seems like a reasonable number for such a light car. Similar power to my skyline but only 2/3 the weight. And it will be US spec so I can drive it in the states. It probably wont be a daily driver but will be seeing a good bit of street use and some track/auto cross use, nothing too serious yet though.

What would be the best way to accomplish this kind of power while maintaining reliability and driveability? I'm not looking for some $300 e-bay turbo but I don't want to spend $15k converting to a LS1 either.

Am I asking too much out of this motor or possibly selling myself short on the potential? I really dont know that much about Miatas other than they handle great, run forever and I want one.

BTW, I have been working on cars pretty much my whole life (nearly 30yrs) so most labor costs are not an issue with the exception of machine work which I would need to have someone else do.

 

I'm still NA so take what I have with a grain of salt, but have the same goal in mind for my NB next winter. Many people are doing 200 to the wheels though and say that is about the limit before you need to start beefing up Driveline etc. Dem768 is hitting those numbers and more with his Begi S4, Flying Miata Stage II will also hit it if you are looking for prebuilt kits.

When you talk about DIY, I personally am looking to go the ARTECH Manifold, DP, Exhaust route and a 2850 or something and VBand, Iconol everything. I want to track it and not fix it between sessions.

If you don't want to go Turbo, TrackDog has a great MP62 SuperCharger + Intercooler setup that will get you similar horsepower as well.

Adam

 

2850?

yuk! he said useable torque curve. Not a flat, miniscul one.


Here's my 1.6L running 10psi vs. a 1.8L running 9.5psi. the 1.6L is running a small cheap T3, the 1.8L running a small cheap SR20 T25:



Very similar turbo/exhaust/ecu setup.


same 1.6L car with a little more boost:




result could be easily repeatable on both setup without spend much money at all. Both produce much more torque than a 200rwhp SC setup could ever dream of.

 

Acquire Mazdaspeed miata. Put intake and exhaust on said miata. There's your 200whp miata.

 

I keep coming back to the FM II but I'm still not sure if I want to spend that much on that kit. Or if it would be cheaper to build one myself. If I understand correctly, that kit should make 250hp (well over my 200 desired) with minimal additional mods. It would seem to me that there should be something closer to the 200hp range for less. I found the m45 kit on track dog with the FMIC that should produce roughly 200hp for $3350 which seems a little more reasonable for my intended use. I still haven't decided what route I want to take whether it be build a N/A and deal with less power for now but have more to spend on suspension, tires, ect and decide if I want to use F/I later. Or go ahead and build a turbo/supercharged Miata right away and sort out the rest later. I am leaning toward the "N/A for now" option since handling is more important to me over all.

What would be a reasonable power expectation for an N/A car (probably 94-97) with a couple grand thrown at it? Basic stuff like Cams, headers, exhaust, intake, maybe some tuning if I can find an affordable engine management option.

 

Ok, You have my attention. Any way you could give me a list of parts required to make these work? Is it cheaper than just buying a kit? I am a DIY type of person by nature so I find that intriguing in itself. Any issues as far as reliability with either of these? I might even have access to a sr20 turbo for next to nothing. I could probably trade some skyline parts for it.

 

Ecu, turbo, exhust manifold, down pipe, exhust, injectors, intercooler with piping, wideband o2, boost gauge. Various fittings and lines.

 

My God, I apologize for the typo! 2850 is an old router, silly fingers. I'm leaning towards a GT2560R, my apologies brain.

 

My setup consists of a:

BEGi Cast Manifold
T3 50 Trim Chinacharger (42.2mm/60mm) - $150
Custom BEGi built DP
3" Enthuza Exhaust
Some really cheap CXRacing Tube & Fin intercooler
MS ECU with Rx7 460cc injectors

That's about it.

The 1.8L was a BEGi Stage-1, 3" Enthuza Exhaust, with a T25 of an SR20 he bought for $50. Running MS as well and IIRC the same injectors.


Nothing at all wrong with the FMII kit...the M45 S/C is a POS that I poop on.


Here's the same 1.8L setup I talked about compared to another 94 with the JR S/C running Meth and pushing the limits of his setup:



the turbo was still just running 9psi... That SC is pretty much tapped out, where the turbo setup is incredibly versitile and upgradable. Not enough power, up the boost. T25 running out of steam? Slap on a T28. T28 too small, slap on a 2871.

Turbo should always make more torque and topend if done properly and always win with area under curve.



another easiliy repeatable turbo setup vs. a rotrex supercharger with extential work done to it.

 

Buy a Megasquirt ECU from Brain, pick up some new or used injectors of the appropriate size, pick up a new or used reputable turbo manifold, buy a little turbo, a cheap ebay intercooler and some piping, buy or make a downpipe and you are ready. You will want to upgrade your clutch and pp because the stock ones are weak.