Newb looking to get boosted
 

Hi all, the name's Brett. I have a '92 1.6 that I'm looking to slap a turbo on. I'm really interested in finding a used Greddy Turbo kit (due to the CARB legal factor as well as how cheap they run and potential to upgrade), just looking for a little bit more pep out of my daily driver as I'm used to driving cars with a lot higher horsepower like my racecar:

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1369376060

Here's a pic of my '92.

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1369376060

Got the car for free with the stipulation that I get it out of my friend's garage within 2 months (had to rebuild the head, 240k miles did a number on it lol). I added a set of custom powder coated XXR 531's and I'm looking to lower it on a set of Ground Control Coilovers soon (the mustang takes precedence on installing parts currently). Now that I have the car running smoothly I want to add a little boost to it to help increase the fun factor. If anybody has any leads on a Greddy kit please let me know, thanks!

the greddy kit isnt terrible... but please do Megasquirt first... it will make your life so much easier...... bandaids are fail, i know first hand from my DD miata with a greddy

with a mega squirt i don't think I could pass smog in Nazifornia. if a band-aid is what it takes to pass... then I don't really have a choice unfortunately.

The choice is to remove the ms come smog time, which takes all of 5 minutes.

There are plenty of us here in Nazifornia and its really not as complicated as some make it out to be. Enjoying nice engine management for 729 days and swapping back for 1 is better than suffering with crap all that time just so you don't have to do anything in preparation for that 1 day.

+1..

its just a matter of unplugging the MS, and plugging the stock ecu back in, then when you are done being Nazi-fied, put the MS back in. No wire splicing or anything like that

point taken... Thanks for the info guys. Now the biggest problem is actually finding a kit for sale, I'm having no luck as of yet...

A few guys on here offer their build services with MS... as long as they arent knee deep in other MS builds, they could hook you up quickly

well I'm not too worried about getting MS currently, I'd like to get a greddy kit in my possession first as a base kit and then start piecing together upgrades like MS.. I'm not looking for outrageous power just a reliable increase that won't blow my trans/diff to the moon.

THIS..

To be or Not to be.....

MS will make it as reliable as you can possibly get... on the air, fuel, tuning side... Which is in almost all cases the weak point in a system.

your ultimate setup for unbeatable reliability, would be MS MS MS!!!!, the greddy kit (TD05 may be small... but it is a workhorse... very reliable), with a 6spd trans, and a Torsen Rear.

the last 2 will be the most expensive of it all though...

if you want reliable you don't want a greddy kit.

if you want a greddy kit you don't want reliable.

the kit overall is poop... but the TD05 is cheap and reliable, is it not???
especially since his power goals are reasonable for its use...

Maybe he could piece something together.... or just buy a BEGi or FM...

I hate emissions laws... i doubt i would even bother modding if i lived in California

Greddy kit uses a TD04. One of my favorite quotes about the greddy kit:

(or something like that)

the td04 turbo on the greddy is fairly slow spooling for its size, but it does tend to hold up for many miles so I guess its not bad.

The rest of the kit many people had many issues with, and is poorly designed/executed. Its just not a great kit overall. And its ancient. And they're fairly rare since being discontinued. And......

....I'd just go with a basic log setup that you can piece together for almost the same price

AH SHIT! thats what i meant...
and, yes... that quote is quite true. Its night and day between my potato powered NA and my TD04 powered NA...

A turbo is an upgrade for a Megasquirt, not the other way around.

+1.. best post yet

As a noob, if I've learned one thing after lurking for two years, that would be it.

I'd love to piece a kit together, if it weren't for emissions I would and wouldn't even attempt the greddy kit. since this is just my dd its not important that the thing is a rocket I just want a little bit of go without being bothered by cops or smog tech over legalities..

thats understandable... the greddy KIT (aside from turbo) isnt very well designed though. you may be able to piece something together that would be a similar setup, for the same price you would find a Greddy, or maybe even cheaper. theres always people selling stuff on here

what is it that makes the greddy pass, but others not???
(sorry, im ignorant to emissions crap)

the CARB EO # the kit has. I throw a turbo kit on without the sticker or docs to back it up it would be an immediate fail.

damn... thats crapsauce..

So... what do other people do in California who have FM2 or BeGi kits? Why is this an insurmountable issue only for you, and not everyone else?


Where do you think you're going to get a used Greddy kit with the sticker?

New first/best mod for your car... a move out of Crapifornia...

We all drive short yellow buses

there's ways around it but I really don't feel like paying over $200 for a smog shop to pass my car every two years. I dealt with that on my racecar, it's just not worth it to me.

all you need is the EO docs which are actually posted on this site. if I were to get questioned I'd just present the docs and all would be well.

So it's not worth $100 a year to you to have a turbo kit worth a shit?


I'd suggest just not boosting your car, then. Because that's the option i'd take if i had a choice between dealing with a Greddy kit or just living with an n/a Miata. You could at least put a 99-00 motor in there or something, and probably be just as quick.

What happened with the "swap for smog every 2 years" method?

You keep ignoring it, like so many others. Is that seriously not an option? Are you guys trying to tell me that being car enthusiasts its too much to ask for you to swap back to stock ecu 1 time in 2 years?

