MX5/Miata Thread

MX5/Miata Thread

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HansGruber said:
To safely make that kind of power, you're looking at over $10K.
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No you're not. Or at least I wasn't. My supercharger setup could have safely made 300+ rwhp. It was $8000, installed. This included aftermarket engine internals (including rods, pistons, valving, lifters, cams, maybe some things I forgot) and went so far as to include a racing radiator. I no longer remember everything that was done to it, but I wanted to push 250rwhp in my daily driver, and based my build on a car that was pushing 300rwhp at the time, and went to 350rwhp before it sold. I skipped a few of the parts that car had that were focused on racing (like the vented hood) but had the strength to handle the power.
 
$8000 + new rear end, new clutch or even a stock 6 speed swap for older Miatas. Even more dough if you want the Quaife goodies. Or perhaps you didn't add those parts because you have a newer model. My turbo setup with the upgraded internals, fuel system, cooling, tune and aforementioned parts ran me over $10K. If you paid $8000 including the rear end, tranny etc. or if you didn't need to upgrade those at all, then more power to you.
 
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Mr. Nice said:
Late 90's Mustang? 1995 was the last year of the 302 OHV, from 96-98 the 215hp 281ci 4.6L SOHC was what the Mustang used. The 1996-97 Mustangs were actually SLOWER than the 1995 model, and the 225hp 1998 was about as fast as a 1995. In 1999, the horsepower figure for 4.6L SOHC GT increased to 260, making the car capable of accelerating from 0 to 60 in under 6 seconds.

If you were racing a '96 or '97 your results would not be surprising, these and the '98 are cars that everyone avoids.
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It was definitely one of the 99+ style cars. And I know he was trying hard because he'd been trying to pass me for a good 10 miles before he finally got a clear stretch. Granted, maybe it was an automatic or something...


I really don't think 250whp will cost $10k... That's the price of an LSx swap. That said, I will admit again that it's easier/cheaper to go fast in a straight line with a Mustang.
 
My MX5 is at around ?6000 cost now, including paying over 3000gbp for the base car in 2004. It's just under 200bhp (my choice, I could run 220-ish) and is sorted chassis-wise.
 
Just spent >$150 on oils, sparks, coolant, tools. Might be thinking of a shock and bushing and bump stop replacement, since I still have the OEM ones at 180,000 km.. Or should I swap to a better exhaust header and muffler first? Or a put a Jackson Racing CAI? Hmm decisions decisions.
 
HansGruber said:
$8000 + new rear end, new clutch or even a stock 6 speed swap for older Miatas. Even more dough if you want the Quaife goodies. Or perhaps you didn't add those parts because you have a newer model. My turbo setup with the upgraded internals, fuel system, cooling, tune and aforementioned parts ran me over $10K. If you paid $8000 including the rear end, tranny etc. or if you didn't need to upgrade those at all, then more power to you.
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The new rear end and new transmission is not necessary for 300hp on the street, unless you have the wrong parts on your car or do something silly like switch to the weaker 6-speed. My car had the stronger 5-speed, so was fine. Prices included clutch and lightweight flywheel.

LeVeL said:
really don't think 250whp will cost $10k... That's the price of an LSx swap. That said, I will admit again that it's easier/cheaper to go fast in a straight line with a Mustang.
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Costs vary depending on how the work is done. Do it yourself and you can certainly push 250+ hp without needing to spend more than $2,000. You may not have the most reliable car at that point, though. I chose to overbuild for my target power, so as a result spent more than I needed to but had a lower risk of failure. I also chose to pay for labor instead of doing it myself (and the people who put my car together were one of the groups that developed the kit, so they knew what they were doing). It's possible to spend a lot more than my $8,000 on it, too, as HansGruber shows. Similarly, if you choose a professionally installed "turn key" LSx swap, the cost will be closer to the $25,000 range than the $10,000 range. Ask Flyin Miata about their turn key LS3 cars. :)
 
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zephyrus17 said:
Just spent >$150 on oils, sparks, coolant, tools. Might be thinking of a shock and bushing and bump stop replacement, since I still have the OEM ones at 180,000 km.. Or should I swap to a better exhaust header and muffler first? Or a put a Jackson Racing CAI? Hmm decisions decisions.
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You're not going to gain much power by swapping exhaust header and muffler nor with Jackson Racing CAI. You might get a much better noise, but that's it. Judging by the condition of my shocks after 170k km it would be much better idea to upgrade them. If you can afford new bushes as well, even better.

