So i got this Miata....
 

Whats up all,

Im from eastern PA, Lehigh valley area... I just bought this Miata from a friend of mine a couple weeks ago. Totally loving it!. This was maybe the third Miata Jeremy built... not sure. I wouldn't be surprised if the other one or two were somewhere on this site.

So... the car. Its a 92/NA. It has a Garret turbo 28RS.. Disco Potato? Tial BOV, RC injectors, 1.8 diff/rear .. Koni's etc etc.. to much to list, lol. Its fun!.. i think its the Black and Tan special edition from 92.

Future plans.. ? First on the list is taking care of this vibration in the steering wheel... Might be rotors, tire balance or rod ends .. not sure yet. Next would be a new top. It has small cracks/tears in the rear corners also debating on going hard or not. And then probable some kind of roll bar or cage. Ohh, and either a bigger muffler or some type of silencer for the exhaust. Right now its pretty loud.. need to do some research on whats best to get it more quite and not take a big performance hit.

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1340095863

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1340095863

I also noticed a lot of people in other miata's do the "Wave" thing... kinda like bikers. Thats pretty cool... When i drive my SI around i usually either get ppl flipping me off or trying to race me.... This is a Nice Change!

Seeya round,

-Jstarr

Nice looking setup, specs on intake manifold? Also, you're probably going to get hazed for small radiator, general consensus is bigger radiator = better.

Welcome...I am from near Lehigh Valley. Glad to see yet another PA member!

What fuel management are you using?

Welcome to the site, looks like a pretty nice setup. How much boost is it running?

Welcome, from that area originally, still have friends and family there.

Good luck with her.

Thanks for the welcome guys.


TBH... im not sure what the specs are on the IM. Its pretty huge plenum though i dont know the size of the inlet.. guessing 65mm ish..

The radiator is a Mishimoto...I was told it was used to save room. But i forget why..

The Fuel management is AEM unit running Mega Squirt.. with a 3 bar map sensor... It was tuned by Epic and Evans tuning here in PA.

Boost is set at 14lbs .. dont have a boost gauge right now.. Down the road i will probably get one.. Put it this empty spot i have on the left middle dash vent.


And yeah can't wait to hit an event or two in PA/NJ area! autoX / track day / show .... what have youz... If you know of a good one let me know. I went to Honda Day at Atco NJ.... less than impressed honestly.

Jstarr, welcome aboard. Very interesting setup you have there- That half-size radiator concept was discussed a lot several years ago (as a way to make room for a side-by-side intercooler) but relatively few people seem ever to have actually done it. I'm curious to hear how it performs for you.

On the subject of exhaust systems, I'm a huge fan of Enthuzacar. It's a one-man shop, and they don't sell shiny, polished stuff, but it's reasonably priced and well made. I had their 2.5" Turbo exhaust on my last Miata, and it worked very well. It would, of course, be helpful for us to know something about what's on the car now- diameter of pipe, catalytic converter or not, and a picture of the muffler itself.

Ive driven the car for over an hour and a half on a 90* day and had no temp issues. Im guessing it would have showed up by then But i dont know..

The Exahust that's on the car now is ... what looks like a large dump tube.. 3" i think ..and 3" exhaust all the way back to a super tiny muffler. All black tubing... which i like and wouldn't mind keeping black.

The prices on that Site look pretty good. Do you think that Borla muffler would tone things down a bit?

Well, it'll be interesting to see what happens if you start working it hard on hot days (eg, AutoX / Trackday).



If you're looking to keep your present system and just attach a new muffler to it, there are several options, of course. All else being equal, the cars equipped with 3" exhausts tend to be a tad louder than those running a 2.5" exhaust system, however adding a larger (yet still non-chambered) muffler will likely have a big impact. How big of an impact, of course, depends on what you have at present.



Also, I noticed earlier you mentioned that "The Fuel management is AEM unit running Mega Squirt." AEM and Megasquirt are two entirely different ECUs, so this puzzles me slightly.

I feel the same way.

Yeah, im not entirely sure to be honest.. I'll have to ask my friend for more details. I know for sure that it runs Mega Squirt.. i just thought the actually ECU was a different company. There is a VGA cable coming out from under the dash.. i haven't gotten around to installing the software on my laptop yet..

