Goingnowherefast's Going Somewhere Fast Turbo Miata Build
 

Hello Everyone, here's another turbo Miata build thread. As you can see I am new here, and you can find my introduction and a little bit about me here: https://www.miataturbo.net/meet-gree...1/#post1283311

The short story of this car is this: I like boost and I want to learn more about limit performance driving without destroying my DD. The easiest way to do this was clearly a miata! I bought this 1991 NA Red Miata w/ VLSD with 83K on the clock for $2,400.

Mechanically it's perfect minus a little play in the shifter. It has no rust at all (something very rare in the snow-belt). Other issues include a dirty rear soft-top window, little bit of shifter play, and small body damage on the rear quarter panel. I can't wait to get wrenching on it this winter, and track it hard in the summer. (Yes, it will be turbo and yes it will be 1.8L). It is not going to be full track car but it won't be a DD. I am shooting for 240 wheel HP on 93 octane. If I can't make that number I will go to E85 and/or Meth. I'm just looking to build a fun weekend car that is capable of AutoX, HPDE, and maybe one or two drift events for fun.

Plan:
1.8L Motor (Purchased)
Megasquirt 3
550cc RX7 injectors (Purchased)
GT2560R
Ebay/Bell Turbo manifold w/ external wastegate
Tial 38MM external wastegate
Custom 3inch Exhaust
1.8L Diff and LSD
Flyin Miata Stage 2.5 Suspension
Enkei RPF1 15x8
Hankook RS3 V2 225's
More chassis stiffening
Delrin door bushing (Installed)
Hardtop
Roll-bar
NB Sport brakes (Purchased)
NB Rear brakes (Purchased)
NB Master Cylinder (Purchased)
ATE super 200 (Purchased)

Anyways enough talk. Here is the car when I bought it...

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Nasty Soft top...
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The damage...
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Surprisingly clean engine:
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She's a dirty girl...
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Step: 1 The clean car mod. Looks good as new.
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Extra daily Driver pic: (2007 gti, Full bolt-ons, K04 turbo, 93 octane, ~320whp).
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More to come.

Reserved

After hours and hours and waxing and polishing. Looks MILES better.

Here is the before/after. Left is before, right is after...
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Here's the shifter rebuild from Moss Miata ($85). It uses all oem parts to make the shifter feel new again. I used upgraded Red Line synthetic gear fluid which made a big difference imo.

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Install was fairly easy. Here's what I did:

1. Removed 2 Phillips screws
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2. One in the center tray
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3. Two in the center console
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4. Unscrew shift knob
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5. Just pull up and take off the center piece
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6. 4 10mm bolts
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7. 3 10mm bolts
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8.
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Once its off you just reinstall the new hardware. It felt GREAT after the install. Felt just like new. More to come...

Garage Star Shifter Bushing Install/Review:

Introduction: I bought these for $65 on Flyin Miata. They have great reviews, an easy install and they are nice and cheap.

Here is the install: (Tools Needed- 10mm Rachet.)
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Just remove the two bolts, take old one out, put new one in and tighten the provided bolts.
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Initial Impressions: They feel great. Door closes with an audible "clunk". Honestly I have put less than 500 miles on the car since I bought it so I don't have too much experience without them but it overall feels much better. Less flex, nothing like a roll-bar would provide but it feels good. Some of the shakes and rattles are gone and it feels a good bit more solid. An extra is the door speakers sound a tad bit better.

Rating? 10/10. It's cheap and provides a good performance increase. I would buy these again and/or recommend it to a friend. Cheers!

Wow clean car. your build plan looks a lot similar what to what i want to attempt but I'm still just lurking around learning.

Awesome documentation. will follow your build closely!

the door becomes like a crossbar for the chassis when it has a solid fit.

Yep, that's exactly how it feels like. It feels like instead of this:

-o------o-

It now has some support so it feels more like this:
_______
-o-----o-

Key: - = chassis, o = wheels

Like it doesn't want to flex much over the X-axis. In other news the guy selling the 1.8L backed out. I'm still looking for a 1.8L and I think junkyard motors are the next step. I found one for $899 with 73K and I think I am going to jump on it.

Seriously consider E85. There is plenty of it around here.
Does the 1.8 come with the trans?

I will definitely do so. I was actually one of the first to run it on my GTI when I was on stock turbo. There is literally a station maybe ~1 minute from me. I've already bought some 550CC injectors for $50 shipped from Lars. It was too good of a deal to pass up but now I'm thinking I limited myself to pump gas based on the extra flow needed for E85.