If I've understood right (please correct me if I'm wrong, I'd really like to know this), biggest bottlenecks with the engine are:

MAF is too small, exhaust header doesn't flow very well and stock exhaust is not that perfect. But changing those and maybe adjusting the ignition timing a bit you might gain maybe 10-15hp or less.
 
Guys, im starting to like the MP62 kit instead of a turbo, tell me why this is a bad idea? The MP45 always seemed to small to make later upgrades worthwhile, but this one looks perfect!
 
I loved my twin screw supercharger on my NA. I also loved it on a friend's NB. The bad: The parasitic supercharger worsens fuel mileage in a way a turbo doesn't and it'll steal just a bit of power. The good: Smooth torque curve, smooth instantaneous power delivery, OEM sound at idle and (if you like it) that fantastic supercharger whine.

I went from getting around 27mpg combined in a '94 M Edition to getting 20mpg. My car sounded normal at idle, and even when driving if it was not in boost. As a result, it was a fantastic sleeper. I didn't have the supercharger problems I kept hearing about - the idle droop, the this, the that, the the-other. The car was still easy to drive on the street - my mother drove it a few times.

If I were putting FI on a daily driven / street Miata again, I'd go supercharger again. If I were putting forced induction on a Miata with my current use, well, I wouldn't (I don't like FI on the track), but if I had to it'd be a turbo. As my car's not daily driven, the smooth torque curve is much less important to me, so I'd go for the turbo for the slightly better power, and learn to work around the the turbo disadvantages.

Both turbo and supercharged Miatas are a lot of fun. You just get to pick your particular set of disadvantages. :D
 
I've always been happy with turboed Miatas...from a simplicity standpoint, they're just easier to deal with...

...and don't talk to me about turbo lag, because that's a driver issue, not a car issue. :p
 
Shentar said:
I just put a Racing Beat intake and a Magnaflow high flow cat on my 90 NA. Man, what a boost in performance. Its very noticeable and the sound is awesome.

I keep thinking about a roll bar. Either one like that Hard Dog thats compatible with the soft top and glass rear window (Robbins top), or real roll hoops. Not a style bar, but real roll hoops from Boss Frog.
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Don't expect that cat to last long. Mine blew out in 20k miles.

Mr.Woolery said:
I've always been happy with turboed Miatas...from a simplicity standpoint, they're just easier to deal with...

...and don't talk to me about turbo lag, because that's a driver issue, not a car issue. :p
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The Woolery unit graces us with his presence!
 
I still am waiting for you to film that great anti-miata-basher speech in the vader mask, wollery. Get on that.
 
I just noticed that my car produces a certain medium-high pitched whine from the engine around 3k. Well, not really a 'whine' but a purring or whirring. It's constant and definitely is rpm related. Any ideas?
 
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MattD1zzl3 said:
I still am waiting for you to film that great anti-miata-basher speech in the vader mask, wollery. Get on that.
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Having a hard time lining up James Earl Jones to do the voiceover work...
 
I fell in love with Miatas about 6 years ago. A friend of mine (girl) wanted a sporty convertible. So of course we looked at the Miata. She ended up finding a really nice 2002 with a 6-Speed and LSD in silver.

To thank me for all the help I did to find the car. She let me drive it from the dealer in Wisconsin back to Illinois (while she drove her Grand Prix). We ended up taking the twisty back roads all the way there. It was amazing. I had the music going, the top down. Enjoying EVERY minute of it. That is when I knew I wanted one.

My friend was really cool. Every time I would go out with her she would let me drive her car. Skip to a few years later... Got myself a 2004 Mazdaspeed Miata.


I have had mine for a few years now. I am very happy with it and hope to have it for a long time.


DoneMSM.jpg



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MSMUp.jpg


..
 
So today while using the Subaru Upper Engine Cleaner I found smog coming out from the side of the engine. *sigh* I think there's a small vacuum leak somewhere
 
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