1.8L 99 Miata 250WHP help
 

Hey, this is my first time ever posting/using a forum before, so sorry if im posting in the wrong section or if my questions have already been answered somewhere else. I am looking to make 250hp from a stock motor with a turbocharger. This is my first ever project so suggestions and criticisms are greatly appreciated.

Questions : Do i need forged rods/pistons for my engine with the power i want to make ( i want it to be reliable and still a daily driver)
If so what rods/pistons do you recommend i dont know much about knock and slap but i heard some forged internals cause this.
What turbo would be recommended for this?
Do i need different injectors, or anything for the fuel delivery system?
Im looking to get a megasquirt and tune myself (hopefully) anyone think differently?
E85 or premium 93 for fuel.

Thank you guys hopefully you'll be able to answer all my questions or just create new ones xD

Youll be on the edge of rod territory, but pistons wont be needed. $240 ebay rods FTW.
Turbo- search
Injectors- yes, GT500, ID1000s, or other various EV14 injectors available.
Many here have tuned their own cars. Megasquirt the car first, learn to tune, install larger injectors and do it again. Then add forced induction.

What brand of ebay rods are you suggesting?
Also i found these Injector Dynamics 1000.11.02.60.11.4 ID1000 Injectors 90-05 Mazda Miata injectors will those be fine or are they overkill? ($480)

The kind of questions you're asking is like asking if you need a scalpel or a machete for brain surgery...... If you don't even know what parts you need, you need to be reading and researching more.

okay, ive read more about injectors. I have done a calculation to see what kind of injectors i need. For 250hp i need at least 455cc, buf for some wiggle room i found this really nice 640cc injector kit for $299. Seems reasonable.

You didn't even say what kit you found. But I know its the flowforce kit which you cant go wrong with.

Also, what's your budget?

Yes it is the flow force kit... My bad it was late for me 😂 and also I really don't have a strict budget just don't want to spend much more than 3-4 grand. But I don't want to be el cheapo and have my car blow up from eBay parts.

With your budget, get an MK TURBO kit (vendor here), a Megasquirt, a wideband, ACT or FM1 clutch, and the injectors mentioned above. Ebay rods may not be needed if you stay at or below 250whp, just don't run too much spark advance.

There is a DIY FAQ thread on this forum.

He might have trouble hitting 250whp on my setup with the stock turbo. The larger one could probably hit it no problem. With the stock turbo he would probably max out somewhere in the 220-235whp, but I've honestly not had it on a dyno yet running full tilt. Maybe one day soon I will get to it.

So I went to your website and for my miata the kit would be $1500 (which seems pretty reasonable btw) how much more would a larger one cost me?

Heres what i gathered -
- Injectors $300
- Turbo kit ($1500)
- Megasquirt $430 (doing the DIYPNP 2)
- FM clutch $350
- AEM Wideband UEGO Gauge from enjuku $180
- No intercooler??


-

Larger turbo is the same price. Just know that it spools a bit later and does not have as much torque down low. Just know that I won't be building any more NB setups till sometime in the spring of 2017.

Skip the the DIYPNP2. Buy a MS3x. It is a much better ECU overall and works far better. It is one of the places where I tell people not to skimp out on.

Intercooler and piping is all DIY. You can check out Sonofthehill and Nigelt's build threads for NB pipe routing. I recommend the Vibrant intercooler that is on Amazon. It is pretty decent bang for the buck. I think they are around $150 with prime.

You should be able to put together a really decent intercooler setup for under $3-400 total if you do it right. Don't buy a piping kit, 90% of them don't have half of what you'll need and you'll be left over with a bunch of crap you wont use. Piece it together from silicone intakes and ebay or similar.

okay as for the ms3x I just need to buy a wiring harness and wire it to the existing wires from the stock one? Also is there anything special i need to do for my certain miata to get the ecu and car working properly?

Yes...a lot of reading. And a lot of learning.

So I want to still keep costs low by building it myself. so the MS3 kit is $385 and the MS3x upgrade is $105 then I would have to buy a wiring harness $50 (pigtail). Now with all of this do I still need to add components to get what I need out of the megasquirt?
Also from what im reading there isnt a huge difference between the MS3x and MS2 that my car would actually use (correct me if im wrong I probably am) but, ill go back and read some more...

You've really gotta do some reading.... A lot of this is really well documented.
I bent three rods on a T25 at 15psi (less than 250whp) and conservative timing. YMMV.

If you're replacing the rods, do the pistons. Machine work isn't cheap, no sense redoing things later.

