New guy post.... How reliable are turbo miatas?
 

Hey guys, my name is Tom, and i am a supra owner.
Recently i have been debating giving up the supra game and transferring it over to something small and light with a turbo. But since i was looking at these cars, i have noticed that 1, they have a small rear end, and 2 that some people don't even use engine management.
How reliable are these things for this kinds of car, and what can i expect with these cars in term of any other problems.

I am not gonna even attempt to answer that, you should know better than to ask such a noob question...
You should know that your budget will determine how reliable any build is.

Bone stock, you cannot kill a Miata unless you neglect critical maintnance, with boost come problems, how many and how big depends on how much boost and all other supporting mods.

Make a proper introduction in a proper forum and your stay here will be much more welcomed. We don't spoonfeed people here.


Now, Pics or BAN!!!
You cannot storm in here talking about turbo supras and not give us any pictures...or vids. If you have neither, nude wifes or girlfriends will do.

Since you already have experience with turbo vehicles, I'll go ahead and assume you understand that as your goals (and boost pressure) become more lofty the need for sturdier hardware and more comprehensive engine management increases. :)

The block is good for around 15 psi (debatable and there are other factors, of course) on the factory internals, the rear in the 1.6 cars blows fairly easily even at low-boost and in some cases at stock power, but it is easy enough to swap to the later rear from a 1.8 car (6" gear versus 7"). Transmissions are also a known weak point.

Fewer and fewer people around here rely on something other than a replacement ECU for engine management, or at least it seems that way. Most NA owners use a Megasquirt and many NB owners use a Hydra EMS.

If you are looking at a 90-97 car, in a nutshell, the small (6") rearends are not good for boosted cars. They are on 90-39 cars. The 7" (94+, especially torsen LSD are fine to about 260-270 WHP, maybe more depending on driving habits.

There is really no reason to run without engine management with Megasquirt plug and play and other ECU's are available for about $700. Yes, you can spend more (Hydra, etc) but not necessary. And, you can run with band-aid fixes, but the total cost is about the same as MS.

EDIT: Whoops, I was slow.

Done well they are pretty reliable. I'm going on to 30k miles, relatively trouble free. Haven't really needed anything that I can't call "maintenance" on an old car.

Engine management, and not running more boost than your management is capable of controlling, is key.

or just drop in a supra engine :D

reliable. mine's had a diy setup on it for over 3 years and 10s of thousands of miles. i dont push the limits and haven't had any problems. 250 rwhp give or take, depending on the dyno.

what boost level are you running your car at, and with wich e/m? I also clicked on link in your profile looking for a mod list, and havent found one. really interested

I drove mine for 4 months straight without an issue. I'd say that's pretty good......for me :)

who me?
https://www.miataturbo.net/forum/vbg...do=view&id=391

Shit, I must be blind....Thanx for that link man

*edit- DAMN your car is nice man, all that power/torque at only 9psi geez....wanna trade? :D
ill give you my white one and a bottle of vodka for yours :giggle:

wow....did everyone get laid last night? or have we turned over a new leaf? you guys typically flame people for questions like the OP had. man, this place is getting too civil.

i'm gonna agree with nick, you guys are getting soft. kinda like hustler around a girl :p

Sheesh, Hustler finally gets going, and you guys declare open season on him.

hahahahah, seriously whats up with that? Havent we determined that he doesnt exist? And yet every other thread gets jacked and his name is brought up :D

he posted one time and asked what he wanted to know. had he posted 10 times and been a jackass, we would have beat him up some.

18: if your vodka makes you blind, I dont want it. try some cirrus vodka.

and i spent a lot of time on my car to get it this way. I bought it new in 01 and have been molesting it ever since. http://gallery.y8s.com/miata

:jerkit:

Tell me please it at least has a six speed....

(Sadly I just noticed its RHD...)

OMG, it's RHD....this isn't gona turn into THAT thread is it?

Hey did you know it was RHD?

How reliable is a turbocharged Miata... haha. Well to be honest, your better off with the highly reliable Eaton MP45 or Eaton MP62 superchargers. The reliably is through the roof, the power is predictable, all in all more bang for the buck... ;)




(Hehehe, like driving a Import to a Union meeting (Did that, done that, do it again), I shouldn't be discussing superchargers on Miataturbo.net, unless its taking a shit on one)