Meet and Greet Say Hi. De-noob yourself.

First-time miata owner!

Thread Tools
 
Search this Thread
 
Old 03-03-2014, 02:07 PM
  #1  
Newb
Thread Starter
 
Iancredible's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: Madison, WI
Posts: 14
Total Cats: 1
Default First-time miata owner!

Hello everyone. I just bought a 2001 miata, looking at the FM-II hydra kit to install. I'm not very mechanically inclined but looking forward to learning as much as I can. I think I generally understand the theory from reading material and watching videos, but I have practically zero experience with actually getting my hands dirty and working on things.

Any suggestions on where to begin?
Iancredible is offline  
Old 03-03-2014, 02:16 PM
  #2  
Senior Member
iTrader: (3)
 
dieselmiata's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: Volo, IL
Posts: 1,356
Total Cats: 154
Default

Yes. Right here.

https://www.miataturbo.net/useful-sa...ig-post-10821/
dieselmiata is offline  
Old 03-03-2014, 02:41 PM
  #3  
Elite Member
iTrader: (1)
 
Chiburbian's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: Loganville, GA
Posts: 2,331
Total Cats: 202
Default

Also, if you are going to buy a full kit, skip the electronics and buy a DIYmegasquirt from Reverant or one of the reputable people here. Install that before you do the turbo install and learn how to tune.

It was only "butt dyno" but I feel like I gained a measurable increase in performance just from ECU and tuning. Once you are comfortable with setting up the electronics, go ahead and buy or "gather" the turbo kit.

Also, location?
Chiburbian is offline  
Old 03-04-2014, 05:48 AM
  #4  
Boost Czar
iTrader: (62)
 
Braineack's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2005
Location: Chantilly, VA
Posts: 79,493
Total Cats: 4,080
Default

Welcome, Iancredible!
Braineack is offline  
Old 03-04-2014, 08:55 AM
  #5  
Moderator
iTrader: (12)
 
sixshooter's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Tampa, Florida
Posts: 20,650
Total Cats: 3,011
Default

^^These guys have got you pointed in the right direction. Post pics of your car and tell us of your plans. Track days in your future?
sixshooter is offline  
Old 03-04-2014, 10:19 AM
  #6  
Senior Member
iTrader: (2)
 
ScottyP3821's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: Texas
Posts: 1,153
Total Cats: 50
Default

Post pics. Also good practice if you have no mechanical skill, is find a couple old pieces of cast iron and aluminum stock and practice drilling them, tapping them, and applying torque to them. I wish someone had me do this before I ever touched a car.
ScottyP3821 is offline  
Old 03-06-2014, 05:44 PM
  #7  
Newb
Thread Starter
 
Iancredible's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: Madison, WI
Posts: 14
Total Cats: 1
Default

Wow, thanks for all the helpful responses and the warm welcome guys!

Originally Posted by dieselmiata
Hey thanks for that link. I read through that and it was pretty informative. Also, I noticed that link might be a little out-dated. I used this link here and it had a few more updates that were missing in the one on the "useful saved posts" forum.

https://www.miataturbo.net/diy-turbo...big-post-4288/

Originally Posted by Chiburbian
Also, if you are going to buy a full kit, skip the electronics and buy a DIYmegasquirt from Reverant or one of the reputable people here. Install that before you do the turbo install and learn how to tune.

It was only "butt dyno" but I feel like I gained a measurable increase in performance just from ECU and tuning. Once you are comfortable with setting up the electronics, go ahead and buy or "gather" the turbo kit.

Also, location?
Location is Madison, WI--anybody else around here that can mentor me and ease my transition into the miata tuning world?

I've been googling and reading up on this forum as well as other forums about the comparison between MS and the hydra. I noticed there's a lot of love here for the MS, with the benefits mainly being that they're cheaper but involves more fiddling, which people like because people like to dig in and get real technical with their setup and feel like experts. I'm wondering if someone can provide an argument for the Hydra Nemesis. Let's pretend I'm Mr. Moneybags--what are the best reasons for getting the Nemesis?

Originally Posted by sixshooter
^^These guys have got you pointed in the right direction. Post pics of your car and tell us of your plans. Track days in your future?
Pics coming soon. No track days for now--the plan for this car is to be a reliable, comfortable daily driver with a little bit of fun. So I'm looking to do a fairly conservative tune on quality components. I'm thinking something like 8-10 psi and at least 225 hp to the wheels. And the best gas mileage possible when I'm not flooring it.

Originally Posted by ScottyP3821
Post pics. Also good practice if you have no mechanical skill, is find a couple old pieces of cast iron and aluminum stock and practice drilling them, tapping them, and applying torque to them. I wish someone had me do this before I ever touched a car.
Thanks for that advice. I'll try to get my hands on some. I'm also considering just having a professional do this install--I don't want to eff this up since I'm a
Iancredible is offline  
Old 03-06-2014, 05:59 PM
  #8  
Junior Member
 
jt@namiata.com's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2014
Location: Madison
Posts: 316
Total Cats: 30
Default

Originally Posted by Iancredible
Location is Madison, WI
Oh yeah?
jt@namiata.com is offline  
Old 03-07-2014, 05:01 AM
  #9  
Elite Member
iTrader: (5)
 
Erat's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: Detroit (the part with no rules or laws)
Posts: 5,677
Total Cats: 800
Default

Originally Posted by Iancredible
I've been googling and reading up on this forum as well as other forums about the comparison between MS and the hydra. I noticed there's a lot of love here for the MS, with the benefits mainly being that they're cheaper but involves more fiddling, which people like because people like to dig in and get real technical with their setup and feel like experts. I'm wondering if someone can provide an argument for the Hydra Nemesis. Let's pretend I'm Mr. Moneybags--what are the best reasons for getting the Nemesis?
With a DIYPnP you shouldn't have to "fiddle" with anything.
You will also get a basemap that you can tune from.

A main advantage with going MS is that you can generally find all the information you need about anything MS on this site. If you make a build thread, people will help with questions you have along the way.
The Hydra, not so much.
Erat is offline  
Old 03-07-2014, 06:23 AM
  #10  
Elite Member
iTrader: (1)
 
Chiburbian's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: Loganville, GA
Posts: 2,331
Total Cats: 202
Default

Red Mist Automotive in Gilberts IL is literally less than five minutes from my house and about two hours from Madison. The owner Mike does Subarus all around the country and is building a mega squirt for a Honda project this spring. I am sure Mike will be happy to take your money and install and tune any turbo kit and EMS your heart desires.

Last edited by Chiburbian; 03-07-2014 at 07:58 AM.
Chiburbian is offline  
Old 03-07-2014, 07:53 AM
  #11  
Moderator
iTrader: (12)
 
sixshooter's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Tampa, Florida
Posts: 20,650
Total Cats: 3,011
Default

Megasquirt has an autotune feature for the fueling table and Hydra doesn't.
sixshooter is offline  
Old 03-07-2014, 08:09 AM
  #12  
Elite Member
iTrader: (3)
 
concealer404's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2011
Posts: 10,917
Total Cats: 2,201
Default

Originally Posted by sixshooter
Megasquirt has an autotune feature for the fueling table and Hydra doesn't.

Hydra does have that.



That said, if OP is worried about fiddling and wants a Hydra, he's gonna have a bad time.
concealer404 is offline  
Old 03-07-2014, 10:29 AM
  #13  
Elite Member
iTrader: (1)
 
Chiburbian's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: Loganville, GA
Posts: 2,331
Total Cats: 202
Default

In my opinion the LEAST fiddling is a PNP megasquirt from brain or Rev.
Chiburbian is offline  
Related Topics
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
Quinn
Cars for sale/trade
6
10-23-2016 07:58 AM
Frank_and_Beans
Supercharger Discussion
13
09-12-2016 08:17 PM
LucaCarMods
Build Threads
11
02-14-2016 06:13 AM
Voltwings
Cars for sale/trade
0
09-27-2015 06:40 PM



Quick Reply: First-time miata owner!



All times are GMT -4. The time now is 05:59 PM.