Has anyone told this dude to read a bunch of builds? If not, BRO, I am not exaggerating when I say that you are six months of reading away from your first dollar spent. Do not build your own ms3. Do not build your own ms3.

You said budget is ok, so buy the ms3..in six months.

Six months of school work to go.

I can buy the MS3 now its not a huge difference, im just the type of guy who loves to build everything. If what you're saying about the reading is really that bad ill just opt in for the built one. and ill do my own harness.

Ms3X. You must do the X. Please, just take my word for it. I know of what I speak regarding this matter.

Sorry, i didnt say Ms3x. thats what i meant xD - https://www.diyautotune.com/product/...-57-assembled/
And i really appreciate the help from you and all the others that have been contributing as well.

I'm starting to see a pattern. I wonder if OP is picking up on it

I can see it ;) And yes i do need to read more about it.

We aren't trying to be dicks here. We just cannot give you one on one line by line help with every single question you haz about turbo. It wouldn't be fair to anyone.

I completely understand. I know I need to read and research more myself. I just need to know what to read for, and thanks to all of you guys im able to.
Time to read more about pistons and rods xD

It sounds like you have a fair understandingof the cost to turbo, so you are a bit further ahead of most new people.

Thanks :) yea I got a great deal on my miata $2000 with 130k miles I knew it was going to be a pretty penny to be almost near double the hp it makes stock. My dad had a ls1 at his work and I should have taken it... it was rebuilt with 80k miles for $500

The cost of the LS motor is not the expensive part of the LS swap at all.

I know I was just saying how great of a deal that engine was.

Okay, so I did some reading on the first step to my project, the megasquirt. Should I setup the sequential injector and spark first before all other aspects of the turboing of the miata. Or should I add that later on in the build. In other words is it necessary to do first.

You want sequential fuel for sure. Sequential spark is not doable on the stock coils. If you move to Toyota cops, or LS2 coils then switch to sequential spark.

Do more reading. You're still asking really green questions.

But I'll throw you a bone: yes. if you're building your own ms, you want EVERYTHING because it's silly and pointless to have to go back in later to add features and functions.

You want ms3x, you want seq fuel and spark (because reasons), you want ebc, you want other things too depending on what your goals are. You want to build the unit, install it with a wideband, and REALLY learn how to make it work properly and tune your car properly. that takes a long time for a 1st time user. after that, you're ready to consider other mods.

really really really

spend a lot of time in the build threads section. You really need to read through a bunch of builds.

If you're doing daily driving and you're really good with <300 whp then you really don't need to do anything other than stock pistons. Just know that you have to be that much more careful when tuning. My car has forged pistons and I'd happily daily it as far as the engine is concerned, but stock pistons are easy and cheap. All of this advice is very well documented. You really just need to spend a lot more time reading through build threads and such on here. It will serve you MUCH better than just getting answers to questions, because you'll see and understand the WHY.

So, I decided to do a compression test (ill do a leak down test later it started pouring cause, Florida...) and here are my results... https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets...it?usp=sharing
made it fancy and put it in a spreadsheet :D. And when you take a look at that you'll see that cylinder 1 & 3 have much higher values, the reason is because there is a lot of oil in that cylinder so its acting as a wet test. But, as for 2 & 4 I didn't see much of any oil on the plugs other than dried up oil (gunk). Keep in mind this car has 133k miles. Are those values,for my mileage and everything, decent? Also here is a picture of my spark plugs, they were pretty nasty, a lot of gunk and what appears to be bits of sand. In the picture I layed them out in order starting from the left. also i just changed the oil about 1 month ago so they shouldn't be this dirty right?

must complete leakdown. Compression is a tiny part of the story.

Oil changes have absolutely nothing to do with spark plug cleanliness. The picture posted shows well, just about every part of the plug that doesn't matter, and yet obscures the one part we need to see: the electrode, ground strap and insulator. The sand may be just that, from inside the plug well in the head and valve cover. You should really blast them out with compressed air after you've removed the plug wires, but before you remove the plugs to blow out any dirt or loose debris so it doesn't get in your motor. It also looks like you VC is leaking into all the plug holes, or someone missed the oil filler and it oil spilled into the center valley of the VC and then into the plug wells.

Okay, ill do just that. Ill go take pictures of the Electrode, ground strap and insulator while i get myself a compressed air can. Also i just got my valve cover gasket replaced during the oil change... but anyways ill be back.

Plugs are already a out, its too late to blow the wells out. And if you do It know with no plugs installed, youll just blow even more shit into the engine via the plug holes. SSTTAAHHPPPP!!!!

