Megasquirt has certainly come a long way in the miata community over the past year. (Definitely go for a parallel install) From the activity on the forum here I bet it would be a good alternative, but it still going to take some good book time to understand it, and software kills aren't my strong point.

Also if it's so great, then why are people still using other standalones?

I like the EMB because it can be installed easily, set up relatively easy (some steps are tricky but not impossible like upgrading to gold and moving the new files to inside the program files (that trips up alot of people)),
its not very expensive, and it works for apps I'm working with in. It's still just a band-aid :)

I would like to play around with the EMU sometime, I bet it's pretty cool.

I went fishing in Sitka last year, had a blast, returned w/ 80lbs of Salmon! yeah there is a 1/day limit, but my father had a resident license and I got to bring all 4 home :)

Ok, so I've pretty much settled on just going the voodoo box route and retarding the timing myself.

How much should I retard it? 6 degrees or so?

Also, will any 1.8L manifold fit the 01+ year NB's? Because I see many used ones on here, ebay, or miata.net classifieds. Just wondering before I buy...

nobody mentioned WI comeon people. You can run WI and get the power you seek. Without a aux timming controller. And supplement your fueling as well. The safc willl help you run bigger injectors and better drivability but it doesnt quite have the resolution of the other engine management solutions. There is one for sale in the classifieds. And we have a ongoing WI group buy these to together under 500 bucks with some biger injectors 350-400cc can make you some nice power, cheaply, safely, ingeniusly, and reliably.

I think the OP should start simple with lower hp goals and then work his way up. Remember this is on an 01 NB with higher compression. A bit less tolerant to boost. He can always add the WI after he gets the basic setup sorted out.

Frank

I was under the impression that manually retarding timing wasn't as easy on the NB miatas. Much more complicated than for us NA folk, right?

it requires cutting metal and/or plastic to move the crank trigger wheel or sensor.

If you're set on the voodoo box, FM also sells a modified crank trigger wheel that you can retard the timing up to 6* static (from 10*) and it works very well.

I have a '99 and am under the impression that the only way to change the timing on my car is to move the Crank Position Sensor relative to the wheel that it reads off the pulley and even then it is such a marginal change that it's not worth it. I run just the voodoo box with no other timing control without problem.

actually moving the crank sensor does change the timing just like on the NA cars. I've got the adjustable bracket as well that used to come with the older JRSC kits that remounts it to the other side of the crank and has a slot that you can move the sensor to change the timing as you see fit. It worked fine and I could even advance the timing if I wanted to but I leave my car at stock timing with 93 octane and 6psi boost with no intercooler as of now.

Ok, well I've also heard of some folks with miatas not having to adjust timing. I'll just get a voodoo box and if I get any knock after everything is setup I'll worry about timing then.

What about the manifold(s) :(

are you planning on having the EGR hooked up? I know the 01+ and the 99/00 had different sized fittings for them but if thats something you don't need to worry about then most of the 1.8 manifolds should fit fine.

Do I need to keep the EGR hooked up?

Will I get a CEL if it's not?

yeah you'll get a CEL if you don't

Ok cool, I can live with a CEL ;) So I probably wont need the EGR.

Now, another question, what the heck is a v-band outlet on a turbo? I notice some T3's for sale have them, it looks as if a standard 2.5" pipe would fit on it...