300HP Miata budget build?
 

Hi guys, i tried Googling this but came up with different price answers. I'm looking to build a budget 1.8 300hp Miata. (used parts, diy, etc). How much would it cost me to get there? Really sorry if this has been answered before.

Thanks

About $10k minus the depreciated value of the used parts.

Can you weld? If you pull everything out of my build except the things required to make it to 300hp, I'm around 10k but I did it in baller fashion.

If you can weld and assemble an engine I think you could do it for around 5-6k, but you can hit 250hp for 2-3k without knowing how to weld or assemble an engine.

How long do you want it to make 300hp for?

I could probably do it for a few hundered bucks and some zip ties. You guys need to step up your game, 10k... pssh.

Hmm it seems like 250 is the better option then. Is that WHP? My budget is about 3k and my friend is a mechanic so I can get him to help me weld.

Thanks

Yeah the difference is, 250ish is the limit of stock internals, over that you have to open it up, and the price jumps.

Am I correct in stating that the external engine parts are pretty much the same for a 250 and 300hp build, but it is the internal engine upgrades that bump the price up to near $10k?

Aside from the internal upgrades I can think of the following upgrades that are necessary:

Upgraded radiator and fans. (Don't remove undertray and ensure air is ducted into radiator and then out if engine bay)

Coolant re-route

Next "level" of clutch. I recommend 949 Supermiata ceramic sprung... I'd say upgrade this once and be done with it.

Anything else? 3" exhaust?

More or less. You might run a different turbo between 250hp and 300hp, but in the Garrett range they're more or less the same cost.

transmission, clutch...
https://www.miataturbo.net/diy-turbo...k-links-56507/

Cheapest way to 300(w)hp:

ebay t3/t4
Log manifold that you weld yourself
ebay intercooler and pipes
Homemade MegaSquirt
Cheapest 600cc+ injectors you can find
Cheapest clutch upgrade you can find
E85

Then you'll need to build an engine with at least ebay forged rods, stock pistons are probably ok (especially if you're running e85).

It's been done before on the cheap, there are a couple builds thread here where people are making 270+ at the wheels with a ebay t3/t4. Megasquirt or equivalent engine management is required. If you're able to do this all for as cheap as possible, then you get to hope and pray your transmission lasts longer than 10 minutes...

Your mechanic friend can help you weld?

Hmm

I wonder if my lawn care friend can help me do some electrical work.

That's a pretty good list, of course there are a lot of little things that you don't think about; oil lines and fittings, BOV, couplers/t-bolts, wideband, reroute, etc.

Also add at least a downpipe that's dumped with no exhaust. For practical purposes you really need a 6 speed. If it's a 1.6 you definitely need to swap out the rearend/axles/driveshaft and a 1.8 motor would be a wise move.

Then you get to things like wider wheels, softer/wider tires, suspension, brakes, etc. Things you don't "need" to hit 300whp, but you're going to want them so the car isn't miserable to drive.

I doubt it, but since he is working outside all the time and is near the outside of your house he can do your siding, brick work, and roofing.

What would that setup get me using 94 gas? (best here in Vancouver) and is this pretty much the same path to 250whp for under 3k?

Thank you

read

So you'll let the guy who cuts your grass, roof your house.

Noted.

For 250whp you don't need such a big turbo. Any t28 size-ish turbo should do.

Also, for 250whp you don't need to build the engine with forged rods. A stock engine can make 250whp and if the tuning is good, it can be reliable.

And yes, you could probably make 300 without E85 but it's going to take more boost, and the engine won't be as happy about it.

And yes, my list certainly wasn't complete, you need a downpipe and as big of an exhaust (preferably 3"), a blow-off valve, oil feed and oil drain, etc. etc. The little details can add up to a lot of money.


250whp is certainly do-able for $3k, but you need to have some pretty good DIY capability. Building the manifold, downpipe, and exhaust will save a lot of money. If you can solder and understand electronics, building a MegaSquirt yourself will save you a lot of money. If you can cut and fit the intake and intercooler piping (and weld?), again that's going to save money.

Cheap hand-made, DIY turbo set-ups have been discussed here many, many times. I know the search function on this site isn't the best, but the info is here.

How did you come up with 300hp? Have you driven in a 200whp Miata? What is the intended purpose of the car? What are the emission requirements of BC? Depending on whether you can run standalone factors into the quality of the tuning. Wait for the right used kit to show up on the classifieds here.

He pulled it from his butt.

This is why I try not to waste time on threads like this anymore.

Here:

Cheapest way to ~300whp

https://www.miataturbo.net/diy-turbo...results-11402/

You know, part of me wants to say that it isn't 300 reliable horsepower but unless I am mistaken it has held together to this point correct?

<shrug>

Wow guys.

Being nice to lazy-arse noobs must have been on a lot of your New Year's Resolutions lists.

I'm impressed.

It wasn't on my list.


Dear Sir:
Have you read ANYTHING on this site yet? People have posted links, there are are stickies for a reason, but it doesn't seem you've read any of them.

Go read some build threads and get a clue, then come back and ask questions. If you have a clue, then congratulations. Prove it.

True. The cheapest way is to get lucky in the motor lottery and "win" a freak motor then just push the shit out of it.

Also see: Leatherface's Hemorrhaging Neck Cyst.

or just use a giant turbo that doesn't wind up til like 6k and never rev past 7k, putting very little stress on the rods and live on thin ice not knowing whether your engine will pop

that's always fun

Everybody is bullshitting u. Buy an ebay kit, have ur mechanic friend weld the wastegate shut and floor it.

It's easy to get to 300 or 400hp on a budget...



...you just need a big enough budget.

Buy Soviets miata, detune it, done.

Yea I have no idea why I posted in this thread, or why I am being helpful to this sack o lard...

I must have been bored

I admit, I may have a freak motor. It might be perfectly balanced by accident. Outside of that, I don't think that the pistons, rods or oil pump gears are stronger than anyone else's.

And, to be fair, I could play with the tuning for five seconds and shoot rods into the ground and pistons to the moon.

I joke a lot but I have never run lean or be greedy with timing. The fabrication isn't going to win beauty contests or get a stamp of approval from many here but the proof is in the pudding. The basic configuration hasn't changed since 2007. Everything I've done has been for long term functionality.

On 93 it made between 285-290whp at ~14psi. On E85 at 16-18psi it makes 325-330whp.

If I would have posted during the one week build, I would have negative props and been ridiculed. Remember the wisdom back in 2007? Banned words: eBay, Chinese, ssautochrome, tacotaco, etc.

Why not let people try new things and make mistakes? Or even worse, succeed.

This section of the forum is DIY. I don't like discouraging new members and I take offense when my car is viewed as pure luck and that others couldn't do even better with equal or less resources.

The thing is that nobody else is making your kind of power for any length of time. I'm not saying it's all luck, as you're obviously quite good at tuning, but to say that anyone could go out and make that sort of power on a stock motor would be a bit misleading, at best. :)

Yeah basically that.
Most of the regulars here like to be realistic. This isn't clubricer or m.net where we tell you to shoot for the stars and pursue your dreams in some fairytale broney fashion. (UNLESS OF COURSE we know you can possibly pull off something like that ;) )

Personally I'd like to be told the cold harsh reality so that I know what I'm getting into. I like to drastically overbuild for my plans so I can know for certain every single time i beat on the car that its not going to splooge all over the road. The difference with someone like you and a typical n00b in question here is, they see your build thread and think its the norm, then fail miserably and blame everyone for it.

Lastly - I bet your car could be destroyed within hours in the hands of a n00b, and the reason its held together this long is not because of some magical engine or mythical freak motor, but a combination of things like uber conservative tuning (spark/fuel), not making big torque down low, and not being as abused as other cars (despite the occasional drag strip trips)

Obviously just my opinion/guess though. Who knows for sure....

