Hello from Wisconsin
 

My wife and I have owned at least one Miata continuously for the last 15 years. We have only owned Gen 1 Miatas because they are our personal preference but all Miatas are great. We absolutely love the car. Fun, cheap, reliable, great handling little cars. Our current Miata is a 1993 and we are looking to add some much needed horsepower. We have been looking on eBay at turbo kits and item 172114547019 and 181437060236 are the 2 kits I am most interested in. I would like any information any of you in the know could give me on whether I should or should not pursue purchasing either of these kits. The price/performance ratio seems too good to be true, and you know what they say about too good to be true. Thanks for any and all help. John

You are about to get "e-raped" for this post so before that happens, here's my constructive $0.02 worth:

You've already answered your question regarding the eBay kits - STOP looking at them.
There is no CHEAP+reliable turbo option unless you can fabricate everything yourself and buy 2nd hand.

Go to https://www.flyinmiata.com/ and look at their turbo kits, buy one of them minus the ECU and get a Megasquirt ECU instead.

The FM kits will have everything you need and is guaranteed to work for longer than a few eBay-kit months (and everything bolts together properly with no missing bits).

shuiend's kit is another good option: https://www.miataturbo.net/miata-par...-setups-82059/

Have a look at the For Sale items here too, many owners upgrade their systems so you can find bargains.

PS: Just had a look at 181437060236. Looks like a bunch of generic parts packaged together (downpipe has no mating flange for your exhaust and none of those intercooler pipes are specific to the miata, you'll need to figure out the combinations yourself and cut them down to size). The only miata-specific piece in that kit is the dodgy china manifold which looks shiny but will crack,

First kit at least has miata-specific intercooler pipes, downpipe will mate to your exhaust and the exhaust manifold looks sturdy - you'll still need an aftermarket ECU and larger injectors though.

Chinese turbos are fine. Chinese tubular manifolds have lifespans measured in minutes. Chinese cast manifolds are a little better. But there are better options, as was mentioned.

Please consider that this community is full of inherently cheap bastards who would run anything that would work if it was cheap, and yet we are saying to dig deeper.

The 89-93 cars have a very weak rear differential that often fails at stock power levels. This and the clutch should be upgraded prior to adding power.

Check out the DIY FAQ thread on the forum.

Thanks so much for taking the time to respond and look at the ebay kits. I will keep looking.

Welcome, I am also in Wisconsin. What part of the state are you from?