Ecotec swap with new exhaust, new dyno and drag!
 

Finally got the Eco swap car back from having the entire exhaust reworked. New setup is 4-2 upper header section with 1 5/8" primaries, v banded secondaries that go all the way under the trans and over to the stock cat back flange location and merge to a 3" v-band and a 3" exhaust with Vibrant ultra quiet resonator and Borla oval muffler.
Due to matching the cylinders unevenly (1-3, 2-4) the car now sounds properly good.

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The car had a huge hole in the torque curve which also showed super lean, so we had to rework the vvt tables and fueling to smooth it out.
New highest numbers are 192.5 whp and 195.4 wtq.

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I was heading to Indy to hang out with concealer404 for a birthday skydive (which got rained out) and figured I would stop by the strip on the way.
That trip resulted in several of these:

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Still not quite enough for me, so I will reassess the build this winter. I may even go back to a BP and build a 1.9L GT2554R setup with a billet compressor wheel for maximum spooling 275whp swaggotry. A 4.8L GM swap was also spoken of due to the potential for crazy revs.

Wow that's a nice improvement compared to the MATG version. I really dig the exhaust tone, I've been a huge Borla fan since using them on my SR20 cars back in the day.

It sounds so good. How loud is it in cabin?

Damn it sounds good! Good job on the track times.

Just curious about the video...am I hearing the tires chirp on the 1-2, 2-3, and the 3-4 shifts?

clean, peppy, and sounds good.

grats :)

Anyone added a turbo to an Ecotec'd miata yet?

OP totally should because it would make delicious torque and be the coolest street car

This thing's bad ass! A high 13 at 100 is fast. With some boost it would be insane.
Nice job!

not even pushing it

https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...1e14258d23.jpg

still internally stock right?
so i guess all it needed was an exhaust and a proper tune.

sound awesome, congrats. :likecat:

Very slick setup. Sounds good, runs good; and look at that torque!

Very not bad. I had the fabricator add a quarter wave resonator and while loudish, does not drone one bit. It is fairly pleasant, plus the thrum of odd firing keeps the monotone 4 banger sound much more percussive and inoffensive.

Yes, chirped into 4th. :D

Completely stock long block.

You have no idea. It is making 41whp and 44 wtq more than when I rolled onto the dyno the first time. I am a fan as well, while the engine isn't quite making enough to satisfy me, the sound alone makes it worth keeping.

More compression! More cylinder head! More induction! Ah Ha Ha Haaaaa!!!

Is that a heimholtz chamber that T's off to the side near the diff? or a exhaust cutout deal?

Sounds good. I likecat

Technically it's a quarter wave resonator. A helmholtz chamber uses the volume of the chamber as well as orifice size for tuning and quarter wave resonators are purely a function of wavelength.

Wowza. Do you know which turbo system and how much boost this is?

Will you guys be mad if I pull this setup and swap something completely different in? Maybe with a turbo?

Why not just FI this setup?

Big torque without trying which means broken miata transmissions. I want to make a bombproof setup that makes 500 whp with ease, can be easily detuned for bad gas/conditions/racing and will take everything I throw at it all day long. Having people look under the hood and say "really?" is also a bonus.

No.

We love different engines with boost

I think you would like this setup specifically. I'll say now that it is a 4 cylinder and not 4v per.

I would be interested in buying your dropout, just as an data point. I'd even come down to grab it.

also, f2t?

Dropout is set up as 99% PNP. The only thing you have to actually modify are 3 wires. Everything bolts or plugs in like stock.

You are thinking the wrong brand. Think further West and North.

I'm genuinely stumped.

I can only think of two ish performance 8 valve 4 cyl. engines, and maybe one or two 5 valve.

​​​​​​​Japanese, German, or American based engine?

Half an LSx.

I am pretty sure a nice MKTurbo setup on a busted ass high mileage 99 motor, with the larger turbo can get you into the 12's. I hear they are reasonably well priced also.

Volvo B230 redblock. However I may just puss out amd do a turbo bp for the reliability. I want power without sacrificing the character of the miata.

Ahh, I always forget about non 5 cylinder Volvo engines. B230 with a Ford head swap? Would be baller!

Nothing wrong with a 8V evo head on a red block, the really narrow valve cover produces some interesting comments :)
But the stock16v heads flows almost as much.

Going all custom 3.4L is possible, 3.2 is a little easier.

Having MDS half an hour away makes me a little biased though.

I had a feeling it was volvo, but I don't really see the point. Unless they come with really strong transmissions and that's the motivation for the swap>?

Hahaha, yes! I grew up in 240s. The second most terrifying car I have ever driven was an 83 242 T with a biiiig turbo, welded diff, stock syspension and now power steering. Spooled at 4500rpm to ~23psi and just about stood up on it's rear. No interior, hole in the floor. I was laughing the wholw time.

Because off the shelf Mustang T5 trans adapter and $600 Tilton twin disc/flywheel.

Also, diesel like pistons that take major abuse. You can do a rods only build and reliably make 5-600whp.

I've got the smallest SXE Borg to install on mine this winter. MS3 EBC. Limit torque to 260wtq, but hold 260wtq easily to 7k rpm. Hopefully the 6spd lives.

Which specific Borla muffler? I'm rethinking the muffler on my SR20 Miata.

3" oval offset in center out I think. Not sure on part number.

Get the giant Magnaflow 12589 MT approved muffler, it is worth it.

If that's what you're looking for, we have some new product in the works that will easily be able to make this a reality.... Details coming soon.

Teasey McTeasepants

Isn't there a quicktime sfi bell housing to bolt the T56 to the LE5?

Other than the sound, is there any other advantage with the 1-3, 2-4 matching of the headers? Seems wrong to me.

I also couldn't initially get over this when I started shopping for an Ecotec Miata header. But, when I researched it, I found that some of the most highly developed race headers for S2000 and K-series are odd fire pairing--they call it "sequential" pairing. It seems to me that you need long, large diameter primaries and short, large diameter secondaries to make it work. The folks at Shenzhen Fashion Super Quality Stainless could have simplified their design and made it 1-2, 3-4 paring, as there is no difference from 1-3, 2-4 pairing.

I eventually went with the 1320 Performance Polaris Slingshot shorty header because it has 1.75" primaries and seems to be a higher quality piece. I don't think my $500 engine with stock cams is going to care much.

This?
1320 Performance Polaris slingshot header

How do the dyno numbers supposedly compare to a 4-2-1?

It's less about dyno numbers than it is about finding something that can be made to somewhat fit after many hours of swearing and dollars. To say that the space is tight would be an egregious understatement.

Yes, that one. The Ecotec Miata guys consider it part of their 200 rwhp LE5 recipe, along with an 06-07 LE5 intake manifold, a ported throttle body, and a 3 foot long intake tube (filter to throttle). The Manzo/M2/Shenzhen Fashion Stainless 1.625 OD primaries are just too small for a 2.4L engine at 220 hp and it's no stretch that a 1.75 OD primary shorty header makes more power. Considering the stock cam engine won't be terribly sensitive to the supreme scavenging of long tubes, the packaging advantages of the shorty become worthwhile.