New to the world of turbo's.
 

HI guys im new to turbocharging so bear with me please. I plan on building my own turbo miata.

Turbo Manifold Miata 1.8L (N/A to Turbo)|Free Shipping
Downpipe + Outlet Miata MX-5 (NA TO TURBO)|Free Shipping

This is what i plan to use for the manifold and down pipe. I need a good used turbo but can not seem to find info on anything but the t25's that come in 2g dsms. What other turbo's can i run with this downpipe and what else would i need? :noob:

Keep in mind im trying to budget this to be under 500 or so. Price not including the exhaust or PCM. Just what i posted plus turbo and the little stuff like oil fittings and what not.

Please invest in quality parts, those are two of the three most important parts and those will fail.

That's a rip off of the BEGi S4 manifold, and the FM downpipe. they are not compatible. The DP won't line up to a turbo mounted on the cheap copy-cat manifold. It's looks like a cheap imitation of the FM cast downpipe, which is not designed for that manifold, unless you want the exhaust to point back into the motor.

FM:
http://www.flyinmiata.com/Store/images/22-20100.jpg http://www.flyinmiata.com/Store/images/22-20000.jpg

Rippoff:
http://ep.yimg.com/ca/I/yhst-1116174...2073_393991310

isn't this this chinese begi copy?

Ok thanks for the heads up. What could i use then that would meet a 500 or so dollar budget with a good used turbo? Or am i gona be stuck with paying closer to 1k for the good stuff. I don't have a problem buying quality parts. I do how ever have a problem with quality parts that are over priced. Advice?

What are your plans for fuel & ignition?

If you haven't already, read the sticky in the DIY turbo section.

I plan on buying the MSPnP. Or build one myself. I enjoy the DIY stuff. Thats what makes all this fun. I just don't know what i need or what im doing with a turbo.

I have read it, great info but I need advice more than anything else. To keep me from purchasing something that will blow apart a few weeks down the road.

Brain,
Never ninja-edit after I've replied again.

sentence structure fail.

haha. that DP looked too familiar, so i went and updated my post; don't front bitch.

Bah lol. Just ignore my poor grammar and bare with me please :laugh:. What would you guys suggest for a quality DP and manifold?

Are you sure you want to laugh at me? The last guy who did can't post here anymore...his fingers went to the water treatment plant.

The "hard parts" (turbo, manifold, downpipe) are difficult to do cheaply.

As a rule, the manifolds you find on ebay and from various low-end vendors which are made from welded stainless tubing, be they of the collector variety (as you posted) or the semi-log style (such as this one) are built from relatively thin material, and "designed" (if you can call it that) without much consideration for thermal expansion, bracing, etc. In other words, they are prone to cracking.

There is one exception to this rule, a cast-iron log manifold sold by a vendor named "ILoveTacoTaco" (we're not making this shit up), which while poor in the fitment category and horrid from a fluid-dynamics standpoint, looks to be relatively durable. I've only seen them in a 1.6L design though. Here's an example: 89-93 MAZDA MIATA 1.6L B6 CAST T3/T4 TURBO MANIFOLD 90:eBay Motors (item 250497243749 end time Oct-11-09 18:42:19 PDT)

Your best bet here is probably going to be finding a used manifold (such as from the classifieds here or at the other forum) which was originally from a Bell or FM kit. Both of these are reasonably durable, and fit well. The newer Bell manifolds, in particular, are quite nice.


As to the turbo, this is one place where you can cheap out a bit- maybe. One method would be to surf your local junkyards, looking for an OEM turbo whose turbine inlet flange matches your manifold, and have it rebuilt.

Another is to roll the dice and purchase a Chinese-made turbo from one of the many eBay-based vendors. There's a lot of FUD surrounding these, and some of it is likely warranted. On the other hand, there have been some success stories around here within the past year or so, where various people have installed them on their engine and not had them fail catastrophically, blowing compressor chunks into the engine resulting in its complete destruction. Even Bell Engineering has jumped on board- they spent some time tracking down a couple of specific units, tested them, and now offer them as an alternative to Garrett turbos in the form of the hilariously-named "Shanghai" package.


