lkmhaqer

Hello All! Just ordered a bunch of parts to start a turbo build on a 2004 LS. I have been reading and trying to soak up as much information as possible. A ton of that research happened on this forum, so I wanted to document my story mostly for fun. Super excited by seeing everyone else's builds, and looking for any and all feedback.

First a little history on the car, I bought it about a year ago in Colorado. It was an amazing canyon carver, and I was taking it on weekly 4 hour+ drives the whole time I was living there. Ended up moving to Texas, which has been unfortunately twisted road free so far, I have been able to do AutoX to help ease the pain a bit. The road trip from Colorado to Texas was glorious, and honestly 14 hours in the tiny car was just fine. Since I had only driven the car at 5,000ft+, once I got it down to near sealevel the engine really woke up! I swear the extra 25hp was huge, and I could get into trouble with the throttle around corners for the first time.

I am sure I am preaching to the choir here, but I think this car may have also ruined me forever. Since owning the car, nothing I have driven even begins to approach the road feel my NB offers. A C5 Z06 corvette I almost bought instead, felt huge some how, and no where near as quick at turn-in as the Miata. Recently I've been looking for a daily driver to compliment it, and an M2 Competition also felt just huge compared to what I was used to, and although I am sure it was faster, somehow masked or numbed turning feel.

So since I have fallen so hard for the car, and I have always wanted to tackle a bigger project car, and I live in flat, no-curve-ville, it's turbo time! The last six months have been the research phase, tons of info collected here, from Miata Dad (TheCarPassionChannel) and from the Money Pit Miata (DonutMedia.) I think I have solidified my build here, but may still change some things. The plan is to be pretty boring, and follow in others footsteps as much as possible. I am fairly new to digging this far into a car, so I don't want to be designing too much. I also plan to do the, "build a kit for 300ft/lb, but tune to 200ft/lb until I blow up the stock shortblock" plan. I see most everyone running an EFR seems to be a built motor, I am hoping to get away with at least 6 months before I need to build the motor, thoughts?

Turbo Build List

• ECU, Megasquirt MS3Pro [Purchased]
• Wideband O^2, Innovate MTX-L [Purchased]
• Fuel Injectors, FlowForce 640cc
• Clutch, FlyinMiata Level 2
• Intercooler, FlyinMiata Intercooler and Hose Kit
• Manifold and Exhaust, Kraken EFR Low-Mount and 3" Exhaust [Purchased]
• Turbo, BorgWarner EFR 6258 .64 A/R

Pretty basic build I think. I considered a coolant re-route kit with this phase, but hoping to punt this off to the "motor build" phase. I also thought about a 3.636 rear end, or BOFI seems to have a 3.3 rear gearset, however I think I will see how the car is with the kit and original rear end (6spd + 4.10 Fuji) first.

Below I have included two quick lists with all the maintenance, and modification done so far. The car is built for SCCA AutoX E-Street right now, but once the standalone ECU is in, I think I will be aiming for XS-B.

Maintenance List (Part, Date, Mileage)

• Timing Belt (plus front seals and misc rubber), 05/14/2020, 108519mi
• Oil Change, 06/17/2020, 109787mi
• Ignition Coil, 07/20/2020, 110498mi
• Oil Change, 07/29/2020, 112693mi
• Trans Fluid, 08/01/2020, 111888mi
• Rear Diff Fluid, 08/01/2020, 111888mi
• Oil Change, 09/11/2020, 114304mi
• Oil Change, 01/30/2021, 119173mi
• Oil Change, 05/05/2021, 123187mi
• Oil Change, 06/16/2021, 126861mi
• Windshield, 07/06/2021, 128421mi
• Brake Pads and Rotors, 07/31/2021, 129088mi
• Oil Change, 08/23/2021, 130156mi
• Rear Diff Fluid, 08/29/2021, 130560mi

Modification List

• Visor Delete (Moss Miata), 05/15/2020, 108013mi
• Delrin Door Bushings (Moss Miata), 07/07/2020, 108013mi
• Tires (RE-71Rs 205/45/R16), 09/16/2020, 114531mi
• Shocks (Koni Yellow Adjustable Sport Shocks + Shock Bushings), 01/05/2021, 118886mi
• Tires and Wheels (Konig Dekagrams 15x7.5" w/ Falken RT660 205/50/R15), 07/12/2021, 128656mi

Now for the show! I have a few pictures so far, hoping to add plenty more as the build progresses.

This is a shot of Mia (how original right?) when I first picked her up:





A quick shot of the car, with my former ride, a filling cabinet with wheels in comparison, the 3rd gen 4runner.





Got my first set of sticky tires for the car, and did some autocross.



Of course, had to make a meme about tires.






Got the new 15" wheels and tires, which felt absolutely amazing. Has me hunting for some daily 15" wheels, the 16s are a bit rough in my humble opinion.







Random maintenance shot from the last diff fluid change.





And one last AutoX shot for good measure.