I put the plugs back in earlier I cleaned them the best I could with a microfiber. I wasn't going to blow it when they were out.. I need to pull them again to take a picture that's why I was going to blow it before I took them out again.

I hate being dumb about cars... Lol if you ask me anything about building computers I know.. cars are a whole other story.

Oh OK, that makes sense, carry on.

If I blow it where is the the debris going to go? Up in my face? Ahah https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...24bff864ab.jpg

Close your eyes...

Im joking with you ahah :P

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...48d78ba302.jpg

Does this picture help? Or am I still covering an area?

That plug looks pretty normal for a 130k motor and plugs with a lot of miles on them.

Where in Florida?

Port orange just south of daytona

Thats how you take a picture of a plug. Coloration looks fine from what i can tell, the electrode looks like it has some(a fuk load) miles on it though. Theyre cheap, just replace them.

btw, my humor is dry, I was returning it to you.

Might as well do sequential spark and get this kit for the MS3X. Fab9Tuning Plug & Play Coil-On-Plug Conversion Kit - Fab9Tuning

nonononono, run like hell from that kit. D585 coils. If you need a bracket and wires, I sell them.

Oh... okay could you tell me whats wrong with it? i believe you im just wondering.

Go read some threads about it. It doesn't seem to like to play well with MS3. For some people it works well, for others it doesn't.

The LS coils are a known good kit. You can buy the brackets from SADfab, thebandit, or several other places.

I know a few people who have had them and they just dont hold up, and IIRC they require special spark plugs. Im also of the opinion that they're a little expensive considering how they compare to the D585s, but it is a complete kit and they are idiot proof.

The only people on earth I would recommend Fab9 cops to are 99/00 miata's that keep blowing stock coil packs, and are sticking with stock ECU. Otherwise the LS coils are the new goto solution. Reasonably priced now with several bracket manufactures on the market.

And I'll kiss you...

Cause, with the birds I'll share.

OP, you've been quiet for a bit. What have you been reading?

You should read the thread I started a bit ago. I asked similar questions, but I was much further along in my research than you were.

https://www.miataturbo.net/general-m...u-think-90818/

As a side note: I'd likely caution you to go under 250, i.e. in the 220-230 range if you want to keep things stock and safe. The fact that you're asking so many questions means that you're probably not going to be able to do something like rods without some help. If you make miata friends that are willing to help you along the way, then go for it, but I think you'd be better off getting something that you can run at 220-230 and build another block with rods and maybe pistons if you want. From what I've read, the rods are the weak point, but if I was going through the hassle of doing everything anyway, I'd likely just overbuild.

That said, as you start getting from 250->300, you're going to have to be way more invested into cooling etc since that can start to be an issue. It also really exposes any weak spots in your build. Stock 5 speed transmissions aren't going to last long at 300. And 6 speeds have meh gearing. Folks are looking for other transmission swap options, or you can do the 6 speed coupled with a 3.9 torsen or aftermarket gear ratio setup. I don't know too much about that last bit, but I know that it's going to be annoying to drive a 300 hp car with the gearing that my car has right now, which is a 5 speed with a 4.3 diff.

That rabbit hole is very expensive.

I also think that a lot of builds get abandoned because people with less know how than money get in over their head and can't solve problems that come up along the way. Frankly, I wouldn't be doing this if I didn't have help. I'm also keeping it relatively simple.

Definitely listen to what others have told you about building.
Step 1: Do any maintenance that needs to be done.
Step 2: Get the car running well on the megasquirt.
Step 3: Install larger injectors and tune and get it running well.
Step 4: Now that you know the car can idle well on stock injectors, it's time to add boost.

The process takes a few months to get to step 4. If you have all the parts, you can probably install the turbo in a weekend and have it running reasonably well in another day or so. At that point, I'd probably want to limit boost and keep tuning and adding boost a little at a time to see how things react and get a feel for driving the car.

You're on the right track and folks are being super nice to you here. Kudos for reading over the last couple of months instead of asking more and more questions!

Yea, ive been busy, but still reading. I am going to get the MS3x soon as my next job is in line (HHgregg is getting shitty for Electronic sales reps). Also I got a great deal on repaint, rust removal and body modifications I couldn't pass up so back to saving. You have to look fast before you are fast, right? xD
Anyways thanks for the thread ill definitely take a look, and as well I did read on some articles saying 230whp is a safe point to be at with a 5speed and stock internals. Ill update soon after I get my MS3x and start tinkering with it hahah.