The 1.8L seller actually backed out of the deal so I am back on the market again. Hindsight is 20/20 but there was actually a 94 Miata for sale in royal oak for $2000 asking price. The body was beaten up and I'm confident that I could have gotten it for ~$1,800 since it's been for sale for a while. It had the T/LSD, 1.8L motor with 96K, and a Harddog Rollbar. I think buying that and stripping the part would have been a great deal but hindsight is 20/20 and it sold last week :/

P.S. What would I have to do to bum a ride off you? :) I'm in West Bloomfield.

Probably be best to wait until spring. I've already put the winter storage wheels and tires on the car so it probably wouldn't be very safe.
I'll be out on WW next year I'm sure, just need to get together.

can I reply now?

Okay... sorry, I was unable to reply and the website deleted all of my typing

I just got a 96 miata by $1600, 13K miles, was red, but some one ^&*@@#$ly painted it to black by spray paint can, WTF

I probably will just go following you, lol

trying to save up again for the seat and harness as the beginning

question：

you said you will use Megasquirt 3, hum.... do you really know how to use that on miata?

I read the introduction on their web, not understand all of them, but seems like it is super advanced.... and it has so many things

I probably will just go with DIYPnP 2

What?

nothing... just omit this

I just started learning about megasquirt, still in confusion

Hey you learn by asking questions, nothing wrong with that. Thanks for following.

Yeah we'll get together sometime when it's back warm again.


AS far as the thread goes, I actually threw a rod today cruising steady at 70mph on my GTI at 125K miles. Unfortunately long blocks are 2.5K+ for those cars so replacement is a much more costly task than with miatas :) This could set the miata build back a lot -.-

I posted and asked what a MS3 really looks like then finally understood what I need to buy

I have a slight different plan to yours. I would like to get my seat first and keep driving it daily and saving up. Once I got enough in my account, I will just blow them out for all of the parts. Very good feeling, lol

Any progress made?

Hahaha well yes and no. Mostly no and here's why...

My daily driver threw a rod at over ~35K miles >320 whp.

Back of the block :(
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It was cheaper to part-out and sell than to pay $3,000 for a shortblock so I said my goodbye's :(
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Here's my replacement DD (2016 GTI S 6MT)
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Old and new
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That's why the Miata build has taken the backseat. Getting a reliable daily to get me to and from work was the priority and this whole event cost me a TON of money I wasn't planning to spend. But what's done is done, the new MK7's are every bit car of the year that the magazines say. It's excellent. My Dad did 20 years in Vehicle dynamics and was the head of several SRT projects and he describes it as "perfect". Anyways, tune, springs and downpipe are coming this week and that should be good for ~300whp and ~350wtq. After that point all money will be going to the Miata since the dust has just about settled

Nice pickup on the Mk7. I bought one to daily last year. They really are pretty perfect! Too much a wimp to tune mine while its in warranty though.

Yeah as just an everyday car not much can top it honestly. It has all the comforts and feels like a 40K car with lots of space, fantastic build quality, and a great post-dieselgate price too. The engine Oh the engine. It's fantastic and a great fit to the really long gears that come with the manual. I ended up going with the BMS JB1 (Same concept as the JB4 for all the BMW's). It's a plug and play unit, which means it's completely removable so when you want to take it into the dealership, there is no way they would ever know it has been tuned. I'll tell you how I like it after this weekend. I think I'm gonna do the Miata brake swap soon too, just have to decide what pad I want for Medium autocross and track use as well as some street time.

Whoops, I did a thing:

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SR20 T25 in need of a rebuild. It's small but I feel that having the T25 flange will give me a lot of upgrade room in the future. I think I am going to shoot for 220whp on E85 which should be do-able without too much boost I would think

where did you guys find the turbo..... I tried, but just could not find a good used turbo. and a new one costs $1000.:facepalm:

^Those T25s are all over the 240sx forums from people putting bigger turbos on their SR20s. Shouldn't be too hard to find one.

Yep I bought mine second-hand off a member here for about ~150. They can be found on the 240 forums for cheap it just takes a lot of patience.

Alright anybody got any issue with this purchase? I have the NB Sport front brakes, and 1.8L rear brakes. It will be a casual weekend racer with both autocross and light track duty. Porterfield's front and rear w/ Prop valve and I'll be running ATE Super 200.

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Dont do it.

Explain

I was just being rude. I went with the XP pads. 8 and 10 I think, but those might be not so good for a daily. There are a ton of brake pad comparisons on here.

Hahaha no worries. Sarcasm doesn't come through very well in text. Yeah it seems like a ton of people are doing the 8 and 10 combo. It's not a daily so I'm not too worried about that, but I also would prefer a pad that isn't too noisy or needs a ton of heat to do anything.

While this isn't an apples to apples comparison (since mine are the TSE 11.75 front), I run the XP10/8 combo. When we went for a ride at 45-50 degrees, they still worked great, even when I first left my house. I expected them to be very dull at low temperatures, but they surprisingly work great. With that said, before they were fully bedded in, they were scary at low temps.

