$2k turbo budget
 

Ok so I have a 90 miata with coilovers and seats stock motor...I want to go turbo but want to start with a $2k budget...I know I won't be making huge numbers on that budget but I can always upgrade stuff later...just know I can talk the wife into a
of $2k at once....do anyone have experience with pricing something together. If you could point me in the right direction thanks

That can easily be done, especially if you live in Pennsylvania and you buy me a few beers.

Enjoy car as it sits.


Search fourms for turbo set up that fit your needs, goals and budget.

Order parts untill you have most of them to do the swap and $2000 is spent.

Hide pretty go fast parts from wife, so she no exchange for shoes for her.

Start on turbo upgrade on car! :)

Find out more parts are needed. :(

Drink beer or Absinthe.

Order rest of small parts needed for turbo upgrade.

Finish turbo upgrade.

Drive car... Enjoy boost sound!! :D

Get boost hungry....

Turn boost up....

Engine go BOOM!

Drink more!

Start process over for engine build!

It's a shame there's no search function on this forum.

I started planning my build based on a 2K budget and quickly realized I wanted to do things the right way after reading through build threads on here. 5K is more realistic for a reliable set-up

What parts were you looking at?
If you know what your doing and know how to find deals 2k is very realistic.

Complete ARTech set-up, MS, ID 725, etc etc...It all adds up lol. I plan on going over 5K and i'm even going to be using the same Churbo that dustinb used... It's only a $300 turbo

**edit

t3 churbo
taco mani
homemade dp
ms
larger injectors
ebay diy fmic
etc

200hp should be do-able for 2k

It does. Lol
But 2k is still doable for a good setup

On ka-t they say
Pick 2
Cheap, reliable, fast

Oh yeah I forgot my Miata has a Ka motor in it...

2K is not a do-able set-up for someone who wants a clean reliable set-up...

Exactly!

Also one other important thing to remember...

He is building a 90' .... Torsen swap will be required eventually. Tack on another 1K to the build...

You make it seam like its a stupid idea to find deals. I guess over paying is cool too.

And it's not like that idea only applys to a specific engine.

I edited the post after I saw that he has a '90 lol

But otherwise yeah, my 1st statement stands: it will be mediocre at best, and anything worth a damn will require more than 2k

Ok but your not going to be able to find every single part in the FS section used at insane prices for quality parts.... I'm not saying I wouldn't buy deals but I'd rather stick to stuff that's new because I do things right the first time. You never know what abuse someone elses part has been through.

Used complete FM Link
New cast FM mani that needs a little machine work
Used SR20 T25 Garrett
Used 2.5" FM downpipe and catback
Used RX-7 550cc injectors
New FM stage 1 clutch
Used CX racing intercooler and piping
New AEM UEGO and autometer oil temp gauge
Used autometer boost gauge
New turbo oil supply line and stage 8 locking hardware
Other misc smalls
And probably more I'm forgetting

I've been accumulating parts for a while now and am pretty much at $2k.

Ummm fuel management?

sounds good except the shitty link....ms or bust

Fuel management? What's that? You mean you can't just put a turbo on and drive it?
What?? You have to drill a hole in your oil pan? You need to use a laptop to change tables???
What am I getting myself into?

We'll see

I've spent about 1750 on my build and did it right. All SS lines, MS, etc. But here's the catch, I built my own manifold, DP and full exhaust. I used an $80 turbo from a WRX. I used the intercooler setup I had from my supercharger, and already had the MS, so those don't factor into the price. I also picked up some pretty good deals for my rx8 injectors and BOV. If you want a reliable setup, spend more money, or build stuff yourself.

Manifold, DP, and exhaust from ARTech are costing me ~$1400... Lol I wish I could weld!

If I had not started with a shitty ebay mani/dp I would have been around $2300 for my build. As it was, I ended up at about $17-1800. But that was about 8 months of waiting with my finger on the button for deals to pop up, begging/borrowing/almost stealing, and a TON of R&D to make my screwy setup work. And did not include the clutch I needed 6 months later. Or predict that I am now running a completely different turbo/mani/dp than I originally was due solely to my initial cheapness.

If you are willing to put in the time doing that then go for it, just do it right. If not, and you want instant gratification, then add another grand to that budget.

You could just go shanghai with a rrfpr for less than 2g's. Upgrading later will probably cost a bit more than just doing it right the first time, but trying to make more than 150-160whp will probably grenade your diff anyway so....

I have a torsen diff in the garage and I plan to build my own make (I have built them before) done prior on this form seem to be talking to me as of I have no idea what is involved. I'm not looking to make anything crazy ill be happy with 180who just need enough to slide around some and get out of my own way.. If I really wasn't to rip up
Streets I Get in my mustang or on my zx10
I was thinking used mani and dp cheap turbo make Ebay intercooler and piping...and fm clutch aem wideband and ill build my own exhaust...not possible you say?

prove us wrong
stop spamming

Here's the plan:
1. Used greddy kit - $700ish
2. Torsen swap - $800ish
3. Clutch - $200
4. DIY intercooler - $200

Make 155whp reliably. Oh and do all the labour yourself.

And I regret going cheap on my first turbo build. Regret it so bad. Ended up replacing everything including the motor.