The only tuning experience i have is with Hondata.. which is super easy to use.. ive heard that MS is a little less intuitive.

This Silencer looks promising... 7db drop. Should be noticeable.
http://thmotorsports.com/i-273365.as...gSeanNOFITMENT

you need a real radiator. STAT.

Great.. another thing to add to my list... Ive only had the car two weeks..lol.

A VGA cable? As in a high-density 15 pin? Or do you mean a DB-9, aka RS-232 serial cable?

This is a VGA connector:

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1340125641


This is a serial connector:

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1340125641


A serial cable would be the typical thing I'd expect to see hanging out from the dash.



If you install that on your car, I will physically reach through the internet and slap you. :D

Well it looks like a VGA cable! Lol... you're right, its a Serial cable for transferring data not video.

HAHAA... ill take that as a no... The search continues...

If you've tuned a Hondata you should be able to pick up on megasquirt pretty quick.

People tend to have some very firm beliefs about oversized radiators, but if it's not overheating, then I see no reason to invest in something bigger. I'm still running a stock radiator and very rarely see 200 degree water temps.

For making the car quieter look at a straight through magnaflow. A lot of us run them and the larger mufflers really quiet the car down without sacrificing flow. Even a resonator would help to tame it down a good bit. A local muffler shop should be able to splice either option in without completely junking your current exhaust.

Nice ride, wish I turbo'd mine before I sold it. I have Brembo rotors for sale cheap I noticed you might look into that vibration

or how about, I have a belief about undersized radiators with pathedic shrouding?

If an undersized radiator with pathetic shrouding keeps the car cool (like the op said it did), then the only thing a bigger radiator is going to do is make the guy $250-500 poorer and add 20lbs to the car. With something that easy to monitor, I just don't see any point in upgrading until a need surfaces.

Do you have a link to the for sale thread? How much?


Yeah guys.. im not an expert. Wont front like one either. But i do trust Epic Tuning and Evans Tuning

I know they had a hand in building and tuning the car with the friend that i bought it from. If it was an issue they wouldn't have used it. Also ..in Eastern PA it was like 95 felt like 100+ and it was fine.. only drove it about 18 miles in said temp. Gage was locked in the same place it has been.

When you say "gauge was locked" do you mean the stock water temp gauge? In which case, it pretty much won't budge until you're pretty much overheating.

I'm with Brain on this 100%. And wouldn't expect Epic/Evans to know d*ck about the miata BP. Don't get me wrong, they're probably top notch guys, but deal mostly with hondas (correct me if I'm wrong), and have NO IDEA how badly our cars react to honda radiators. Hondas pretty much get away with even the most terrible radiator/heat exchanger. They're aluminum blocked, and "cool" like that.

I just rebuilt a BP for a guy who installed one of those 2 weeks prior and warped his head from overheating.
Guess what, he bought it from a honda performance shop and the guy there told him "it will be fine, it holds up on 500whp civics no problem"

Yes it is the original temp gauge. And it does start out low and gradually goes up to the same point and stays there.

Epic is known mostly for Honda/VW's. Evans is pretty much everything.

I guess ill just have to monitor it as closely as i can.. If the factory gauge is known to be faulty.. are there any signs that i would see in the car if it was overheating? Other than.. "Ohh ---- is that steam?".. lol

IIRC the stock gauge goes from "everything is cool" to "OH SH*T YOU'RE F'D" in one movement. Therefore useless.

Figure out if you have MS or AEM, get the appropriate software (free) and actually log/monitor it with your laptop. Pretty much your best option unless you want to wire in a "real" temp gauge.

I'm aware of both places, and have never seen either built/tune a miata which is why I'm skeptical of their "miata specific" knowledge. (not like our engines are special or anything, just not as good at staying cool like a honda)

Great....


It's running MS. Its going to be really hot tomorrow. Maybe ill try hooking up my laptop.. Just not sure if my laptop has a connection for that DB9 plug. Its a new laptop and closest thing on it that looks like that plug is the VGA output. Maybe Radio shack has a DB9-USB converter.

they do. get one. log that ish

How often does the fan run?

With the engine and exhaust noise... i haven't really noticed when the fan goes off and on. Thats a good thing to look out for though, thanks for the tip.

Ill try to get that hooked up data logging... OR... ill end up playing MW3 or D3.. who knows. :rofl: