Vuin

Hello everyone! My name is Simon from Poland. I'm majoring in CS. My ride is a red 1995 1.8l Miata / MX-5. I'd like to introduce my car and share with you my plans.
Here's some pics:





Short car history
Got the car from parents about a year ago. It came in what can be called decent condition - mechanically almost perfect, but with rust on rockers and fenders. It had been imported from Germany. First six months I spent driving the car and deciding whether to keep it and what is my plan for it. I've done some maintenance (found some interesting "solutions"), and also some light mods. After the summer, I decided to keep it and restore it, and after that to give it some extra OOMPH. Miata is a great car, I thought, but it could use some more power. I plan to post list of modifications and current progress in a separate build thread. Currently, bodywork is pretty much finished and it is being painted.

Why am I here? What are my plans for the car?
I've been a lurker and a reader for quite some time now. I've spent a lot of time reading and planning my build, defining what I want from the car. I've read several books about turbocharging and engine management, and I believe this is the right time to carry out the plan and ask some questions beforehand.
So, here's what I want from my Miata:
~250 whp on stock internals (for now, but as I have not driven a car that is this fast, I may or may not want to expand), with EBC to turn down the boost for rain / winter / guests.
ASMR turbo sounds - flutter, pops, bangs, whirrs, spool, you know
Great visuals - new paint, nice wheels, moderate flush stance
Great handling - already put on great tires (AD08Rs), and I plan to put in coilovers some time in the future, probably Tein Flex Z, some sway bars, what else need be
Mainly street, but occasional track use - I don't mind the discomfort, always thought race car stuff on the street is kind of cool


And here's how I plan to get there:
ECUMASTER EMU Classic Standalone ECU with custom P&P adapter, including all the electronics - WBO, sensors, you know
EBay log manifold
Full 3" straight through v-band based exhaust
640cc Force Flow injectors
XTreme stage 2R clutch
Knockoff journal / float bearing GT2860rs turbo from JRspec
AN fittings with PTFE lines
Decently sized FMIC
and other miscellaneous stuff

So, what do you think? Does this plan have a chance of working? Do you want to see more of this build?
And most importantly, thank you for being such an informative and active community, I've learned a lot from you and you have inspired me to learn about my car and try to build something very cool!

der_vierte

Hello from your neighboring country!

First of all:
Buy a real Garrett and overthink your turbo choice. If you go "oldschool", buy at least a 2871R for more headroom and keep the boost low at first.

I can feel, that you're trying to go through this thing on a budget, but you DO NOT want to change your clutch twice or buy a genuine turbo 3 months after you're finished.
Really, don't cheap out on clutches/turbos or other hotside parts.

You can get quality parts in Europe (no additional taxes) from Kraken or Revent. They also offer TD04 kits, which can save you a few hundred dollars.

sixshooter

iTrader: (12)

+1 on Kraken and a Megasquirt from Reverent. Also +1 on the clutch. Get a name brand clutch.

SpartanSV

Journal bearing ebay turbos are fine. Many people on this forum use them.

A 2871 is a really poor choice for a stock engine.

I can't even find that clutch using the Googles. It's almost certainly crap.

Vuin

Hi, thank you for your input!
It is true that I would rather save on some parts, but really, I don't mind spending money on OG Garrett or better clutch if I have to. Here is my reasoning behind it.

Gt2860RS seems to be a more popular turbo, and people have been successfully putting out well more than 300whp on those. My original plan doesn't include ever going much over that, so I chose it over GT2871R, "Disco potato" should in theory spool a little faster.
Although chinese copies are inferior, some guys here have been putting out very good numbers on those, and I figured they could be worth a try, and I won't be too sorry if I screw up and break it, and OG is drop in replacement.
Most people are happy with Xtreme clutches, some are not. Guys have been using it in drift and otherwise, plus I have a warranty if I buy it here, so they could be worth a try.

Haven't bought anything but manifold and injectors yet, I'll look into the options you've listed.

