I bet the on-track experience in a v8 miata pales in comparison to what the power-hitter turbo miata track crew is doing. I'd love to find out of course.

 

For those not that familiar with V8s. The monster miata swap with a 5.0 ford motor is heavier than the LS motor. The 5.0 is an iron block, most LS swaps use and aluminim block.

 

Ouch...I'd definitely go LSx then judging by the FM numbers.

 

I'd love to drive or run against a V8 car - but I wouldn't expect it to go faster. For the same power, a turbo car will be lighter every time, and for equal power the cost is around the same ($10-12k for a V8, $10-12k for a 400whp drivetrain+turbo+ECU).

 

An LSX swap only gains about 150-175 over a turbo setup. I decided on a factory 400hp vs a high strung unreliable 400hp from a turbo motor. Been there, done that on a much more suitable 4 banger.

On that note, my car actually made it out of the garage off the lift. Washed it yesterday and will be troubleshooting a few problems this week like airbag light and some stereo stuff. I should have it on the road in a couple weeks finally.

Frank

 

It has always been considered tacky to stuff another motor from a totally different auto maker into a car. We always cringed when we saw a Chevy motor in a Ford or vise versa. A fast Mazda powered Miata will always get more respect from a Chevy powered one. At least in my circle of hot rodding friends.

 

Looking forward to the vids, Frank.

 

9 months worth of dust came washing off yesterday. Fixed a leaky oil pan too. I'll finish waxing it tomorrow night and try to get some pics at least. It's not registered right now but I might slap my other cars tags on and take it on a back road to get some logging done.

Frank

 

anybody ever think of a 13b? i think it would be much more fun. just my 2 on this one.

 

Dude it's not how you stand by your car, it's how you race your car

 

That is old school thinking. I just do not get it. Who cares whether the motor and chassis are made by the same company? It is like the automotive version of racism or something. They are electromechanical devices, not sentient beings. Geez.

Like the other day I was in the parts store buying plugs. I was trying to get NGK plugs for the LS1. The parts counter idea was actually trying to tell me it was a bad idea to put NGK plugs in an 'American' car, and that they always recommend American plugs for American cars, and Japanese plugs for Japanese cars

Back to the topic at hand... I have a LS1 Miata I am track preparing right now. I just finished making new front swaybar mounts yesterday and will be tearing into the rest over the next couple of weeks. Then I'll be hitting the track on October 9th. Texas World Speedway is definitely a high horsepower track, and there will be some turbo Miatas there as well. It should be a good time, and a chance to see how the two stack up against each other on the track.

For the record I am not trying to turn this into a turbo versus V8 track event, just mentioning what is going on. The only way to make a good comparison anyway would be for both cars to be set up exactly the same (other than the engines) and use the same driver.

 

No. Nobody has ever thought of putting a 13b, or any other rotary engine, in a Miata. You are a ******* genius and the most original thinker on the face of the planet.



Plus, crazy engine swaps are just plain cool. Half the fun and joy of hotrodding anything comes from mixing and matching the best parts from various manufacturers to get the coolest, fastest, best car at the end of the day.

 

Savington and I have reasonable "non-high-strung" turbo motors which are reliable. I still want to hear from someone who's had a v8 miata on the track...I'll see what it looks like at TWS next month.

 

250 isn't ******* close to 400 out of a 1.8 or 2 liter. Or is your math as bad as your girlfriends breath after blowing me and licking my ***?

 

LOLz, I hope you let me drive that beast Frank.

 

Narrow minded.
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Some of the most successful production based race cars have a less than ideal front/rear weight bias. It's a small obstacle to overcome for a large increase in power.

 

The biggest problem I have with an LS1 swap is that I have a recurring problem with all project cars. I won't be happy with what it has from the factory and will have to start modding it for more power. So instead of starting at 100 or so and building it to go to 500, it will be start with 300 or so and building it to go to 700. At the same power level I would always be happier with Mazda engine, but the potential of the bigger engine makes me have good dreams.

 

We're both north of 250...more like 300 from me and 350+ from him. Once you consider that you probably used a faggy dynojet and we're on real dynos...well, die of aids in a turkish prison.

 

For me, it's "hear from someone who's had a v8 Miata on the track who doesn't sell v8 conversion kits/parts." I've read a lot from the vendors, who are generally reliable, but still inherently biased. Then again, the track times from FM's open house say something- although that's not exactly a comprehensive sampling, it's only one track, etc. I'm mostly interested in hearing how the Miata's relatively small tires, short wheelbase, etc. hold up with the additional power and speeds that would be generated with that power. I'd also be interested in hearing about performance on a variety of tracks with varying characteristics. I think plenty of information will become available as these swaps become more and more commonplace, and I think they'll become more commonplace relatively quickly now that some of the more mainstream Miata performance vendors have taken to selling the parts and doing the conversions.

Now that I've settled into lasting, gainful employment and no longer have a girlfriend bleeding my bank account dry, the urge to take on a project is stronger than ever, and sticking an LSx into an NB chassis sounds like a great plan...