Ownership Verified: 1.6 Liters of gayness... '90 MX-5

Why hello there. Do I spy some torques?
 
Quite possible!

Now that the e30 has gotten it's love, I think it's time for some fun with the miata again.
 
Nice! That should make a pretty nice difference. Does the supercharger work better with the low compression version of the 1.6 than turbo, or do you just prefer instant response?

I've just started to think that forced induction would be the way to go some day in the future, but I haven't decided on turbo or supercharger etc, so that's why I'm intrested to know :)
 
I've heard too much issue with problems on tracked turbo Miata's (even if Woolery has proven otherwise). Those problems seem to stem from heat fatigue, lack of support for the turbo by the manifolds on the market, and the engine bay doesn't lend itself well to keeping the exhaust area particularly cool. I'm sure with a metric fuck ton of cash the problem could be solved.
I'm hoping to maintain a bit more reliability with the SC setup. At least for the price. Gotta keep in mind that during summer track days surface temps can get very high into triple digits (Fahrenheit) since we put all the tracks out in the deserts.

The SC won't really be any better vs turbo in regards to the compression. Any boost is going to be more reliable with the lower compression, or at least allow you to get away with more.
 
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Okay, sounds very reasonable. At the moment I've many things to fix before even thinking about adding power (roll bar, suspension, bushings, stiffening the frame, diff etc), but you have a very good point there. Being a student, even if at some point I can afford forced induction, I don't plan to have money for fixing expensive problems, so SC might be good idea. Temperatures over here are of course on a different level, but I want to have reliable setup even if I'm going to track and it's one of those rare days when temperature is close to 100 fahrenheit.
 
Lastsoul said:
Okay, sounds very reasonable. At the moment I've many things to fix before even thinking about adding power (roll bar, suspension, bushings, stiffening the frame, diff etc), but you have a very good point there. Being a student, even if at some point I can afford forced induction, I don't plan to have money for fixing expensive problems, so SC might be good idea. Temperatures over here are of course on a different level, but I want to have reliable setup even if I'm going to track and it's one of those rare days when temperature is close to 100 fahrenheit.
Click to expand...

The problems that seem to come about because of prolonged time on throttle. We do 20 minute lapping sessions here. If you plan to do drag runs or spiriting driving, I doubt you'll run into any issues.

I honestly wager I'll be pulling this setup off in the future and going turbo if I don't do a built motor/swap.
 
Good point. On the other hand, the thing I really like in the MX5 is that I can drive it as hard as possible really long times without worries, and obviously when going to forced induction this might be compromised.

Btw, are you going to record some videos after the installation? I'd love to know how it sounds like! :)
 
Yup! I have a video now with the ghetto CAI intake I built. The original design was a failure but the temporary new one is surprisingly nice!

I'd like to note that I do NOT take any pride in this. It was done like this to make it work without spending more money.

 
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Have you got any pics of that? Is it just an open panel filter sitting in the grill?
 
It seems so... Have you made and contigency in case there's water, puddles, rain, etc?
 
:lol: I thought it looked familiar!

Speaking of that, the ecu is now permanently mounted and the factory one has been yanked out.
 
Oh look! Some one crinkle coated my valve cover!

308835_1763195739512_1827678217_1160498_5547828_n.jpg


Valve cover came off after I realized my cam angle sensor leak was not the cam angle sensor but the valve cover, then found the damn gasket had broke in 2 places at the back. Damn thing!
 
Been busy on the roadster. New clutch slave cylinder and stainless steel braided clutch line (one that removes the stupid swirly thing), mounted, dismounted the SC, resealed the CAS and installed a new valve cover gasket.

Oh and I baked the valve cover. SC inlet is likely next.

https://pic.armedcats.net/t/th/thedguy/2011/09/05/IMAG0514.jpg
 
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thedguy, I'm a bit late to this I know, but...

The supercharger will still generate a lot of heat. I know - my NA had one. I worked with a good friend who had a supercharger in his NB, as well. It's possible to track these cars reliably, but you may need to put some significant effort into cooling systems to do so. I had a racing radiator with a larger capacity, and that wasn't enough for me to maintain 100mph (just maintain 100) on a 109F day (ambient, not road surface temp). Get a real coolant temp gauge, if you haven't already, (not the crappy OEM one) and if you want to be careful an oil temp gauge, as well, and be willing to add cooling mods as needed. :)

My friends car was pushing 300hp with a twin screw supercharger when I last drove it, and my understanding is that it went to 350hp before he sold it. His was not reliable, but that was because he was constantly tweaking it, not because there's something inherent to system that made it unreliable. His would stay cool, and he had more cooling related mods than me.

Good luck with it. It looks like it'll be a lot of fun.
 
Yeah the cooling system is getting upgraded after I get this running.

The turbo setups have the same cooling issues, they just have 1 extra problem with the turbo header.

any more info on the twin screw setup your friend had?
 
It's been hot as a mufucka outside. Progress is slowing down.

I have however decided will be replicating the Track Dog Racing setup with my car using the audio 1.8t intercooler at the yard. This means I need to plan on relocating my radiator back and down a bit.
 
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