94 R Package first miata soon to be first turbo
 

Hey hows it going? I'm Jon i'm 18 in Highschool from Northern California (Sacramento) And I just picked up this R package miata 164K miles. Before I bought the car I was going to just drive it and see what I wanted first (Suspension, exhaust etc) I didn't really think I would want to turbo it. I bought the car and drove it, after a week I put on a Hard dog single diagonal then began looking for suspension upgrades.. And then I drove in my cousins Evo ... After that I just realized the next thing I wanted to do was turbo it. So here I am. I have decent mechanical skills but I can't really fab much up. I'm looking to buy a complete kit and spend around $2,000. However, I have been reading around and people are talking about getting something like a megasquirt and injectors first, then tune it, then just get a turbo, manifold, down pipe, inter cooler and tune it again.

I really have no experience in turbo cars or how to tune. I know I could easily learn though. I'm just wondering in your guys mind if I'll be able to do what I said with $2,000.. well.. $2500. And If I could what are the benefits of going this route over a Begi S kit.

Anyway I hope to meet some of you guys soon.

Sounds like you've got a good plan there - Begi-S, then MS it with an LC1

Welcome, great first post. Do this next:
1. Fill our your location in your profile.
2. Fill our your signature... short and sweet.

3. Contact Braineak and have him build you a Megasquirt.
4. Start looking for some used 440/550cc injectors in the classifieds or from the RX7 forums.
5. Buy an Innovate LC1 wideband.
6. When MS/injectors/LC1 arrive, install and get good base tune going.

Tuning is easy, quite a few how-to's around here, and buttsex ton of guys on the forum from your home state of NorCal.

With luck, you have around (probably a pinch more) than $1500 of your $2500 leftover.

Start looking in the classified for somebody selling a turbo/mani/dp.
Buy "universal" intercooler kit and BOV from CXRacing.
Put together DIY coolant reroute.
Remove A/C and P/S because they are for women.

Basically everything you said except for the NorCal bro hookup.

18 psi is in sactown though he just sold his miata he is quite knowledgable on the subject. Theres a few more of us down in the bay if you ever make it down here.

Yea the A/C and P/S are gone already. Yea I drive around a lot and try to go to as many meets as I can.. I'm a little confused on what exactly the LC1 does? Just provide voltage or anything more?

It is located in a bung in your exhaust, and reads the air to fuel ratio coming out of the exhaust, which is telling you how much fuel is being injected and burning. This is extremely important, probably the most important gauge on any forced induction car, because there needs to be enough fuel to make up for the boost, and without it you can run lean and most definitely destroy your motor and other things.

What's the suspension like? Clutch? Etc? Personally been a fan of building the car to handle power before adding it

Yea I agree with your TZ.. I'm on the fence about whether to do turbo first or suspension. The clutch is a newer OEM replacement, the suspension isn't bad but not anything great, just the stock bilstein shocks with springs.