Build costs
 

I am looking to forge and turbo my na6 Miata. Though I’m not sure what price I’m going to be looking at for everything and wanted to see if there was anyone out there that has fully built a 1.6 and what the final cost ended up being. I will be doing all the work myself so shop time wouldn’t be added in.

oh boy get ready

$10-20k

And you bought the wrong year car.

Just buy this 1.6 car, it's all done.
https://www.miataturbo.net/cars-sale...ale-obo-98251/

Lars has a sticky that you should read. It's got most of your answers.

The 6 simple steps to reliably turbo your NA/NB

It costs thousands more than starting with a 1.8 car. Mazda upgraded more than the engine.

I'm in around 11k right now. Another grand or so and I'll be back on the road.

That's a huge amount of money to be in a non-Forged non-Turbod 1.6 car in any condition. A Mazdaspeed in good condition with 11.75 brakes, forged engine, EFR turbo, VVT head, 6 speed, coilovers, 6ul wheels, Trackspeed triple pass radiator, rollbar, air conditioning, and Lotus seats just went for under 10k.

It sounds like you are committed to this particular chassis so I will say no more about it.

Generally speaking it costs about five grand in parts alone if going with a budget kit like MK Turbo. A simple search will reveal list of necessary parts and prices since this question has been asked about twice a month for the last 10 years. The more recent search results will be relevant since there are newer options available.

Here is my cost break down to just turbo my 1.6 on a budget. Some of the items are used and some of the items where bought on Black Friday sales. I’m gonna install it this weekend.

$130.00 - Innovations Wideband AFR
$172.00 - FM Boost gauge/pillar
$719.00 - FM Turbo mAnifold/Downpipe/BOV
$368.00 - CXRacing Intercooler/Piping
$150.00 - Hybrid T25/T28 Turbo
$615.00- MegaSquirt 2 PNP
$319.00 - 640cc Flow Force injectors
$125.00 - Water/oil lines and fittings
$40.00 - Turbo Blanket / Spark plugs

Hope that helps.

First, you must build a forge.

Then you forge your Miata.

^used parts and $150 turbo take the price down a lot but most people don't put a small $150 turbo on a forged engine.

$1,000 for rods and pistons and rings. $450 for clutch. $400 for boundary oil pump. $150 in engine gaskets. $400 for 3in exhaust and proper muffler.

Forging a car? ALLOFIT?

This is true, my option was more for if we wanted to ditch the whole forge build. I didn’t even factor in the clutch and diff on my build either.

Maybe his nickname is Vulcan?

Definitely going to have to run an aftermarket ecu as well. If he is lucky maybe he can find one for less than $800. But to get a MS3 for that prices is probably not going to happen. Also will need gauges, an intercooler 1.8 diff, driveshaft and axles (unless going with a better option).

Why are you guys still posting? OP is a dreamer that is not coming back.

Thanks for all the help everyone. Was planning on doing a rebuild in the fall and wanted to see if I really needed to forge to have a reliable car. But from what everyone says a 200-250 whp stock motor seems to be reliable and a good power goal to stay between.

200-250 on a stock engine, but Six is pointing out that the CAR will still not be reliable due to weak differential. Brakes will be weak for those power levels as well.

And no vtps, smaller fuel tank, smaller clutch and flywheel, can't use a skunk throttle body, worse breathing head, worse breathing intake manifold, less chassis bracing, and more I'm too sleepy to recall.

and brakes, and bump steer that is horrible,and small motor.

To build a 1.6 proper you need a NB motor,drivetrain, brakes, fuel tank, front subframe at the minimum

Obviously the na8 is better in all those ways but I was handed this car and didn’t buy it myself so I’m gonna work with what I have. Of course will be switching over diff axles driveshaft and all those goodies to be able to hold more power but making big power from such little displacement sounds pretty sick lol.

Why is an nb front subframe considered “at a minimum?” Yah the suspension geometry changed slightly for camber curves but to say you need it at a minimum is a bit silly. I would agree that nb drivetrain and brakes should be swapped in. Not sure I agree on an nb fuel tank. I would have to double check but nb fuel tank is not a direct fit for na. Na8 fuel tank is only .8 of a gallon larger in size. I still don’t see a larger fuel tank as a need for a proper build. But a larger sized tank would be a nice to have.

Let’s not forget the 1.6 was designed to be turbocharged :)

If you get a chance drive a 90-93 miata hard the bump steer is almost dangerous it is so bad. I have a 90 so this isnt even me doing guess work its first hand experience. If you only plan to street the car then it will be fine but on the track i consider it a necessary change.

I also drive an na6. Wasn't the bump steer corrected with the 93le tie rods?
Edit: Granted the only miata I have driven hard that was lowered would be my 92. I've driven an nb2 quite a bit but that is still at stock ride height with stock suspension so I don't feel it is a fair comparison.

edit2: now that I think about it some more. I don’t think it’s the subframe change that fixed the bumpsteer issue but the front spindle change that corrected the geometry for bumpsteer.

If you aren't tracking a car, most people are likely to notice the NA vs. NB nuances. A cheap way to improve the NA bump steer is a set of LE/R Package outer tie rod ends and steering rack spacers. Slightly cheaper and much easier than swapping to the NB front subframe. Here are my thoughts. Do what you want. Is the 1.6L the best engine for the platform? No, but you already own it. If you're on a budget, keep it, refresh it, get a MKTurbo or Kraken kit, and have fun!

Sounds like you have/had something wrong with your car.

Miata.net is that way.

I mean it did have 28 year old rubber control arm bushings until this winter also.....

That sounds a more likely culprit for "dangerous." ;)

Yeah, that doesn't sound like bump steer. That sounds like dangerous play in a bushing or joint and warrants inspection.

They all got replaced this winter. I was just in denial i guess. Ill remove myself from this situation :inout: Sorry guys

You won't find much love the 1.6L on here. I think you can keep the engine pretty much stock and just do rods with great success if you really want to run some trans breaking power. As for costs, it will all depend on quality of parts and your abilities. I'v got a video when I built mine doing things as affordably as possibly. A DIY coolant reroute, used turbo/manifold, and a build-it-yourself DIYPNP2. If I could do it over again I would go MS3 and a cast manifold. Tube manifold was fine for a street/autocross car but if you wanna do some track time a cast manifold is about as reliable as it gets.
I was able to turbo my car for ~$2200, and that was ~4 years ago. Multiple track days, mountain runs, competitive local autocross. Stock 1.6L.

Has OP indicated whether this will be a track car or a street car?

thank you for this I appreciate it. I probably will just do rods leave pistons oem. And yeah really not much love for the 1.6 on here lol

street, maybe track once a year. Could I get away with upgraded pads with 200-250whp?

1.8 rotors are about $20-25 a piece. Pads are still pads. You seem to be buying them regardless. The only additional cost would be 1.8 caliper brackets which are about $60-70 on eBay. At the very least upgrade to 1.8 brakes.

Has anyone done 4 piston willwoods in the front and stock in the rear ? Since front brakes always do the most work ?

I would start with pads and some ducting. If your first annual visit to the track produces sphincter pucker, upgrade. I don't think you're gonna notice much difference on the street.

That sounds wild, fam. I don't think anyone has ever done that.

Total cost 1.6L
 

Here is a spreadsheet I made with the prices of ALL of the components that i have or will buy fpr my project excluding tools and consumables. It is in swedish but with google translate youll figure it out. There are also links to all the websites ive used to buy items.

Green = purchased

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets...t?usp=drivesdk

If you have any questions regarding the spreadsheet just ask. The total is in SEK