Swanpuppy

Hello everyone, I'm David. I live in Milwaukee and joined the miata community late last fall. I went from a 1996 Eagle Talon TSI AWD to my 1990 blue miata primarily for financial and racing reasons. I watched miatas stomp most of the people autocrossing and the price was very very tempting. I picked up my new toy for $2,200 dollars.


It came with a new soft top, roll bar, weapon R intake, fleabay coilovers, and a hacked together magnaflow exhaust. It had 137k when I picked it up and the blue color sealed the deal for me, not to mention it doesnt have a single spot of rust on it. After some cleaning, and repainted TRM 15x7 rims with Falken tires it looked like this:



It is a cheap set up, but its super fun for autocrossing and with the addition of a Corbeau Forza seat (picked up $80) and 6 point harness its a solid little racer. Future plans include replacing the suspension, it will need new brakes soon, and then looking for FI. I miss boost and drool over the for sale forums every day. I have lurked on here for a few months and am fairly certain what I plan to do for FI when the time comes, but I am waiting for my CBR to sell and then get to pay for a wedding WHOO HOO. So until that time comes I will do my best to contribute where I can or perhaps just stay out of the way haha. Thanks guys.

Braineack

iTrader: (62)

Welcome, Swanpuppy!

supercooper

very cool car! looks like it will make a great project for you. no rust is a plus! those side skirts are pretty horrible though. lol

matthewdesigns

iTrader: (8)

I'm a DSM refugee as well, same model and year. Also bought the same color Miata. Was your Talon "wineberry" color? Just want to make sure you aren't my evil twin.

Swanpuppy

The car apparently had a "body kit" on it at some point and these are all that remain. At some point they will be removed, but for now it just gives it a little something different from others. My talon was blue, almost the same as the miata (I dont know what it is about the color.....)
That is the beast autocrossing. It was such a fun car when it worked haha. Not trying to give it a bad rep, the PO hacked all the wiring apart so many times it was impossible to track down electrical issues, that was my only problem with it.

Fireindc

iTrader: (13)

You will be definitely be satisfied with the miata once you start putting down some WHP in the form of a turbo. Welcome to the site.

Swanpuppy

Thanks for the welcome. I read through your build thread Fireindc the other day. Quite entertaining. Words do not describe how badly I want boost again. As it sits it is a complete joy to drive, very fun, handles great, but I know once I get FI its going to be an entirely new ballgame. Most likely I will go the SR20DET turbo route for the quick spool and availability. That or see if I can match youre 240whp greddy kit haha.

Braineack

iTrader: (62)

You wont.

Fireindc

iTrader: (13)

If you go with the greddy kit, make sure you pick one up that has the upgraded 2.5" downpipe. The stock greddy downpipe is complete trash.

I'm loving the characteristics of my t25 so far though.

Swanpuppy

Braineack, thanks for the vote of confidence. Nah I know I wont be able to push it to the point Fireindc did. More just remarking at the fact he DID do it.

I have read probably 20 threads on the greddy kit. Downpipe trash, bandaids trash (unless 5psi sounds awesome) and the turbo/mani is the only positives of it. What I do like is that some of the kits I have seen floating around do have the better downpipe, or some have the MSPNP already, so for $900 (give or take) I have something that I can start with. At the same time, getting the MS right off the bat and going with the t25 allows me to build it and source parts as I go. Its going to depend mainly on what is available when I pull the trigger. Fireindc, how did you like the greddy on the 1.6? Was the spool and driveability acceptable or did it have faults?

Braineack

iTrader: (62)

I misread, but still, dont use a greddy kit.

the turbo is trash
the manifold is trash
the dp is trash
the charge pipes are trash
the fuel system is trash
the oil drain is trash
the typical IC kits and add-ons on a greddy kit are typically trash
the oil feed is the only thing worth a penny on the kit

thenuge26

iTrader: (2)

My favorite Braineack quote about the greddy:

"Wow it really makes up for the lack of low-end torque with the lack of high-end power."

Swanpuppy

Oh apparently I misunderstood most of the other threads then. I was under the impression a greddy turbo and mani (with relief cuts) was a decent building block from which to start. And if you ditch the bandaids and go MS immediately it can be decent.

Fireindc

iTrader: (13)

Hmm, well this is a touchy subject around here (appearently, ) However I'll give you my opinion of the kit. Spool was late, full boost after 4k rpms. Power was decent and was a million times better than the car was in N/A form. The car was fun, enjoyable, and reliable. My kit had the releif cuts made and never cracked. The turbo never failed me. The oil drain that comes with the kit SUCKS, the downpipe that comes with the kit SUCKS. The turbo/manifold were fine imo, and held up great to my abuses. Matthewsdesigns now has my old turbo kit and has been pushing lots of boost through it with success. I guess it's hit or miss on those kits, but mine was a solid purchase for what I paid in 2007 when I bought it.

