New Member in New England
 

I want to buy and early miata for a project car and turbo it. I've heard and read on here that the 1.6 liter engine in them is quite reliable, so buying a car with high mileage is not a big deal, neither is bumper damage because I will be changing that too. I was searching and I couldn't find how much power the stock transmission can hold. I think I read something about a better clutch but the transmission is something I've looked into and cannot find anything about. Thanks!!!

welcome....

where abouts in new england are you from??

5 speed:
180hp thrashed with hard launches
210-220hp daily driven
240hp if you pay attention to taking care of it, and rev-match every time you shift
300hp for a few days to a year if you do the above, and you're EXTREMELY LUCKY.

6 speed.
Unknown. It's so strong that we just haven't broken enough of them to get a usable amount of information out of it.

You missed the Meet & Greet section by a few lines....

Okay so I want enough psi out of the turbo to put me around 180-200 hp. Are there any improvements I can make to the tranny to handle that? Oh yah I am talking about the five speed with the 1.6 liter (I think, not really sure what year I'm getting but between 90-97ish). Thanks. Oh yah and the meet and greet, oh well LOL.

OH and I live in Vermont, but moving soon to South Carolina for school

Welcome. You shouldn't have to worry about the trans at the power levels you're looking at yet

Well I had a vw jetta wolfsburg turbo, that was rated at i think 155 hp and tq, not sure at the wheels though. That was a rocket ship and its heavier than the miata so I'm sure 170ish hp/t

oops i meant 170 hp /tq in the miata would feel quite quick as well.