The chances of you finding a greddy kit with the eo are slim, and even then it will be super old and high mileage and basically in rough shape. Good luck though, I guess

problem is there's no guarantee that the shop will be there in two years, etc etc. if another company makes a carb legal kit I'd go for it, it's not like I WANT junk on my car. Everything i put into my car has been and will be quality parts not something that leaves me stranded. that's why you don't see my car slammed on racelands, excessive camber, etc. I chose the greddy because its the only kit I know for sure that's carb legal, I'd have no problem spending money on a quality legal kit if one were available.

The "carb legal" greddy kit is only a base greddy kit with no intercooler or upgrades. By the time you put a proper FMIC on it, some injectors behind it, upgrade from the POS downpipe, etc. you will not be "legal" anymore. Even with band-aids.

I will say my greddy kit was very reliable. It had the "relief cuts" made in the manifold. In the end the only thing left of the stock greddy kit was the turbo and manifold, the rest I had upgraded because the stock kit was trash.

I seriously would never turbo a miata again without EMS first. I had a band-aid setup.. trust me.

+1 bought my 2nd miata as a DD, and its all band-aided up.... makes me think the $800 i paid for it wasnt even worth it....

So find another shop? I seriously don't understand why this is so hard. If you're smart enough to be able to find this forum out of the huge sea of The Internet, you can find more than one smog shop that will take care of your shit for $200 every two years.

It's like you're trying to get us to tell you to not boost your car.

I'll go ahead and say it: Don't boost your car. You can't handle it.

You want the truth?

YOU CAN'T HANDLE THE TRUTH!!

lol

Welcome to the site iRoush, thanks for joining up!

I guess you're missing my point. I don't want to have to go through the hassle. It's my daily driver, I'm not looking to make this thing a racecar. Going with a setup that is illegal is not an option for me, end of story. What difference does it make to you why I don't want to do it?

Regardless, I contacted Stephanie at BEGi because I did some research and read that they may have smog legal kits.... and they do.


"BEGI currently holds a CARB EO for turbo systems on the 1989-1999 Miatas. The systems that are CARB legal are the BEGI-S, S1, S2, and S3. The S4, SSM, and the Shanghai series of turbo systems are NOT CARB Legal."


Also I appreciate your concern with my ability to turbo a car. Pretty sure hand building the 13.7:1 CR engine that I put in my mustang is a tad more complicated than adding boost ;) Thanks again everyone for the help.

CA legal? I don't think so.

She pointed me to their FAQ page, said they're CARB legal and come with the CARB EO. :dunno:

What I got from CARB:

EO: D-349 View PDF
EO Date: 1994-01-24
Manufacturer Name: Bell Engineering Group, Inc.
Device: IHI & Aerodyne Turbocharger Kits
Device Type: Turbocharger System / Turbocharger Modification
Part_Number: Model_Specification: Modification_Allowed: Remarks:
1990-1993 Mazda Miatas with 1.6L gasoline engines Kit includes fuel pump, pressure regulator, replacement air cleaner, exhaust manifold, and intercooler. PCV breather hose is relocated. Check valve placed between purge control solenoid and inlet manifold.
EO: D-349-1 View PDF
EO Date: 2000-12-19
Manufacturer Name: Bell Engineering Group, Inc.
Device: Mazda Turbocharger Kit
Device Type: Turbocharger System / Turbocharger Modification
Part_Number: Model_Specification: Modification_Allowed: Remarks:
1994 through 1999 Mazda Miatas The Mazda Turbocharger Kit includes the following: Garrett turbocharger, 10 psi. maximum boost, high flow fuel pump, intercooler (optional), two supplementary fuel injectors, fuel regulator designed to raise the fuel pressure as a function of boost pressure, open element air cleaner, ignition timing retard device, cast iron exhaust manifold, and exhaust connecting pipe. The supplementary fuel injectors are placed in an air tube just prior to the throttle body and are controlled by a boost pressure actuated electronic circuit. The manufacturer recommends 92 octane fuel.

If the 94-99 kits are ACTUALLY CA legal then you've just uncovered news that will absolutely revolutionize this forum.

Bet you 5 bux they're not though. Many many many many many many people got all hyped up only to be disappointed. CA sucks. There used to be a special CA edition BEGi kit. I don't think its made anymore.

I pulled that info from CARB's website. I don't know if it refers to the CA edition you're speaking of but here's the actual EO for 94-99:

http://arb.ca.gov/msprog/aftermkt/de...eo/D-349-1.pdf

There's a few things on there that should be blatantly obvious problems.

Go ahead and knock yourself out. I'm sure begi will supply you with a bolt on turbo kit... eventually.

Are they still selling the additional injector setups that must be present in order to meet CARB certification?


Seriously, if you want to goody two shoes it and not deal with hassle, just don't boost the car. Nobody here is interested in watching you complain about how hard life is in California every two years.

$200 every two years isn't much. Less then $10 a month.

No bawls.

well, if you can get your hands on a CA legal BEGi kit, go for it... keep us updated, because i bet there are alot of people here who would be interested in it.... and if it is real, then it is a way better option than greddy.... greddys are hard to find nowadays anywho...