If you're going on a road track, I would go overkill on brakes. That's why I narrowed my choice down to XP10/8, and if I would've waited a few weeks until OGRacing posted about the PFC011's, I would've gotten those. That's what my roommate runs, and he loves them. The PFC's do have a lot of dust and noise. My XP10/8's only have a very slight squeek at low speeds, if you're soft on the brakes, but dust isn't too bad.

TLDR: Either put up with noise and dust or have two sets of pads.

Porterfields lasted just one track day (total noob) for me. Worn down almost to the metal.
Performance Friction race pads for the track for me now- let's see how long they'll last. But I don't think they have 1.8l rear pads.

Downside to sport brakes is limited pad selection. I asked about it a while back and decided it wasn't worth it for me. Some smart people dropped a lot of knowledge in the thread, you can read here:https://www.miataturbo.net/suspensio...le-99-a-84151/

I realized after I posted that you have a 1.6 car which changes the equation a bit compared to my 99. Also noticed that you already purchased them so... YES! Sport brakes are an excellent idea!

Fuckkkk but I want it all with no drawbacks hahaha. I forgot they were 10/8's. Yeah as far as I remember they weren't too bad in the cold. I'm gonna grab the valve and the fluid now just because it seems like there's no debate there. The reviews on the PFC pads seem awesome, I'm just not sure how willing I am to commit to a full track setup like that. Yeah the issue with PFC is I don't think they have rears like stefanst said. I'll look around at the 10/8 combo. - Sent from the KFSAE shop (I'm getting pretty solid at the metal lathe). Made all the cup bearings for the control arms and Dan and Max said they looked good so I'm happy.

To the others I got the Sport brake hardware for a hell of a deal. Think it was like $50 plus shipping so I couldn't pass it up. Eventually I'll step up to the 11.75" setup. Ordering the XP10/8's now and I'll see how they work.

Okay guys so bit of an update: The winter has been long and hard on my bank account but I have made some small steps. Firstly I set out to fix that damage on the rear quarter panel. I decided since it was a track car I will do it myself (Learning process) using a spot welder. For those who don't know basically you need to strip the paint (see below) and you can weld these little studs onto the body. Once on you use a slide hammer to pull it out. These are the first pictures, I'll do more today. Obviously you apply bondo and repaint when done.

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I was told racecars don't need paint #weightreduction
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Some of the studs welded on:
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Also it might be a month or two before I go turbo so I installed a test pipe. It was cheap (obviously) and I assume it'll free up 1-2 hp or so but not enough for the butt dyno to feel.

Shiny:
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Old/New:
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In:
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Conclusions... It's a cheap an easy way to drop a tiny bit of weight, free up a hp or two, and increase sound a tad. For me getting an NA exhaust only to upgrade to a 3 inch won't be worth it so that'll have to do. The butt dyno says it feels a little bit more peppy but nothing quantifiable. I'll be bumping up the timing in the next week as well as a harddog double X rollbar if all goes well. Cheers!

I know it's been a while since you posted this. But I've heard this advice a lot and I seem to find m24 turbos on these forums all the time. However I have seen people say on multiple occasions these are too small. Is this incorrect? Am I looking in the wrong places?

EDIT: looking closer at OP's photo of his turbo it is an m24. Can someone please clear up my confusion.

It might be easier to beat some of that out from the inside, then to use the weld on studs. Probably faster too.

Bout half or more is hard to get to beating coz it's in the tunnel.

Update:

So I've finally got some forward movement. Here's the gameplan...

MIATAATATATA
Phase 1: Maintenance (Oil, coolant, brake fluid, air filter): Done!
Phase 2: Safety (Roll-bar, Brakes, Lines): Almost done
Phase 3: Track-ready (Tires, suspension, alignment): Not Done
Phase 4: Driver prep (Get more track time and adjust setup as needed): Not done
Phase 5: Getting there (MS3X, Injectors, Get it running): Not done
Phase 6: Throw the damn turbo on (Throw the damn turbo on): Not done

Oh and this is happening:

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Also I was able to take the car to work and I found one big thing out... The radio blows dick. I can barely hear it. I ended up just putting my phone with Spotify on in the cup-holder and it was an improvement in volume and quality. SO the radio and speakers came out. Need that space for gauges anyways :)

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nnnnnnnnnoooooiiiiiicccceee!

Thanks man, really enjoying messing around with it so far.

SO the elephant in the room thus-far has been the accident on the rear quarter panel, but I finally finished it and feel like I did a good job. Here's it with the paint stripped after a bunch of welding, banging and pulling....

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And here it is now...

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The best shot of all after some detailing...

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And yes that is a roll-bar and Hard-top, I'm a bit behind on the updates. More on that later.

Dayyum son. Looks like it was never damged.

