Dobs

Hey guys, i'm new here.

I've had my miata for the summer and bought it in the intention of turboing it during the winter.
The car is a 1994, 130k miles, 1.8, torsen LSD.
Here is my background and use of the car : I'm fairly new in car mechanics but willing to take my time and get some buddy with knowledge to help me, but the easier, the better, the less fabrication needed, also the better.

The car is street used, but is gonna be seeing a track like 4-5x a year just for fun. Ideally, I would like to get near 250 whp, but anything over 200 whp will probably satisfy me.

I wasnt planning to buy the turbo already, but i found a nice deal on local ad list and got a kit.

Here is what i've got so far :

-Garrett turbo, GT2560

I've got some parts in double, The kit is ensentially a BEGI kit, so i have all the BEGI hardware but I also have some duplicates items from flying miata.

-Downpipe
-All the lines
-Blowoff valve
-intercooler
-all the tubing
-bypass valve ( i have the FM and BEGI one)
-K and N filter
-450cc injectors
-pretty much all the hardware.

Here is where I need your help.

First off, The kit is complete, but there is no electronic. And i'm an electronic noob and i need help.
As far as I understand, I need a wideband and An ECU.
I've done some research and figured out I could get either a standalone or a piggyback.

Here is my first question, What is the pro and cons of the two following :

Megasquirt or Flying miata voodoo box? I'm on a certain budget, but I don't mind spending a bit for a better setup. I've looked on my local ad and could get a voodoo box second generation for 150-200$.

But is it worth it to pay more and get MS ? Also, I know megasquirt make a kit you "make" yourself for cheaper and a Plug n Play one. For someone not really electronic inclined, is it worth paying the 400 something more bucks for the PnP one ?

That's it for the electronic part.

Next is the cooling. So far, i've talked with the guy who sold me the turbo and he recommended me I install a new radiator and do a coolant reroute for the thermostat, otherwise I would probably blow the engine. Is the coolant reroute necessary ? Is yes, I've looked trought some kit and i'm kinda lost..

What is the cheapest way and most effective way to do the coolant reroute ? I've seen some people here do the "begi washer, kia part and GM hose kit" for like 150$ and i've seen other talk about the M//tuned kit from flying miata. What is your take on this ? Wich one is more effective and easier to do mechanically speaking.

Also, For radiators, is an ebay one fine ? Or something like mishimoto is really worth paying 3x the price ?

Also if i'm missing something else about the basics of turboing, please feel free to share, i'm taking my time to install this and I want everything to be done right.

Thanks alot guys, i really need a hand on this.

concealer404

iTrader: (3)

1) ECU. Skip the Doodoo box, get a Reverant-built Megasquirt. If you're on a budget, he might still be doing MS2 based boxes PNP.

2) Cooling. I've had good luck with Ebay radiators on these cars. If you don't do Ebay, skip Mishi and go with Koyo, FM, or Trackspeed.

3) Re-Route. Necessary? Probably not on a street car. Helpful? Absolutely. Track car? Need. M-Tuned is easier to install, looks cooler, and you pay for it. I haven't seen any real data as to which re-route is better. Avoid Begi's "Racer" re-route, it sucks.

Dobs

1: I guess he's a member on this forum right ? (reverant). I should get in contact with him ?

2: I do Ebay, I believe you're the same guy on clubroadster that convinced me to buy a ebay sleeve and put them on bilstein instead of getting tein or other coilovers, so far i'm really happy with the setup. Never got around to say thank you for your advice so i'm saying it here !

3: So if I track the car, even only a few time a year, it's totally worth it ?

concealer404

iTrader: (3)

1) That'd be the man. And he IS the man.

2) Well in that case, i had an ebay radiator on the MSM. Fitment was 9/10, required slight bending of some tabs, was otherwise great. As good as a Trackspeed radiator? Nah. Plenty good? Sure. If it leaks in 3 years, would i care? Nope.

3) Re-route is a resounding yes. I have a Begi homebrew kit. I'm considering getting rid of it in favor of the M-Tuned because i'm lazy and don't feel like installing the Begi kit with the motor in the car. I don't know how much easier the M-Tuned kit is to install, but i can't imagine it being WORSE.


The Ebay sleeves on Bilsteins thing... i can't take credit for that. Huge thread here on that stuff. These guys turned me on to it. Now if i could just get time to put my own setup on our car, we'd be golden.

thenuge26

iTrader: (2)

#3, a reroute is pretty much required on a turbo track car. In addition to a better rad, you'll also need to duct the rad to the mouth completely so that any air in the engine bay goes through the rad.

Erat

iTrader: (5)

Get a megasquirt.
Do the reroute. I liked the Mtuned one. If ever i need to replace thermostat i don't need to pull the engine.
Ebay radiator should work. I paid more for Mishi rad, probably shouldn't have. But i got some kick *** fans and shroud to go with it. Good fans make a difference when in traffic. Turbo will heat everything quickly.

You're going to need an upgraded clutch. FM sells a nice one.

Dobs

Is the clutch obligatory in the beggining ?

I'm not sure mine is the old 20 years old one, started in third by accident once and it went nicely. So it could be a newer one that has been changed in the 20 years of the car.

concealer404

iTrader: (3)

Stock clutch will slip backing out of your driveway once you boost your car.

Dobs

aww ****

mo money to spend haha

Erat

iTrader: (5)

Yeah. I had a SPEC "stage 2" that started to slip backing out of my driveway pretty much. Don't buy one of those.

concealer404

iTrader: (3)

I have yet to drive a Miata clutch i liked.

Maybe Tekel's clutch in his white NA. That was good-ish.

EO2K

iTrader: (37)

This begs the question: what have you driven?

I can't imagine the MXFail has a nice clutch in it

concealer404

iTrader: (3)

Blue 93 had an Exedy Stage 2.
MSM had an Exedy something or other that i thought was stock until Vteckiller2000 blew through it.
Red 95 has an FM stage 1 in it.
Red 00 had an FM Stage 1 in it.

Worth mentioning that i liked the FM clutch a lot more in the 2000 than i do in the 95.

MX6, i'm not all that happy with either. On/off switch with fairly minimal pedal effort. I like on/off switches, but they need to come with a stiff pedal.

BUT, and this is a big BUT, the MXFail does in fact have a nice clutch in it, and it is most certainly not cheap to replicate.

carnut169

FM Stage 2 is pretty good. Not on/ off use to get going only race clutch, but good.

concealer404

iTrader: (3)

I'm intrigued by the FM Stage 2. It's a toss up for me between that or the SuperMiata clutch if i put a 6spd on this car.

The MX6 bugs me because you'd think a clutch rated for 550ftlbs would have some feel behind it. But noooooooo... you can't feel it, and it's an on/off switch, so you either bog or smoke the **** out of every stoplight. But usually smoke the **** out of every stoplight.