Edit: so, couldn't find decent clutch alternatives in EU. Halp?
Edit 2: I feel like should explain why not MegaSquirt? Well, ECUMASTER is a company from Poland, Krakow and they make some cool stuff. EMU, for example, has: built in WBO controller, 2 step, flex fuel, nitro, flat shift, user inputs, shift lights, and much more, for not a lot of money (ECU alone is 2400 PLN - 560 EUR). They have their own proprietary software which you can download for free and mess around with (which I have). A lot of people here use it for drift, drag and racing, and just this week there was an NB Miata being sold with 240+ whp using this ECU. I have technical support and warranty, I don't pay import taxes. There seems to be little reason for me to go MS.

der_vierte

Well, a 2860 is also not the best idea.
He should go for a TD04 kit, buy a used turbo out of a WRX and he gets all the response and ability to go banana rods, if he wants to.

These turbos are 200€ here in Europe.

Vuin

Could you elaborate? 2860's seem to be a very popular choice and I couldn't find any real evidence against using them, but used in good condition are unobtanium, and journal bearings seem to be "good enough".
Embarrasses me to say that I haven't considered this option, probably because I'm not very ecstatic about the concept of an used turbo, but will research some more. Thank you!

DaWaN

The 2860 has a relatively big exhaust wheel for a 1.8L engine and it supports more power than the standard engine can handle.
The TD04L-13T from a Subaru has a smaller exhaust housing and wheel and will spool quicker while still providing enough boost to bend your standard rods.
On a standard engine I see no real benefit of using a 2860.
The TD04 is also super easy to rebuild, so finding a rebuilt one for less than 500 euros should be no problem.
The Kraken cast manifold with vband adapter is really high quality: you should definitely have a look at that. It also ships from Bulgaria, so shipping to Poland should not be expensive.
The ECU master is a nice ECU and it should be no problem to use it on a miata. If you rely on local support I think it is a good choice. Only downside to using the ECUmaster would be the wiring: you will need to make an adapter harness. Here on this forum most people use Megasquirt, so you will find more information and/or support about Megasquirt. Megasquirt ECUs from Reverent/MSlabs and ampefi are plug and play too.

Vuin

But it should also support 250 whp pretty well. It is also Garrett recommendation for my goals. Should give me just the right amount of headroom I want. If my engine won't handle it I will build either this engine or a 1.8 VVT.
The thing that bugs me is that it's smaller than GT2554R and could have problems breathing at this hp goal or even below that, and gives me virtually zero headroom. Maybe I should consider a bigger TD04 series or smaller GT2560R.
Man, I've been coming back to this topic again and again for several months now. I don't want to ask this question, but now you got me confused, and I thought I planned this out pretty well. Damn...

MegaSquirt support on this forum sure is great, but I've got the wiring pretty much figured out, and local tuners do ECUMASTER so this is an option that works for me. Besides, it's nice to do something different for a change.

Skamba

My suggestion would be either the TD04 if you want to save money, or go all out for an EFR. The Garretts are not a lot better than the TD04. An EFR will blow all of them out of the water.

DaWaN

I think you should rethink your goals, 250whp on a stock motor does not make much sense to me. A TD04L-13T will do 225whp on a stock motor with good response. You can find good condition TD04L-13T turbo's for around 200 euro and you will get a quality turbo.
The TD04 hotside parts can also be used when upgrading to a built motor: there are TD05's and IHI VFxx series turbos which support 250 whp or more very easily. So it is not like you cannot upgrade the TD04 setup either.

Vuin

Rethink my budget, you mean . A lot of people make that and more on stock. Really, building the motor is fine with me. Current one is eating some oil anyway, probably could use a rebuild one way or another.
Now you got me with Subbie turbo. Gotta contact Kraken, they don't seem to have TD04L manifold in the inventory.
I'll squeeze the power out one way or another. Anyway, that's for another thread, I'll probably make one as soon as I get my car back from the shop, I'll be sure to include more photos too. Thank you for suggestions!

HarryB

Kraken definitely has a TD04 option, albeit I do not see it listed on their website.

Kraken K1 Mazda MX-5 MK 2 1.8 TD04 Turbo Exhaust Manifold - Exhausts - Parts

Talk to him, super helpful, really recommended!