Downpipes are probably the trickiest bit. You choice of manifold, and the particular turbo that you set upon it, will dictate the required geometry of the downpipe. Unless you buy a manifold & turbo that were both originally part of the same kit, it's likely that no off-the-shelf downpipe will fit properly. Fortunately, this is one thing that a local fab shop can likely handle without too much insanity, provided you supply them with the correct flanges for the job.


I have grave concerns about your budgetary goals. Beyond the obvious big-ticket items (ECU, injectors, wideband O2 sensor, etc) the little stuff does tend to add up quickly. Oil supply and drain lines, intake plumbing, intercooling, misc. hardware, it all sort of adds up without you really noticing. I've probably got close to $4k invested in a turbo system which originally cost $1,200 at this point, and none of it is particularly exotic.

I must have missed your post in the "Meet and Greet" section where you described your intended purpose for your build (drag, autoX, track, street) and where you discussed your background skills (certified welder or don't own a screwdriver). I guess I also missed you hanging around for a few weeks reading up on other members' budget build threads to see what did and didn't work in the past. I also don't know where you are from because I missed both your "Meet and Greet" post and you don't have your location listed under your screen name like everyone else. Maybe someone local to you has good used turbo parts but doesn't know you are local.

Etiquette on this forum is that you don't sign up and immediately start asking about Chinese knockoff ebay crap in your first post. It is inconsiderate to start new threads without searching to see if the question has been answered thoughtfully and completely several times already. It junks up the forum with duplicate threads and makes it harder for others to search for information later.

Welcome.

I'll sever your right hand, mark it with tattoos of Masonic symbols on the finger tips, shape it like the 'The Hand of the Mysteries' and prop it in the middle of the Capitol's Visitor Center pointing to an 1865 painting of George Washington depicted as a pagan god.

Sorry, I won't let it happen again.

I drink your milkshake.

Well excuse me for coming here for quality advice from the people who have done custom turbo swaps. Excuse me for being new to this forum and not knowing proper etiquette, and excuse me for not knowing how to word the question to the point where the search function becomes useful to me. Thank you for being a smart ass about the meet and greet part of the forum though. I felt like it was appropriate. Instead i would work on your people skills and maybe suggest going to that part of the forum to introduce myself, because honestly i overlooked it.

Thanks for the welcome though. Hopefully not everyone is this rude here.

rude awakenings?

Well total original budget for the build was around 2k. Which still should be achievable with quality used parts. These parts will be collected over time though. My time frame is to be done and ready for next summer. No point in a turbo when winter is near.

Things like this are what upsets people. You need to define your mission, budget, goals, HP requirements, how you will use the car. This is what the Meet and Greet can be used for. That way, people can make suggestions ACCORDING to your needs.

We will help if we know what you are looking for.

this will put you $100 over budget:

new - BEGi Miata Turbo Exhaust Manifold 1990-1993. T25/T28 BEGi

used - 1.6L Separated Gases Downpipe BEGi

I'm in the customer service department. Sir, take a number, please. I'll be right with you.

I was kinda being a dick, but I was also trying to point out that we still don't know answers to the basic questions that would help us help you. We want to help but you have given us nothing but "will this crap work" and "I really need to stay under $500."

If you wanted a drag racing turbo that was cheap and effective I would suggest--- Search for a thread started by "dvcn" regarding his $159 ebay turbo. But if you were autocrossing, that would be a bad choice.

If I knew if you could weld I'd suggest a couple of threads to read regarding building your own manifold. Several here have done that. Can you weld? We still don't know.

We don't even know if you have a 1.6 or a 1.8 to be able to direct you toward particular products and/or sizes. Things that work well on one might not even fit the other.

As one of the senior members of this forum pointed out to someone who came before you asking a bunch of questions without reading or providing necessary background to properly answer his questions:
There is a great volume of information retained on this forum and a wealth of experiences with products documented herein. Please tell us about yourself and your plans that we may serve you with accuracy and insight.

I'm not being a dick this time, but the fact remains you have equipped us poorly to answer your questions.

Number twenty three. Twenty three... Number twenty four.:)

Actually, $2k is achievable with new parts, and in kit form, no less.

BEGI Shanghai-S Turbo System 1994-1997 BEGi

Here we have a non-intercooled system using an AFPR for fuel control. It comes with a good quality manifold and downpipe, and although some of the other parts are bargain-basement, this will be good to bolt-on and go. There is some value in this, as it's a good way to get you feet wet and at least get into a running system with minimal frustration.

As time passes and the boost addition grows, you can add an intercooler and swap out the AFPR for a MegaSquirt, injectors and WBO2, and have a very capable system.

Ah, see now that makes more sense to me. I know all forums are not alike and have different rules. Like i said before. I'm quite newbish to this and am just setting a rough goal. I just took a guess as to where to ask for help here.

I will apologize for the ignorance. If the mod would like to move this thread to the welcome and greet ill be more than happy to change the title and continue with the discussion there. Once again i do apologize but the inappropriate flaming when im completely unaware of what i did wrong or have not done right really wasn't necessary.

Now that was alot better. I apologize for the lack of info. Ill go take care of that now and post in the meet and greet section. Nice to meet you though even though it was like this :noob::vash: hahaha

alright so what is your total budged for the entire kit?
do you have any parts that you have bought so far?
do you know what parts a turbo kit requires?
Next, read this link if you are deciding to go with an ebay kit or ebay parts as it will teach you a lot.

https://www.miataturbo.net/forum/t19358/

at last the info you posted here is correct right? i was confused why people are posting 1.6 stuff when your sn says 96...1.8L


Year of your Miata
1996
Ride
1996 M-edition
Engine type and displacement
1.8
Induction
N/A
Major modifications
Stock
Tranny type
Manual
Tires
Street Radials
Race weight
2300ish
Horsepower
100ish

Why do you say that? If you haven't ridden with him at an auto-x, then you don't know what you are saying.

It wasnt there 10 min ago lol. They were guessing sense i did not supply enough info about the car which is my fault. I'v only had my car for about two weeks now and love it. I want some boost now though. The plan is to get the turbo and fittings now sense the turbo can be had cheap used. I work at autozone so im sure i can source the oil and coolant lines for the turbo. Im not sure what fittings to use though. Id like to use a good used t25, preferably a Garrett.

The bigger items like DP and Manifold will be bought come tax time. I know some of the bigger pieces i need. I'm more confused on the turbo lines and where they go. Or where to tap into my oil pan or even how.

It is what I would want for an autocross, but big lightswitch turbos are much less controllable. Lack of mid-corner modulation and off spool torque are the biggest complaints I've heard about big turbos. That's why so many autocrossers go with small turbos or superchargers instead. I actually love dvcn's setup and his autocross videos (as I have posted previously). I would choose his setup for my own car, not for practicality at the autocross, but for its pure uncontrollability. Trying to control the uncontrollable sounds like fun to me, but that doesn't make it easy to drive.

If you dont have the money now, I will recommend you hang around here with us for a while and check the forums regularly, you will find good stuff. For example i just bought a professional fuel control unit (that will allow me to pass emissions) for under 700 bucks.. retail price is over 1100.. i also bought a very shinny begi-s kit for nearly half the price of the new stuff.

Personally i wouldnt pick parts on my 1st kit. I dont know how much experience you've had with turbos but i assume you've never installed a turbo from scratch in your life (same here).

I would recommend a nice Begi-S since you are a beginner. It will cost you a little extra but you will know that you will have a good reliable kit that you can boost to a lot more later.

You can also check out the shanghai kit which is cheaper and still made by begi but it uses a chinese turbo charger.

if you are set on building your own kit, read the installation instructions for the basic kits and this will teach you where the lines go to.

There are several fantastic write-ups on the oil pan tapping procedure with some really good pics here on the forum.


There is no one right way to go with turbos and manifolds, but there are several wrong ways. Just take your time and put the research into it so you don't end up unhappy after spending a lot of money. There are a lot of successes and mistakes to read about here.

Good luck.

I wouldn't mind the chinacharger kit from begi. Its what? 1500ish. 1600 shipped? Is this what you would recommend? Do i need any of the extras or can i just buy the kit as is and go? I saw there is no boost gauge with the kit or BOV. Is 5-7 psi low enough for this not to matter? I don't want to blow my motor but i don't want to start of with to much HP at once. Got to learn how to craw before i can walk. With that said i have built a 300hp 4.6 in a mustang but thats also a bigger car.

Thanks for the advice. I will keep my eye open there then. I'm trying to avoid a big mistake. I would rather look like a noob and ask a dumb question than dump cash were it need not be dumped.