Hey all, so like the title suggests I'm wondering if adding a turbo or supercharger is worth the 3-7k it costs. I would want something in the 200-250 HP range anything past that is more than I want or need ( i think). I drive autocross and mountain roads mainly. Every time I look at videos of stock vs boosted Miata's they don't seem to be that much faster on track or back roads. Like the money pit series on youtube by donut media where after all the upgrades and money it wasn't much faster. So I'm curious to hear from people that have 200-250hp Miata if they are much faster on a track than before and what cars they can beat on track or what's close to as fast. for example, they can now beat s2000s, BRZs, mustangs etc.

 

Donut media is a terrible benchmark since everything they do they do it as wrong as possible, be it plastidipping or turboing a miata. Whether the cost is worth it is subjective, but even at just 180whp I'd never wanna go back. Little extra oompf and all the right noises.

 

Not sure if a troll or not. At the risk of feeding the troll:

Donut Media is entertainment, nothing more. They're doing things the stupid way, whether by accident or intention, in order to get views.

A quick search shows me that a well-prepped Miata that IIRC was within your stated goals lapped Sonoma Raceway at 1:47.8

A stock-powered Miata will turn in a 1:57 at the same track.

Is 10 seconds a lap "much faster" to you?

 

Donut media literally capped the PCV port, then proceeded to scratch their heads recklessly oiling down a track blowing out every seal on the engine only to promote a sponsored catch can in their next upload...
Godawful reference for anything if you ask me.

 

Having built an ~200whp miata that I use as an almost daily/back roads car. It's very worth it. Sort out the suspension and handling, then add boost. It's not even a little faster, it's a lot. And 200whp is almost too fast for the back roads around here....


That said, I built for spool and response (well, as much as I can from a 1.6) and that seems to be the way to go for a car used like this. I can just leave it in 3rd or 4th while having my fun and not have to worry about it.

 

I went the opposite route on my car.

Big eBay turbo kit, standalone ECU, and nothing else. Suspension and cooling system was all stock for the first summer.
Sketchy, but kept things interesting at least!

Onto year two of boosting now and I installed a FM coolant reroute and aluminum rad. Also a set of FM swaybars.
Tires are happening imminently, and a suspension refresh/upgrade down the road.


OP to answer your question, it's definitely worth it. In my case the cheap eBay kit needed modification to work, but happiness per dollar return has been excellent.

 

Yes.

 

Just to chime in with agreement on what was said here. Donut media is for entertainment. They may give you a decent idea on what work can be done to improve the miata, but take that with a grain of salt.

I more informative source for turbo miata data would be from "cashed out cars" youtube channel. He's a younger kid but does a great job explaining what the turbo installation process entails. I boosted my 1990 1.6 thanks to his videos and this forum. Possibly controversial suggestion would be to watch Greg Peter's car passion channel on youtube as well. He does a fantastic job on his in-depth maintenance videos and guides.

I can say that going turbo was a fun journey and it really transforms the miata. Keep things under 10psi and you can run much of the stock components as well. I think I spent maybe $1500 or a bit more over quite a few months. There are certainly affordable options if you can handle a bit of custom fab.

 

Donut Media is good for thew animations if you want to explain how an engine works, just hit the mute button and add your own narration though

 

only if you want to know what it looks like to throw very expensive parts, randomly and wondering why your engine did 500hp for 10 days...