Ok a noob question for a noob thread. Is it possible that conservative timing is easier on the rods than getting MBT is? Is there less force operating on the rod when ignition occurs later than MBT? I can't think of why this would be without drawing out a force diagram, and I really don't want to do that.

Supercharger is your best bet.

Dude, that car gets the sh*t abused out of it. Track days, autocrossing, drag racing, DD.

The car has been used and used and abused.

At least that's my interpretation from following his build thread.

(dvcn's car that is)

Really? Well I stand corrected then. I thought he only drag raced it

ali123-
Decide what you really want to do with the car. There is a point of diminishing returns. (FOR ME) At 250whp full throttle/full boost was useless in 1st/2nd gear unless running drag radials. At 280-290whp there was wheelspin in 3rd gear 50% of the time. Wheelspin in fourth gear happened a few times at the worst possible time(passing gravel trucks on a two lane highway with 65mph oncoming traffic).

With E85 there is wheelspin in 3rd gear with cold drag radials on the street. Things are worse with street tires.

250whp is a lot of fun, relatively cheap to do and somewhat reasonable. That being said, I'm going to cry if I don't go over 400 after I build a motor. It's about what you want to do with the car.

This car has been down the 1/4 exactly 70 times, hundreds of autox runs(many double driven in 100° heat), a few one off track events, drift, dd, towing(boat, equipment), off road(almost high centered twice) and a few other things I won't admit to. It is not a trailer/dyno queen or hard parker, its reason for existence is to make me grin. :)

Before my car was stolen and totaled I drove it 28 hours from Alabama to Utah. Never having driven a 300 hp Miata before I didn't really know what to expect. I've driven 300++ hp STI's, Porsches, and many a Ducati 998/999/1098 etc etc...

All of those cars had the supporting mods to assist the power. Brakes, LSD, clutch, bushings, and suspension.

My Miata had all those supporting mods as well and it was still slightly more scary than all the other fast cars I've driven since the car is so much lighter. 300 hp in a Miata with no supporting mods is insanity, I would never think to drive one with stock suspension/brakes.

Reminds me of the VW scene kids who want to slap a big turbo and stage 3 off-the-shelf tune and then get mad when they can't use the power due to an open FWD diff and a clutch that will vaporize at the thought of applying 60% of the power.

Do it right, make it tight.

I get confused easy these days. Where was all the fun?

Was it build for 250 and run 300, or build for 300 and run 250?

I hate fixin things. Specially when I broke em.

corky

Depends on the thickness of your wallet and how much you enjoy food and shelter.

Bill is still letting people in on the 3.3:1 ring and pinion group buy... ;)

ugh
just stop posting

I take it ure speaking from experience?

Nope just a butthead n00b spamming to make a manifold WTB thread

:bowrofl::bowrofl::bowrofl:

What do you plan on racing on? Hopes and dreams?



https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1390271281

Not to be an ass(whenever someone says that, it means they are being an ass) but 300whp on $5k isn't a crazy unobtainable feat. It's been done. I'm beating a dead horse and will be quiet now.

I'm glad you at least know this.

The people that can make it happen are not the people that need to be told that it can be done. The people asking about it are the ones that cannot do it.

Does that make sense?

You have to be insanely lucky on good deals to even come close to a reliable 300hp build.

It probably is possible, but it isn't easily conceivable to me that most could do it.

I need to stress the reliable aspect of that possibility too. You are entering built motor territory with 300 and that in itself eats up a shit ton of your budget.

