Read through this whole thread, thanks for the good laugh everyone :rofl:...

I too am a broke and impatient student, but I'm a college student. When I was in highschool I was lucky enough to have been gifted a JR supercharged NA6 from my parents (was their third car); but, of course my dreams of turbos led me to where I am today. Instead of boosting my tired 1.6, I decided to swap the engine to a freshly rebuilt NA8 with upgraded rods and upgraded head-studs, got an MS2 and am learning to tune, and now I'm saving for a NEW Borg Warner EFR and a NEW FM kit for all the other goodies required of a turbo kit... 100% not the cheapest way to do it... 100% not the fastest way to do it, but swapping my engine and messing with megasquirt has been the most challenging and rewarding things I've ever done and I know when I do install my turbo, the car will be faster, more reliable, and I am better equipped to tackle any problems that may arise. You're definitely doing the right thing pulling the engine... I painted my engine bay too, satin black is hard to mess up BTW...

Good luck with your build!

AJ

You know the EFR won't fit on the FM manifold without significant modification to the shelf right?

Sledge hammer. started out near the red line, then gently smash the thing into shape. Bad angle on the pic, I have a good amount of clearance now. hammer the shelf down and back. folds nicely.

https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...46cf467868.png

This is the only modification required to fit the EFR on a FM manifold??

You may have just made my day.

AJ

I thought it was probably too wide to fit between the manifold and the frame rail but I guess it depends on what size you are running.

I am running an ArTech manifold, so I cannot comment on the fit for sure, but I will go measure from cylinder head to turbo..

EDIT: Looks like my turbo sits about 4.75 inches from the head. height does not look like it will change fitment. This is a 6258

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...3b8cfcf740.jpg

Little update for anyone who cares. Mostly things have been going a little sketchy the past couple of months. Recently replaced alternator in a Zaxby's parking lot after it died on me at 12 in the morning after work. Got it swapped out and now it makes an awful screeching sound (going to have to go back and make sure nothing is in the way and everything is at the right tension. It has been smelling like oil and my oil pressure is constantly under 30. Planning to do an oil change with Rotella R6 when I get the chance. While trying to swap back to my stock exhaust for a visit from family, one of the studs to the stock cat completely snapped off. Noting to myself to put anti-seize on my "new cat" once I get it. For now I'm gonna have to deal with awful rattling and the headache of a exhaust leak after the cat. Also going to have to get a new driveshaft or have the u-joints replaced. At around 30-40 mph it causes my shifter to bounce up and down a bunch and squeaks at low speeds with some play as well. Also getting some misfires at high speeds or RPM. I did sell my eBay manifold, deciding to wait until I have a good engine and the money to buy good parts. I'm probably going to keep the Nissan T3 turbo that I got for free (gonna sand blast it and rebuild it). But some good things have arrived. I have gotten the missing rear deck carpet that I'm going to have to cut to fit around the welded roll bar. I have a new radio to replace the... well.. nothing that was there before. I also learned that I am missing one headrest speaker and my door speakers are 1/2 working. But all good things come with patience. Probably going to order a set of Konig Wideopen hopefully in the next month or so, so I look forward to that. Hopefully I can iron everything out and also install the new top I've had for almost a year (rainy season is coming to Florida). Thank you for your time!

Sell the turbo.
Save for megasqirt.
Save for mkturbo kit.

The mkturbo kit looks pretty nice. I'd probably opt for the full kit with the intercooler piping and such since it'd be easier to have the whole thing figured out when I first get it rather than piece together.

That's a good idea.
You aren't going to cobble something together for cheaper than Lars' kit.
At least not something that works and is reliable.
Building your own system comes after you've messed around with complete systems and have some experience tuning, etc.

It sounds like you need to focus more on getting the car sorted out as it sits.
You can do it, you just need to prioritize.

This is pretty common. Just cut off as much of the stud as you can, and drill out the rest. Replace with nuts/bolts/washers.

So I finally purchased some 15x8 +25 Konig Wideopens from Good-Win.
Going to be wrapping them in Toyo Proxes Tr1 195/45/r15.
Not the best, but okay for the money and will do much better than the 9 year old tires that are currently on the car.

T1Rs were terrible when you were in diapers, and they're not worth any amount of money in the year 2018. That is also the wrong size.

Yes and yes. I think he wants 195/50/15. Why would anyone pick Proxes when you've the ZIII, RE71R, and the RS4 in195/50/15? Or if you aren't tracking it, Sport Comp 2s or S Drives.

He wants 205/50r15.

You're not wrong to looking at toyo tires though. I ran T1Rs on my NA car for a long time and I though they were the bees knees until I got R1Rs. Just whatever you do, don't get dunlops. I ordered 4 once and 3 where not round and had to get replaced under warranty. At the end I still had 1 tire that just shook at different speeds. Anywho read reviews.

Even burger joints pay well over minimum wage nowadays.
A small income can go far if you budget and have self control, but I repeat myself.

Can confirm,

Installed a meaty set on my stock FRS rims recently, night & day difference. :likecat:

The end result.
I think it looks pretty good, though I don't like the tired fitment (my fault for going 195)
Pretty soon she'll be getting a VLSD that I'm getting for free and a new top.
https://scontent-dfw5-1.xx.fbcdn.net...d8&oe=5B512DC2

I wouldn't bother with the vlsd personally. its a lot of work for no improvement. All the VLSDs are worn out by now and they were not good to begin with.

Cars looking better tho.

You might could run some small spacers to fill it out. I'd just say function is the form. Next time you know what to do differently.

Yeah, I could do that.
My concern is with how short the studs already are, It would be dangerous.

Started pulling the engine yesterday.

Either going to find a 1.8 and refresh it, or completely rebuild the stock 1.6 with a flyin miata kit.

Also found something called a ”speeduino”, looks promising for a budget, but I don’t see a lot of support on here. It runs tunerstudio and anything.
I didn’t see 18psi say anything negative about it other than not knowing what it is so it can’t be too bad.. can it?

going to do more research on it before I decide whether or not I’ll get the speeduino or save a couple hundred more for a ms2 at the least

I got a used ms2 with all necessary wiring and a variable TPS OFF a member on the forums for $350 shipped... how is anything worth a damn going to be a couple hundred cheaper?

And do you think there is a chance you'll install it and set it up and not need any help? MS basically pays for itself in that every possible question that can be asked has already been asked. Any issues you have someone here knows the answer.... is the speedothing worth diving into alone?

yep^ i sold my ms2 for 400

say this out loud 10 times. After you yell it out loud, tell us whether or not you feel like its a retarded thing to say.

Unsure if i should laugh or cry. Or be with you or against you. Please advise! <3 :bowrofl:

Thread on speeduino is here. Currently still in experimental stages, and only NA6 is supported.

It is junk!
There, I said something negative. :)

but seriously: there are already enough issues we need to flesh out and resolve with the known ms units, cheap janky alternatives add that many more issues that you'd then have to resolve or simply live with.

Back in the day when there wasn't even such a thing as pnp ms, and the DIYPNP for 99+ was still swimming in it's fathers loins, we "pioneered" the early adaptronic e420 on a Miata.

Let me tell you, the absolute worst feeling in the world is having a ton of issues, and having NO ONE out there that has already got it running perfect able to help you or even compare notes with.

It's the worst. You are entirely on your own. What takes hours/minutes to figure out will take days/weeks/months because you got nothing to start from or game plan to work with.

well crap. All the things autocorrect corrects, and does not.....

Facebook car pages are where the devil makes potty.

Is there anyway this post can be moved to the build thread sub-forum?