Intro
 

My name is Dan.
I live in York Pa.
Recently purchased a 1994 1.8l miata.

Back ground on me:
Always been into racing. Started out with racing some atv's tons of fun. Currently in college and was looking into getting a sporty fun import. I stumbled upon my miata. I am a mechanical engineering major and a life time car enthusiast. As soon as I started thinking about a import I was planning on forced induction. Spent many a night looking through all of the current posts and feel like I am only scratching the surface. I am glad to be a member and hope that I can learn a lot and help others out with the experiences that I have working on my miata.

And now ...car info time:
As I said 94 1.8l miata. Runs and drive beautiful.
The bad:

• fixed e brake
• fixed exhaust leak
• minor dents and dings
• top is getting tired
• heat does not work currently plugged
• leaking oil at the back of the cylinder head don't know for sure which seal is giving me this issue but my guess is the CAS gasket

Compression test results:
cylinder 1:172 psi
cylinder 2: 170 psi
cylinder 3: 162 psi
cylinder 4: 170 psi

The good:

• great interior
• Lower mileage
• Raceland coil overs
• no rust

Planned mods:

• MS 3 and wide band o2
• FM turbo kit probably without the turbo from them it seems a bit over priced. I am thinking I could find a solid T25 and rebuild if necessary
• Stage 1 goal power 175 whp
• Stage 2 goal power 225 whp
• Stage 3 goal power 325+ whp (long term goal I know I will need to build the engine for this and do tons of research)

Any comments or suggestions would be warmly welcomed I am gladto be a member of the forum.

^He's got a good point.

Welcome to the forum. Lots of ME and EE types on the forum.

Don't boost your only wheels because it will leave you in a world of pedestrianism.

• Stage 1 goal power 175 whp
• Stage 2 goal power 225 whp
• Stage 3 goal power 325+ whp (long term goal I know I will need to build the engine for this and do tons of research)

Subaru Impreza WRX STI Forums: IWSTI.com - The Largest Subaru STi Specific Forum in the World!

This website will give you ALL THE STAGES.

Our EFR kit seems expensive on the face of it, but it will save you money in the long run. Any FM-based kit that you buy today for 175whp will have to be altered a bunch to make 325whp (new downpipe, new turbo at minimum). Our EFR6258 will make 180whp just like a GT2560R does, and then it will make 325whp just like a GT2863R does, without spending a dime on the hotside parts.

Also you should remove the Raceland's from the "Good column"

Lol. I thought that but didn't say anything.

Haha I agree but they did come with the car. I plan on swapping them out at some point.

Hey I have been doing some asking around at some local tuners and have heard that certain shops only like to tune what they consider healthy motors. The compression numbers from my test are on the lower end of what some places like to see. Should I be concerned about introducing boost with the results from my current compression test ?
Compression test results:
cylinder 1:172 psi
cylinder 2: 170 psi
cylinder 3: 162 psi
cylinder 4: 170 psi

Did you test the engine warm or cold?

May as well.
You probably will have a ton of blow by.
My motor is around similar comp and a catch can fills up with a pint of oil in 100km. It now drains back into the sump. Car doesn't spit or swallow now.

Anywho it's a shit motor. Blow it up and learn to rebuild at the same time.

boost it. enjoy it. when you break it then build it

Thanks for the replys. The engine was warm during testing but the temp was dropping towards cylinder 3 and 4. The test was done dry. I need to fix some oil leaks around the cas sensor this weekend and while I am at it I plan on testing the compression again both wet and dry.
The car is not my daily so boosting right away would be possibly as opposed to a build at the start.
Do you see any significant lack in performance/boost due to the blow by?

Why not just do a leakdown at this point.

I'd probably consider setting up the electronics side of your car and build a bottom end on the side. This will give you plenty of time to tinker with Megasquirt and fix your other issues, then when you have all the turbo bits ready to go swap it in with the new motor. You'd likely be getting a new clutch anyway so half the battle is over at the time of the swap.

^^^ psyber has the right idea, stethoscope can help determine where the leak is. Manual says 182psi @ 300rpm w/ max difference btwn cylinders of 28psi.