Exocet Build Advice
10-30-2019, 05:07 PM
#21
Junior Member
Join Date: Jan 2018
Location: Tampa, Fl
Posts: 227
Total Cats: 25
Congrats on the decision to build the Exocet kit. It's one of the best decisions I've made.
I decided to go the Exocet route because it seemed like a semi-affordable way to get a real performance car that I could build and race. Affordability is a relative term that has different meanings for different people. Would I do it again, certainly. Would I do it differently, the jury is still out.
I'm jealous of the LFX builds on here because they appear to be the most reliable method to get the right amount of hp for this light of a car (and they sound incredible). At the time I built mine, I thought an engine swap would be too much money for my budget to handle. Plus, I wanted the experience of rebuilding my Miata engine from the inside out with all forged internals to handle anything I throw at it. I should be able to push close to 300 hp with my turbo setup and spend considerably less money than the engine swap. I scoured this site and Craigslist for the last year and a half picking up budget deals on parts and I saved a shitload of money being patient and finding the right deals.
It's really about why you want to do this in the first place. For me, it was about building something I'm really proud of and learning as much as I could along the way. I've needed plenty of advice along the way and this site has been invaluable in giving me answers as fast as I can search and read. And when that doesn't work asking for help.
One advantage to keeping everything Miata based is the support and troubleshooting when things don't seems to work the way they should. People like Sixshooter go out of their way to help and they have a huge amount of experience to share if you listen to the advice. LukeG has a kick *** build and has plenty of experience under his belt with his swap so he could be a big help if you decide to go the swap route.
Your biggest decision at this point is what powerplant you want to use because that will determine all of your next steps during the teardown. One tip, do yourself a big favor and label everything. And I mean everything. Don't think that you will remember what something goes to later. You won't. Label everything. And take lots of pictures of stuff before you disassemble it. And get some parts bins that you can label to store nuts and bolts and connectors, etc. I had very few issues because I took the time to label everything and just reassembled everything the exact same way it was when I took it apart.
Good luck. I learned a lot along the way so if you have any questions let me know.
I decided to go the Exocet route because it seemed like a semi-affordable way to get a real performance car that I could build and race. Affordability is a relative term that has different meanings for different people. Would I do it again, certainly. Would I do it differently, the jury is still out.
I'm jealous of the LFX builds on here because they appear to be the most reliable method to get the right amount of hp for this light of a car (and they sound incredible). At the time I built mine, I thought an engine swap would be too much money for my budget to handle. Plus, I wanted the experience of rebuilding my Miata engine from the inside out with all forged internals to handle anything I throw at it. I should be able to push close to 300 hp with my turbo setup and spend considerably less money than the engine swap. I scoured this site and Craigslist for the last year and a half picking up budget deals on parts and I saved a shitload of money being patient and finding the right deals.
It's really about why you want to do this in the first place. For me, it was about building something I'm really proud of and learning as much as I could along the way. I've needed plenty of advice along the way and this site has been invaluable in giving me answers as fast as I can search and read. And when that doesn't work asking for help.
One advantage to keeping everything Miata based is the support and troubleshooting when things don't seems to work the way they should. People like Sixshooter go out of their way to help and they have a huge amount of experience to share if you listen to the advice. LukeG has a kick *** build and has plenty of experience under his belt with his swap so he could be a big help if you decide to go the swap route.
Your biggest decision at this point is what powerplant you want to use because that will determine all of your next steps during the teardown. One tip, do yourself a big favor and label everything. And I mean everything. Don't think that you will remember what something goes to later. You won't. Label everything. And take lots of pictures of stuff before you disassemble it. And get some parts bins that you can label to store nuts and bolts and connectors, etc. I had very few issues because I took the time to label everything and just reassembled everything the exact same way it was when I took it apart.
Good luck. I learned a lot along the way so if you have any questions let me know.
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10-30-2019, 05:15 PM
#22
Moderator
iTrader: (12)
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Tampa, Florida
Posts: 20,656
Total Cats: 3,011
The Exocet is so light you can probably run 300 horsepower on a 5-speed and not tear it up, which would be a real bonus because it's an excellent transmission and is lightweight.
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11-01-2019, 10:00 AM
#24
Newb
Thread Starter
Join Date: Sep 2019
Location: Lemoore, CA
Posts: 26
Total Cats: 0
Congrats on the decision to build the Exocet kit. It's one of the best decisions I've made.
I decided to go the Exocet route because it seemed like a semi-affordable way to get a real performance car that I could build and race. Affordability is a relative term that has different meanings for different people. Would I do it again, certainly. Would I do it differently, the jury is still out.
I'm jealous of the LFX builds on here because they appear to be the most reliable method to get the right amount of hp for this light of a car (and they sound incredible). At the time I built mine, I thought an engine swap would be too much money for my budget to handle. Plus, I wanted the experience of rebuilding my Miata engine from the inside out with all forged internals to handle anything I throw at it. I should be able to push close to 300 hp with my turbo setup and spend considerably less money than the engine swap. I scoured this site and Craigslist for the last year and a half picking up budget deals on parts and I saved a shitload of money being patient and finding the right deals.