Now if I were starting from scratch would i use the greddy kit? Probably not, unless you can find it for what I sold mine for (600 with turbo/mani and upgraded downpipe), for that price I'd rock it on a 1.6.

However if I were starting from scratch would I even have a turbo 1.6? After feeling the maddddd torques of my setup i'd say go 1.8 or go home .

Swanpuppy

Ahhh swapping to the 1.8. I saw one of your comments in the build thread about the unparrallel torque you saw with the 1.8 versus the 1.6. I personally have never done an engine swap, so that task is a bit daunting. I guess my main concern with swapping the 1.8 in is financial. There are many members on here that have boosted 1.6's with great results. Sure parts (mani) are a bit tougher to source versus the 1.8, but if you have to add XX dollars on top of the build to convert it to a 1.8 its just stretching out the time until I can go turbo. Im sure there are many threads on the cost and time to swap motors, but in your experiences assuming you have all the tools, engine hoist, etc., how much time/money did it take you to go to the 1.8? Maybe ill re read your thread on your swap....

Fireindc

iTrader: (13)

1.8 swap is easy as pie if you have all the parts. Took me a couple of months spending maybe 10-15 hours a week on it. I was pretty ---- about cleaning, replacing gaskets, preparing the 1.8 and generally taking my time with things though. A 1.8 could easily be swapped in over an afternoon or a weekend. I'd say there really is nothing wrong with a turbo 1.6, especially on a budget. they can be wicked fast too - so if yours is healthy just boost it. Keep in mind that down the road when you want to upgrade the 1.8 is boss, don't put too much $$ into 1.6 hot parts IMO.

Edit: lol, you can't say "a n a l" on a miata forum. That's ironic.

Braineack

iTrader: (62)

maybe you were reading posts from 2006? there's nothing inherently good about the greddy kit other than saying you've turboed your miata.

Get a shanghai kit if you want the same intro-kit with quality parts, you can even have it built to work with the sr20 turbo you suggested.

Swanpuppy

Ah ok, perhaps I was reading old posts and did not realize? Sorry for the confusion. So basically if I just need cheap boost, an 800 dollar greddy is frowned upon, but will provide said boost. Next is building a 1.6 kit probably with the t25 and sourcing each part individually. And the ultimate solution to my boost deficiency is 1.8 swap then turbo. I guess I will keep my eyes out as funds come available and start with the 1.8 diff, then look into perhaps the motor as well, we will see.

From the looks of it, 1.8 diff, 1.8 motor..... should just get a 1.8 (yes I know from the start, however the price and color was very appealing). Hard to sell a rust free miata in Wisconsin though. Thanks for the info guys, it was very helpful.

supercooper

i have the greddy kit on mine... (just mani and turbo) the turbo sucks... it wont FAIL you, but it sucks... im pushing 17lbs daily, and have nowhere near the power i SHOULD have, nor does it give you a good power band... STILL alot more fun than stock, but it would be nice to have some spool before 4k rpms.
the greddy downpipe is VERY restrictive, and tends to crack... i would show you mine with all the weld repairs, but you would puke in your mouth... looks like sally from nightmare before christmas.
AND... i have aids... J&S knock ignition control (miata blackbox) tan (orange?) top injectors, and a BEGi RRFPR.
THAT miata runs surprisingly well aside from the obvious downsides to the kit... i have a great IC setup and piping.... and a good Rear diff.... and Manley rods...

basically.... dont do the GREDDY.... its not cost effective... unless you dont have big HP goals, and just want to run like 5psi.... and even then... dont get the GREDDY. haha
if you get the greddy and decide you want more later, you cant really build up from it... if you have it, you stick with it.
i bought the miata im talking about just as a DD, and didnt realize how crappy the setup was. car runs great, has over 215,000k miles on the chassis, and about 100,000 of that with the current setup. but once im done with my other miata, this one will be getting a 1.8 swap with a 6spd, and a turbo setup of some sort... im just not happy with the performance of the greddy kit+aids

matthewdesigns

iTrader: (8)

LOL at all the GReddy hate. I've got Fire's old kit: manifold, turbo, and custom downpipe. It's a great budget kit if you can find one for small money. I'm making 260whp/239wtq with it and it's a hoot, and if it isn't spooled early enough in any given situation I grab a gear, easy enough. It's not like the motor isn't happy to rev.

I'm not arguing against other setups, just defending this one as a cheap way to get some reasonably good hardware. No matter how much Brain harps on it :-)

And my first Talon was that color haha.