lxpeery

Hey all.

First post here, so I'll give a brief introduction. My name's Alex, and I'm a senior at JMU in Va. Any Madison Motors alumni here? Anyway, I sell car parts for a living, and I don't plan on changing that any time soon. I've owned 8 Miatas over the last four years. I really wish people would stop hitting them.

Anyway, I'm in the process of selling my crappy NB to make room for a donor car to build a turbo setup. This will be my first FI car, but I'm confident that I can work through any issues that I encounter. Budget for the donor is around $5,000, and I'd like to spend about that much again (at the most) on getting forced induction going. I was originally looking for an MSM, but I figure that I can get a lot more bang for my buck going this direction, plus I won't have to trailer a car back to VA from CA or some crap like that. Budget is subjective. Ten grand's just a ballpark figure, though the less I spend on power, the more I can spend on suspension / tires / etc. The goal is to make around 250HP at the rear wheels.

I think I can get a lot cheaper than the FM II kit or any pre-assembled kits like that. I've been looking at this thread a lot, and I want to do something along these lines.
https://www.miataturbo.net/diy-turbo...h-83155/page3/

So, my build list to this point is as follows.

T25 turbo. eBay or junkyards/rebuild kit, $175.

550cc RX-7 Injectors, eBay, $150

MegaSquirt PNP2 + EBC, diyautotune.com, $799 + $53.

Innovate MTX WB O2 sensor. eBay, 163.99

Intercooler Kit, eBay, $160

Blow Off Valve, Synapse, $209

Turbosmart Boost Gauge, $45

EGR Block Off Plate, flyinmiata.com, $15

Manifold / DP, flyinmiata.com, $749

FM Happy Meal Stage 1 Clutch, flyinmiata.com, $599

FM Water/Oil lines flyinmiata.com, $290

My total cost so far is $3,408. So what am I missing? What can I make cheaper, and what should I spend more on? I feel like I can do something better than three hundred bucks for the cooling lines, for example. A lot of the parts were pulled directly from the list in the link I posted above, with updated prices. I know that there was already a fair bit of price cutting going on in that thread, but if anyone else has additional input, I'd really appreciate their opinions.

I'm constantly learning, and so by the time someone answers, I'm sure that I'll realize that I've asked a stupid question. But still, any input that you guys can give will be more than welcome.

Thanks!

afm

iTrader: (3)

MS3 Basic is really nice and really PnP for $1050.

You probably want a good exhaust setup -- custom straight-through, resonated Magnaflow setup is the bang-for-buck leader for pretty much any N/A or turbo car.

Edit: spending $300 for nice EV14 injectors is a good place to splurge. Really hard to go wrong with better fueling.

ryansmoneypit

iTrader: (6)

I'm down the street, Staunton. I can help you.

I just got done with my build. I have a mountain of parts, information and hindsight vision.

lxpeery

That'd be awesome! PM sent.

.one lane

I would ditch the rx7 injectors and get some flow force ones.

shuiend

iTrader: (24)

$800 for MS3X from Braineack
$300 for FlowForce Injectors from TSE
$170 for wideband from Amazon, I recommend not ordering one on eBay, as unauthorized resellers have sold there and people have had problems with support if needed.
$1685 for MKTurbo setup and oil lines
$350 for FM1 clutch
$300 for intercooler setup

ryansmoneypit

iTrader: (6)

That's about as cheap as you can turbo a miata, legit, Right there ^^^^^^

slowcarfast

Aren't mkturbo setups still in search of a good available turbo? Our did you get that figured? But yes, everything shuiend said is spot on.

shuiend

iTrader: (24)

Turbo's are currently available. I am being sort of stingy with the source though. But right now I'm not taking new orders and it will be a good while till I start again. I got a decent backlog of current orders and have a waitlist of 15+ people currently.

lxpeery

I know you say it'll be a good while, but any better idea of when you'll be taking new orders? I'm trying to get this whole thing done before class starts up again in the fall. Also, from your site, it looks like the dyno runs came in at about 230 horsepower. Anything that can be done to squeeze an extra 20 HP out of your setup?

Thanks a million.

shuiend

iTrader: (24)

Like next year sometime before I am done working through my backlog. Also at 250whp you will be in the bending rods area just FYI.

slowcarfast

If you're following the formula shuiend posted all you'll need is boost control and you can add enough power to kill your bottom end or five speed. With that timeframe I'm guessing you won't be able to get mkturbo. If you must have it sooner look for a quality used setup in the classifieds.

shuiend

iTrader: (24)

OP will also have to factor in the cost of a 3" exhaust. As a stock exhaust won't hit 250whp. Also I am doubtful there are any good eBay/junkyard t25's that will hit 250whp easily. The SR20 t25 that most use will not hit those numbers without E85 and a ton of pure luck.

lxpeery

Alright guys, you've been a huge help. Another question for you, regarding the intercooler and piping. What's wrong with the setup below? Looks like a cheap manifold, and I'd be wary of the ChinaCharger. If it would work though, it'd be nice to get the turbo, intercooler, piping, BOV etc in one big package. Then I could just get the FM downpipe etc.

1994 2005 Mazda Miata MX 5 1 8L T25 T28 Turbo Upgrade Piping Kit w Intercooler | eBay

slowcarfast

General consensus is chinachargers and cheapo ebay intercooler setups are good. Ebay maninfolds are junk and will fail shortly. I would be concerned about fitment of the FM downpipe. There are other cheap BOV options around. I would consider that kit worth only what the turbo and intercooler setup are worth individually.

Girz0r

iTrader: (1)

my eyes...

The hotside doesn't look like it'll work imo...

I'd say you're better off going to Intercooler Pipe Fabrication and getting the parts and doing it yourself.

As for an intercooler, personally I'd grab this from fab9. However, there is a link somewhere on here for an approved ebay intercooler... Here 27X5.5X2.5"

lxpeery

Cool.Giz0r, I'll look through the threads and find what piping is needed to be as efficient as possible.

Girz0r

iTrader: (1)

You can probably mimic most of that ebay photo...

Do 2" hotside and 2.5" cold

.one lane

You want to run the smallest piping size without going over a certain air speed. (mach 0.4 iirc)

SchmoozerJoe

iTrader: (2)

OneTwo is selling a FM no-electronics kit over in the classifieds. If you need something sooner, rather than later.