n00b question about heads and intakes
 

Done lots of reading, read lots of differing things, probably more confused now than when I started.

Car: 1997 with stock bottom end Na 1.8, stock 5-spd, stock rear end/diff

Looking at MKTurbo kit

Is it worth the extra $$ for a:

Nb head and stock USDM intake? or
Nb head and flat top intake? or
VVT head and intake?

(forgive me, I don't know all the factory designations for these parts)

Understanding my current drivetrain limitations, I'm not shooting for 300 hp, but down the road I'm planning on a 6-spd and LSD. Right now my priority is reliability and *decent* power... is it worth it to upgrade the head and intake now or is that pi$$ing money away? Is the stock Na 1.8 head and intake sufficient with moderate port matching?

Car is primarily a daily when the weather is nice and weekend fun car. The Jeep gets to play in the rain. I would like to get back on the race track, been 15 years since my last SCCA w-t-w race... maybe track days or something.

TIA!

-Floyd

For a fun street car, no the NB1 or NB2 VVT heads are not worth the extra cost (IMHO). You can have plenty of fun on the street with a stock NA8 motor and turbo setup. You won't make the same power per psi as the NB heads, but it'll be perfectly fine.

You will be limited to around 220ft/lbs of torque due to rods no matter which head you have.

Ultimately I would boost the stock NA8 motor before swapping heads. You will spend $500-$1000 to swap heads, flat top, and accessories. Your top end won't change at the end of the day, just the spool and area under the curve. After you are boosted if you decide you want a little better spool or such, then do a head swap.

Cool, that answers my questions... May be on the lookout for a head and intake for the future, someday when I get around to/have to rebuild the bottom end. It's getting the exhaust now because the factory muffler had so much rot that the pipe going into the muffler completely separated and was just banging on the side of the can. Just a $100 autozone muffler for now, I think Walker is the brand.

What clutch do you recommend for your kit? Mine is slipping, that's next...

I have the MK kit. I'm using the Flyin Miata stage 1 clutch for a few years. About 6 months ago, when I replaced the motor the clutch was fine, with a lot of meat left on it. I do hit it hard too. Clutch feel is stock like. Rated for up to 300 something hp.

That's a good clutch

I now prefer the SuperMiata Sport Organic over the FM1. I think it has better pedal feel, and it does not need the weird ass adjustments that the FM clutches need.

+1 for SuperMiata clutch over the FM.

SuperMiata is showing they're out of stock on this clutch... are there any other vendors that may have it available? Didn't know if you might have any laying around... :)