Only if you steal the car. Like literally, punch the ignition switch with your ski mask on and go. Then $5k will get you to 300hp. Of course you still won't be able to effectively use it unless the stolen ride already had suspension, wheels, and tires capable of supporting 300hp.

he keeps ignoring all of this and telling the morons for the 100th time to aim for the stars because somehow his setup magically didn't splooge all over the road yet

I could do it. No promises on the engine or tranny lasting longer than the dyno pull. But I could do it. Thats find a ratty NA for 2 grand and fabricate. I would use a china 16g ($260), DIY PNP ($430), rx8 injectors ($200), make a log manifold using the stock header flange and a turbo flange cut off a free wrx takeoff catted uppipe ($40), cut and splice a godspeed wrx downpipe ($90), heater hose and fuel lines for the turbo and water feeds ($40), cx racing intercooler kit ($200), and shit, that would actually leave enough money to throw ebay rods ($250) in it and even new bearings ($120), and wait even a 3" exhaust all the way back ($300). Total $1,930. Will also need a wally 190 ($90), and a wideband, why not 14point7 ($140), which leaves $2840 to acquire a miata and a clutch. Totally doable, not easy in the slightest.

so in typical Leafy fashion you post a bunch of hypothetical BS that you never personally did.

C'mon man. You're not a noob anymore, just stop.


If we're playing this retarded game,

I could build a 300whp miata for 3k.

Where's my cookie?

ftfy

If you're lucky you can find a mad tyte miata on CL with racelands and a badass pink tow strap with hood venting for only like what.... 3 to 5k these days?

Fuckin fag tax. GL with your 300hp miata for 5k.

Sounds legit? *shrug*

I feel i should make one more decent post in this shitty thread.

There have been many of us who have made 220-240hp miatas for well under $3000. Including myself, see build thread(and other peoples build threads).

Start there, that may bring results.



I find myself searching this site for answers i need more and more. Only to find threads like these where some useful information could have been but because it's the first thing that comes up it's normally the regulars hazing the new guy for not searching. I'm not saying this is one of those threads, but it might be for some idiots. I end up searching through 3 or 4 threads i shouldn't have needed to in the end. /erats time is valuable

Really!?! I could stab myself in the heart with a giant knife and not die......in the first 30 seconds. Still gonna die, so it's still a stupid idea! I'm kinda guessing the OP wants to drive the car around.

If the OP wants a reliable 300hp ride, it's gonna cost $4-5k, depending on the platform he starts with; which is an additional cost.

If you actually read my whole post you'll notice I actually found enough money in the pretend budget for rods, so the engine will be fine. And honestly you can hit 300hp without breaking the 5 speed as long as you tune it to not make more than 250ftlbs.

And yes, thats a very hypothetical post, but the ebay 16g will be able to hit the numbers, we know the ghetto manifold with the stock flange already works because Dann (and GRM challenge team or two) have already made one like it. Nothing I said is impossible, is it the most optimal setup? No. Would a build thread by someone doing this get ridiculed on here? Yes, until they produced results. I might even have a car and willing owner to make a setup like this for, besides the engine internal bits.

No one is more frugal and as patient than I am when it comes to finding the best deals on baller parts.

I blew past 5k a long time ago. I don't miss the days of wondering if my shit pile was going to hold together during my next drive. You want a nice car, get ready to spend the money. I can say that it is better to just spend the money.

OP is completely unrealistic.

I fear this post will likely just fuel the fire, and maybe even worst, it may even give some validity to Leafy's stupid post...

BUT

300hp for $5k including the car is basically what I'm doing right meow...


$2400 POS miata - CHECK

$130 Garrett T3S60 - CHECK

Ebay piping, intercooler, etc. etc. - $250

Used FM Stage 1 clutch - $50

Spare Engine to build - $50

Engine re-build including Forged Rods - $600

Log manifold - $200

Home made DP and exhaust - $150

Enhanced MS2 - $700

ID1000s - $400

Fuel Pump - $100

Oil lines, various other crap - $xxx?


So that's about $5030 plus oil lines and other little odds and ends.

So about $5100 and on E85 I think I'll have a reliable 300hp (whp maybe?).



Anyway, 18psi is right, it can be done, but the people that CAN do it, don't need to ask how to do it. The people that NEED to ask, likely cannot do it, and probably shouldn't try....