Hey guys!
 

My name is J.T. or Josh, whatever you want to call me. I'm new here, and new to Miatas in general. I am looking into getting one soon, and hopefully turbo'ing it after doing pretty much all the fluids/belts/etc after I buy it.

Looking into the BEGi Series 2 kit starting at 8ish PSI, adding the DP with the A/F ratio bung, a catback exhaust and some suspension goodies and calling it a car. But the tuning bug usually bites hard, so we'll see. lol. I did have some questions about whether or not to get the MSPNP option or not.(my limits are it has to be california legal, but I CAN change it when time to smog comes) Most of my questions are concerned with how much boost I can run with it, vs. without it, and other advantages to using the MS.(info/links would be awesome)


Sorry about the long-winded intro lol. I saw a Miata at the track the other day and literally JUST got into them, so lotta info to try and absorb.

Search and read . .
Quickly before they see me talking to you . .
:eek4dance

First of all, welcome! The best thing to do before you post a new thread about questions. Search other threads, if its not answered, then post. :jerkit:

I know search wins, but idk what questions to even ask yet, so for now I'm just going to bounce around and read everything I can

Smart man, now go! Fill your brain up with Miata goodness! :eek4dance

Sooo much goodness hidden around here. Learning tons just in the last 3 days. But at least now I've set a plan/goal for myself.

A 94-97 car with a BEGi kit, starting low boost until that blows(or gets old lol) then a light build for 240-250 WHP because its going to be a DD and Auto-x car and taken out to track days sometimes as well, and I really don't think it will need any more power than that :D. Plus I think thats a goal well achievable on a BEGi S2 kit, so I'll be saving for a few months(hopefully not too long) and picking up a Miata. Overhauling it, then back to saving for that turbo!

A Megasquirt PNP is not going to be technically emissions legal, though it's quite likely to pass the tailpipe test. This would limit your choices to '94 or '95, as the '96+ cars get a plug-in OBDII scan, and a MSPNP will not pass that. You could do a DIY Megasquirt build and wire it in parallel with the factory ECU, which would open up the '96-'97 option, but given the choice I'd personally buy a '94 first, a '95 second, and any other year only if I couldn't find one of those two.

Assuming you need the CARB sticker, you'd need to purchase the compete BEGi-2 kit (with fuel system) from Bell, and then acquire the MSPNP as a separate transaction. No serious vendor will give you a sticker with a non-compliant kit, and the EO is only valid for the kit with the old-style fuel system (AFPR and pump). You'll need the AFPR hanging on the firewall anyway to pass the visual inspection, though a devious person might open it up and remove the valving, essentially bypassing it.

Within the realm of reason, they'll actually be pretty similar in terms of "how much boost can I run." Well, the AFPR might crap out around the 200 HP mark, but that's a pretty respectable number for such a lightweight car. Remember- an SV650 only makes about 42 lb/ft and 70HP, but it'll do 0-60 in 3.7 seconds and pull mid 11's in the 1/4 mile. Power to weight. Obviously you'd need to add a timing retard such as a Bipes ACU to go much over 5 or 6 PSI in the non-MS configuration, especially with our wonderful CA gas, but it could be done.

In my opinion, the primary advantage to a Megasquirt is ease and precision of tuning. I know, having to build your own fuel and spark tables doesn't sound "easy", but I just find it much more graceful to type a few numbers onto a computer screen and then have the ability to carefully analyze the resulting datalogs than to turn a few screws and go for a run while keeping one eyeball glued to an AFR gauge, the second eyeball glued to a MAP gauge, the third eyeball glued to a fuel pressure gauge, and the fourth eyeball taking an occasional glance at the road.

You've come to the right place. Lots of info here, though it can be a bit scattered. Start with the stickies and the FAQs, then you'll start to figure out what info you need to http://img254.imageshack.us/img254/6218/searchvu0.gif for.

Read, Think, Ask.

Woah a lot of info there, I was talking to the people at BEGi and they said 8-9psi(which will be between 170-200hp) is a good estimate of what you can get with the RRFPR. With goin MS I know it wouldn't pass, and it owuld be a pain, but it could come out every two years for smog. As long as I don't screw up and GP the car it wouldn't be THAT bad. Whats the difference between the 94 and 95 that you would pick one over the other? They told me the ACU was part of the CARB legality, so I'd be getting that anyways. I'm a little scared of tuning because I don't know what I'm doing(ok so I know what's bad and whats decent, but after getting a 'good' tune going, I'd be looking for dyno time to tune for safety and power.) I've been reading pretty much every thread that comes up and when I have a question I've been searching. I've been spending too much time on the internet lately lol