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Follow the following 6 steps to properly and reliably turbo your stock NA/NB miata.

1. Standalone ECU and wideband. Budget $800-$2000. I highly suggest a MS3 of some sort with an Innovate MXT-L or AEM UEGO. Hydra, Aem, Haltech, Adaptronic also make stand alones, but there is less forum support. Install this on the stock motor and learn how to tune.

2. Buy larger injectors and install them. Retune. Budget $300-$1000. You want to get get EV14 injectors. I suggest FlowForce injectors as they are the best bang for the buck EV14's. Anything also from Injector Dynamics is good. Generally higher hp guys on here run ID1000's. You don't want older RX8 or RX7 or etc... injectors. Most RX8 injectors on the market now are fake chines knockoffs and who knows how well they flow, and RX7 injectors have shitty control at low pulse widths so idle control can be hard to get good.

3. Stronger clutch. SuperMiata, FM, ACT are the only brands you want to be looking at. Budget $300-$1000 for this. This is another place not to try to cheap out on due to how much of a pita it is to change a clutch when your shitty ebay one fails.

4. Figure out your IC setup and BOV. Budget between $350-$1000 for this. Generally run 2.5" aluminum pipe on the cold side, and 2" aluminum pipe on the hot side.

5. Buy quality turbo hardware. TSE/MKTurbo/FM/Artech/BellTuning/Fab9 is where you should be buying from. Budget $1500-$5000 for all this. Install all this and tune your fuel and spark table in boost.

6. Enjoy the stock motor and be between 220whp-250whp. At this point you will have a reliable setup that you should not have to do any major work to as far as the turbo setup goes. Now you will start spending money on engine cooling, and suspension and such to catch up to your new found horse power.

I finally got tired of typing this all out repeatably and posting it to newbs. So I made it a sticky so I can just start linking or quoting from it.

Finnaly. Now I can find and link this easilly.

I've been wondering when you would do this.

Interesting info about the injectors. Is there a good way to tell if eBay RX-8 injectors are real, or should I just avoid them all?

Unless you pay too much to have them flow tested, you'll never know until you crack your piston.

I'm running Yellows (RX-8), but installed them before FF existed.

By the time you buy used Yellow Tops, have them properly flow tested and supplied with new rubber parts, you are at $150.

With what others have experienced with new Yellows, I would forgo them.

I would recommend going with the FF for $300.

This guy knows his stuff, he made my turbo kit and I have been happy with it for a while now. I followed the instructions and am happy.

I wish I had found these steps 3 months ago, before I started my blind journey into the turbo miata world.!
These steps really make sense!

Thanks,
Mike Mohr

I've been reading (and preparing to turbo a 10AE), but I can't figure out if
a) most states don't have emissions testing like mine (MD)
b) every one on these forums uses their turbo miatas only on the track
c) you just slap the OEM ECU back in when its testing time.
I love this post though; very informative!

A. No emissions testing in Florida.
B. I daily mine and do autox/track
C. If need emissions, find a hookup or revert back to stock ecu/afm/injectors once a year.

You found a good starting place, but your question is a little off topic. This thread is actually really important for pointing noobs on the right path. Why don't you start an intro thread in the meet & greet section, and we can tackle your unique situation there?

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We do have testing, but 1995 and older cars don't have an OBD2 port, and must be tested out the tailpipe. (At idle) So, as long as there is a cataletic converter, I'm good.
I also have a 2004 Mazdaspeed, that needs an ecu. I'll be sure to get a plug-n-play for easy swapping once a year.
Mike Mohr

I'm a noob, looking to get on the right path to turbo an NB1. Can you explain why I'm off topic? I would say step 1 (add a new ECU) should include "make sure your car is grandfathered, or you live in a state w/out emissions testings". Either that, or state 'this thread is not for noobs'. Sorry, but you really lost me...

There are many basic assumptions made in the original post, and knowledge of your state's emissions would appear to be one of them. I'm just trying to keep this thread from getting too cluttered up with questions that distract from the intent of the original post. We use this post to get people set on the right track.


It's helpful for us and for you if you start your own thread in the meet and greet section where you can detail out questions unique to your car, state, build plan, budget, skill level, cat, etc, etc.

This is exactly right. I am going off the assumption you know what to do to deal with emissions where you live. If you want to know how people deal with emissions, then create a new thread and ask.