It's really about why you want to do this in the first place. For me, it was about building something I'm really proud of and learning as much as I could along the way. I've needed plenty of advice along the way and this site has been invaluable in giving me answers as fast as I can search and read. And when that doesn't work asking for help.
One advantage to keeping everything Miata based is the support and troubleshooting when things don't seems to work the way they should. People like Sixshooter go out of their way to help and they have a huge amount of experience to share if you listen to the advice. LukeG has a kick *** build and has plenty of experience under his belt with his swap so he could be a big help if you decide to go the swap route.
Your biggest decision at this point is what powerplant you want to use because that will determine all of your next steps during the teardown. One tip, do yourself a big favor and label everything. And I mean everything. Don't think that you will remember what something goes to later. You won't. Label everything. And take lots of pictures of stuff before you disassemble it. And get some parts bins that you can label to store nuts and bolts and connectors, etc. I had very few issues because I took the time to label everything and just reassembled everything the exact same way it was when I took it apart.
Good luck. I learned a lot along the way so if you have any questions let me know.
I decided to go the Exocet route because it seemed like a semi-affordable way to get a real performance car that I could build and race. Affordability is a relative term that has different meanings for different people. Would I do it again, certainly. Would I do it differently, the jury is still out.
I'm jealous of the LFX builds on here because they appear to be the most reliable method to get the right amount of hp for this light of a car (and they sound incredible). At the time I built mine, I thought an engine swap would be too much money for my budget to handle. Plus, I wanted the experience of rebuilding my Miata engine from the inside out with all forged internals to handle anything I throw at it. I should be able to push close to 300 hp with my turbo setup and spend considerably less money than the engine swap. I scoured this site and Craigslist for the last year and a half picking up budget deals on parts and I saved a shitload of money being patient and finding the right deals.
It's really about why you want to do this in the first place. For me, it was about building something I'm really proud of and learning as much as I could along the way. I've needed plenty of advice along the way and this site has been invaluable in giving me answers as fast as I can search and read. And when that doesn't work asking for help.
One advantage to keeping everything Miata based is the support and troubleshooting when things don't seems to work the way they should. People like Sixshooter go out of their way to help and they have a huge amount of experience to share if you listen to the advice. LukeG has a kick *** build and has plenty of experience under his belt with his swap so he could be a big help if you decide to go the swap route.
Your biggest decision at this point is what powerplant you want to use because that will determine all of your next steps during the teardown. One tip, do yourself a big favor and label everything. And I mean everything. Don't think that you will remember what something goes to later. You won't. Label everything. And take lots of pictures of stuff before you disassemble it. And get some parts bins that you can label to store nuts and bolts and connectors, etc. I had very few issues because I took the time to label everything and just reassembled everything the exact same way it was when I took it apart.
Good luck. I learned a lot along the way so if you have any questions let me know.
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0
05-24-2020, 10:50 PM
#25
Newb
Thread Starter
Join Date: Sep 2019
Location: Lemoore, CA
Posts: 26
Total Cats: 0
Well after life happening, couple of deaths in the family, a partial knee replacement and one more to go, I’ve finally officially decided that I am going to do a LFX swap. Sooooo with that being said, I will be tearing this bad boy apart and getting rid of everything. If there is something you need shoot me a message and I will try to get back to everyone in a decent timeframe and let you know if I have what you are looking for. Hopefully everyone is staying safe out there with all the craziness in the world!
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05-25-2020, 09:57 AM
#27
Senior Member
Join Date: May 2017
Location: Austin, TX
Posts: 1,119
Total Cats: 166
Get the MV5 trans, the MV7 is not worth the extra $1k it costs for different gearing. Enjoy the build process! It gets frustrating at times, but just know you will have one of the funnest cars on the planet when done. Keep the LFX bone stock initially, it makes things way easier and you won't be chasing your tail if anything is wrong.
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05-25-2020, 11:58 AM
#29
Senior Member
Join Date: May 2017
Location: Austin, TX
Posts: 1,119
Total Cats: 166
Wow, that's an awesome price. I paid $1,600 for mine with I think 16k kilometers (from canada as well) and it was the only one I could find at the time. Low mileage too, but it was pricey! If I did it all over again I'd go MV5 just because of how easy they are to find.
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06-02-2020, 05:55 PM
#32
Newb
Thread Starter
Join Date: Sep 2019
Location: Lemoore, CA
Posts: 26
Total Cats: 0
Hey everyone, let me know if anyone has any leads on a low mileage LFX engine and tranny. I’ve been looking but I haven’t found anything under 30k and I would like one around 15 but no more than 20. I didn’t think it would be this hard. 
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