This will start a few flames I am sure...but since this miata is turning into a track only car, I wish that I had tossed the 1.6, found a 1.8 to rebuild with a hotter cam, high compression and throttle bodies.

I love the turbo on the street, but prefer the NA route on the track...even with a 2554 (insta spool)

Oh and I loved my electromotive on a previous track car (RIP)...MSpnp may be best bang for the buck..but I wish I saved my pennies.

come to think of it I do wish my suspension was a bit less harsh or that the roads here were better. Too lazy to change it now though.

reliability?

Im surprised that you didnt like the power at T-hill with those nittos. Give it another try, get your suspension fixed, throw a front sway in there and figure out what kind of tire pressure you like. Then i think you will enjoy the car much more.

Bad experiance with blitz BOV's. Aluminum body with brass valve working on a spool valve action. spool valve is good design for high pressure hydralic directional control 3000-5000psi. Not the greatest for a BOV. Had mine for 7 months before it started acting up. Then one cold morning while getting on I-5 north to UCSD my car built full boost first - 3rd then got into forth and no boost. WTF??? drove all the way to school and poped the hood to see if i could find a IC hoses may have poped off or something else maybe. visual inspection nothing. Went in to school and Called everyone i knew with the same blitz valve. Suprisingly got the same answer from 7 out of 9 people i called "check the BOV valve mine would seize open and the car would not boost" :(. looked at the inside the horn of the BOV, valve stuck open. took BOV off and then took it apart to clean it up. The BOV inner bore and piston (valve) were oily with a lillte grit and all scrached up/ scored.:eek5: So i cleaned it up and put it back together, all good for a few weeks :) then it happened again, damn is it me i was wondering? checked the BOV and sure enough the valve was stuck open again :( called my peoples again and asked them what the fix was? everyone had the same answer " replace the valve". I asked with what? anything poppet type/ digaphram controled. Have a HKS SBOV on the civic for 7 years and a Greddy type S on the miata for 2 years and never had a problem or looked back :)

Cool. Whatever works. Haven't had one issue out of mine. Had one on one of my RX7s too without an issue. Guess it's hit or miss with them. FWIW, I am changing to another valve, so please don't kick me in the nuts when I sell mine. :)

Probably wouldn't have turbo'd the miata, or bought one for that matter. The money I spent on the car, JIC coilovers, and FM kit could have easily bought another RX-7 that I have been desiring since I sold mine. Maybe its just the cold winter talking, topless springs and summers have a way of changing my mind.

Same here, spent 300$ on a fucking turbo that finally needs to be machined to fit bigger bearings and would cost 550$ to be rebuilt. I won't ever buy again a used Turbo unless the seller show me a proof that it's ok and have been checked by a turbo specialist.

I would have started with a 94-95 for obvious reasons

started with something besides a used greddy kit, probably complete diy build from the start, or maybe just a new greddy kit. brand new intercooler and around the radiator pipes instead of over the top, and like a few have said, go to a 1.8 for a while before turbo'ing that.

snowboarder, sure I like the power, but its just the delivery and how it feels...I don't know, its hard to explain. The Toyos seemed nicer once hot. but not enough to warrant the extra dough.

hustler, Reliability..hmm, with the way I drive, I don't know which would be more reliable. neither probably.

I haven't turboed mine yet, but at least in the "part amassing" stage, I don't think that I have bought anything yet that I would have done differently. I did wait a while before I started buying, read a lot here first. I knew it would be winter before I got to it, so I was able to jump on some deals piecemeal at what have turned out to be pretty good prices. Not much has passed by since making me wish that I had waited. That said, for about $800 more, I could have just done a BEGI-S and been done with it, but that covered my clutch, exhaust and about 1/2 of the Zoom3.

For a while there, I lamented the Zoom3, but if I get 200 to the wheels, it will be fine for a driver.

I'm also glad that I started with a super clean low mile 99. I think that the best thing one can do is start with as nice of a car as they can find. It would be a shame to pile a bunch of time and $ into something that you weren't proud of.

I also wish I would have jumped on Ben's 10AE the first time it came up for $7500. Heck, it was up for two days at that price.:giggle:

I guess there is one thing--I really like the bronze Sportmaxx wheels I got, but wish I would have just went with the 6UL's. 6.5" fits a 205, but that's it.

+1

Always always always add 5 psi to whatever you are absolutely sure will be plenty to make you happy with a turbo kit when you are planning out your build. I swore up and down as many do before I had my turbo that I would be happy with a modest 5-6 psi and my original plan for parts reflected that - I was going to use band aids (mechanical fuel control and bipes) to control things since they would be fine for 6ish psi.
After several people told me about their do-over advice about how you always end up wanting more than you forsee yourself wanting, I scrapped the original plan and formulated a new one using Megasquirt which could control bigger injectors and timing the right way.

Now here I am, at 6 psi currently and I have cleaned and flowed 450cc injectors on my desk and I'm buying a nice downpipe upgrade and cranking it up to 10-11 psi very soon. Boy am I glad I listened to people wiser than I.

-Ryan

would have used a different exhaust, something other then the Begi S4 manifold. Or I would have bought it off ebay and saved myself some cash and been less surprised when it fell apart. Stainless lines from day one, and not day two.

warning! -- noob question
 

How has MSdiy standalone changed your life? Yes, you have control, knowledge, and power, saved some money, all good things. I'm curious about the darker side of this. Has anyone lost jobs, girlfriends, years, sanity? Would MSpnp ( or hydra, aem) help me to hold on to some of those things? I'm kind of serious. Or is it not too bad with all the present accumulated knowledge. I don't have ac.

another:

I wish I had checked my car more thoroughly.

It came with a torsen from factory, but apparently it broke and was replaced with a junk yard open. I didn't know till I saw the junkyard markings all over it and I did 1 tire fire.

I hope I didn't cool off the thread, I was just trying to get a sense of what kind of commitment MSdiy is. Maybe I didn't ask this in the best way. I know that MS was started in part as a learning environment for engine management and this does appeal to me.

Thanks everyone for sharing your reflections with those at the beginning.

Make sure you have a second car to still get you to work.

shouldn't have sold my hardtop:mad: