svarthrafn

Hey everyone, long time lurker here while I've been trying to plan my next build but finally made an account now that I'm closer to purchase time. I'm located in the Carolinas near Charlotte.

I've owned a 2001 LS and switched over to an RF the week I saw one in person. Fast forward a year and I wanted to make a switch to the offroad scene so ended up trading in for a Wrangler. Now that I'm settling down I've got enough money for both and have the miata itch again.

Currently in the market for either an NB1 or NB2 but need a little reassurance for my next step where compression is my biggest obstacle. I love everything about the NB2 - The VVT and chassis stabilizers, the headlights, the center console and internal lights, etc. The only thing that has me rethinking this choice is the higher compression. I've seen guys here build NB2s to 250rwhp without much of a fuss as far as stock internals go. That's nice and even if forged components were needed I'm not too worried about or strapped for cash to give up the project.. What concerns me is the tuning. I'm willing to sink about 16k into this car but I want to do the tuning myself.

I know it's easier to push higher boost at lower compression because you've simply got a larger margin for error - that's a good thing for a dipshit who has never touched the MS3X he'd be using. NB1 sits at 9.5:1 and NB2 is 10.0:1. Is this 0.5:1 difference enough to consider the NB1 if I'm not willing to negotiate on performing my own tuning and learning along the way? Seen a lot of NB2 builds here but just want to hear directly that this isn't a retarded idea for a noob tuner.