New Member Chicago
 

I'm a new member, yet have been lurking for a while. I bought a 1992 Miata a little over a year ago, she had a little rust and needed some love. It was actually the "Project Miata" on the Gingium youtube channel, which is special to me in the fact that his channel got me into Miatas. My Dad and I put on new quarters and rockers, yet the car is by no means perfect we did the best we could with what was left for structure. This is my first project car, and i've already learned so much about body work and welding and painting etiquette. Unfortunately by the time we had finished that it had been 6 months and we just got our first snow recently so I can't drive it until next spring. What's done to the car: White Rota Grids W/ Toyo RA1's, Tein Springs on OE Shocks, Rice Pipe (Previous Owner), Duckbill Spoiler. Future plans are to do a 94-95 block with a VVT head W/ Forged Rods and Pistons, FM DIY Turbo Kit 2560R, 3.9 Torsen Swap, my goal is around 275-300whp which I don't now if that is realistic or not but I want to try. Any help/concerns are appreciated as I don't know much about how FI works, but I can turn a wrench and have drive to learn. Thank you for reading...

Welcome to the forum. We've got a couple of members in your area.

You will need a stronger transmission than the 5 speed if you plan to get above 250whp or treat it rough. The 5 speed shifts well though. The 6 speed doesn't.

Thanks
 

Thanks for the tip, much appriciated

Words of advice from someone with a smaller bank balance than I should have and who started from a similar type of project car:

1) decide early what your real HP and TQ goals are
2) buy parts once and buy the good stuff that supports your goals
3) re-read #1
4) re-read #2

225-250 HP has different needs than 350+ if you want to keep it on the road. 300 is probably in the awkward middle that sixshooter eludes to.

My my son and I have had a ton of amazing hours together on our project that is finally on the road (with more cooling mods still to do). There are a bunch of great and amazingly smart folks on here that will appreciate the attitude you already project and walk you through any possible struggle along the way.

Welcome aboard!

People coming from other platforms don't often realize the benefit of the Miatas light weight with regard to horsepower needs. A 220 wheel horsepower Miata will beat 4.6 GT Mustangs by several car lengths in the Eighth Mile. Personal experience. 250 wheel horsepower will let you pass C5 ZO6's and regular C6's on straightaways at real race tracks. Personal experience. The single biggest problem you will have is trying to keep the engine cool when doing it.

300 wheel horsepower on the track costs roughly twice what 240 wheel horsepower costs on the track. The difference may not be quite so great on a street only car, but there's no fun having one of those.

Thanks
 

That you all I forgot completely about the cooling needs, if I stuck around 240whp would I need forged internals?

No. But don't tune the spark map poorly or miss a shift and overrev it significantly or you may still have issues, but that's uncommon.

Much appriciated