:bowrofl:

sorry i started this thred i should haveknown better....i dont have a problem with using cheap parts to start questionable reliabilty on some things is ok for me i spend every weekend working on cars anyway and i dont drive the miata on far trips its just a weekend toy.... so im not one to spend big money on eveything top notch the first time because im scared of breaking things.
a cheap turbo system is better than no turbo system right? so ill peice somthing together..if i break the diff il just replace it with a torsen then. i dont think its unheard of for my vlsd to hold 160hp for a while and if i break that its not like the whole car blows up.
i must say im a little disapointed in how all on this forum seem to like to discourage people..i think i will just look for a used deal on the solid basics for good parts the rest can go cheap for future upgrade....i guess i was just bored and wanted some suport...wasnt looking for here is exsactly how its done answers...i understand i will need to sorce deals and fab things....just thought out of everone on this forum someone had a good sucsess story i could read about with a starter build...but i guess everone here has a budjet to throw $5k+ at a time into a car....im not about to sell my other cars or bike to fund this project and i got to start somewhere.....

Get your flame suit on dawg.

I think people gave you shit because you didn't read any of the stickies. You came in with a HP figure and a budget and that's it. I'm still piecing together my turbo kit, but this forum is quite high-level. You don't get help unless you contribute. If you want people to help, you need to demonstrate that you can figure shit out for yourself. This isn't the place to go "i have X dollars and I want X horsepowar how do i do it??"

Jabbing the guys on this forum about being able to spend $$ is not a good idea. Miatas cost $1-3K! Maybe that's why some people have cash to blow. And although the most popular build threads are Artech mani's and gt2871's and shit like that, there are some people who have made some cheap china turbo builds. If you're really on a budget you might want to look into someone's old Mazdaspeed kit. I know that's what I'm considering right now.

So quit bitching about doing a little work. you'll thanks everyone for it later when you can upload your maps and virtual dyno and get some insightful help from some serious experts. AND MERRY CHRISTMAS!

For being an 8 post newb, I am impressed by your post. It is spot on of why we treat newbs badly. Merry Christmas!!!!

Would you rather be discouraged from using cheap junk now by guys on the internet or be discouraged later when your motor eats a cheap turbo and blows up? I completely understand not having a huge budget for a toy, but your money is better spent on other mods rather than a cheap turbo system that will only need to be replaced later. And as for any turbo is better than no turbo, wrong. I would rather have Xida's than a cheap turbo.

Buy used. Be patient. Or be a fag.

+1

I'd also would rather have an awesome suspension setup over a turbo.

Bogus' advice was perfect on his post. The OP could have done more searching. there are tons of budget build threads in the build threads section with lots of good info.

BTMiata kind of thread jacked it and said that he was going to turbo and he thought it was a bad idea to not just save and go all out. do it "right" the first time.

There is nothing wrong with a 2k budget and making a reliable turbo system for somewhere near that figure. I kind of think it's stupid and ignorant to even say it's not right when he hasn't even tried it or isn't even turboed.

the main components to keep it low

1) used log mani if you can find.
2) used sr20 turbo
3) custom dp or maybe one from abe.
4) mega squirt
5) ebay intercooler setup

If you do something like this and you ever decide to get serious all of it except the mani is reusable on a 1.8 if you ever swap. It's easy enough to sell turbo manifolds anyway...

Realistically you'll be more around 2.5 - 3k after all the little shit you don't think about... motor mounts, engine oil, transmission oil, coolant, hoses, clamps, whatever...

+ Props. Spot on.

To be fair the FMLINK suitable for a 1.6 miata is a good solution, it's just as capable - if not more with full knock sensing capeability - as a MS1.

You're probably right, ms1 aint nothing to write home about, and both would control fuel and timing decently, so for a low budget build it probably would cut it. Though I have heard quite a few more horror stories about broken/malfunctioning Links than MS1's

Wrong. The most popular build is Artech + Borg Warner S366.

Its not a build if it doesn't run:giggle:

i thouhght the ms1 was fuel only and u needed a ms2 to controll the ignition system??? at least thats what i understood from reading on diyautotune.com

nope. ms1 controls both. just not as well as ms2...and ms3

Dude... whats the issue?

There is some good info in this thread, ideas for parts and tuning and such.

Also mention of what parts to advoid.

Quit with the butt hurt, this is a fourm of guys taking what is viewd as a gay or chicks car and givin them some testosterone so they can go play with the pony cars.

No one said sell your bike or car or dump $5k into the build and have it done next week.

So take off your pastel pink polo shirt and peel the rainbow sticker of the back of the Miata and get to work.

If you look at any build thread, you will see that no two are excatly alike.

Spend a few bucks on some base parts like your mani, injectors, turbo and FMIC.

Crush a few beer cans on your head and smile.

You can get used 550cc injectors for around 100. Intercoolers from EBAY, same as chinachargers, are pretty good. There is a Honda thread in another forum about china chargers, and many swear about reliablity as long as the oil restrictor is used.

Easily on clutch, like 300 or more, leave the flwheel alone.

get everything from ebay and you're good to go for under 2k

A couple years later... I would love some help turboing my car. Hit me up