How hard is it to install a turbo kit?
 

I have a 1996 Miata and I'm looking to turbo charge it. I'm thinking of going with the Flyin Miata kit. I am wondering how easy it will be, mainly for my parents sake. I'm still living with them because I'm still going to high school. I have rebuilt a few 125cc engines, I know this will be a bigger project. I'm not really worried about me having trouble, I just figured your guys opinion might help me in convincing them to let me do this.They are considered that I wil possibly break the engine buy turbo charging the car. I don't plan on going above 225 whp, which is relatively safe and I have all of the required tools. They are also concerned about how easy the actual install process will be. I believe the flyin Miata turbo kit is basically bolt on parts.

Thanks

Just enjoy the vehicle if you don't have the balls to ruin it.

The FM kit is about as easy as you can get. That being said, it's not going to be a walk in the park for someone who has little experience.

Personally, I wouldn't ask the Internet for permission if parents were willing.

It is super hard and scary. Don't do it. Buy a WRX and do it in "Stages".

It's more terrifying than it is hard. Why is that? Well, if you fuck up on drilling the pan then you're going to be shopping for a new pan or a new engine.

But if you read enough, you're pretty damn unlikely to make that mistake. If I can do it (with help) basically anyone can.

It depends... a lot! Depends on your skill, whether you have skilled help, your knowledge of the car and turbo stuff in general, and how much you're doing at once. There is a lot that you can do in stages and it's recommended that you do so. Install your ecu and figure out how to tune, install
your injectors, tune some more, install the clutch. One of the biggest hangups is you think you have all the tools and all the small parts you need, but you end up realizing your missing things and take a bunch of trips to the part store, or home depot, or waiting for an online order when you can't find what you need locally. With ECU, injectors, and clutch already installed I probably spent 20-30 hours, by myself, of the course of about a week to install my turbo. It was not a kit and had no instructions, but I had done a ton of research, had a good understanding of all that needed to be done and years of experience wrenching on the miata and other cars.

You need to go read some build threads. Here, I'll help with that part: https://www.miataturbo.net/build-threads-57/

Then, do what farpole said.

Can you drill a hole, tighten a nut, cut something in two and lift some metal shapely objects?
It's all simple processes.

The hardest part is applying common sense - Most people fail at that part.

Do high schoolers possess common sense? I know I didn't.

I may lack some common sense, but I do consider my self smart.

Im really just trying to get I idea of how hard it is.

Would you say the hardest part is drilling and tapping the oil pan it the most sketchy part?

I already own the car. I just feel it needs more power

It's not hard. It is somewhat intimidating, and it does require a certain amount of basic mechanical aptitude. It's not a good "first time wrenching on the car" project, and it's best done with help from someone who's done something like it before.

Keep in mind that even if everything goes swimmingly, there will still be days or weeks in which the car won't run and you'll have no idea why or how to fix it. Don't do this to a car if that's not something you can cope with.

--Ian

What makes you think it needs more power? Have you already won your local autocross events? Are you finishing inside the top 15 overall? Tell us why you, as a teenager, need more power.

When I was 18, the only thing I cared about was making my wrx faster for streetraces.

What I didnt know at the time, was you keep the tires with the most tread in the back.

Also how important brake pads, rotors, and tire choice make in safety.

I wrecked at 95mph hydroplaning in a slight flooding of the highway, I had just swapped my bald tires from the front to the rear.

FYI for you guys, the rear tires are used for directional stability. Always have the most tread on the rear.

Nothing about turboing the car is really "hard", you just really need to plan it out, do a ton of research and buy your parts in the right order. If you do it right you'll be more than halfway through with turboing the car before your parents even notice the UPS truck show up with a turbo.

First step (after a lot of reading) is to buy a megasquirt, install it, and learn how to tune the car. Then buy and install injectors. Then buy and install a clutch to handle the power you want. At that point you can start really thinking about what you want to do as far as buying actual turbo parts. Things will go much better if you do it in that order rather than jumping into a turbo kit first and then having to backtrack to come up with supporting mods, all while you're running out of money and parents are getting more and more pissed off.

I currently live in Colorado, which is about 5 to 6 thousand feet above see level. My car makes a lot less power then it would at sea level. Also having a car the is fast is fun even if it is unnecessary. Also I don't plan on racing auto cross, I have raced auto cross a few times, but it wasn't really my thing. I mainly plan on racing in a few time attack style event at a local track, which is even higher up in elevation. I think everyone can agree that having a car that has lost if power is fun even if it is slightly over the top.

Ok, thanks that pretty much sums up what i was wondering.

.