+1

Wish you'd showed a few in between shots!

Thanks guys. Yeah it turned out great. In other news I'm going to grab a MS3 from acedeuce802 here in the next few weeks. I'll be learning to tune the basemap and then for my RX7 injectors. Looking forward to learning and HOPEFULLY I can pick up a bit of power here and there while I'm still N/A.

Even if you don't gain any power from the MS3, the car will run so much smoother. I was really surpsied how much more refined my 1.6 felt.

Well that's damn good news. I figured there would be improvement over a 20 year old computer regardless. How much extra tuning did you have to do over the base map to get it running correctly?

Considering I am a noob at tuning still, no idea. Autotuning the VE table and then a bit of smoothing did a lot, I also buily a new timing table based on some reading here that seems to work. Fiddling with the acceleration enrichment was needed as well.

I am still getting start and idle sorted. It does both, neither as well as stock though. I am somewhat jellous of my friend's FM Link ecu. While it certainly isn't as refined in what it can do, the base map is amazing for start up and idle. Almost like stock right out of the box....

Yeah but the FM is also expensive AF :)

I'm looking forward to tuning with it and learning. I hope to get some gains here and there while N/A over the stocker. Also for those that care, I am sending my turbo to get rebuilt by JDS Performance Turbos. While there I am getting their Billet Compressor wheel and turbine wheel combination for a good price. I will certainly be making a review of it when I get the car boosted.

The Link is what FM used before the hydra. My friend's is from 2004 and cost $150. Not nearly as good as the MS3x, though probably better/on par with the MS1 (without the need for all the mods). The link gives you less rope to hang yourself with though (still enough to do it).

I just hung myself with the MS3x last night. Changed the fuel injectors and though I had everything set up right. Now the car won't idle. More tinkering is needed (and a new battery...).

Btw, the MS3x won't run spark or the injectors if the voltage drops below 8.5v or so when cranking...

Someone save me from this existential crisis...

I've found a local M45 Non-intercooled Supercharger kit for $800 shipped with everything needed. I will have MS3 in less than a week and I have RX7 injectors. Would it be a wise move to pick this up and run it at ~130-140whp until I compile a quality list of parts and start my turbo build? My thoughts are that I will not lsoe money by selling the kit when I'm done, and it will allow me to continue tracking and AutoXing the car until I put together a decent turbo build with a quality manifold, exhaust, intercooler, piping, coolant reroute, radiator etc.

You can have 130 whp with just ms3 and some bolt ons..
Edit: oh a 1.6? Never mind then :)

Install the supercharger. Then install an intercooler setup. This way when you switch to the turbo you already have IC done.

Yeah I'm still on the poor people's motor :) My thought is that if I get get 130-150whp out of the M45, learn how to tune while I get parts built up it could be the way to go.

Thanks man! Yeah I think I'm gonna do it. I just talked to the guy and he seems like a real straight shooter. I'll tune it and learn to tune on a light low power setup (on the beautiful injectors I bought from you a while back (Thank you btw)) while getting together quality turbo shit and supporting mods like a 1.8 rear end, cast iron manifolds, a good intercooler etc.

I'll tell you guys how it goes.

This is very similar to my plan. If done right, all the same mods for the super should transfer right to the turbo. Only thing will be you will want to look into running dual throttle bodies.

Sneak peek before fender rolling:

Konig Wide-Opens 15x8 ET25 Bronze w/ RE-71R's 205/50/15

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Anyone know how to color match the center caps easily? That's the only thing that I'm luke-warm about. That and that I can't afford TE-37's in a 15x8 Rota Concave style.

Damn, Our plans keep being really similar it seems like. Buyer should ship it out today. Pretty excited!

That means I need to get off my butt and get mine installed! Need to take the M45 appart and give it a good going over first though. Need to make sure none of the bearings or seals are bad. Hoping to get it in with stock size pullies and no intercooler this fall so I can makensure everything is working right.

https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...eae2a7169d.jpg

Mhmmm

Update on initial plans

MIATAATATATA
Phase 1: Maintenance (Oil, coolant, brake fluid, air filter): Done!
Phase 2: Safety (Roll-bar, Brakes, Lines): Done!
Phase 3: Track-ready (Tires, suspension, alignment): Done! (Needs alignment still)
Phase 4: Driver prep (Get more track time and adjust setup as needed): Too shitty outside to get tracktime
Phase 5: Getting there (MS3X, Injectors, Get it running): The car is running successfuly on MS3X
Phase 6: Throw the damn turbo on (Throw the damn turbo on): Not done

Parts Ordered:
-Supplies for AC Delete
-R-Package Lip
-Small black ducktail spoiler
-Separate trunk and Lexan Spoiler (I will swap out the trunks for track/street)
-Jackson Racing Header