Vuin

Hello

First, a bit of background. A lot has happened, and most of it isn't strictly related to the turbo build, so I'll try to make it short and concise. This is my first build thread and project car, so please give me some slack, advice appreciated .
I've bought my 1.8 red 1995 NA MX-5 about 3 years ago. Car was mostly stock, in decent condition, alleged 150k km on odometer. Everything worked, and other than some rust and basic old car problems, I've had great fun with it. And then I've decided to start breaking it.



First, wheels + tires. I've acquired 15x7 Rota Grid V's and Yokohama AD08R's to match. Car felt a little less responsive, but the grip was almost unreal for relatively inexperienced driver like me. This didn't last long, as I had to address rust problems, and after about 9 months of driving the car it went into a bodyshop.

Warning: NSFL. Pictures from the repair




After much delay, the car was out. Everything was repaired, and the whole car was repainted. Welders did excellent job. The same can't be said about the paint work. I won't provide the photos here, but the flaws include: delays, "orange peel" effect, cracked paint on the doors (caused by filler), scuffed windows and window plastics from the sanding stage, primer overspray, polish compound remains. Safe to say I wasn't thrilled.

At the same time I've come to realize how much this car is capable of, and as I'm somewhat of a tinker, I've decided I was going to put a turbo on it. First plan was a small blower, and people here on forum gave me some very neat advice. However, plans have changed.

So, after I got my car from the shop, I put Tein Flex Z coilovers, to help the handling and better accommodate wheels and tires. After that, I've driven it for a while and got admitted to the biggest JDM car show in Poland, which was pretty neat.




Sweet. However, engine problems have become apparent, as increased oil consumption and ticking lifters necessitated engine rebuild. As I was going to turbocharge it anyway, I've decided to put some forged internals in. Short list of engine mods:

• ARP bolts
• BE oil pump
• Chinese forged rods
• Supertech 8.6:1 pistons (+0.5mm overbore)
• ACT Xtreme Street clutch

Photo after the rebuild



So, the engine came back, I've installed it, run it, everything works fine. So, time came to break it again. And that is the topic of the next post.